2026 WSOP Day 30: Lou Garza Eyes Back-to-Back Titles in $25k PLO/NLHE

Will Shillibier
Managing Editor
6 min read
Lou Garza

It was one of the busiest days at the 2026 World Series of Poker with ten events and three bracelets awarded.

Congratulations go to Joseph Liberta who won the $1,500 Millionaire Maker for $1,250,000 and Harry Rubin whose father watched on as he secured his first WSOP bracelet in Event #57: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha.

There was also a popular winner in Event #62: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em, as Josh Reichard finally secured his first WSOP bracelet in front of a rail packed with his supporters.

Away from that, the final table was confirmed in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the Mystery Millions and Super Seniors all rumbled on, with two new events getting underway.

Here PokerNews takes you through all the action from Day 30 at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Juha Helppi Leads in Event #64: $25,000 NLHE/PLO High Roller

Juha Helppi
Juha Helppi

Day 2 of Event #64: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed had it all: Hold’em and Omaha pros battling it out, the bubble bursting, max late reggers and coolers galore.

The 60 players made Day 2 quickly became 134 by the time late registration closed, with 41 of those arriving at the latest possible opportunity, sitting with just 18 big blinds.

By the end of the day, just 15 players remain, none of whom late-reg'd on Day 2. Those 15 are led by Juha Helppi, who bagged up the chip lead after a huge hand in the final level of play.

A two-time bracelet winner, Helppi leads defending champion Lou Garza who sits second in chips, with Daniel Negreanu also advancing, albeit as the shortest stack of all.

Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Juha HelppiFinland6,370,000127
2Lou GarzaUnited States5,365,000107
3Sergio Martinez GonzalezSpain2,755,00055
4Edward LeonardUnited States2,690,00054
5Eelis ParssinenFinland2,425,00049
6Sean WinterUnited States2,410,00048
7Yang WangChina2,150,00043
8Dylan WeismanUnited States1,705,00034
9Dylan LindeUnited States1,530,00031
10Dominykas KarmazinasLithuania975,00020

Play is set to resume at 1:00 p.m. local time in the Gold section of Paris Ballroom, playing down to a winner on Thursday.

Benny Glaser Leads Final Six in Poker Players Championship

Benny Glaser
Benny Glaser

The pinnacle of the mixed-game tournament schedule at the 2026 World Series of Poker, Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, is down to its final five players after four days of nine-game poker.

After a day full of up-and-down swings, mixed games phenom Benny Glaser bagged the most chips at the end of the night. Having started the day as chipleader as well, Glaser went wire-to-wire to set himself up to become the first player of the post-poker-boom generation to capture nine bracelets.

“It was a struggle for a bit today,” Glaser shared with PokerNews as he was bagging his chips. “The early levels were nice, but once we got moved to the feature table, things became pretty tough."

Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Day 4 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Benny GlaserUnited Kingdom8,610,000
2Maxx ColemanUnited States5,565,000
3Josh AriehUnited States5,265,000
4Kristopher TongUnited States5,180,000
5Phil IveyUnited States5,135,000
6Paul VolpeUnited States2,725,000

The star-studded lineup of Maxx Coleman, Kristopher Tong, Josh Arieh, and Phil Ivey all bagged around 5,000,0000, while Paul Volpe’s 2,725,000 is the shortest stack of all.

Day 5 will restart at 1:30 p.m. local time and will conclude only when a new Poker Players Champion has been declared.

Raymer Among Final 15 in $1,000 Super Seniors

Greg Raymer
Greg Raymer

After another ten levels of play in Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors, only 15 players remain in the hunt for the bracelet.

Topping the counts after the penultimate day was Timothy Garner, who bagged 8,015,000 after a great few final levels.

Meanwhile, 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer managed to survive the day, progressing with 5,410,000.

Raymer slowly gained chips throughout the day. One important knockout he got came when he backdoored into Broadway to eliminate William Derego. Then, with two tables left, Raymer won a multi-way pot with top pair top kicker on a scary board, all of which helped him end the day with an above average stack.

Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Timothy GarnerUnited States8,015,00040
2Glen ClementiUnited States7,165,00036
3Micheal DokellUnited States6,525,00033
4Paul McMullinUnited States6,050,00030
5Greg RaymerUnited States5,410,00027
6Kevin SongKorea, Republic of5,055,00025
7Lionel BarracanoFrance4,405,00022
8Donald BriggsUnited States4,210,00021
9Istvan ToroHungary4,070,00020
10Alexander DovzhenkoUkraine3,890,00019

The final day begins at 11 a.m. local time. Everyone returning has locked up $17,844 so far, but a spot at the final table doubles that with the winner taking home $355,263.

Valentin Oberhauser Leads Final 33 in $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em

Valentin Oberhauser
Valentin Oberhauser

Only 33 players remain in with a shot at WSOP gold in Event #65: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em, with Valentin Oberhauser holding the chip lead. He was the only player to finish the day above the five-million mark.

Oberhauser already has several WSOP cashes to his name but is still searching for his first final-table appearance. However, he now sits in pole position not only to reach the final table but also to make a run at capturing his first gold bracelet.

End of Day 2 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Valentin OberhauserFrance5,500,00092
2Kyle LinUnited States4,845,00081
3Jan SanchezUnited States4,175,00070
4Ciro GonzalezMexico3,420,00057
5Brandon HamletUnited States3,310,00055
6Micheal O'NeillIreland3,150,00053
7Leonardo AlvesBrazil3,120,00052
8Juan VecinoSpain3,080,00051
9Ryan JuliusUnited States3,070,00051
10Julian EibelGermany2,625,00044

Other notables further down the counts include Day 1 chip leader Shawn Puri (1,200,000), 2014 Main Event Champ Martin Jacobson (1,180,000), Nick Palma (1,135,000), and Antoine Labat (830,000).

Players will return tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time and play down to a winner.

Brian Tate Tops the Counts after Day 1 of the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship

Brian Tate
Brian Tate

A total of 140 entries were tallied in Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship, almost reaching last year's total of 141 with registration still open.

After eight hours of limited wagering, just 57 players have put chips into a bag and will be returning for Thursday's Day 2.

Atop the counts after today's action was Brian Tate, who went on a late-night surge on his way to a bag of 367,000.

Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Bets
1Brian TateUnited States367,00046
2Andrew YehUnited States327,00041
3Hanh TranAustria306,00038
4Robert WellsUnited Kingdom281,00035
5Pierre LewandowskiFrance280,00035
6Ryan HoenigUnited States260,00033
7Jon TurnerUnited States253,00032
8Patrick StaceyCanada236,00030
9Michael RodriguesPortugal235,00029
10Oscar JohanssonSweden225,00028

Registration remains open until 12 p.m. on Thursday, with play resuming at 1 p.m. in Paris.

Team Chen Leads After Tag Team Day 1

Andy Chen
Andy Chen

The hugely popular Event #66: $1,000 Tag Team kicked off today, with 1,375 entries in total. Just 269 teams remain and they are led by Team Chen, made up of Andy and Jie Chen.

They are the only team above 400,000 in chips, ahead of the Portuguese pair of Ruben Correia and Rui Pinto Campos, and a team consisting of American Erik Ryland and Brazil's Eduardo Nunes.

Event #66: $1,000 Tag Team Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankTeamChip CountBig Blinds
1Andy Chen - Jie Chen406,000162
2Ruben Correia - Rui Pinto Campos325,000130
3Erik Ryland - Eduardo Nunes309,000124
4Daniel Birmingham - William Birmingham286,000114
5Amadeusz Roslik - Adrian Salwa262,500105
6Alessandro Predaroli - Leonardo Tononi256,500103
7Richard Freitas - Jonatas Roger Freitas250,000100
8Quinn Do - Gennadiy Dvosis241,00096
9Azedine Bendjilali - Idir Haiche241,00096
10Marc Joseph - Conrad Fourie233,00093

These survivors and more will return at 12 p.m. on Thursday, June 25. The bubble burst on Day 1, with anyone making it through to Day 2 already locked up a min-cash of $2,001.

Simon Higgins Leads 125 Survivors From Mystery Millions Day 1b

Simon Higgins
Simon Higgins

From a field of 2,278 players, just 125 players have survived into Day 2 of Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions.

Leading the way is Simon Higgins who sits atop the chip counts, slightly ahead of Hayato Kitajima. They are the only two players above two million in chips.

