The pot escalated preflop, which resulted in each player putting in 40,000 each as Qing Liu from early position clashed with Joachim Meisolle from middle position.
The 5♠3♥2♣ flop led to a bet of 30,000 from Liu. Meisolle called to stay in the hand.
Liu checked the J♣ turn before Meisolle followed with a big bet of 100,000. Liu responded with a check-raise jam for approximately 260,000. Meisolle folded to award the pot to Liu.
In the 988th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway is joined by Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow are joined at Level 9 Studio by Ryan Depaulo to talk the latest from the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
That includes the money bubble bursting and none other than 2003 WSOP Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker being a part of it. See what went down and the aftermath yourself. The crew then talks about the debate surrounding whether or not a player should have to be profitable in order to win WSOP Player of the Year. It's a heated debate between Shaun Deeb and Phil Hellmuth, with Daniel Negreanu and others weighing in.
Other stories include a streaker at the WSOP, Martin Kabrhel's antics, WSOP POY update, and a player who built up a big stack in the Main Event and then decided to abandon it while he went to South Point casino to play $1-$3 NLH and watch a movie.
Finally, Chad previews the upcoming $400 buy-in, $250K GTD PokerNews Cup at the RGPS Thunder Valley.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
In a hand versus his opponent on the button, Michael Acevedo was sitting in the big blind, and all of the chips were in the middle on the river on a board of J♠2♦5♥4♣6♦ with a pot of 70,000 and a shove for 75,000.
Acevedo showed his 3♦2♥ for the straight for his opponent to muck and be eliminated.
Now that registration has closed the payout schedule has been finalized.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,159,182 | 36-44 | $31,408 |
| 2 | $772,580 | 45-53 | $25,987 |
| 3 | $576,099 | 54-62 | $21,684 |
| 4 | $432,875 | 63-71 | $18,249 |
| 5 | $327,767 | 72-80 | $15,491 |
| 6 | $250,110 | 81-89 | $13,264 |
| 7 | $192,347 | 90-98 | $11,457 |
| 8 | $149,093 | 99-152 | $9,985 |
| 9 | $116,485 | 153-206 | $8,779 |
| 10-11 | $91,740 | 207-260 | $7,789 |
| 12-13 | $72,835 | 261-314 | $6,974 |
| 14-17 | $58,298 | 315-368 | $6,301 |
| 18-26 | $47,045 | 369-551 | $6,001 |
| 27-35 | $38,280 |
Yuxi Huang opened to 15,000 from under the gun before Kenny Hallaert made it 37,500 from the big blind. Huang paused for consideration before she made the call.
The 3♥8♥7♣ flop led to a continuation-bet of 19,000 by Hallaert. Huang once again made the call.
Hallaert went all-in for approximately 45,000 on the 10♣ turn. Huang snap-called and sent them to a showdown.
Kenny Hallaert: Q♥Q♦ 
Yuxi Huang: 7♦7♥
Hallaert held the overpair, but it was in rough shape as Huang revealed she had flopped a set of sevens and had Hallaert drawing thin with one card to go.
The 8♠ river upgraded Huang to a full house as Hallaert hit the exit.
Level: 13
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
Three-way action was underway with 25,000 in the pot and trips on the K♣K♥K♠ flop. After a check, Agustin Naranja in hijack fired 5,500 and Kevin Schulze in cutoff called. Shalom Elharar in the small blind got out of the way.
On the turn 4♠, action went check, check until the 2x river. Naranja showed Q♦8♦ while Schulze turned over A♣9♣. Board played resulting in a chop.
Rogen Chhabra got the bidding started with an open to 6,000 from early position. Dong Chen made the call from the cutoff before Luigi Shehadeh joined the party with a call from the small blind.
The flop came 5♣4♠3♥ before Shehadeh checked it over to Chhabra. Chhabra continued for 11,000 as Chen bowed out with a fold.
Shehadeh called to bring the 4♥ turn.
Both players checked the turn to welcome the 9♣ river. Shehadeh opted to lead for 4,500. Chhabra made the call to go to a showdown.
Shehadeh showed 2♦2♠ for two pair, which was good as Chhabra folded his hand in response.
Jared Griener shoved for his final 36,000 from middle position and was called by Mitesh Shere from the big blind to be at risk for his tournament life.
Jared Griener: A♦8♥
Mitesh Shere: A♠5♠
Griener had Shere's hand dominated, but the flop reversed the standings as the dealer fanned out 2♥5♦6♠ to give Shere the best hand.
Griener's woes would continue on the 10♠ turn as Shere gained a flush draw to go with his pair of fives to trim Griener's outs down even further.
The 8♠ river peeled to give Griener a pair of eights, but Shere a flush to eliminate Griener.
Yita Choong raised from late position to 6,000; Martin Zamani called from the button, and Alex Foxen called from the small blind.
The flop was 10♠9♠5♦ and Foxen checked, Choong bet 16,000, Zamani called, and Foxen moved all in for 106,000. Choong stayed for the race with his last 58,500, and Zamani reluctantly folded.
Yita Choong: K♦10♥
Alex Foxen: A♠6♠
The turn and river were the 3♣ and the 6♣, and Choong enjoyed his new chips with a pair of tens.
button in Safari
