button in Safari
Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship No-Limit Holdem
Day 2 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship No-Limit Holdem
Day: 2
Players Left 32 / 2,148
Filter
Top
Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Day 2 of Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is in the books. The day started with 381 players but has shrunk to 32, all of whom will be advancing to Day 3 and are guaranteed $12,660.
But the goal for tomorrow is to grab the top prize of $439,605 and the much-coveted WSOP golden bracelet. Closest to reaching that goal is Antonio Vargas, who ended the day bagging 8,650,000 chips. The moment that pushed Vargas up the chip lead was when he caught a bluff from Antonius Samuel earlier in the day. Since then, he has consistently grown his stack, choosing his spots strategically to reach the top of the chip counts.
Following close at his heels is Robert Kuhn (8,100,000). Kuhn already has a WSOP ring to his name and is closer to adding a WSOP bracelet to his chest of blings. Completing the top three is Malcolm Franchi (5,000,000). All three will have the advantage when it comes to taking the event down.
The battle to the top will be fierce, as some notables remain in contention, namely WSOP bracelet owners Pei Li, Kartik Ved, and Shawn Daniels.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Vargas | United States | 8,435,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Robert Kuhn | United States | 8,070,000 | 101 |
| 3 | Malcolm Franchi | France | 5,000,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Donovan Dicken | United States | 4,795,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Balakrishna Patur | United States | 4,320,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Manjunath Mulinti | United States | 4,310,000 | 54 |
| 7 | Martin Perez | United States | 3,865,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Pei Li | China | 3,845,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Kartik Ved | India | 3,825,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Liubomyr Melnyk | United States | 3,510,000 | 44 |
Highlights of the Day
Out of the 381 players that returned, only 323 players were in the money. Action significantly slowed down as the number of players reached that number, but the actual bubble time was relatively quick.
The money bubble burst just two hands into hand-for-hand play, as two players were eliminated simultaneously. Jarred Graham needed one of his overcards to connect, but Mykhailo Lendel’s pocket jacks held, sending Graham out.
Meanwhile, on another table, Giuseppe Pantaleo’s pocket nines lost to Dany Georges’ pocket kings. Because their eliminations occurred at separate tables, Graham and Pantaleo split the lowest payout, each receiving their buy-in back.
Other prominent players who weren’t able to make it to the end of the day included Shannon Shorr, Shiina Okamoto, Jonathan Tamayo, Matt Glantz, and Renji Mao, to name a few.
Action will resume tomorrow, June 4, at 12 p.m. in Paris Gold. Play will start at Level 26 with blinds at 40,000/80,000 and an 80,000 ante, and will continue until a champion stands victorious.
Stay tuned in to PokerNews for more exciting poker action straight from the floor!
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Stay tuned for a full Day 2 recap.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
In the final hand of the day, Erik Rozhynskyi put Scott Horvath to the test.
After Horvath raised from middle position to 150,000, Erik Rozhynskyi moved all in from the small blind with 1,370,000 chips.
Horvath thought about it for a lengthy time, before deciding to fold what he said was a pocket pair.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Action folded to Manjunath Mulinti in the middle position, who opened to 200,000. Francisco Sanchez then moved all in for around 900,000 from the button, and Mulinti quickly called.
Francisco Sanchez: 9♣9♠
Manjunath Mulinti: A♠A♥
Sanchez found himself in trouble against Mulinti's pocket aces and needed help from the board to stay alive.
The dealer spread 8♠Q♥2♦4♣2♣, but no help arrived for Sanchez. Mulinti's aces held up, earning him the pot and sending Sanchez to the rail just moments before the end of the day.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The floor announced that play for the evening will end in six hands.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Chip leader Antonio Vargas raised to 120,000 from middle position. Everybody scattered, except Michael Bahls, who three-bet the big stack to 790,000.
Vargas thought about it for a minute.
"You always have it," Vargas said, pointing to the nit reputation Bahls has built, which included folding pocket queens preflop earlier in the evening.
Vargas, threw his cards away.
"Like I said, you always have it," Vargas repeated.
"Do I?" Bahls asked, as he flipped open his hand and laughed, showing 5♣4♣.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
After a 500,000 opening bet from Antonio Vargas in the hijack, Carlos Pombal Peixoto shoved all-in for 270,000, stood up, put on his jacket and was ready to leave.
Vargas started saying he has a bad feeling about it and that Peixoto would likely win as he called. They tabled their hands for the showdown.
Carlos Pombal Peixoto: Q♠Q♦
Antonio Vargas: A♠J♦
Peixoto's queens held up on a board that ran 8♣5♦4♠9♣5♥. Vargas told Peixoto that next time there should be no more standing. Peixoto took off his jacket and sat back down while they pushed the pot toward his direction.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
With around 420,000 already in the pot and the flop showing 10♠3♦K♦, Michael Wilklow checked to Carlos Pombal Peixoto, who put out a bet. Wilklow responded by moving all in for around 715,000, and Peixoto quickly called.
Michael Wilklow: K♥8♥
Carlos Pombal Peixoto: K♠Q♦
Wilklow was already behind and needed help, but the K♣ turn improved both players to trips kings. That left the kicker in play, with Peixoto's queen remaining ahead of Wilklow's eight.
The 2♦ river changed nothing, and Peixoto's better kicker earned him the pot while Wilklow was sent to the rail.
