Action was heads up on the completed board showing Q♠8♠J♠Q♦Q♥, and a bet of 27,000 in front of Russ Dunlevy in the big blind.
Mykhailo Lendel took some time in middle position, sliding out a raise to 65,000. That sent Dunlevy into the tank, telling the table that he had only one move.
That move was to make the call, and Lendel turned over K♥K♦ for queens full of kings. Dunlevy nodded his head as he showed J♥9♣ for an inferior full house, and Lendel collected the pot.
Roger Lussier moved his short stack all in from middle position and was at risk against chip leader Rajath Tangam, who called in the small blind.
Roger Lussier: A♣9♥
Rajath Tangam: Q♣10♦
Lussier was safe through the J♠7♥4♦ flop, and on the verge of a double after the 5♠ turn. Tangam then spiked the Q♥ river, sending Lussier to the rail early in the day.
After four gruelling flights at the 2026 PokerStars Open Philadelphia series, the time has come to play down to a champion in the $1,100 Main Event.
The tournament attracted a total of 896 entries, easily exceeding the advertised guarantee to create a prize pool of $860,160. That will be up for grabs today at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, when the final 114 players return at 11:15 a.m. local time.
The top three in the chip counts led their opening flights, with Rajath Tangam (1,100,000) sitting on top as the only player to bag more than a million chips. That came during the third flight, where Tangam finished with a lead of almost 400,000 chips over his nearest competitor.
Tangam holds a smaller advantage in the overall counts, as Day 1a leader Abel Gebeyehu (992,000) came the closest to joining the seven-figure club. The final flight was led by Lingkun Lu (862,000), who bagged up a slim lead in the largest flight to round out the top three.
The other flight leader was Michael Hager (637,000), who collected the most chips on Day 1b but sits 11th overall heading into the final day of action.
$1,100 Main Event Top Ten Overall Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Rajath Tangam
United States
1,100,000
2
Abel Gebeyehu
United States
992,000
3
Lingkun Lu
United States
862,000
4
Sean Coates
United States
810,000
5
Greg Himmelbrand
United States
809,000
6
Yunye Lu
China
744,000
7
David Kinane
United States
724,000
8
Thilbaud Martin
France
721,000
9
Angel Lopez
United States
651,000
10
Daniel Fisher
United States
637,000
Jennifer Shahade
While others were busy trying to earn a spot in the money over the final two flights, PokerStars AmbassadorJennifer Shahade (419,000) had taken care of that on Day 1b and left herself free to hit the felt in other events.
That included the Women's event, which Shahade took down on Friday night to capture her very first spade. She'll now be hunting for a bigger first-place prize, joined in the field by fellow Team Pro Arlie Shaban (427,000) as both sit in the middle of the pack entering the money.
Another storyline to watch will be Edward Leonard (496,000), who claimed the PokerStars trophy in this very event last year for $126,507 after a three-way deal.
PokerStars Open Philadelphia Main Event Trophy
$1,100 Main Event Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
$126,705
10-12
$9,400
55-63
$4,000
2
$80,705
13-15
$8,600
64-72
$3,650
3
$56,400
16-18
$7,800
73-81
$3,300
4
$41,400
19-21
$7,000
82-90
$3,000
5
$31,400
22-24
$6,400
91-98
$2,700
6
$25,400
25-27
$5,800
99-108
$2,450
7
$20,400
28-36
$5,200
109-114
$2,200
8
$15,900
37-45
$4,800
9
$12,400
46-54
$4,400
Action will begin with 5:00 remaining of Level 16, where blinds will be 3,000/6,000 along with a 6,000 big blind ante. The clock will remain at 40 minutes for each level, with 15-minute breaks after every two hours of play.
The final 114 players all return in the money, having locked up at least $2,200. The top prize of $126,705 awaits the champion, along with the coveted trophy at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be there every step of the way, so be sure to stay tuned as we play down to a winner in the PokerStars Open Philadelphia Main Event.
