button in SafariAnatoly Nikitin Bags Day 2 Chip Lead in Event #2: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
Day 2 of Event #2: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em at the 2026 World Series of Poker has come to an end, with just 24 players remaining in the hunt for one of the series' first bracelets inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. A total of 570 entries were recorded by the time late registration closed, generating a $2,622,000 prize pool.
Bagging the chip lead at the end of the night was Russia’s Anatoly Nikitin, who finished with a stack of 3,290,000. Ivan Ruban also crossed the two million chip mark with 2,300,000, while China’s Xiaohu Liu rounds out the top three with 1,910,000.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anatoly Nikitin | Russian Federation | 3,290,000 | 165 |
| 2 | Ivan Ruban | Russian Federation | 2,300,000 | 115 |
| 3 | Xiaohu Liu | China | 1,910,000 | 96 |
| 4 | Zexiang Sun | United States | 1,700,000 | 85 |
| 5 | Charles Alex-Barton | United States | 1,690,000 | 85 |
| 6 | Scott Eskenazi | United States | 1,395,000 | 70 |
| 7 | Chenxiang Miao | China | 1,350,000 | 68 |
| 8 | Daniyal Gheba | United States | 1,330,000 | 67 |
| 9 | Peter Mugar | United States | 1,300,000 | 65 |
| 10 | Nicholas Seward | United States | 1,275,000 | 64 |
Once late registration closed after two levels of play, it didn't take long to reach the bubble. Two players were eliminated at the same time, meaning there was no need for hand-for-hand play. Justin Saliba eliminated Manuel Fritz when his big slick held against ace-queen, while Ruban sent Micah Raskin to the rail after Raskin's two Broadway cards couldn't overcome Ruban's ace-high.
As usual, Martin Kabrhel was vocal the entire day before eventually hitting the rail late on. Benjamin Williams windmilled a jack-high bluff to Kabrhel, then not long after, Kabrhel was shown a bluff by Zexiang Sun. Kabrhel's run came to an end in the last level of the day when Nicholas Seward sniffed out his river bluff.
Other notable players advancing to Day 3 include two-time bracelet winner Saliba (1,265,000), Ren Lin (1,090,000), Renji Mao (745,000). WSOP bracelet winners Julien Sitbon (620,000) and Colin Robinson (590,000) also remain in with a chance, while Brock Wilson returns at the bottom of the counts with 345,000.
Several big names also made deep runs and got themselves a payout, including Maurice Hawkins, Jeremy Becker, seven-time bracelet winner and hall of famer John Hennigan. Joining them on the rail was Anthony Zinno, 2013 WSOP Main Event winner Ryan Riess, Maria Konnikova, and Michael Gathy.
The start of day chip leader Peter Cross was among the players not to reach the money, while several other familiar names also hit the rail throughout the day. Including 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb, Chris Hunichen, Viktor Blom, Jesse Lonis, Benny Glaser, and Scott Seiver, all of whom were unable to survive through to lock up at least a min-cash.
Day 3 resumes at 1 p.m. local time in the gold section of the Paris Ballroom. Action starts on Level 21 with blinds of 10,000/25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante, with the plan to play down to five players, who will then return for the final day to battle for the bracelet and the $502,985 top prize.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $502,985 | 8 | $49,556 |
| 2 | $335,290 | 9 | $38,133 |
| 3 | $234,432 | 10-11 | $29,844 |
| 4 | $166,448 | 12-15 | $23,761 |
| 5 | $120,035 | 16-23 | $19,253 |
| 6 | $87,945 | 24 | $15,879 |
| 7 | $65,479 |
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all the latest updates and chip counts as Event #2: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em continues at the 2026 WSOP.