For the World Series of Poker, marathon, unedited live streams are out; tight, narrative-driven episodic television is back in.
That's according to WSOP Chief Operating Officer Gregory Chochon, who recently pulled back the curtain on the brand's ambitious blueprint for the future of poker in a featured interview published by Casinos.com.
The WSOP is radically overhauling its media strategy to recapture the attention spans of today's sports fans. How? By aggressively shifting its focus, aiming to build a media powerhouse modeled after sports leagues like the UFC.
With this as their core aim, Chochon and his team are orchestrating a massive shift in how the WSOP and poker as a whole are consumed, branded, and broadcast.
Sachin Joshi opened to 125,000 in the cutoff, and Ihar Soika called in the big blind.
The flop of 6♥3♦5♥ checked through, and Soika bet 270,000 on the 6♦ turn. Joshi called.
Both players then checked on the 10♣ river, and Soika showed a busted flush draw with J♦4♦. It was no good as Joshi tabled A♣5♣ to win the pot with a pair of fives.
Vladimir Belekhov defended his big blind against an open raise to 125,000 by Masato Yokosawa and they checked the Q♠J♣5♠ flop. On the J♠ turn, Belekhov check-called another 130,000 and the 7♦ river was checked. Belekhov tabled his Q♥8♥ for queens and jacks to win the pot.
"All in and call table 95," the dealer announced and the cards were already flipped over preflop with Aaron Barone taking on Andrew Yeh in the following showdown.
Andrew Yeh: 9♦9♥
Aaron Barone: K♥K♦
The dominated pair was in rough shape after the K♠10♥7♥ flop but gained some outs with the 6♥ turn. However, it was Barone who improved to quads on the K♣ river to send Yeh to the rail.
After more than a week of poker, the field in Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship has been carved down to just 174 from the original 9,208 entries. With every passing level, the dream of becoming poker's next world champion gets a little closer, but with three days of play separating anyone from the final table, there is still a long road ahead in this marathon tournament at the 2026 World Series of Poker.
The survivors return to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas at 11 a.m. already guaranteed $57,500, but their sights will be firmly set on climbing the payout ladder toward a spot at the final table and the $10,000,000 first-place prize. The first pay jump comes after 13 eliminations, while six-figure payouts await the final 80 players.
Sitting in the best spot is Zhao Liu, with a stack of 10,150,000, meaning he is the only player to reach the eight-figure mark. DJ Sharma sits second with 9,840,000, while Xingyu Liu rounds out the top three with 9,040,000. Allan Sannier (8,680,000) and Sachin Joshi (8,385,000) make up the top five, all returning with more than 140 big blinds.
Main Event Day 6 - Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Zhao Liu
United States
10,150,000
169
2
DJ Sharma
Canada
9,840,000
164
3
Xingyu Liu
China
9,040,000
151
4
Allan Sannier
France
8,680,000
145
5
Sachin Joshi
United Kingdom
8,385,000
140
6
Mario Boos
France
7,850,000
131
7
Justin Manjares
United States
7,760,000
129
8
Tyler Gaston
United States
7,055,000
118
9
Malcolm Trayner
Australia
6,740,000
112
10
Daewoong Song
South Korea
6,565,000
109
Patrick Leonard
There is no shortage of talent left in the mix. Nine-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb (4,305,000) returns as he continues his pursuit of a record-breaking third WSOP Player of the Year title, while Hossein Ensan (3,450,000) is the lone past Main Event champion still standing. Bracelet winners Mario Boos (7,850,000), Greg Mueller (4,415,000), Michael Gagliano (5,215,000), Romain Lewis (5,155,000), Patrick Leonard (2,860,000), and Loren Klein (2,600,000) also return this morning, still with a shot at glory.
Joining them are Daniel Hachem (3,895,000) and Hall of Famer Todd Brunson (3,690,000), who continue their bids to emulate the Main Event success of their fathers. High-stakes cash regulars Wesley Fei (4,580,000), Francisco Fragoso (3,910,000), and Andy Tsai (3,685,000) are all starting above average in chips, while Sean Winter (1,885,000), Dylan Smith (1,805,000), Darren Rabinowitz (1,390,000), Brock Wilson (885,000), and Zdenek Zizka (760,000) return below the average stack, but all will be looking to spin things in the right direction and survive another day.
Todd Brunson
Play will resume at 11 a.m. local time on Level 25, with blinds of 30,000/60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante. The plan is to play five two-hour levels, with a break after each level and a dinner break squeezed in at some point.
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.
Follow PokerNews throughout Day 6 as we bring you live updates from the tournament floor with complete coverage of the 2026 WSOP Main Event
button in Safari
