button in SafariMichael Mizrachi Surges into the Lead on Day 2 of $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship
Low Card: 5,000
Completion: 20,000
Limits: 20,000-40,000
An unassuming Michael Mizrachi returned with just under a starting stack, but, true to his style, "The Grinder" was unafraid to get his chips into the middle on Day 2 of Event #23: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship.
At one point during the money bubble, Mizrachi was heard saying "I don't give a f**k. I play to win." That mentality served him well, and, by the time the last card was dealt, Mizrachi found himself atop the leaderboard with 1,429,000 after eight levels of play.
Not far behind is high-stakes crusher Chris Brewer, who managed to bag up 1,301,000. James Cheung rounds out the top three with 1,242,000 and was the only other player to end with a seven-figure stack.
Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 1,429,000 | 29 |
| 2 | Chris Brewer | United States | 1,301,000 | 26 |
| 3 | James Cheung | United Kingdom | 1,242,000 | 25 |
| 4 | Ryan Miller | United States | 845,000 | 17 |
| 5 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 702,000 | 14 |
| 6 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 702,000 | 14 |
| 7 | Maksim Pisarenko | Russian Federation | 644,000 | 13 |
| 8 | Allen Kessler | United States | 582,000 | 12 |
| 9 | Dan Sepiol | United States | 187,000 | 4 |
| 10 | Brad Ruben | United States | 132,000 | 3 |
| 11 | Jason Kluska | United States | 59,000 | 1 |
While Mizrachi's run was impressive, several other compelling narratives are still in play. A win for Cheung, who took down the $1,500 Stud bracelet earlier in the 2026 World Series of Poker, would make him the first person to win both the $1,500 and $10k edition in the Seven Card Stud variant within a single series.
Meanwhile, Naoya Kihara (702,000) is also chasing his second bracelet of the series after winning the No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship just a few days ago.
A bit further down the leaderboard sits legendary WSOP grinder Allen Kessler (582,000), who has cashes dating back all the way to 2001. Kessler already boasts an impressive 321 cashes in the WSOP, but has yet to win one of the coveted gold bracelets. Another final table appearance tomorrow would be his first (for a bracelet event) since 2022, wherein he placed seventh in an 8-Game Mix event at the WSOPE.
Day 2 Action
A total of 33 entrants joined the 47 returning players at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, bringing the total number of entrants to 130 — narrowly edging out last year's total of 127. Among those who joined the fray late looking to quickly run up a stack were Cary Katz, Dylan Linde, Michael Noori, Chris Brewer, Phil Ivey, Ryutaro Suzuki, and Martin Kabrhel — who was seen getting tips on how to play from Shaun Deeb before taking his seat.
While the vast majority of the "late reggers" found themselves on the rail before the second break, a couple managed to break through — most notably Chris Brewer, who managed to turn his 60,000 starting stack into nearly a million by the dinner break.
Maksim Pisarenko also got off to a hot start after making a full house on seventh street to leave Hal Rotholz and Louis Hillman short, both of whom would bust shortly thereafter.
Following the break after late registration closed, the numbers were tallied and it was determined this year's field generated a total prize pool of $1,209,000 with 20 players set to make the money. A min-cash was calculated at $20,472, while $301,970 was set aside for the eventual champion.
The eliminations came fast and furious as players attempted to run up their stacks, with nearly half of the remaining field getting sent to the rail by the second break. Among them were Dan Shak, Philip Hui, Jennifer Harman, Chad Eveslage, David Bach, Dylan Linde, newly-crowned five-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen, and defending champion Nick Guagenti.
A wild bubble period saw several players become critically short-stacked as they all attempted to outlast each other.
Michael Mizrachi found himself as the first player at risk on the soft bubble against David Benyamine, but he ended up drawing to a full house while Benyamine missed his flush draw.
Not long after, Joseph Villella was eliminated two spots off the money after getting all in against Benymaine and losing out to a pair of nines.
On the stone bubble, Robert Mizrachi, Michael Dwyer, David "ODB" Baker, and Kessler all found themselves in the danger zone. Eventually, Baker was forced all in with a single t-1,000 denomination chip in a four-way pot, but ended up making an unlikely trips to survive.
Dwyer then ended up at risk against Suzuki, but spiked two pair on seventh street to fade elimination.
Despite Baker's earlier good fortune, he found himself all in again as the shortest stack against the also at-risk Robert Mizrachi, Jeremy Ausmus, and Suzuki. Ausmus ended up making two pair for it all and Baker was eliminated on the stone bubble, while Mizrachi was awarded a min-cash thanks to his larger stack size.
Unsurprisingly, a rush of eliminations followed as Benyamine, Dwyer, Suzuki, and Cassidy were all eliminated within the level for a min-cash.
It was about this time that "The Grinder" began his epic ascent up the leaderboard, first by making a straight against Matthew Schreiber in a large pot and then by winning big off of Pisarenko with two pair not long after.
The final level saw Cheung battle with Mizrachi at various points, with Cheung getting the best of him on a couple different occasions. However, Mizrachi was able to rally while Eli Elezra and Patrick Leonard became the final two eliminations of the evening before bags were issued.
The remaining 11 players will return tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time to play down to a winner. Day 3 will start on Level 19, which features 25,000/50,000 betting limits.
Here's a look at the remaining payouts:
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
| 1 | $301,970 |
| 2 | $201,308 |
| 3 | $139,036 |
| 4 | $98,782 |
| 5 | $72,254 |
| 6 | $54,458 |
| 7 | $42,333 |
| 8 | $33,974 |
| 9 | $28,179 |
| 10-11 | $24,181 |
With every remaining player boasting an impressive poker resume, Day 3 promises plenty of competition as they battle for the title. Be sure to stick with PokerNews for live updates right up until the next $10,000 Seven Card Stud champion is crowned.