Seeing a raise ahead of him to 500, Michael Ciccarelli called in the cutoff. Trevor Jackson then called in the small blind, which prompted the big blind to call as well.
The action checked to Ciccarelli on a 2♣Q♣3♠ flop, who bet 1,200. Jackson called, but the other two players folded.
The Q♠ turn checked through, and the A♥ completed the board. Jackson led out for 3,000, and Ciccarelli smooth-called.
It turned out to be a wise decision by Ciccarelli, who tabled Q♦10♦ for trip queens but was behind to the full house of Jackson, who flipped over A♣Q♥.
In a single-raised pot to the 8♥10♣7♠ flop, Duncan Horst bet 600 from middle position. Schahin Ghiai called in the cutoff and called again when Horst sized up to 2,100 on the K♦ turn.
The J♥ river saw Horst pile in 5,100. Ghiai snap-called for Horst to reveal A♥9♦ for a straight. Ghiai added his cards to the muck, admitting defeat.
Meanwhile, Shawn Sullivan had emerged as one of the early chipleaders on the cluster stage.
The most anticipated poker tournament of the year is well underway as players from around the world continue to descend on Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship. With the first two starting flights now complete, excitement continues to build as more hopefuls take their shot at poker’s most prestigious title on Day 1c, with the action getting underway at 11 a.m. local time.
Taking a quick look back at the previous two flights, 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 near the front. The first flight attracted plenty of star power, and several of those notables advanced, including Scott Seiver (177,700) and Qiang Xu (168,000).
Others weren’t as fortunate, with big names such as Adrian Mateos, Chad Eveslage, and 25K Fantasy pick Mike Moncek all falling short of a bag. Someone had to be the first to hit the rail, and this year it was Anthony Marini, who became the unfortunate first elimination of the Main Event.
More joined the field on Day 1b, adding another 1,038 entries into play and bringing the running total to 1,810, with 1,302 players finding a bag across the first two flights. With the field combined from the first two flights, the total prize pool currently stands at $16,833,000, but time will tell whether this year’s Main Event can reach 9,735 players and surpass last year’s $90,535,500 prize pool.
Mike Matusow
Of the 760 who advanced late last night, several notable names made it through to Day 2abc, including former Main Event champion Greg Raymer, who will return with just over the average stack with 122,300 chips. Defending 2025 champion Michael Mizrachi also took his seat in yesterday’s flight. He began the day a little uneasily but steadily rebuilt his stack, ultimately bagging 73,200. Four-time bracelet winner and 25K Fantasy pick Mike Matusow (48,000) also made it through, though he’ll be looking to turn things around on Day 2. Others weren’t as fortunate, including bracelet winners Kenneth Gregory and Jean Robert Bellande, who saw their hopes of winning a second WSOP bracelet in this year's Main Event come to an end after their queens got cracked by kings.
Combined Top Counts – Days 1a & 1b
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ryuta Nakai
Japan
323,000
404
2
Igor Pansovoi
United States
300,300
375
3
Osmar Rockenbach
Brazil
286,900
359
4
Michael Stembera
United States
270,300
338
5
Damarjai Davenport
United States
263,000
329
6
William Watson
United States
262,000
328
7
Shawn Savage
United States
261,500
327
8
Ali Eslami
United States
256,200
320
9
Gregory Sly
Australia
254,500
318
10
Arie Kliper
Israel
254,100
318
Ryuta Nakai
Ryuta Nakai, a 25K Fantasy pick, holds the overall chip lead and remains the one to catch as the Day 1 flights reach their halfway point. Ali Eslami also made the top counts and is well positioned to chase his second WSOP bracelet. Cassandra Yong posted one of the strongest Day 1b stacks but narrowly missed the combined top ten. She did find a late-night double with kings, however, coolering Gary Blackwood's aces to secure 225,000 and a seat on Day 2abc.
As the Main Event is a freezeout, each player is only allowed a single entry across all flights, meaning those who fell short will not be able to reenter over the coming days. However, with registration remaining open through the first two levels of Days 2abc and 2d, there is still plenty of time for new faces to join the chase for this year's World Championship title.
Day 1c Structure
Level
Start
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Big Blind Ante
1
11 a.m.
120 minutes
100
200
200
1:00 p.m.
20-minute break
2
1:20 p.m.
120 minutes
200
300
300
3:20 p.m.
20-minute break
3
3:40 p.m.
120 minutes
200
400
400
5:40 p.m.
60-minute break
4
6:40 p.m.
120 minutes
300
500
500
8:40 p.m.
20-minute break
5
9 p.m.
120 minutes
300
600
600
Day 1c will follow the same structure as the opening two flights. Players begin with 60,000 chips, and each Day 1 flight plays through five 120-minute levels, with 20-minute breaks scheduled after every level. Survivors from Day 1a, Day 1b, and today’s Day 1c will return on Monday, July 6, for Day 2abc.
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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.
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Stay tuned to PokerNews as we follow all the action from Day 1c and capture the stories of the hopefuls taking their seats in the chase for the 2026 WSOP Main Event title.
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