2026 WSOP Day 35: Shaun Deeb Within Touching Distance of His Ninth Bracelet

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Jun 30, 2026 5 min read

There may have been seven events running on Day 35 of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), but they wrapped up remarkably early at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Three events crowned their champions while the other in-play events inched closer to awarding their respective bracelets, including the $1,500 8-Game Mixed, where Shaun Deeb is the chip leader.

Matthew Higgins became an instant millionaire after he took down Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions No-Limit Hold'em. Higgins came out on top of a 22,811-strong field, including defeating Dominik Panka heads-up, to claim the $1 million top prize and his first WSOP bracelet.

While Higgins was claiming his first bracelet, reigning WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi was getting his hands on bracelet number nine. Mizrachi bulldozed his way to the Event #70: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship title, a result worth $1,350,203.

The third bracelet awarded on Day 35 of the 2026 WSOP was in Event #71: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet. Dylan Smith was the last man standing from a field of 388. Smith defeated Matt Vengrin heads-up and reeled in a $182,591 prize plus his maiden bracelet.

$1,500 8-Game Field Cut to Only 13; Shaun Deeb Leads

There are only 13 players remaining in Event #74: $1,500 8-Game Mixed, and it is Shaun Deeb (3,090,000) who leads them back into battle on Day 3.

Since winning his eighth bracelet at the 2025 WSOP Europe festival, Deeb has had three runner-up finishes in bracelet-awarding events, including the recent $3,000 Nine-Game Mixed at the 2026 WSOP.

Having seen Benny Glaser and Michael Mizrachi become nine-time bracelet winners, Deeb will undoubtedly be fired up more than ever to add to his already impressive WSOP hardware collection.

Deeb leads from Blaz Zerjav (2,330,000) and Jaswinder Lally (1,985,000) going into the final day.

Others to look out for in PokerNews' coverage include Day 1 chip leader Dean Joe (1,245,000) and Viktor Blom (720,000).

Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 30, continuing until a champion emerges. Will that champion be Deeb? Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out.

Event #74: $1,500 8-Game Mixed Day 2 Final Day Chip Counts

489 Progress From Day 1b of the Mini Main Event

Day 1b of Event #72: $1,000 Mini Main Event drew in 4,053 entrants, but the field was decimated by the close of play, with only 489 advancing to Day 2.

Switzerland's Karim Ghozlani (3,750,000) bagged up the largest stack. The Swiss player is in decent form, having finished 22nd in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker a couple of weeks ago.

Also through with a top-five stack is Belgian ace Bart Lybaert (2,600,000). He has more than $4.1 million in live poker tournament cashes and will be a force to be reckoned with when the surviving players from this event's trio of flights combine on Day 2 on July 1.

Others through from this flight included Michael Moncek (1,535,000), Triple Crown winner Niall Farrell (1,400,000), Jim Collopy (1,220,000), Matthew Wantman (870,000), and Michael Wang (575,000).

The third and final Day 1 shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time on June 30, and it should see a massive crowd of players descend on the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

Event #72: $1,000 Mini Main Event Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts

Andrew Lichtenberger Bags a Top 10 Stack on Day 2 of the $5,000 NLHE 6-Max

Sixty players remain in contention for the $979,655 top prize that Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em offers its champion. Four of the overnight top 10 already have at least one bracelet to their name, including the man affectionately known as "LuckyChewy," Andrew Lichtenberger (1,840,000).

Lichtenberg won his one and only bracelet 10 years ago. He triumphed in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em event and took home $569,158. Since then, he has banked seven larger cashes, including a $1,312,610 payout for his runner-up finish in last year's $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller.

Joshua Boulton (2,660,000), Paulius Vaitiekunas (2,600,000), and Brek Schutten (1,780,000) are the other three bracelet winners returning with a top 10 stack.

Lower down the counts, you find such luminaries as Daniel Rezaei (1,760,000), Dario Sammartino (1,665,000), Oliver Weis (1,545,000), Gabriel Andrade (1,480,000), Jon Kyte (1,370,000), Josh Arieh (1,020,000), Drew O'Connell (915,000), Jesse Lonis (575,000), and Upeshka De Silva (560,000).

The plan for Day 3 is to whittle the field down to only five players. Cards are back in the air from 12:00 p.m. local time on June 30, and PokerNews will be there to bring you all of the action.

Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

Day 1 of the $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship Draws in 156 Entrants

Matt Grapenthien won his bracelet in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship in 2014. Now, he is in pole position in Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship in 2026.

Day 1 saw 156 players take to the felt, but only 75 of them advanced to Day 2. Grapenthien (322,000) bagged up the most chips after eight hours at the table, pipping Bryce Yockey (321,500) to the post by a single 500-denomination chip.

The hot-running Calvin Anderson (253,500) bagged up a top 10 stack, as did Allan Le (210,000). Robert Mizrachi (197,000), Chris Hunichen (168,000), Chad Eveslage (156,500), Jerry Wong (155,000), Justin Liberto (151,500), Eli Elezra (133,000), Nick Guagenti (130,000), and Brian Yoon (122,000) are a small selection of the superstars who finished in the top half of the chip counts.

Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 30. Late registration remains open until the start of the 12th level, which will be around 2:15 p.m. local time.

Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 34 of the 2026 WSOP

Day 36 gets underway at 10:00 a.m. local time, which is when Day 1c of Event #72: $1,000 Mini Main Event kicks off. This should be the busiest of the trio of flights, so expect a bumper crowd to turn out for it.

Two in-play events resume at 12:00 p.m. local time. Day 3 of Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em and the final day of Event #74: $1,500 8-Game Mixed are both scheduled to shuffle up and deal at noon.

At 1:00 p.m. local time, it is Day 2 of Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

Two new events begin on June 30, starting with Event #76: $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha. Last year, this three-day event saw Shaun Deeb top a 121-strong field and bank $2,957,229 and his seventh bracelet.

Day 1 of Event #77: $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw Lowball is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. local time. Benny Glaser is the reigning champion having left 462 opponents in his wake in 2025. Glaser recently captured the $50,000 Poker Players Championship title and is one to watch in this event.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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• Tags WSOP26 Andrew Lichtenberger Bart Lybaert Bryce Yockey Calvin Anderson Dario Sammartino Eli Elezra Jesse Lonis Jon Kyte Josh Arieh Matt Grapenthien Michael Mizrachi Michael Moncek Robert Mizrachi Shaun Deeb Upeshka De Silva Viktor Blom

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