button in SafariInaugural Champ Doug Paxton Chasing Repeat Victory in Day 2 of Oklahoma State Championship of Poker $800 Main Event
A field of 417 entries has been reduced to just 29 players after two Day 1 flights in the $800 Main Event of the 2026 Oklahoma State Championship of Poker here at the Hard Rock Tulsa Hotel & Casino. Today they return to play for the Main Event trophy and lion’s share of the $291,900 prize pool, with Day 2 action kicking off at 1:00 p.m.
Doug Paxton won the first-ever edition of this event in 2006, outlasting 153 entries in what was a $3,000 buy-in event at the time to earn $121,452. Today, Paxton will have a shot at taking down this event for a second time, twenty years after winning the inaugural edition. Paxton starts the day just outside the top ten stacks with 536,000, good for 67 big blinds when the action resumes.
Richard Gebhart – the fifth highest earner in the history of this venue – leads the field going into Day 2 after finishing Day 1b with 905,000, just ahead of Day 1a chip leader Brad Stevens, who bagged 888,000. Bobby Randolph rounds out the top three stacks going into the day with 810,000. Eric Bunch – the second-highest earner in the history of the venue – is also still in the mix, albeit with the shortest stack to start the day at 62,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Gebhart | United States | 905,000 | 113 |
| 2 | Brad Stevens | United States | 888,000 | 111 |
| 3 | Bobby Randolph | United States | 810,000 | 101 |
| 4 | Nick McGuire | United States | 720,000 | 90 |
| 5 | Arturo Toscano | United States | 667,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Kiran Suresh | United States | 650,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Justin Barclay | United States | 605,000 | 76 |
| 8 | Tandi Stevens | United States | 588,000 | 74 |
| 9 | Michael Varnell | United States | 559,000 | 70 |
| 10 | Stephen Culpepper | United States | 558,000 | 70 |
In one of the more interesting storylines going into the day, Tandi Stevens, Brad’s wife, also made Day 2, starting the day with 588,000, good for a top-ten stack. In a funny coincidence, the poker couple is seated right next to each other when play resumes, holding the biggest and third-biggest stacks at their table, respectively.
Play resumes at 1:00 p.m., with 00:15:21 left on Level 16, and the blinds at 4,000/8,000 (8,000). Blind levels will increase every 40 minutes until a winner is crowned. Payout information is still being finalized and will be confirmed before play begins today.
Stay tuned to PokerNews to follow all the action from the Day 2 finale here at the 2026 Oklahoma State Championship of Poker.