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Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Day 2 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Day: 2
Event Info
2026 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
$25,000
Prize Pool
$3,008,000
Total Entries
128
Level
64
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
0
Entries
16
Players Left
4
Players Left 1 / 128
Filter
Level 51
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
Just four players remain in the fight for one of the toughest World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets to win after two rounds in Day 2 of Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
The biggest player in name, and bicep, to advance through Day 2 is American high-stakes pro Alex Foxen, who is looking for his fourth career bracelet after most recently winning the $100,000 Triton Main Event at 2024 WSOP Paradise for $3.8 million.
Foxen will be joined by fellow bracelet winner Dimitar Danchev of Bulgaria and two first bracelet hopefuls in Japan's Ryuta Nakai and Russia's Nikita Kuznetsov.
WSOP commentator Joe Stapleton predicted big things in this event for Foxen, affectionately dubbed "Foxy" by Martin Kabrhel last summer, and that prediction may just come true on Day 3 on Monday. He will face Kuznetsov in the semifinals, while Nakai and Danchev will battle one another across the stage.
Suckout Sees Negreanu Blow Massive Lead
The day began with plenty of legendary poker players to keep an eye on as Poker Hall of Famers Daniel Negreanu and Michael Mizrachi were both in contention. The reigning champ was the first player to fall on Day 2 as the eight-time bracelet winner's flopped top pair was no good against the overpair of Japan's Ryuta Nakai, marking Mizrachi's elimination in the first round of Day 2.
That was a rather innocuous exit compared to Negreanu's. The seven-time bracelet winner had Biao Ding on the ropes before the high-stakes Chinese pro landed multiple doubles to stay in contention. He then turned the tables by rivering a three-outer to leave the father-to-be short and frustrated.
"I can't f***ing take it anymore. We're not done, but we're basically done," Negreanu vented shortly before being eliminated by Ding.
Other first-round casualties on Day 2 included French pros Florian Pesce and Julien Sitbon and American pros Justin Saliba and Brandon Wilson, the latter of whom fell to Alex Foxen as his top pair ran into a flopped set.
Round 2 went until the early morning hours as PokerGO boss Cary Katz fell to Nakai, while Belgian pro Thomas Boivin was eliminated by Foxen despite having doubled a few hands earlier by flopping trips with a dominated ace. Also eliminated in the second round were Ding and Finnish online crusher Henri Puustinen, better known as "'buttonclickr," who finished third in this event in 2021 as a baby-faced 21 year old.
Day 3 will take place on June 1 inside the Paris ballroom, with the first match kicking off at 3:30 p.m. local time. There will be two rounds ahead of the winner being crowned and taking home the top prize of $800,000. Each returning player is guaranteed a payout of at least $300,000.
$25,000 Heads-Up Championship Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 |
| 2 | $528,000 |
| 3-4 | $300,000 |
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage of Day 2 of the $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship at the 2026 WSOP. Check out the live reporting portal for more coverage from the summer festival in Las Vegas.
Level 51
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
With two more rounds complete, the semi-finalists are confirmed in the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.
The four advancing players will return for the final day on Monday, June 1, at 3:30 p.m. local time, and play down to a champion.
Stay tuned for a full recap of today's action.
In the meantime, check out the updated bracket here.
Level 51
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
Ryuta Nakai moved all in on the button, and Cary Katz called, with the latter the player at risk.
Cary Katz: A♠9♣ 
Ryuta Nakai: A♥4♥
Katz had Nakai dominated, but the 2♣K♠3♦ flop provided Nakai with some extra outs.
There was no help to be found on the K♥ turn, but the 5♥ river sealed the deal, sending Katz crashing out, and Nakai through to the semifinals.
Level 51
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
Thomas Boivin was all in for 1,656,000 on the button against Alex Foxen in the big blind.
Thomas Boivin: 7♠6♠
Alex Foxen: 5♠5♦
Boivin couldn't survive the flip as the board ran out K♦9♠4♦3♣K♣, sending the Belgian pro to the rail.
Level: 51
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 0
Level 50
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 0 ante
Cary Katz limped in on the button with 8♣6♣ and Ryuta Nakai checked his option in the big blind.
Both players checked on the flop of A♥9♣10♥ and Nakai bet 60,000 on the 7♠ turn. Katz raised to 200,000 with his straight and Nakai called.
Nakai checked on the Q♣ river and Katz bet 460,000. Nakai called with his queen and saw the bad news.
Level: 50
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 0
Level 49
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 0 ante
Biao Ding limped in on the button, and Dimitar Danchev checked his option.
The action checked through on the A♠6♥10♦ flop, tempting Danchev to lead out for 80,000 on the 10♥ turn, and Ding called.
Danchev then moved all in, covering Ding's remaining 184,000 stack on the Q♥ river, and Ding called.
That wrapped the match up, as Danchev tabled 10♣9♠ for trips, which was more than enough to see him advance, as Ding flipped over his K♥Q♦.
Level 49
: 20,000/40,000, 0 ante
Alex Foxen opened to 110,000 on the button and Thomas Boivin three-bet jammed for 1,300,000 in the big blind. Foxen called with more.
Thomas Boivin: A♠2♠
Alex Foxen: A♦J♦
Foxen had his opponent dominated, but that didn't stop the board from running out 3♠2♥2♦4♥K♦ to earn Boivin a double with flopped trips.
