button in SafariSeven From the Money: Short Stacks Under Pressure as Main Event Bubble Looms
Typically, when the doors of Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas swing open, the cameras are searching for two groups of players: the superstars and the chip leaders.
Today, things will be a little different. With the money bubble in Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship set to burst, the spotlight will instead fall on those at the foot of the leaderboard, fighting for their tournament lives.
From a field of 9,208 entries, just 1,389 players remain, with only seven eliminations separating them from a guaranteed $15,000 payday. Once the bubble bursts, the survivors can finally look beyond survival and set their sights on the much larger portions of the $85,634,400 prize pool still waiting to be claimed.
Feeling the heat most will be Evan Lindemann (5,000), Bastien Joly (11,000), Iryna Tsikhanskaya (15,000), Mario Escalera (16,000), Thomas Floan (17,000), Kenneth Robbins (18,000), and Safwane Bahri (23,000), who will all be hoping for a favorable seat draw and a few precious hands before the blinds inevitably come calling.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Sasha Liu has no such concerns. The overnight chip leader bagged a mammoth 2,364,000, giving her 295 big blinds to start the day. Martin Zamani begins the day with 1,963,000, while Levon Khachatryan sits just behind with 1,745,000, completing an all-American top three.
Main Event Day 4 - Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sasha Liu | United States | 2,364,000 | 295 |
| 2 | Martin Zamani | United States | 1,963,000 | 245 |
| 3 | Levon Khachatryan | United States | 1,745,000 | 218 |
| 4 | Robert Gill | United States | 1,604,000 | 200 |
| 5 | Zdenek Zizka | Czechia | 1,576,000 | 197 |
| 6 | Robin Kleinbeck | Germany | 1,558,000 | 194 |
| 7 | Will Givens | United States | 1,540,000 | 192 |
| 8 | Brian Carraher | United States | 1,463,000 | 182 |
| 9 | Felix Kuemayr | Austria | 1,398,000 | 174 |
| 10 | Jared Passanante | United States | 1,361,000 | 170 |
Further down the leaderboard, a host of 25K Fantasy Draft players continue to hunt big points for their respective teams. Zdenek Zizka (1,576,000), Ryuta Nakai (1,203,000), ODB Bonus player Masato Yokosawa (1,135,000), Brian Yoon (1,132,000), Artur Martirosian (1,063,000), Chris Hunichen (1,055,000), and Shaun Deeb (960,000) all return within the top 50.
Hossein Ensan is the highest-placed Main Event champion remaining, having bagged 1,280,000. John Cynn (927,000), reigning champion Michael Mizrachi (615,000), Stoyan Madanzhiev (499,000), Ryan Riess (431,000), Scott Blumstein (387,000), Joe Hachem (353,000), Chris Moneymaker (221,000), and Greg Raymer (205,000) are all poised to make the money before making their charge at a second Main Event title.
Players such as 25K Fantasy Draft pick Jordan Siegel (42,000) and bracelet winners Marsha Wolak (44,000), Tamas Lendvai (64,000), and Isaac Baron (69,000) are among those beginning the day in the danger zone, but with nearly 90 players returning with fewer than ten big blinds, many more will be walking the same tightrope.
The Day 4 action will begin at 11 a.m. local time with Level 16, blinds 4,000/8,000 and an 8,000 big blind ante. Play is likely to begin hand-for-hand, and once it reaches the stone bubble, each all-in player will feel the full weight of the moment as their table becomes engulfed by cameras, with 1,832 players in the room quietly rooting against them.
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Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you live coverage from the tournament floor, from the bubble bursting and beyond, at the 2026 WSOP Main Event.