2026 WSOP Day 48: Alex Foxen Among the Early Leaders in the $3K PLO 6-Max

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Jul 13, 2026 6 min read

The 48th day of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw seven events fill the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas as the series heads into a thrilling finale. Only one champion was crowned, but several other events whittled their fields to such a degree that four bracelets will be dished out tomorrow.

Sterling Lopez won the day's only bracelet after taking down Event #92: $3,000 T.O.R.S.E. for $247,842. Lopez defeated Jesse Lonis heads-up, resigning the two-time bracelet winner to a $1,60,862 consolation prize.

Of course, the Main Event continued on July 12. Its seventh day saw the field reduced to only 21 hopefuls, with the 2026 Aussie Millions Main Event champion Malcolm Trayner bagging the chip lead. A whole host of superstars are still in contention, including Shaun Deeb, Hossein Ensan, and Todd Brunson. Check out our recap of the WSOP Main Event Day 7 action to get up to speed.

Vivian Saliba and Alex Foxen Shine During Day 1 of the $3K PLO 6-Max

Day 1 of Event #96: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha saw 892 entrants reduced to a more manageable 158. Ukraine's Stanislav Halatenko (950,000) claimed the Day 1 chip lead, but it was some of the stellar names in the chasing pack that caught the eye.

888poker ambassador Vivian Saliba (788,000) showed her PLO prowess by bagging the second largest stack. Saliba won a €2,000 PLO event at the 2024 WSOP Europe festival.

A few places below Saliba is Alex Foxen (588,000), a man who needs no introduction. He recently captured his fourth bracelet, and it would take a brave person to bet against him adding a fifth piece of poker jewelry to his collection by the time this event wraps up in a couple of days.

Such luminaries as Robert Cowen (472,000), Ryan Riess 9374,000), Sam Soverel (344,000), Robert Mizrachi (216,000), Daniel Negreanu (111,000), Erik Seidel (98,000), and Chance Kornuth (74,000) also advanced to Day 2.

Day 2 begins at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 13, and the plan is to complete another 10 levels.

Event #96: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Only 12 Remain in the $300 Gladiators of Poker

Event #88: $300 Gladiators of Poker reached its third and final day with only 12 players from the 11,185 starters remaining. This event will mint a brand-new bracelet winner, with none of the dozen returning players having previously struck WSOP gold.

Luis Genel (61,800,000) is the man to catch going into the final day, followed by Johnny Oshana (51,600,000) and Kenneth Baime (40,500,000).

Play resumes at 11:00 a.m. local time on July 13, continuing until a champion emerges. That champion will take home $250,000.

Event #88: $300 Gladiators of Poker Day 2 Chip Counts

Yanting Jiang Holds a Huge Lead in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship

Yanting Jiang (30,925,000) celebrated her birthday in style by forging a sizable lead on the penultimate day of Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em. Only 16 players made it through to the fourth and final day, and Jiang bagged a stack that is almost twice as large as any other.

Some of the players to look out for on Day 4 include Maurice Hawkins (12,700,000), Punnat Punsri (11,400,000), Roberto Romanello (11,300,000), Darius Samual (6,350,000), Michael Rocco (6,000,000), and veteran Barry Shulman (4,075,000).

Cards are back in the air from 12:00 p.m. local time, with play continuing until a champion is crowned.

Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts

The Closer's Day 1b Field is Decimated; Nick Guagenti Weathers the Storm

The second flight for Event #93: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em drew 2,646 entrants to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. However, only 292 of those starters advanced to Day 2.

Nick Guagenti, fresh from a deep run in the $3,000 T.O.R.S.E. event, finished Day 1b of The Closer with 1,400,000 chips, the fourth most of the flight. Guagenti has done his chances of capturing a fourth bracelet no harm at all.

Others through to Day 2 include Anthony Marquez (1,390,000), Alen Bakovic (1,070,000), David Baker (1,065,000), Lukas Zaskodny (610,000), Benjamin Zamani (600,000), Brett Shaffer (565,000), Matt Glantz (515,000), Jim Collopy (415,000), Martin Jacobson (375,000), and Shiina Okamoto (225,000).

Day 2 sees 421 players return to their seats at 12:00 p.m. local time, with the plan to play down to a winner.

Event #93: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts

Fahredin Mustafov Holds a Big Lead After Day 2 of the $10,000 NLHE 6-Max

Even though a flurry of late registrants boosted the attendance of Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship's Day 2 field to 331, only 33 players advanced to Day 3.

Bulgarian Fahredin Mustafov (2,800,000), a bracelet winner at the recent WSOP Europe festival, finds himself at the top of the overnight chip counts with a 35 big blind lead over second-placed Justin Liberto (2,100,000). The United Kingdom's Jamie "Boz" O'Connor (1,935,000) rounds off the podium places.

This event drew out poker superstars in droves, and many still remain in contention for the $1,001,391 top prize. They include Calvin Anderson (1,700,000), David Peters (1,625,000), Aliaksei Boika (1,585,000), Eelis Parssinen (1,300,000), John Racener (1,075,000), Dong Chen (825,000), Asi Moshe (815,000), Xixiang Luo (405,000), and the short-stacked Dario Sammartino (185,000).

Players return at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 13. The plan is to play down to a winner, but that may change depending on how the tournament progresses, with the average stack exceeding 50 big blinds at the start of play.

Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

Martin Kabrhel Among the Leaders in the $500 Summer Saver

Love or loathe him, there's no denying Martin Kabrhel just loves playing poker. Although we are more used to seeing him battle it out in high-stakes events, Kabrhel finds himself among the chip leaders after Day 1a of Event #95: $500 Summer Saver No-Limit Hold'em.

The polarizing Czech grinder finished Day 1a with 1,075,000 chips, enough for fourth place at this early stage.

Kabrhel wasn't the only established player who navigated through the Day 1a minefield unscathed. Terence Reid (1,000,000), TJ Shulman (445,000), Andreas Frohli (300,000), Tamas Lendvai (285,000), Lara Eisenberg (255,000), Bryan Schultz (155,000), and Kevin Eyster (135,000) also punched their Day 2 tickets.

Day 1b kicks off at 10:00 a.m. local time. Its field is expected to be significantly larger than the 1,414 players who entered on Day 1a.

Event #95: $500 Summer Saver No-Limit Hold'em Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 49 of the 2026 WSOP

The 49th day of the 2026 WSOP features eight events at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with four expected to award their respective bracelets.

July 13 kicks off nice and early at 10:00 a.m. local time with Day 1b of Event #95: $500 Summer Saver No-Limit Hold'em.

An hour later is when Day 8 of Event #82: $10,000 Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship shuffles up and deals. By the end of Day 8, the nine-handed final table will be set, and each of those finalists will instantly become millionaires.

The final day of Event #88: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em also starts at 11:00 a.m. local time on July 13.

At noon, it is the final day of both Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em and Event #93: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em, before the final day of Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship, and Day 2 of Event #96: $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em explode into action from 1:00 p.m. local time.

Only one new event starts on Day 49 of the 2026 WSOP, doing so at 2:00 p.m. local time. Expect the biggest names in poker to enter Event #97: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. Last year, 150 entrants created a $3,525,000 prize pool. Chad Eveslage came out on top and took home $883,841.

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 Alex Foxen Aliaksei Boika Calvin Anderson Chad Eveslage Daniel Negreanu Dario Sammartino Erik Seidel Hossein Ensan Jesse Lonis Malcolm Trayner Nick Guagenti Maurice Hawkins Matt Glantz Martin Kabrhel Martin Jacobson Robert Romanello Roberto Romanel

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