button in SafariAlex Foxen Bags Commanding Lead in Event #7: $10k NLH
The fourth and final $10,000 buy-in event of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open drew 70 entries, and after 17 levels, just five players remain in contention for the lion’s share of the $700,000 prize pool.
Alex Foxen ended the night atop the counts with 4,820,000, well over half the total chips in play. Foxen began pulling away from the rest of the field after delivering a brutal beat to Cary Katz on the stone bubble. Catz was all-in on the turn with a set of sevens against Foxen's top two pair, and a board-pairing ten on the river confirmed Katz as the bubble boy while vaulting Foxen into the chip lead. From there, Foxen earned many more pots without showdown through relentless aggression en route to bagging the largest stack.
Foxen is most closely followed by Jeremy Ausmus, who will be making his third final table of the series in this event. Qinghai Pan, Michael Berk and Aram Zobian round out the final five.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Foxen | United States | 4,820,000 | 96 |
| 2 | Qinghai Pan | United States | 820,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Michael Berk | United States | 485,000 | 10 |
| 4 | Aram Zobian | United States | 545,000 | 11 |
| 5 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 2,095,000 | 42 |
Among the players to make the money tonight but fall before the final five were Chino Rheem (10th - $21,000), Sean Winter ($9th - $21,000) and Shannon Shorr ($28,000).
The final five players have each locked up at least a $52,500 payday, while the $210,000 top prize awaits the eventual winner.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $210,000 | ||
| 2 | $136,500 | ||
| 3 | $94,500 | ||
| 4 | $70,000 | ||
| 5 | $52,500 | ||
| 6 | Sam Laskowitz | United States | $38,500 |
| 7 | John Andress | United States | $28,000 |
The action resumes tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. with 33 minutes left on Level 18 and the blinds at 25,000/50,000 (50,000). The final table will be streamed on the PokerGO YouTube channel.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates and continued coverage of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open.