Ryan Masters had a bet of 13,500 sitting in front of his cards in the small blind, and Joshua Hale replied with a raise to 37,500 in the big blind.
After taking some time, Masters announced all in. Hale asked for a count, with the dealer stacking up 109,500 chips. Hale elected to fold, and Masters showed A♦Q♥ as he collected the pot.
The opening flight saw a total of 103 entries, with the top 13 players tonight earning a spot in the money and a bag for Day 2.
Level: 10
Blinds: 1,500/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Ethan Scroggins opened to 4,000 in middle position, with George Karvounis calling as next to act. Hemanth Parasuram moved all in from the cutoff, and Canyon Williams shoved his larger stack on the button.
Scroggins and Karvounis folded, and the hands were turned up.
Hemanth Parasuram: A♠K♥ 
Canyon Williams: Q♠Q♦
Parasuram stood up from his seat while watching the 9♣5♥J♠J♥8♣ runout, losing the flip to hit the rail while Williams picked up the pot.
Xinguo Wang was all in from the hijack, at risk against Tim Gray on the button.
Xinguo Wang: A♥Q♦
Tim Gray: A♠J♣
Wang was the only one to connect with the 7♥10♦3♦Q♣10♥ board, finishing with two pair to earn the double through Gray.
Dustin Doege opened to 4,000 from the cutoff, and Paul Swickard moved all in on the button for 27,500. Alexander Karawia took his time in the big blind before announcing that he too was all in. Doege folded, leaving Swickard at risk heads up.
Paul Swickard: 8♣8♦
Alexander Karawia: J♥9♥
Swickard hit a set on the 8♥Q♥3♣ flop that also gave Karawia a flush draw. The drama ended on the Q♦ turn, as Swickard filled up to confirm his double before the 4♥ river completed the board.
Level: 9
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000
In the 976th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are back at Level 8 Studio in Las Vegas to catch up on all things 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
That includes looking at the big winners and losers from the Million Dollar Cash Game, including big hands by Alan Keating, Texas Mike, and Martin Kabrhel. Speaking of Kabrhel, he got into it with both Daniel Negreanu and Martin Zamani, and it seems the tide may be turning on how a lot of fans and other players feel about him. From there, the crew discusses Jared Bleznick's controversial comments against the Seniors High Roller, the current Player of the Year standings, and bracelet wins by some of the biggest names in the game, including Nick Schulman, Alex Foxen, Yuri Dzivielevski, and Adrian Mateos. Plus, Rich Alsup and Eddie Blumenthal both nabbed WSOP hardware.
Finally, learn who won the Bar Poker Open Championship at the Golden Nugget for a smooth $100,0001
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
Players have reached another 15-minute break, with late registration for Day 1a closing at the start of Level 9.
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