button in Safari2026 WSOP Main Event Field Size, Prize Pool to Be Confirmed on Day 2d; Taylor von Kriegenbergh Leads Massive Field
How big will the 2026 World Series of Poker edition of Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event NLH World Championship get? That question will be answered today, as Day 2d will get underway at 11 a.m. local time. Two more levels of late registration remain, with 8,389 total entries registered so far, creating an already massive prize pool of $78,017,700.
To beat 2006's numbers and become the fourth-largest Main Event ever, just under 400 new buy-ins are needed during the first four hours of the day. Eclipsing last year's number of 9,735 seems like a tall order, as an absolute flood of 1,346 late registrants will need to show up at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, longtime high-stakes pro Taylor von Kriegenbergh leads the 3,638 players who have already paid the $10,000 buy-in on Day 1d and survived the opening flight. With 312,800, Von Kriegenbergh bagged nearly 400 big blinds and quintupled the starting stack of 60,000 already. No stranger to five- and six-figure buy-in tournaments, Von Kriegenbergh is eyeing his fourth-ever cash in the Main Event, with his deepest run coming back in 2022 when he finished in being a 137th-place.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh | United States | 312,800 | 391 |
| 2 | Michael Comisso | United States | 293,000 | 366 |
| 3 | Sean Costa | United States | 292,600 | 366 |
| 4 | Michael Rossitto | Italy | 289,300 | 362 |
| 5 | Terrence Burke | Ireland | 287,000 | 359 |
| 6 | David Wells | United States | 283,000 | 354 |
| 7 | Juan Becerra | United States | 277,000 | 346 |
| 8 | Jameson Kauch | United States | 263,500 | 329 |
| 9 | Gonzalo Almada | Argentina | 256,100 | 320 |
| 10 | Alexander Dovzhenko | Ukraine | 255,000 | 319 |
Meanwhile, 2024 Main Event winner Jonathan Tamayo leads those who have been crowned World Champion in Las Vegas before. With 109,300, he bagged an above-average stack on Day 1d, as did Ryan Riess (106,800) and Scott Blumstein (105,600). Joe McKeehen increased his starting stack to 75,000, while Hossein Ensan (50,000), Chris Moneymaker (39,500), and Robert Varkonyi (33,100) will all start today with less than those who buy in late.
Other notable players returning for Day 1d include Moneymaker's fellow Hall of Famers Todd Brunson (108,800), Eli Elezra (71,100), Barbara Enright (64,300), and Nick Schulman (60,000). Crowd favorite Daniel Negreanu also belongs to that list, starting Day 2d with 58,200, just under the starting stack. The polarizing Martin Kabrhel bagged big with 202,200, finding himself in the top 100 at the start of today, along with Viktor Blom (217,100), Stephen Song (201,600), WSOP Europe champion Max Neugebauer (198,700), high roller Chris Hunichen (194,900), and WSOP U.S. Circuit Manager Terrance Reid (191,800).
Day 2d will kick off in Level 6 with blinds at 400/800 and an 800 big blind ante. All levels will remain 120 minutes long, and a break is scheduled after each level. The latest anyone can buy in is at the end of the second break, when blinds reach 600/1,200 (1,200). A 60-minute dinner break will take place after the third level of the day, around 5:40 p.m. local time, and five levels in total will be played before the survivors of Day 2d bag up for Day 3, when the field will combine for the first time.
PokerNews will be on the floor in Las Vegas to bring you all the latest from Day 2d, so stay tuned as the Main Event will continue shortly.