button in SafariDaniel Rezaei Bags the Chip Lead on Day 1a of WSOP $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em
The opening day of Event #19: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is in the books.
As expected, a wave of poker elite made their way to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas to take their seats and battle in what is arguably the toughest field of the series so far. In total, the first of two starting flights attracted 81 entries, generating a prize pool that currently stands at $1,903,500, and after eight levels of play, 25 of those players bagged chips and progressed to Day 2.
Leading the way from the opening flight, high-stakes regular Daniel Rezaei was the only player to bag a seven-figure stack, ending the day with 1,176,000. The Austrian 25k Fantasy Draft pick, who is chasing his second WSOP gold bracelet, will return to Day 2 with 118 big blinds to continue with.
Hot on his heels, Turbo Nguyen bagged 928,000. After eliminating Chance Kornuth in the middle of the day, he then avoided having a bad beat story to tell, as his pocket aces held, seeing him join the chip leaders.
Completing the podium, Dejan Kaladjurdjevic took out two of poker's brightest young stars in quick succession to surge to an early chip lead. He first won a flip with pocket jacks versus king-queen to eliminate Samuel Muller, before playing a five-bet pot preflop against Bernhard Binder, in which his pocket aces held up against the pocket queens of Binder.
$25,000 High-Roller Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 1,176,000 | 147 |
| 2 | Dejan Kaladjurdjevic | Montenegro | 978,000 | 122 |
| 3 | Turbo Nguyen | United States | 928,000 | 116 |
| 4 | Galen Hall | United States | 784,000 | 98 |
| 5 | Dylan Weisman | United States | 758,000 | 95 |
| 6 | Raoul Kanme | Netherlands | 490,000 | 61 |
| 7 | Aram Oganyan | United States | 474,000 | 59 |
| 8 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | 470,000 | 59 |
| 9 | Sergio Aido | Spain | 438,000 | 55 |
| 10 | Zachary Grech | United States | 389,000 | 49 |
Further down the chip counts, heavy hitters such as Stephen Chidwick (550,000), Chris Nguyen (457,000), Jesse Lonis (205,000), Ben Heath (172,00), and Jason Koon (149,000) all ensured that they will be in the mix when the chips are emptied onto the felt for Day 2.
Not all who entered enjoyed the same success, as players such as Martin Kabrhel, Joao Simao, Jeremy Ausmus and Artur Martirosian can attest. All of whom fell short of putting chips into a bag.
There was also a lightning-quick, but memorable, cameo from Michael Moncek. One of the last players to register, Moncek executed the rarely seen "surrender the stack" move while still seated at the table, allowing him to re-enter with only minutes remaining in Day 1a.
Like a man in a hurry, he wasted no time putting his chips at risk, moving all in without even looking at his cards. The reentry lasted exactly one hand, and no sooner had he sat down than he was back on his feet again, bringing a swift end to one of the shortest appearances of the day.
All hope is not lost, however, as the second and final starting flight gets underway tomorrow at noon local time, giving anyone who failed to bag chips on Day 1a the opportunity to reenter and take another shot at advancing.
Day 1b will mirror the structure of the opening flight, with entrants starting with 150,000 chips and playing eight 60-minute levels. Action begins at blinds of 1,000/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante.
Players may reenter once through the end of Level 9, which is expected to be around 1:15 p.m. local time on Day 2. While no dinner break is scheduled during Day 1, a 15-minute break will be given after every two levels.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates on this and all bracelet events at the 2026 WSOP!