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Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event NLH World Championship
Day 1a Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event NLH World Championship
Day: 1a
Players Left 543 / 772
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Wherever you play your poker, and however seriously you take it, the answer tends to be the same. From high-stakes regulars with hoods up and headphones in, to recreational players enjoying a few beers at a home game, ask anyone in the room to name poker’s pinnacle, and they’ll likely point to one thing: winning the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and becoming world champion.
That simple fact is what brings a swarm of poker’s crushers, up-and-comers, and fairytale dreamers to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas each year, each embarking on their own journey in pursuit of poker immortality and the chance to join the legends whose championship banners hang proudly from the Horseshoe rafters.
The opening flight of Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event NLH World Championship saw 772 hopefuls enter the fray, and with ten hours of play in the books, 543 of those showed their tournament stamina to bag chips and move on to Day 2.
Leading from the front, Ryuta Nakai was a mainstay at the top of the leaderboard throughout the day. His day centred around winning a lot of pots frequently, with a relentless aggressive style. The Japanese pro already has a third-place finish in this year's WSOP, falling just shy of a bracelet in the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.
Closest to the chip leader, Igor Pansovoi scored a late-night pot to move him up the leaderboard, bagging 300,300, while Gregory Sly makes it an international affair on the podium, having ended the day with 254,500.
Main Event Day 1a - Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryuta Nakai | Japan | 323,000 | 404 |
| 2 | Igor Pansovoi | United States | 300,300 | 379 |
| 3 | Gregory Sly | Australia | 254,500 | 318 |
| 4 | Arie Kliper | Israel | 254,100 | 318 |
| 5 | Go Kato | United States | 245,700 | 307 |
| 6 | Domenico Gala | Italy | 241,000 | 301 |
| 7 | Richard Rohr | United States | 229,100 | 286 |
| 8 | Masato Yokosawa | Japan | 221,800 | 277 |
| 9 | Earl Goodman | United States | 221,600 | 277 |
| 10 | Matthew Russell | United States | 217,300 | 272 |
Plenty of poker's elite turned out for the first of four starting flights, and there is no shortage of firepower further down the leaderboard. Former Main Event champions Joe Cada (133,600), Greg Merson (81,200), Daniel Weinman (79,300), Phil Hellmuth (66,000), and Damian Salas (54,900) all punched their tickets to Day 2.
There is also 25K Fantasy Draft picks and bracelet winners galore, as Scott Seiver (177,300), Dimitar Danchev (175,200), Qiang Xu (152,300), Sam Soverel (112,600 ), Jeremy Ausmus (109,300), Andrew Lichtenberger (94,700), Erik Seidel (86,400), Stephen Chidwick (83,400), Greg Merson (81,200), Zdenek Zizka (78,000), Brandon Wilson (64,500), and Jason Koon (18,700) are all still in the mix.
Another who opted to play the first starting flight was 2006 Poker Hall of Fame inductee, Billy Baxter. Baxter spent the day regaling tales of World Series’ past, and was still in the field come day's end, having bagged 19,800.
“The main change is the amount of players. Now, no matter who you are, it’s ten days; it’s very gruelling to get through that. You need to play really good, [and be] really lucky. You need a little bit of both", Baxter told PokerNews.
Remarkably, Baxter chose not to play the Main Event for his first 22 years in Las Vegas.
“I came here in 1975; I never played the main event until 1997. When I first came out here, I was really a lowball player. The main game I played every day was no-limit 2-7. That year [1997] I staked Stu Ungar, and he talked me into playing it.”
Baxter was all too happy to share the words Ungar said to convince him to play.
“Come on, you should play it [the main event]. I’m going to win it anyway, so it ain’t gonna cost you nothing.”
“And sure enough, he did win it”
Baxter is now a regular entry into the event, and it will stay that way until the very end, and he will continue to tell and retell his crazy stories.
“I like to play, and I’ve played a lot since then, and I enjoy it. I’m a little too old for these hours, but I still like to try. I guess until they put me in that box, I’m going to keep playing. I enjoy it [telling those stories]... It was the Wild West back then."
He closed out with one piece of advice for those playing their first WSOP Main Event.
“Enjoy it, because I can tell you this: it’s going to be very difficult to get through these big fields”
Big Names, Big Hands, Big Action
The theme of the opening day was big collisions, and it took no time at all for them to begin.