They will join the 76 players who advanced from Day 1a on Day 2, which takes place on Sunday, June 28.

Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Simon HigginsUnited Kingdom2,890,00072
2Hayato KitajimaJapan2,100,00053
3Avrohom KraminerUnited States1,820,00046
4Thomas GraupnerGermany1,720,00043
5Wesley GarverUnited States1,710,00043
6Shachar HaranIsrael1,685,00042
7Ha KwanUnited States1,615,00040
8Julio NovoUnited States1,540,00039
9Thiago ArcapaloIsrael1,520,00038
10Victor FrydaFrance1,500,00038

What to Expect on Day 31 of the 2026 WSOP

WSOP Branding 2026

Four winners crowned on Day 31, the biggest of which will come in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Another High Roller winner will emerge in the $25,000 PLO/NLH Mixed, with the $1,000 Super Seniors and $1,500 Freezeout also scheduled to finish.

The popular Tag Team will continue with Day 2, as will the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Championship with late registraiton still open until 12 p.m. local time.

Day 1c of the Mystery Millions gets underway at 10 a.m. before the $1,000 Lades Championship at 12 p.m.

The last new event starting today is Event #69: $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo, with cards in the air for that one at 2 p.m.

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Will Shillibier
Managing Editor

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

In this Series

1 2026 WSOP Day 1: The Summer Starts Here!2 2026 WSOP Day 2: Vanessa Selbst and Huck Seed Return to the WSOP3 2026 WSOP Day 3: Big Names Turn Out in Force as First Bracelet Won4 2026 WSOP Day 4: Mizrachi, Negreanu, & Foxen Win $25k Heads Up Matches5 2026 WSOP Day 5: Round of 16 Set In $25k Heads Up Championship Event6 2026 WSOP Day 6: Phil Hellmuth in Contention For 18th WSOP Bracelet7 2026 WSOP Day 7: Four Bracelets Awarded on a Busy Day of Action8 2026 WSOP Day 8: Daniel Negreanu Bags a Top 3 Stack in the $10K NL 2-7 Championship9 2026 WSOP Day 9: Hellmuth Reaches Final 13 in the $10K 2-7 Championship10 2026 WSOP Day 10: Three Bracelets Awarded as Sammartino Closes in on His Second11 2026 WSOP Day 11: Naoya Kihara Leads Event One Day After Bracelet Win12 2026 WSOP Day 12: Kristen Foxen Final Tables $25,000 High Roller Event13 2026 WSOP Day 13: Two Bracelets Awarded, Brewer Leads Dealer's Choice14 2026 WSOP Day 14: Is Jake Schwartz About to Capture His First Bracelet?15 2026 WSOP Day 15: Suvarna Leads the $50K NLH as Four Bracelets Awarded16 2026 WSOP Day 16: The Controversial Ren Lin Leads the $100K NLHE High Roller17 2026 WSOP Day 17: Nguyen Cracks Aces En Route to bagging $100K High Roller Chip Lead18 2026 WSOP Day 18: Hansen, Ausmus, Lonis At Limit Hold'em Final Table19 2026 WSOP Day 19: Daniel Negreanu Fourth In $250k Super High Roller20 2026 WSOP Day 20: Kenney On Course to Extend His Lead in the All-Time Money List21 2026 WSOP Day 21: Calvin Anderson Looking For Second $10K Razz Title22 2026 WSOP Day 22: Second Bullet Success for Negreanu in $25k PLO23 2026 WSOP Day 23: Foxen Eyes Another Bracelet in $25k PLO24 2026 WSOP Day 24: Shaun Deeb Dominates $3K Nine Game Mix Day 225 2026 WSOP Day 25: Winter, Negreanu Lead Day 2 of $50k PLO High Roller26 2026 WSOP Day 26: Naoya Kihara At High Roller Final Table Again27 2026 WSOP Day 27: Mizrachi's Quest To Win His Fifth $50K PPC Falls Flat28 2026 WSOP Day 28: Kristopher Tong Leads an All-Star Cast in the $50K PPC29 2026 WSOP Day 29: Benny Glaser Leads the Final 15 in the $50,000 PPC30 2026 WSOP Day 30: Lou Garza Eyes Back-to-Back Titles in $25k PLO/NLHE

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