Justin Arnwine raised in early position, seeing Nicola Karl three-bet in the next seat over. Once the action had folded back to Arnwine, he shipped in his stack of 550,000, worth about 70 big blinds. Karl snap-called with the covering stack.
Justin Arnwine: 5♠5♦
Nicola Karl: A♥A♣
All of Arnwine's hopes were resting on a five appearing on the board, but 4♣Q♦2♦7♥10♦ emerged from the deck instead, sending Arnwine to the rail and shipping the massive pot Karl's way.
Liubomyr Melnyk raised to 16,000 under the gun before Sam Snead three-bet to 42,000 in early position. Adam Matues then moved all in for 343,000 in middle position, and Melnyk reshoved for 556,000. Snead had both opponents covered and tanked for a minute, but he eventually laid his hand down and said he had two tens.
Adam Matues: A♥K♥
Liubomyr Melnyk: Q♦Q♠
It was a classic flip, and Matues took the lead on the A♣9♥2♦ flop with top pair. The 8♠ turn left him poised for the double up, but Melnyk spiked the Q♣ on the river to make a set and send Matues to the rail.
During the last round of hand-for-hand, there were multiple all-in and calls.
At Table 70, action folded to Gregory Brown in the small blind, who opened to 25,000. Stoyan Madanzhiev in the big blind three-bet to 75,000, but Brown four-bet all in for over 900,000. Madanzhiev, who had 490,000 behind, made the call.
Stoyan Madanzhiev: A♥K♥
Gregory Brown: 5♦5♣
Madanzhiev failed to improve on a board of 2♦9♠4♥2♣8♦, and he was eliminated.
Stoyan Madanzhiev bubbles 2026 Main Event
On Table 169, Chris Moneymaker opened to 17,000 from the hijack and called a three-bet of 42,000 from Antonio Vargas in the big blind.
Moneymaker called a 20,000 bet from Vargas on the 8♥7♠7♦ flop, a 45,000 bet from Vargas on the 7♣ turn, and then called all in for approximately 100,000 after Vargas shoved on the 8♠ river.
Vargas turned over A♥A♠ while Moneymaker was playing the board with J♥9♦ and was eliminated.
Chris Moneymaker bubbles 2026 Main Event
At the same time, on Table 152, Zhaken Seitbekov raised to 18,000 in early position, which only Dan Stavila called in the cutoff. Seitbekov continued with a bet of 25,000 on the 5♠6♣A♦ flop, which saw Stavila respond with a raise to 80,000, and Seitbekov called.
The 3♦ turn saw Seitbekov check to Stavila, who fired 180,000. Seitbekov then check-raised to 360,000, which Stavila called.
When the 10♣ river completed the board, Seitbekov moved all in for 361,000, putting himself at risk of elimination. Stavila called, and when the cards were tabled, he showed 6♠6♦ for a flopped set. That was more than enough to send Seitbekov to the rail, who flipped over A♥9♥.
Zhaken Seitbekov bubbles 2026 Main Event
All three players split two min-cashes of $15,000 to earn $10,000 each, but a seat worth $25,000 for the WSOP Paradise Main Event was still up for grabs.
The three players were guided to the Paris Green section, where they flipped for the seat. They took their spots at the table while Jack Effel instructed the dealer to deal them all two cards and the board.
The board read Q♦9♦Q♣J♣4♥.
Seitbekov revealed his K♥2♦ for the king-kicker with the pair of queens on the board. Moneymaker first revealed the 2♣, which didn't do anything for him, and neither did the 5♥. Madanzhiev had already shown his 5♣, which didn't help him, and then slowly revealed the 6♣ to keep Seitbekov ahead and claim his seat.
In a battle between the blinds, David Orlando bet 27,000 on a flop of K♣4♠5♥ and Johan Guilbert called.
Orlando then moved all in on the Q♥ turn, and Guilbert snap-called for 139,000.
Orlando accidentally exposed his hand while they were waiting for tournament officials to arrive. "I have good news for you. You can still win," Guilbert said.
"I have two pieces of good news. Either I double up, or I have a good video for the channel. I can't lose," Guilbert added. More than 10 minutes went by before they finally got to reveal their cards.
Johan Guilbert: K♠Q♦
David Orlando: 7♥4♣
Guilbert was ahead with top two pair, while Orlando was looking for a four for the bubble bustout. The river was the A♦, and Guilbert held on to double up.
The first of two all-ins on separate tables saw Pablo Roman all in from the big blind preflop for 439,000, and he was at risk against Matthew Ahern on the button.
Pablo Roman: K♠K♦
Matthew Ahern: Q♥Q♦
The 7♠10♦9♠A♣8♠ runout was clean for Roman, seeing him survive the encounter.
A couple of tables over, Anh Do was all in and at risk versus Alex Foxen with a board dealt to a 10♣7♠9♥8♠ turn.
Anh Do: 10♥10♦
Alex Foxen: A♠9♠
Do needed to avoid a spade river, and he did exactly that when the K♥ completed the board, seeing the Main Event bubble continue.
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), 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
Zdenek Zizka
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.
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