button in SafariEvent #5: $10,000 NLH
Day 1 Completed
2026 U.S. Poker Open
Event #5: $10,000 NLH
Day: 1
Players Left 6 / 80
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Final Table
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
There is a poker couple that is totally dominating the 2026 U.S. Poker Open (USPO) in Las Vegas, and, despite the fact that she won Wednesday's Event #4: $10,000 NLH, it isn't Kristen and Alex Foxen. No, the couple that it in control of the series is Cherish Andrews and Brock Wilson, who both won events, ran deep in Event #4, and then made the money in Wednesday's Event #5: $10,000 NLH.
Wilson, the champion of last month's PokerGO Cup, started the day by finishing fourth in Event #4 for $66,000 before bowing out in ninth place in Event #5 for $24,000. Meanwhile, Andrews, who finished eighth in Event #4 for $26,400, bagged the short stack as she continues to turn her "big sad downswing" into a career month.
The series leaderboard currently shows Wilson and Andrews in second and third place behind Jeremy Ausmus, who has had two runner-up finishes. But there will certainly be a leaderboard shake-up once the points from Event #5 are factored in.
There are six players left at the final table, including recent PokerGO Cup crusher Qinghai Pan, longtime pro Justin Zaki and rapper turned rounder Brandon Wilson, who bagged the chip lead.
Event #5 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Wilson | United States | 3,585,000 | 72 |
| 2 | Qinghai Pan | United States | 2,175,000 | 44 |
| 3 | Justin Zaki | United States | 1,585,000 | 32 |
| 4 | Peter Placey | United States | 1,375,000 | 28 |
| 5 | Anil Jivani | United States | 825,000 | 17 |
| 6 | Cherish Andrews | United States | 455,000 | 9 |
Just Beat It
The second $10,000 buy-in event of the series drew 80 runners for a prize pool of $800,000.
Much of the banter on Day 1 focused on a side bet going between the likes of Jeremy Becker, Chino Rheem, Justin Zaki, and the Foxens.
"It's me and you, Krissy!" Becker celebrated as he put Zaki on risk. But it was an early celebration as his opponent had pocket aces to double up and stay in contention — both in the tournament and the side bet.
Becker, who was wearing what Andrews described as Michael Jackson pants, may have jinxed himself and Foxen, who fell a few spots off the money. Becker then went out in 11th place, leaving Zaki to collect on the side bet.
Another highlight of the day occurred on the money bubble, when Jesse Lonis correctly guessed Anil Jivani's hand and even gave a free poker lesson to the table about his thought process.
"That's why you're the gorilla," Jivani told him.
Eight might be Nick Schulman's new least favorite number. The Poker Hall of Famer bowed out in eighth place on the final table bubble as his queens were cracked by Zaki's pocket eights, which were greeted by an eight in the window.
After that, Lonis lost two straight flips to be left with crumbs before a final confrontation with Zaki.
Day 2 action will kick off at 11:45 a.m. local time on Level 19 with blinds of 30,000/60,000/60,000. The action will be streamed on PokerGO, and the stream and PokerNews live updates will both be on a one-hour delay.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to see out Event #5. Check out the live reporting hub in the meantime.
*Photos courtesy of PokerGO
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,585,000
785,000
|
785,000 |
|
||
|
2,175,000
425,000
|
425,000 |
|
||
|
1,585,000
215,000
|
215,000 |
|
1,375,000
375,000
|
375,000 |
|
825,000
875,000
|
875,000 |
|
455,000
545,000
|
545,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Day 1 has ended with six players remaining with the completion of Level 19.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Jesse Lonis moved all in from early position as Justin Zaki isolated in late position.
Jesse Lonis: K♥J♦ 
Justin Zaki: 10♦10♠
The flop landed 10♣A♠5♣ to give Zaki a set, and Lonis couldn't hit Broadway to continue his spin-up as the board finished out 2♠K♣ to mark his elimination in seventh place for $32,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,800,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Brandon Wilson was all in for around 1,300,000 in the hijack against Jesse Lonis in the small blind.
Brandon Wilson: 9♥9♣
Jesse Lonis: A♣2♣
Wilson survived the flip as the board ran out Q♠4♦6♦2♥K♠ to earn him a double as Lonis was left with just 5,000, which he managed to spin up to 30,000 in the next hand against Justin Zaki.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,800,000
1,600,000
|
1,600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000
1,170,000
|
1,170,000 |
|
|
||
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Cherish Andrews open-jammed for around 450,000 on the button and Jesse Lonis called in the big blind.
Cherish Andrews: 8♠8♥
Jesse Lonis: K♣Q♣
Andrews survived the flip as the board ran out 9♦2♣A♠A♣3♠ to earn her a double.
A few hands later, Lonis doubled up Peter Placey as his A♦J♣ couldn't hit against Placey's 3♣3♥.
"It's hard to win a flip around here," said Lonis.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,200,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,000,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
|
1,000,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Placey | United States | 500,000 | 13 |
| 2 | Justin Zaki | United States | 1,600,000 | 40 |
| 3 | Anil Jivani | United States | 1,700,000 | 43 |
| 4 | Brandon Wilson | United States | 1,200,000 | 30 |
| 5 | Cherish Andrews | United States | 450,000 | 11 |
| 6 | Qinghai Pan | United States | 2,600,000 | 65 |
| 7 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 2,000,000 | 50 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,600,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,000,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
1,700,000 | |
|
|
1,600,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
1,200,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
500,000 | |
|
|
450,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Qinghai Pan opened to 80,000 in the cutoff and Justin Zaki three-bet jammed for around 860,000 in the small blind as Nick Schulman called in the big blind with slightly less. Pan got out of the way.
Nick Schulman: Q♥Q♦
Justin Zaki: 8♥8♠
Schulman gave a stoic nod as an eight appeared in the window on the flop of 6♥10♠8♦ as the board finnished out 7♦A♦ to mark the Poker Hall of Famer's elimination on the final table bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,200,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,600,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 18
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
There was a three-way all in between Cherish Andrews, Anil Jivani and Peter Placey, with Jivani being the shortest stack.
Anil Jivani: A♥3♦
Cherish Andrews: Q♥Q♦
Peter Placey: A♦4♦
The flop of 2♠K♠8♥ kept Andrews far in front, but the board finished out 3♥3♠ as Jivani made running threes to triple up on the final table bubble.
"LET'S F***ING GO!" he cheered after butting the tough beat on Andrews, who collected a small side pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,700,000
1,150,000
|
1,150,000 |
|
|
550,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
|
|
500,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
