Stephen Lee has the unwanted distinction of being the first player eliminated on Day 1b.
The hand began when Shraga Vrubel limped from the hijack. Stephen Lee raised to 800 on the button. Vrubel reraised to 3,800, and Lee made the call as the pot began to build preflop.
Vrubel threw out 10,000 on the 10♣6♦7♦ flop. Lee popped it to 25,000 in response. Vrubel jammed, and Lee quickly called to put himself at risk.
Stephen Lee: 7♣7♥
Shraga Vrubel: A♦A♣
Lee outflopped Vrubel and was poised to crack pocket aces, but the ominous 8♦ turn came to give Vrubel a flush draw and a fighting chance going to the river.
Lee's worst fears were confirmed on the Q♦ river as Vrubel let out a celebratory yell as he pumped his fist in celebration after spiking the flush, sending Lee packing.
Michael Mizrachi, having recently taken his seat and still surrounded by camera crews, raised to 600 from the small blind. Daniele Sunzeri defended his big blind, and the flop came down J♣9♦K♠.
Both players checked before the 5♦ landed on the turn. Mizrachi bet 800, and Sunzeri stuck around with a call.
Mizrachi then slid out the minimum bet of 200 on the 2♣ river, and Sunzeri quickly called.
Mizrachi tabled 10♦9♣ for a pair of nines, but it was second best to Sunzeri's K♥8♦ for a pair of kings.
With the opening day in the books, the spotlight now changes to Day 1b of poker's most prestigious tournament. The road to poker immortality has begun, and another wave of hopefuls will take their seats in Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2026 World Series of Poker.
Play kicks off at 11 a.m. inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, where poker legends, online qualifiers, professionals, and recreational dreamers will all take their seats in poker's biggest tournament. With Independence Day just around the corner, the tournament floor is expected to be even busier as another wave of hopefuls chase a place in Day 2abc.
Day 1a drew 772 entries, with 543 players surviving. Japan's Ryuta Nakai finished at the top of the leaderboard with 323,000 after spending much of the day around that area. American Igor Pansovoi bagged 300,300 to sit in second and is the only other player to have finished with more than five starting stacks. Australia's Gregory Sly rounds out the top three with 254,500, just a few hundred chips ahead of Arie Kliper in fourth.
End of 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
Phil Hellmuth Entrance
Several of the game's biggest names advanced from Day 1a. Former Main Event champions Joe Cada (133,600), Daniel Weinman (79,300), Phil Hellmuth (60,000), and Damian Salas (54,800) all advanced, while Poker Hall of Famers Erik Seidel (86,400) and Billy Baxter (19,800) also punched their tickets to Day 2abc. Joining them are seven-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver (177,700), six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (109,300), and four-time bracelet winner Sam Soverel (112,600).
Plenty of other decorated players also made it through the first starting flight, including bracelet winners Dimitar Danchev (173,200), Qiang Xu (168,000), Andrew Lichtenberger (94,700), Stephen Chidwick (83,400), Jason Koon (18,700), Brian Yoon (79,200), Allan Le (69,000), and Jonathan Little (61,600). They are joined by international pros Adrian State (154,000), Leonard Maue (149,200), Uri Reichenstein (129,700), and Aliaksandr Shylko (129,300), all of whom remain in contention for poker's ultimate prize.
Jeremy Ausmus
Day 1b will duplicate 1a and feature five two-hour levels, with each player starting with 60,000 chips. As this is a freezeout event, there are no reentries, meaning everyone has just one shot. A 20-minute break is scheduled after each level, with a 60-minute dinner break following Level 3. Those who survive will join the Day 1a qualifiers, along with the survivors from Day1c, on Day 2abc on Monday, July 6.
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
From railbirds to backers, MyPlayers is the smarter way to stay connected to the game.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as the live reporting team brings you all the action from Day 1b, and every bracelet event of the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
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