button in Safari
Event #22: $1,500 Big O
Day 2 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #22: $1,500 Big O
Day: 2
Players Left 29 / 2,150
Filter
Top
Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The 294 players who began the second day of Event #22: $1,500 Big O have been whittled down to just 29, who will be returning for the third and final day of action at the 2026 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. They are the final few who remain from a whopping 2,150 entries, crushing last year’s total of 1,499.
These entrants have generated an incredible prize pool of $2,802,785, of which at least $13,610 will be going into the pockets of those who bagged up tonight. That being said, all eyes are on the $387,110 reserved for the eventual champion, alongside a prestigious WSOP bracelet.
Chip leader Anthony Reategui, alongside second in chips Casey Hayes, managed to fully break away from the pack, holding an insane 5,900,000 and 5,700,000 chips, respectively. This massive stack converts to a whopping 118 and 114 big blinds when Day 3 begins, the equivalent of over three times the average stack left in play.
Thomas Koral (3,700,000), albeit with an impressive chip count, is miles behind, completing the podium for Day 3. Besides Furth, he is the only multi-bracelet winner left in the field, as Reategui is attempting to join that club, and Hayes vies for his first taste of glory.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Reategui | United States | 5,900,000 | 118 |
| 2 | Casey Hayes | United States | 5,700,000 | 114 |
| 3 | Thomas Koral | United States | 3,700,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Volodymyr Kondratenko | United States | 3,200,000 | 64 |
| 5 | Yinjie Mei | China | 2,600,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Scott Abrams | United States | 2,600,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Matthew Bretzfield | United States | 2,500,000 | 50 |
| 8 | Bruno Furth | United States | 2,300,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Sang Shin | United States | 2,300,000 | 46 |
| 10 | Stanislav Halatenko | Ukraine | 1,900,000 | 38 |
The Day 3 lineup is a solid one, with Bruno Furth the most decorated when it comes to WSOP silverware. He bagged up 2,300,000 chips, good for eighth place with 45 big blinds when the final day commences.
Nicolas Milgrom is the sole remaining $25k Fantasy pick, but the Day 1b chip leader only managed to bag up three big blinds, as his 175,000 stack is the shortest remaining. Other $25k Fantasy participants Dario Sammartino and Qiang Xu were both eliminated during the final level of the day.
The Day 1a chip leader, John Holley, also managed to navigate through the second day and will sit down with 1,500,000 when play resumes.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Payout | Place | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $387,110 | 8 | $43,700 |
| 2 | $258,690 | 9 | $33,800 |
| 3 | $187,150 | 10-11 | $26,450 |
| 4 | $136,820 | 12-15 | $20,940 |
| 5 | $101,128 | 16-23 | $16,780 |
| 6 | $75,600 | 24-29 | $13,610 |
| 7 | $57,150 |
A large number of big names came and went, with Omaha pro Sean Troha unable to add a fourth bracelet to his name. Plenty more were rooting to add to their tally, as well as gain some points on the $25k Fantasy leaderboard, with Ben Yu, Bryce Yockey, Anson Tsang, and Phillip Hui all falling short of a third day of competition, the latter unable to crack aces when it really mattered. WSOPE Main Event Champion Max Neugebauer was also seen in the PLO streets, but had to settle for 109th place.
Another two card world champion, Daniel Weinman, was unable to truly make his mark in Big O, and poker legend Viktor “Isildur1” Blom was seeking out his maiden bracelet, but was unable to do so, exiting shortly before the end of play.
Play is set to resume at 1:00 p.m. local time in the Gold section of Paris Ballroom, with blinds restarting at the 30,000/60,000 level. The aim is to play down until a sole victor remains, but with almost 150% of the number of entries that 2025 gathered, we may well see a fourth day of play, much like last year’s tournament.
Make sure to keep up with all Big O updates, which will be fully live reported on PokerNews.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
According to the WSOP Live app.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The remaining 29 players are now bagging up in preparation to return for Day 3 tomorrow. They will return at 1:00 p.m. local time to play until a champion is determined.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's events.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The final hand of the day was picked up with Yehuda Buchalter going all in for 455,000 chips on a flop of 4♦K♣8♦.
Yinjie Mei made the call.
Yehuda Buchalter: A♦K♠10♣8♠3♦
Yinjie Mei: A♠Q♠6♦3♣2♥
Buchalter had flopped top two pair and the nut-flush draw, while Mei flopped the nut-low draw.
The turn of the 8♣ gave Buchalter a full house and he screamed for a brick on the river, but the A♣ hit the board to give Mei the low and half the pot.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The hand was picked up with Keith Olsby declaring, "Oh well, it's getting late," as he shoved all of his 825,000 chips into the pot following a three-bet from Ryan Thoresen.
After the action folded back to him and Thorensen made the call.
Keith Olsby: A♣J♣8♠3♣2♦
Ryan Thoresen: A♥A♠9♠8♣7♣
The board ran 5♣9♣7♦Q♣J♠, leaning toward Olsby from the start as he flopped nut-flush and nut-low draws. The flush hit on the turn. The low didn't get there, but that didn't matter to the Dallas native, as he survived the full day of play.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The clock has been paused with just nine minutes remaining, and it has been announced that four more hands will be played out before action comes to a close.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
In a rare limped pot, five players saw the flop for the minimum.
The board came 8♣8♥Q♠ and all five players checked.
The turn brought the 9♥ and Bruno Furth made a bet of 125,000 from the small blind. Anthony Reategui, Matthew Bretzfield and Sang Shin all folded.
When the action finally got to him, Stanislav Halatenko raised to 475,000 from the button.
Furth gave it some consideration, but chose to fold.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Ryan Thoresen opened the action with a raise to 135,000 from early position. Volodymyr Kondratenko flatted on the button, before Mark Gregorich announced a bet of 455,000, pushing his whole stack forward. He then realised he had miscalculated a pot-sized bet, but it mattered little as Thoresen announced "re-pot." Kondratenko folded, and Gregorich called all in for not much more.
Mark Gregorich: A♣Q♣6♦5♣2♦
Ryan Thoresen: A♥3♦3♠2♠2♥
Both players had massive hands, but Gregorich was in dreamland after seeing the 6♣Q♠6♠ flop, which had his opponent dead to quads or a running straight flush.
The 8♥ confirmed his receipt of the high portion of the hand, but he was still looking to fade low cards for the scoop. The 3♥ river gave both players the nut low, with Thoresen hitting a futile boat.
Gregorich took in three-quarters of the pot, which he can rightfully be frustrated about following the flop.
Level 25
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
