button in SafariXuan Liu Among the Leads After Day 1 of the $2,000 NLHE
Day 1 of Event #26: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em saw 968 players flock to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. After the completion of 15 levels, only 160 of those players who started the day with high hopes had chips to bag. Xuan Liu bagged the third largest stack, giving her an excellent platform to build from on Day 2 as she hunts her first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet.
Liu has more than $3.4 million in live poker tournament earnings, but a bracelet has eluded her so far. A sixth-place finish in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo event at the 2012 WSOP is the closest Liu has come to securing some WSOP hardware.
The Canadian's quest for WSOP glory won't be easy, as she has a tough starting table on Day 2. She'll lock horns with the likes of Zdenek Zizka (415,000), Erwann Pecheaux (173,000), and Aaron Kupin (170,000), among others, when play resumes on June 8.
Event #26: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Palker | United States | 742,000 | 124 |
| 2 | Srivinay Irrinki | United States | 612,000 | 102 |
| 3 | Xuan Liu | Canada | 585,000 | 98 |
| 4 | Takahiro Kidokoro | Japan | 541,000 | 90 |
| 5 | David McGowan | United States | 538,000 | 90 |
| 6 | Jose Nadal | Mexico | 514,000 | 86 |
| 7 | Yulian Bogdanov | Bulgaria | 480,000 | 80 |
| 8 | Yaniv Peretz | Latvia | 449,000 | 75 |
| 9 | Zdenek Zizka | Czech Republic | 415,000 | 70 |
| 10 | Peter Yang | United States | 410,000 | 68 |
Among the other Day 1 survivors are the likes of Braxton Dunaway (212,000), Ilan Boujenah (208,000), Bernhard Binder (206,000), Adam Hendrix (187,000), Shiina Okamoto (180,000), 2024 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Tamayo (151,000), Ivan Deyra (144,000), Shannon Shorr (110,000), and Frank Brannan (89,000).
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 8, with blinds starting at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. PokerNews' live reporting team will be on hand to bring you all of the action from this event.