button in SafariFinal Starting Flight of 2026 Oklahoma State Championship of Poker Kicks Off at 11:00 a.m.
One starting flight has come and gone, and one remains in the 2026 Oklahoma State Championship of Poker $800 Main Event. Yesterday’s Day 1a saw nine players advance to Day 2 from a field of 146 entries. Today, a new group of players will descend on the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in the hopes of replicating their success.
Brad Stevens finished Day 1a with the chip lead at 888,000. Stevens went on a heater shortly after the bubble burst, eliminating fellow big-stack Daniel Hughes en route to bagging the largest stack of the night.
Day 1a Chip Counts:
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Stevens | United States | 888,000 | 111 |
| 2 | Arturo Toscano | United States | 667,000 | 83 |
| 3 | Justin Barclay | United States | 605,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Michael Varnell | United States | 559,000 | 70 |
| 5 | Stephen Culpepper | United States | 558,000 | 70 |
| 6 | Kyle Michael | United States | 308,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Charles Stafford | United States | 299,000 | 37 |
| 8 | Justin Brevik | United States | 296,000 | 37 |
| 9 | Raymond Whitley | United States | 199,000 | 25 |
Players start with 30,000 chips, worth 150 big blinds at the start of the day. Blind levels increase every 40 minutes, with a break at the conclusion of every third level. A 60-minute dinner break will occur after Level 12, at approximately 7:45 p.m. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are permitted until the start of Level 10, at approximately 5:45 p.m. The day will conclude when 5% of the field remains, when 9 players remain, or after 18 levels (whichever occurs first).
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action throughout the Main Event here at the 2026 Oklahoma State Championship of Poker.