Michael Hager Sets the Pace on Day 1b of PokerStars Open Philadelphia Main Event
Action has finished for the day at the 2026 PokerStars Open Philadelphia series, where another 144 entrants joined the field of the $1,100 Main Event.
That brings the total to 269 entries through two flights at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, with 18 remaining players from tonight’s action joining the 16 survivors from Day 1a after bagging in the money.
That leaves the event more than halfway to reaching the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool, with two more flights to come before playing down to a champion on Sunday, March 22.
Leading the way after the second flight is Pennsylvania native Michael Hager, who collected a total of 637,000 before the night came to an end. Hager boasts more than $800,000 in career earnings according to The Hendon Mob, and sits in a great position for a deep run heading into the final day.
Hager’s total is far shy of tge Day 1a chip leader Abel Gebeyehu (992,000), but leaves him in third spot on the overall leaderboard to this point.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Hager | United States | 637,000 | 80 |
| 2 | Michael McNicholas | United States | 610,000 | 76 |
| 3 | Anthony Pagan | United States | 504,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Edward Leonard | United States | 496,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Mykhailo Lendel | United States | 482,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Robert Hwang | United States | 481,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Jennifer Shahade | United States | 419,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Glenn Segal | United States | 351,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Sergio Loureiro | United States | 266,000 | 33 |
| 10 | Orson Young | United States | 236,000 | 30 |
Day 2 Notables
Among the notable names in action on Day 1b was PokerStars Ambassador Jennifer Shahade, who steadily built a stack throughout the day before making a big call in the second-last level of the night to vault up the leaderboard. Shahade eventually bagged up 419,000 chips, good for seventh on the day.
Another familiar face in the field was Edward Leonard, who took the title in this event last year for $126,507 after a three-way deal. The defending champion lost a big chunk of his stack at the start of Level 13, but battled back to sit in fourth spot with 496,000 to carry into Day 2.
Tim Faro made a deep run, but ran queens into aces before the bubble to fall at the hands of Mykhailo Lendel (482,000).
Evan Barnett was more fortunate, as he doubled twice on the direct bubble to earn a spot in the money. That left Jeffrey Chang as the bubble boy, losing his stack to an ace on the river that brought an end to the day.
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$1,100 Main Event Remaining Schedule
| Date | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mar. 20 | Day 1c | 11:15 a.m. |
| Mar. 21 | Day 1d | 10:15 a.m. |
| Mar. 22 | Day 2 | 11:15 a.m. |
Two more flights remain this week, with Day 1c kicking off at 11:15 a.m. local time on Friday, March 20. The structure will continue to see 40-minute levels, and play continuing until just 12.5% of the field remains.
Players will begin with 40,000 chips, seeing an opening blind level of 100/100 to start the day. Breaks will be 15 minutes long, scheduled after every three levels of action while a dinner break will commence following Level 9.
Late registration remains open until the start of Level 13, with unlimited reentries permitted throughout each flight. The surviving players will join those who bagged up on the opening two flights, to battle in the money on Sunday, March 22.
Be sure to follow along, as the PokerNews live reporting and social media teams will be inside the ropes to bring you all of the exciting action from Philadelphia.