2026 WSOP Day 9: Hellmuth Reaches Final 13 in the $10K 2-7 Championship

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Jun 04, 2026 9 min read

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) seems to be getting better and better with each passing day. Day 9 of the 2026 WSOP had everything. There were incredibly sick bad beats, winning hands being mucked, world champions ending cash droughts, three bracelets won, and it seemed like poker royalty was seated at every table.

Let's start PokerNews' daily recap with the trio of players who got their hands, or should that be wrists, on poker's most sought-after jewelry.

PhD student Honghao Zhang was the first bracelet winner of the day. He triumphed in Event #13: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em. Zhang's victory came with $346,108, which should make him one of the more affluent students on the Georgia Tech campus! This was Zhang's first cash in a bracelet-awarding event, making the victory all the more impressive.

Event #14: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better also crowned its champion, and Justin Liberto was that man. Liberto's impressive victory came 11 years after he won his first WSOP bracelet. He is now the proud owner of two bracelets; this one came with $265,297 in cash, too.

Bracelet number three of Day 9 came in Event #15: $600 Deepstack Pot-Limit Omaha. Cigar-loving Philip Ardire was the player who came out on top and who claimed the $171,589 top prize. Ardire headed to the WSOP without a set schedule, but he decided to jump into this event; what a decision that turned out to be.

Only 13 Remain in the $10,000 NL 2-7, Including Shaun Deeb and Phil Hellmuth

Event #17: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship has reached its final day. Only 13 players remain and they own 44 bracelets between them! That's an impressive number helped by the fact a certain Phil Hellmuth (620,000) possesses 17 gold bracelets, and is again within touching distance of winning his 18th.

Hellmuth goes into the final day with the third-shortest stack but still with 31 big blinds in his arsenal, so he's not out of the hunt by any means. However, he does have plenty of work to do if he is to capture his 18th bracelet, and he faces some incredible poker players on the final day.

Shaun Deeb (1,530,000) is just one of those elite-level players still in the field. Deeb returns to the fray with the second-largest stack, only a couple of big blinds behind Japan's Ryutaro Suzuki (1,570,000). Deeb already has eight bracelets and has come agonizingly close to winning his ninth on several occasions. This could be the event where he adds more WSOP hardware to his collection.

With the recent banter between Deeb and Hellmuth, the poker community may secretly be hoping for a Deeb/Hellmuth heads-up battle!

The likes of Naoya Kihara (1,155,000), John Monnette (955,000), John Cynn (825,000), Alex Foxen (785,000), Chad Eveslage (770,000), and Jason Daly (515,000) are all looking to win another bracelet when play resumes on June 4.

Cards are back in the air from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 4. The 13 returning players will fight it out over 90-minute levels until only one of them has chips in front of them. Who's your money on?

Event #17: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship Final Day Chip Counts

$10,000 GGMillion$ Field Reduced to Only Eight; Naseem Salem Leads

Event #11: $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller is down to its final eight players after another action-packed day at the WSOP-branded tables. At the start of Day 3, some 64 players sat down ready for battle, but they were reduced to a final table of eight throughout the day.

Naseem Salem (14,800,000) and Alexis Cruz Martinez (12,300,000) are the two front-runners heading into the final day's play; both are the only returning players armed with eight-figure stacks. Salem has only a handful of Hendon Mob cashes, but among them are some impressive results.

For example, a deep run in the 2007 WSOP Main Event earned Salem $154,194. More recently, in 2024, he was the runner-up in the $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty event, earning $208,919. Now, Salem and his last seven opponents have locked in $105,178 and are close to securing a $1,089,964 top prize.

A whole host of stars make up the rest of the final table. Chad Lipton (7,900,000) occupies third place at the restart, while Chris Brewer (7,600,000) and Roman Hrabec (7,100,000) round off the top five.

Cliff Josephy (6,800,000), formerly known as "JohnnyBax" in the online poker streets, is also through to Day 4, as are John Racener (4,300,000) and Joey Weissman (1,900,000), the latter bringing up the rear with a sub-10 big blind stack.

These eight poker Goliaths return to the table at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 4, with the action being live-streamed for free on the WSOP's YouTube channel. That stream begins at 3:30 p.m. local time.

Event #11: $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts

Antonio Vargas Leads After Day 2 of the $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship

The inaugural Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship has reached its final day, and only 32 of the 2,148 entrants remain in contention to become its champion. Day 2 saw 381 players returning to the seats, and ended with Antonio Vargas (8,435,000) bagging up the largest stack.

Vargas is a regular at Bally's Black Hawk in his native Colorado, where he regularly final tables low-stakes tournaments. This is the deepest Vargas has gone in a bracelet-awarding event.

Robert Kuhn (8,070,000) is Vargas' nearest opponent going into the third and final day. Both players will have to contend with bracelet winners Pei Li (3,845,000), Kartik Ved (3,825,000), and Shawn Daniels (1,065,000), while Lexy Gavin-Mather (880,000) is only a double-up away from being able to make a real nuisance of herself.

Play resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 4 and continues until a champion emerges.

Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

First of Four Monster Stack Flights Attracts 1,514 Entrants

Day 1a of Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack drew in a 1,514-stong crowd, setting the tone for the rest of the tournament; this thing will be huge, perhaps even monster-sized! Of those 1,514 entrants, 538 progressed to Day 2a.

