Event #6: $25,000 NLH Main Event
Day 1bc Completed
Event #6: $25,000 NLH Main Event
Day 1bc Completed
The $25,000 Main Event continued with Day 1b at the 2026 Onyx High Roller Series drawing 98 entries in the second starting flight of the $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool event. By the time play wrapped up for the night, 15 players remained to bag chips and progress to Day 2 inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa.
When play came to an end, Joni Jouhkimainen topped the chip counts after bagging 3,630,000. He was followed closely by Daniel Rezaei with 3,225,000. Quan Zhou rounded out the top three on 2,485,000, while Matthias Lipp finished fourth with 2,000,000 as the last player to breach the two-million mark.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | 3,630,000 | 91 |
| 2 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 3,225,000 | 81 |
| 3 | Quan Zhou | China | 2,485,000 | 62 |
| 4 | Matthias Lipp | Austria | 2,000,000 | 50 |
| 5 | Geoffrey Mooney | Australia | 1,750,000 | 44 |
| 6 | Jessica Teusl | Austria | 1,655,000 | 41 |
| 7 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 1,645,000 | 41 |
| 8 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 1,500,000 | 38 |
| 9 | Eyal Eshkar | Israel | 1,400,000 | 35 |
| 10 | Harout Ghazarian | Canada | 1,345,000 | 34 |
Jouhkimainen max-late registered, sitting down just after the dinner break, and it didn’t take long for him to surge up the chip counts. He picked up a huge boost when Pieter Aerts four-bet jammed pocket tens into his aces, before winning a big pot multi-way where he put Mehdi Chaoui to the test on the river. Then, on the soft bubble, Jouhkimainen scooped a pot worth over 1.5 million against Adrian State, rivering a baby flush and cementing his position at the summit by the end of the night.
An unusual and unenviable Onyx record fell to State, who bubbled the Main Event for a second straight day, once again from the very same table. After stone bubbling Day 1a by shoving ace-nine into ace-jack, State met a similar fate on Day 1b, four-bet jamming close to 30 big blinds with big slick on the direct bubble, only to run into Rezaei’s pocket aces in a cruel case of deja vu.
Among the other notables to make it through were Jessica Teusl (1,655,000), Mikita Badziakouski (1,645,000), and defending champion Fahredin Mustafov (1,500,000), who knows exactly what it takes to go all the way in this event. Also safely into the money were the ever-talkative Daniil Kiselev (1,100,000), and Aren Bezhanyan (905,000), who spent a long stretch of Day 1b near the top of the counts.
With Day 1c Turbo having closed late registration and drawing 44 entries, the total field stands at 207 across the three opening flights. All surviving players will reconvene for Day 2 at 1 p.m. on Thursday, February 5, with the blinds rolled back to the earliest finishing level and 60-minute levels starting as the tournament plays down to the final table.
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | February 5 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Day 3 Final Table | February 6 | 1 p.m. | Hands-per-level |
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued live coverage of the $25,000 Main Event, which resumes for Day 2 at the 2026 Onyx High Roller Series.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,550,000
2,550,000
|
2,550,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,055,000
2,055,000
|
2,055,000 |
|
|
2,005,000
2,005,000
|
2,005,000 |
|
|
1,700,000
1,700,000
|
1,700,000 |
|
|
1,550,000
1,550,000
|
1,550,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
620,000
620,000
|
620,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
540,000
540,000
|
540,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,630,000
830,000
|
830,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,225,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
2,485,000
185,000
|
185,000 |
|
|
2,000,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
1,750,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
1,655,000
215,000
|
215,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,645,000
545,000
|
545,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,500,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,400,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
|
|
1,345,000
595,000
|
595,000 |
|
|
1,100,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
905,000
1,335,000
|
1,335,000 |
|
|
905,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
|
585,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
|
360,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
|
||
Play has finished for Day 1b of the Main Event.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a full recap of the day's action.
Adrian State made it 80,000 from under the gun before Daniel Rezaei three-bet to 220,000 from the cutoff. When it got back to State, he four-bet all in for 1,180,000, and Rezaei snap-called.
Adrian State: A♥K♣
Daniel Rezaei: A♠A♦
State stone bubbled the opening flight of the Main Event yesterday, and looked very likely to be the bubble boy again.
The flop of 4♣2♥6♣ provided no help for State, but he picked up a flush draw on the J♣ turn. The dealer burned a card, then put out the 3♦ on the river to complete the board, keeping Rezaei's pocket aces ahead.
State was the last elimination of the day again, and the remaining 15 players had all made it to Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,225,000
1,275,000
|
1,275,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
With 16 players left and 15 spots available on Day 2, the tournament has now entered the hand-for-hand stage
Eelis Parssinen raised to 80,000 under the gun with Mikita Badziakouski calling from the cutoff, Daniil Kiselev calling on the button, Geoffrey Mooney calling in the small blind, and Yulian Bogdanov defending from the big blind
Everyone at the table checked the J♣6♥2♥ flop to see the 5♠ on the turn. When it got to Badziakouski, he bet 130,000, and only Mooney called.
Mooney checked again on the 3♠ river and Badziakouski bet 200,000. Mooney check-raised to 400,000, and got a quick fold from Badziakouski.
Parssinen was eliminated a few hands later and the tournament is now on the bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,950,000
1,650,000
|
1,650,000 |
|
|
1,150,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
|
1,100,000
610,000
|
610,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
725,000
245,000
|
245,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Klemens Roiter jammed from the cutoff for around 470,000 and the action folded around to Eelis Parssinen in the big blind. Parssinen, who was multi-tabling Day 1b, and the Day 1c Turbo, reluctantly called for his last 70,000.
Eelis Parssinen: 9♥2♠
Klemens Roiter: Q♠10♠
Parssinen was in bad shape against Roiter, although he did have two live cards at least.
The K♠6♥3♠ flop gave Roiter a flush draw and took away a few of Parssinen's outs.
The K♥ came on the turn and Parssinen asked the dealer, "Miracle?"
And a miracle is what he got as the offsuit 2♣ came on the river to keep him alive in this flight.
At another table Adrian Mateos was seen heading to the exit and has been eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
400,000
360,000
|
360,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
320,000
480,000
|
480,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Level: 16
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 40,000