Samuel Klocker Bags Chip Lead After Opening Main Event Flight
The opening flight of the CHF1,500 Main Event at the 2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein wrapped up, drawing 109 entries to kick off the festival’s most anticipated tournament. After fourteen 40-minute levels, the field was trimmed down to 17 players, all of whom successfully bagged up their chips and secured a min-cash heading into Day 2.
Sitting at the top of the counts is Austria’s Samuel Klocker, who amassed a stack of 796,000 when the dust settled, and is the only player to have breached the 700,000-chip barrier. Klocker entered around the dinner break and got off to a good start by picking off Marc Wetzold's triple barrel bluff, then sent Tobias Zobrist to the rail as the Day 1a bubble boy to close out the night.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Klocker | Austria | 796,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Martin Hoertnagl | Austria | 627,000 | 105 |
| 3 | Florian Gehbauer | Germany | 504,000 | 84 |
| 4 | Angelo Arossi | Switzerland | 504,000 | 84 |
| 5 | Adrian Strobel | Germany | 448,000 | 75 |
| 6 | Eric Wasylenko | Canada | 362,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Walter Blaettler | Switzerland | 322,000 | 54 |
| 8 | Christoph Spoerri | Switzerland | 292,000 | 49 |
| 9 | Nuri Acar | Switzerland | 289,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Frédéric Delval | France | 269,000 | 45 |
Klocker's closest competitor was fellow Austrian Martin Hoertnagl, who ended the day on 627,000, while Germany’s Florian Gehbauer and Switzerland's Angelo Arossi sit tied in third place with 504,000, having had a successful day inside the Grand Casino Liechtenstein.
Gehbauer was seated from the first shuffle and got off to a great start by getting paid with trips. Arossi joined much later in the day, but quickly got involved after flopping the second nut straight, only to have Marek Tatar overbet jam a flush draw into him on the turn. Arossi faded the bad beat to surge up the counts, then later found himself on the right end of a cooler to bust Yannik Hofmann during the final level of the night.
Hand-for-hand play didn't take long, as after just three hands, Zobrist jammed for about ten big blinds under the gun holding pocket queens, and Klocker made the call with ace-jack out of the blinds. A safe flop fell for Zobrist's ladies, but an ace on the turn for Klocker was enough to cement Zobrist as the first bubble boy of the Main Event, while helping Klocker lock up the chip lead for the day.
Some other players who made it through the day included Eric Wasylenko (362,000), and France’s Frédéric Delval (269,000), helped by picking off a bluff from Arossi in the penultimate level of the night. They will also be joined by Vivian Saliba (202,000), who max late registered and stands as the only WSOP bracelet winner to bag a stack in Day 1a. Kevin Abecassis (98,000), and Alexander Huber (74,000) sit toward the bottom of the counts and will be looking for a bit of a spin up when cards go back in the air on Day 2.
Focus now shifts to Day 1b and Day 1c on Friday, March 6. Day 1b follows the exact same structure as the opening flight but begins earlier at 12 p.m., while Day 1c will run with a faster-paced 20-minute blind structure and gets underway at 8 p.m. The surviving players from all flights will combine on Sunday, March 8, to play out Day 2 of this five-day affair.
Remaining CHF1,500 Main Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1b | March 6 | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| Day 1c | March 6 | 8 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 1d | March 7 | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| Day 1e | March 7 | 8 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 2 | March 8 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Day 3 | March 9 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Final Day | March 10 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Stay locked into PokerNews for continuing coverage of the CHF1,000,000 guaranteed Main Event, with updates, chip counts, and drama as the remaining starting flights play out.