Among the Day 1a survivors was five-time bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel (296,500), who bagged up enough chips for 31st place. Kabrhel may be controversial, but there's no denying he is a phenomenal poker talent with a knack for going deep in prestigious events.

Israel's Uri Reichenstein (404,500) finished Day 1a in the top 10 and will fancy his chances of becoming a WSOP bracelet winner in a few days' time. As will the likes of Zhijian Zhang (607,000), David McMillan (555,000), and David Kowal (467,500), who rounded off the podium places.

This Will End Up as One of the Grossest Bad Beats at the 2026 WSOP

Check out the hand

Dozens of bracelet winners and $25K Fantasy Draft picks progressed from this opening flight. Allyn Shulman (286,000), Patrick Leonard (239,000), Michael Noori (185,500), Qui Nguyen (176,500), Barry Shulman (126,000), Kathy Liebert (125,500), John Juanda (119,000), Aram Zobian (106,500), Michael Gathy (93,000), Chris Moorman (85,000), and Chris Hunichen (50,000) are just a small selection of superstars to look out for on Day 2a.

Talking of which, the Day 1a survivors are right back in the thick of it on Day 2a, which starts at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 4. This runs alongside Day 1b, which should see another huge field descend on the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts

Day 1 of the $25,000 NLHE Was a Star-Studded Affair

As you would expect from such a high-stakes tournament, Event #19: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em saw some of the best poker players in the business exchange $25,000 for 150,000 chips and the chance to become a WSOP champion.

Eighty-one entries were processed on the first of two flights, with only 25 needing to bag up chips as the curtain came down on the day's proceedings.

Daniel Rezaei (1,176,000) topped the counts and was the only player to break through one million chips. Rezaei won his bracelet at the 2025 WSOP Paradise, taking down the $50,000 NLHE High Roller for a cool $1,900,000.

The excellently named Turbo Nguyen (928,000) was the player who came closest to catching Rezaei, while Dejan Kaladjurdjevic (877,000) bagged and tagged the third-largest stack in the room.

Also through to Day 2 are such luminaries as Dylan Weisman (758,000), Thomas Muehloecker(743,000), Stephen Chidwick (550,000), Chris Hunichen (425,000), Josh Reichard (269,000), and Jason Koon (156,000).

Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 4, and another all-star cast is expected. One re-entry is permitted until the end of Level 9, which is the first level on Day 2.

Event #19: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Day 1A Top 10 Chip Counts

Mixed Game Specialists Descend on the $1,500 Dealers Choice

Most poker players learn the intricacies of one or two games. Some go a step further and learn a third. However, the 656 players who turned up for Day 1 of Event #20: $1,500 Dealers Choice know how to play 20 poker variants!

Veteran Luis Velador (366,000) topped the chip counts at the close of play, as 132 players bagged their chips. Tobias Leknes of Norway (324,000) is one of the world's most-feared mixed game players, and he showed why, finishing second on the day.

Others who shone in this crazy mixed game event included Allan Le (265,000) and Dario Sammartino (236,000), who both bagged and tagged top 10 stacks. Ryan Hughes (207,500), Jeff Masden (202,500), Nick Schulman (165,000), Chino Rheem (151,500), James Obst (147,000), and Yuval Bronshtein (136,500) also ended Day 1 in the top half of the chip counts.

The second of three days in this event starts at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 4, with the returning players tasked with completing another 10 levels.

Event #20: $1,500 Dealers Choice Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 10 of the 2026 WSOP

Can you believe that the 2026 WSOP started almost 10 days ago? Well, it did, and it hits double digits on June 4. There are seven bracelet-awarding events taking place throughout the day, consisting of six in-play tournaments and one newcomer to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

You'll need to be up bright and early if you are planning to take a shot at Day 1b of Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack because cards are in the air from 10:00 a.m. local time. Another huge crowd is expected, so it could be a good idea to use the WSOP LIVE app to buy in and skip the queues.

At 11:00 a.m. local time, the 538 surviving players from Day 1a of Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack compete on Day 2a.

Three events shuffle up and deal as the clock strikes 12:00 p.m. local time, starting with the final day of Event #11: $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller, where the champion will take home the best part of $1.1 million.

It's also the final day time in Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship at noon, and Day 1b of Event #19: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em, the field in the latter is expected to read like a who's who of the poker world.

Two in-play events resume at 1:00 p.m. local time. We shall see a champion crowned in Event #17: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, and the second of three days in Event #20: $1,500 Dealers Choice.

The only new addition to Day 10 starts at 2:00 p.m. local time, sharp. At this time, Event #21: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better gets underway. Last year, this event saw David Shmuel leave 909 opponents in his wake as he got his hands on $205,333 and his first gold bracelet. Fifteen levels, each lasting 40 minutes, are planned on Day 1.

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 2026 WSOP Alex Foxen Chris Hunichen Chris Moorman Dario Sammartino Justin Liberto John Monnette John Juanda Jason Koon Martin Kabrhel Michael Gathy Patrick Leonard Sergio Aido Shaun Deeb Phil Hellmuth Thomas Muehloecker

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