In the first few hands of the day, Anthony Marini came racing out of the blocks, and, after six bets preflop, his full stack was in the middle. Unfortunately for Marini, his suited ace-king had run into the pocket aces of Ryan Sands. No miracle arrived, and Marini had the unwanted distinction of becoming the first player eliminated from the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
Shortly after, Seiver avoided the same fate, laying down pocket queens preflop correctly and avoiding disaster versus his opponent's pocket aces. Throughout the day, quads were beating full houses, and a turned royal flush even found river value. It was cold decks galore, as more players ran into aces to be eliminated.
Among those to fall foul of the deck, Jared Bleznick was two-outered, and 2025 Main Event final tablist Leo Margets ran kings into aces preflop and never managed to recover.
Players such as Seth Davies, Dan Smith, Nicholas Seward, Mike Moncek, Julien Sitbon, Chad Eveslage, David Bach, Frank Funaro Jr, and Espen Oeye all suffered the same fate, and as such, will need to wait another year for a chance at Main Event glory.
Those who were fortunate to survive the day will return for Day 2abc on Monday, July 6, at 11:00 a.m. local time. Three starting flights remain, with Day 1b the next available opportunity to jump in, and late registration remains open for the first two levels of Day 2.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is out in full force and will be back tomorrow for more coverage of what will likely be a historic WSOP Main Event.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Here are the chip counts of the 543 surviving players, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
The remaining 543 players are now bagging and tagging for the night.
Stay tuned for a recap of Day 1a.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
On a flop of A♦8♣5♣, Igor Pansovoi three-bet into Rittie Chuaprasert and the latter got his chips into the middle to find himself at risk and behind.
Rittie Chuaprasert: A♣Q♦ 
Igor Pansovoi: A♥K♦
The kicker played on the 4♠ turn and 6♦ river to knock out Chuaprasert in one of the final hands of the night, vaulting Pansovoi to one of the largest stacks in the opening flight.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Heads-up on a flop of 8♦4♠10♣ with about 25,000 already in the middle, Andrew Lichtenberger checked from the small blind to Jonathan Therme, who bet 6,000 from the cutoff. Lichtenberger then made it 14,000 to go and Therme called.
The K♥ fell on the turn and Lichtenberger sized down for a bet of 9,500. Therme wanted nothing to do with it and let his hand go — conceding the large pot to Lichtenberger, who now sits with well over a starting stack.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Action was picked up on the turn of a board reading 7♥K♦2♣A♥. Early position player Mark Darner bet out for 3,500, which was about the size of the pot, and received a call from hijack Neil Warren. Small blind Tuan Phan made the call.
The 6♠ river peeled off, and Darner continued for 12,000. Warren snapped the bet off, and tabled A♦2♦ for two pair, which was good against the A♠J♠ of Darner.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
There were nearly 40,000 in the middle of a large pot that had already reached the river on the 10♠4♥7♥9♠Q♦ board.
Qiang Xu from early position and William Kerkaert from the cutoff both checked to Vivian Saliba, who put out a bet of 10,000.
Xu check-raised to 45,000 before Kerkaert went all-in for approximately 33,000. Saliba went into the tank as she considered her decision. She cut out the chips for a call, but never put them in as she opted to fold, and Xu and Kerkaert went to a showdown.
Xu showed K♥J♥ for a hand that started out as a flush draw, but ended up backing into a straight. A disappointed Kerkaert showed 10♦9♦ for two pair as he got up from the table and left the tournament area.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Mario Escalera raised from early position, and Matthew Schiavo called in the hijack before Anderson Huang defended his big blind.
After Huang checked on the K♦3♠J♠ flop, Escalera bet 2,600 and was met by a quick raise to 7,600 from Schiavo. Huang got out of the way, and Escalera called.
The 5♠ turn and 2♠ river checked through. Escalera tabled 3♦3♣ for a flopped set, but the runout had been crueler to Schiavo, who revealed J♦J♣ for a higher flopped set to win a smaller-than-expected pot.
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
In one of the last hands of the evening, Anton Smirnov had called a 1,200 open from middle position and Bryan Reyes moved all in for his remaining 11,500. Smirnov called, and the players flipped their hands.
Bryan Reyes: A♣K♠
Anton Smirnov: A♥Q♣
Reyes was ahead, and there was very little sweat on the 2♥4♥9♦ flop. A 6♣ turn and 8♣ river saw him lock up a late night double.
