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$25,500 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2026 Onyx High Roller Series
$25,500 Main Event
Day: 1a
Players Left 38 / 255
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Level 16
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
An action-packed opening flight of the $25,500 Main Event has come to an end inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, on a day that saw the best of the fireworks save themselves for the last few hands of the night.
As expected, the marquee event of the Onyx High Roller Series attracted a star-studded field, thanks in part to its $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. By the time late registration closed on the first of three starting flights, 113 players had come through the doors and taken their seats.
With each starting flight ending once just 15 per cent of the field remained, the bubble bursting also signalled the end of the day's play. In this flight, that meant just 17 players were guaranteed to make it through to Day 2, and when those who survived bagged their chips, they were also guaranteed a place in the money.
Leading the way into Day 2, Fahredin Mustafov knows exactly what it takes to find success in this event. Mustafov took down the $25,750 Onyx SHRS Main Event in 2025 for $1,300,000, and almost exactly twelve months later, he picked up where he left off.
A constant presence near the top of the leaderboard throughout the day, Mustafov put the cherry on top of a good day's work by bursting the bubble, with the chips won in that hand taking his stack to 3,555,000, propelling him to the top of the leaderboard.
Closest behind the chip leader, Aliaksandr Shylko bagged 2,920,000, while Ali Al-Kubasi completed the top three with 2,640,000.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 3,555,000 | 89 |
| 2 | Aliaksandr Shylko | Belarus | 2,920,000 | 73 |
| 3 | Ali Al-Kubasi | Iraq | 2,640,000 | 66 |
| 4 | Danilo Velasevic | Serbia | 2,330,000 | 58 |
| 5 | Manuel Fritz | Austria | 1,610,000 | 40 |
| 6 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 1,410,000 | 35 |
| 7 | Raoul Kanme | Netherlands | 1,325,000 | 33 |
| 8 | Aleksei Gortikov | Russian Federation | 1,080,000 | 27 |
| 9 | Zorlu Er | Turkey | 1,030,000 | 26 |
| 10 | Sondre Stormyr | Norway | 745,000 | 19 |
Only slightly behind the chip leaders, Manuel Fritz will return with 1,610,000. The Austrian high-roller regular was one of three players at risk of elimination on the bubble, but not content with just surviving, he used the momentum to finish the day with a top-five stack to take into Day 2.
Elsewhere in the counts, Daniel Rezaei (1,410,000), Raoul Kanme (1,325,000), Arsenii Karmatckii (725,000), and Weiran Pu (665,000) are also among those who successfully punched their tickets to Day 2.
It was a different story for several well-known names, with Sergio Aido, Artur Martirosian, Manig Loeser, Eelis Parssinen, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Oliver Weis and Alex Kulev among those unable to make it through the opening flight. They will now have to regroup and try again in one of the remaining Day 1 flights.
Bubble Chaos
With the tournament down to its final three tables and sitting on the stone bubble, an almost unheard-of sequence of events unfolded: a player was at risk of elimination on all three tables at the same time.
Remarkably, all three survived.
While Daniel Koloszar and Zorlu Er got their money in good, Fritz had to survive the hard way. As the last of the three all-ins to reach showdown, with his two fellow bubble players already safely surviving, the Austrian had seemingly the entire room sweating the action. He was behind preflop, on the flop and still on the turn, but spiked the river to complete the unlikely escape and would go on to bag one of the biggest stacks of the day.
Then, just a couple of hands later, Julian Pineda Lozano was left with the unenviable distinction of bursting the bubble. In a four-bet pot, Lozano moved all in preflop but ran straight into the pocket aces of the soon-to-be chip leader, Mustafov. The board offered no help, leaving Lozano to watch as the remaining 17 players bagged their chips and advanced to Day 2.
Fortunately for Lozano and all those who failed to make it through, two more starting flights remain. Day 1c gets underway at 1 p.m. local time tomorrow, August 12, before the turbo Day 1d flight takes place at 9 p.m., with levels shortened to 20 minutes.
Unlimited reentries are permitted for both flights, giving those who fell short today two more opportunities to try and advance to Day 2.
Remaining $25,500 Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 12 | Day 1b | 1 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| August 12 | Day 1c | 9 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| August 13 | Day 2 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| August 14 | Final Day | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes/Hands per level |
Be sure to keep it locked in with PokerNews, as we bring you the action live from the felt until a $25,500 Main Event champion is crowned.
Level 16
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Level 16
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
With the most recent elimination bursting the bubble, the surviving players have bagged their chips and headed into the night.
Stay tuned for the end-of-day chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 16
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Julian Pineda Lozano raised to 80,000 from under the gun, and Fahredin Mustafov three-bet to 240,000 in the hijack. Lozano responded with a four-bet shove for 960,000, and Mustafov snap-called.
Julian Pineda Lozano: J♠J♥ 
Fahredin Mustafov: A♠A♥
The 9♣3♦3♣ flop offered Lozano no help, and when the A♣ hit the turn, he was left drawing stone dead.
The K♣ completed the board, and while Lozano was left contemplating the fact that he had bubbled the flight, the rest of the players began bagging their chips, ready for Day 2.
Level 16
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
There was an all-in and a call at all three of the remaining tables, on the bubble at the same time.
The first showdown was between Daniel Koloszar, who had moved all in for 335,000 from under the gun, and Julian Pineda Lozano called to put him at risk.
Daniel Koloszar: 8♠8♣
Julian Pineda Lozano: A♥J♣
Koloszar spiked a set on the flop, with the full 8♥J♦6♠A♦4♥ board seeing him survive.
One table over, Zorlu Er was all in against Ali Al-Kubasi.
Zorlu Er: A♥Q♥
Ali Al-Kubasi: A♣8♠
The 6♣10♦K♥5♣5♠ board was safe for Er, whose higher kicker earned him a double-up.
The final all-in saw Manuel Fritz at risk, having jammed all in for 795,000 over an Aliaksandr Shylko open, who called.
Manuel Fritz: K♦10♣
Aliaksandr Shylko: A♥Q♠
The 7♦8♠J♦5♦ board had Fritz with one foot out the door, but the 10♥ river came to his rescue, ensuring all three at-risk players survived the bubble.
Level 16
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
The recent elimination of Jovan Kenjic has brought the tournament to the stone bubble, and play will continue hand-for-hand until the bubble bursts.
Level: 16
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 40,000
Level 15
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
The remaining 20 players are taking a 15-minute break.
Level 15
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Anze Smajd moved all in for 225,000 from the cutoff and was at risk when Aleksandras Rusinovas called on the button.
Anze Smajd: K♦9♦
Aleksandras Rusinovas: K♥Q♥
A perilous situation soon turned around for Smajd, as the 6♦4♠7♥9♣8♦ board saw him overcome his dominated position to claim a double-up.
While that hand was happening, Sergio Aido was eliminated on the neighbouring table.
