Gha Iakobishvili, already with one final table appearance at the 2026 Onyx High Roller Series, is poised for another deep run as he takes a massive chip lead into Day 2 of the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Opener.
Iakobishvili leads the 31 players who return for Day 2 at the Merit Royal Diamond Casino & Spa at 1 p.m. local time. He takes a stack of 1,976,000 into the day, far ahead of his closest challenger, Fahredin Mustafov with 1,400,000. The Russian high-stakes cash game player is coming off an eighth-place finish in the $100,000 High Roller Championship last night.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|
| 1 | Gha Iakobishvili | Russia | 1,976,000 | 165 |
| 2 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 1,400,000 | 117 |
| 3 | Ran Azor | Israel | 1,217,000 | 101 |
| 4 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | 1,125,000 | 94 |
| 5 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | 1,025,000 | 85 |
| 6 | Damir Gabdullin | Russia | 989,000 | 82 |
| 7 | Maximilian Wieser | Austria | 976,000 | 81 |
| 8 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 881,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Roman Stoika | Russia | 739,000 | 62 |
| 10 | Thomas Muehlocker | Austria | 739,000 | 62 |
Ran Azor (1,217,000), Alex Kulev (1,125,000), and Boris Kolev (1,025,000) round out the top five. Other players returning for Day 2 include Maksim Shornikau (881,000), Thomas Muehlocker (739,000), Klemens Roiter (574,000), Toni Kaukua (558,000), and Mehdi Chaoui (546,000). Further down the leaderboard are Alexandre Reard (392,000), Daniel Rezaei (361,000), Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (241,000), and Ottomar Ladva (206,000).
A total of 207 players entered over three starting flights, building a prize pool of $1,945,800. Players are already in the money and have locked up $18,000, while the eventual champion earns $425,000. The action picks up with 22 minutes remaining in Level 15 with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and a 12,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 40 minutes long until the final table, when they will switch to hand-for-hand.
Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | $425,000 | 9 | $46,800 |
| 2 | $275,000 | 10-11 | $40,000 |
| 3 | $200,000 | 12-13 | $34,000 |
| 4 | $150,000 | 14-17 | $29,000 |
| 5 | $107,000 | 18-20 | $25,000 |
| 6 | $80,000 | 21-23 | $21,000 |
| 7 | $63,000 | 24-31 | $18,000 |
| 8 | $53,000 | | |
The final table will be streamed on the Onyx Club official YouTube channel as they play down to a champion today. PokerNews will also be providing live updates, so stay tuned for all the action.
Tags:
Alex KulevAlexandre ReardBoris KolevDaniel RezaeiFahredin MustafovGha IakobishviliGiorgiy SkhulukhiyaKlemens RoiterMaksim ShornikauMehdi ChaouiOttomar LadvaRan AzorThomas MuehlockerToni Kaukua
