Joel Prelog opened to 15,000 from middle position and Peter Kaemmerlen three-bet on the button to 45,000. Prelog called, and the players saw a J♦9♦5♣ flop. Prelog bet 35,000 and Kaemmerlen jammed, seeing Prelog make a quick fold.
On the adjacent table, Jason Raber opened to 12,000 on the button and Joshua Boulton defended his big blind. The 9♦K♣4♦ flop saw Boulton move his remaining 17,000 into the pot and Raber made a quick call.
Joshua Boulton: 8♠4♣
Jason Raber: 10♠9♠
Both had flopped a pair, but Raber was ahead with the nines and held to scoop the pot and eliminate Boulton in one of the first hands of the day.
On the table across, Shiina Okamoto opened to 12,000 from middle position and Justin Hankinson three-bet all in for his remaining 86,000. Action folded around to Okamoto who paused before folding, allowing Hankindon to chip up early.
Erwann Pecheux opened to 12,000 from early position and was called by Zdenek Zizka to his left. Aaron Kupin in the next seat squeezed to 42,000, then Adam Yellin on the button jammed for 18,000.
The action went to Ludovic Uzan in the big blind who went into the tank for more than two minutes. The clock was called and he eventually moved all-in as well for 57,000. Both Pecheux and Zizka folded but Kupin snap-called.
Adam Yellin: A♥K♣
Ludovic Uzan: Q♠Q♥
Aaron Kupin: K♥K♦
Kupin's kings held on 3♥4♠5♣3♦J♠ so both Yellin and Uzan were eliminated. Zizka said that he would have made quads.
The 2026 World Series of Poker continues today at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, where the surviving 160 players return for Day 2 of Event #26: $2,000 No‑Limit Hold’em.
This year’s tournament attracted a total of 968 entries, generating a prize pool of $1,723,040 and ensuring a top prize of $288,064 for the eventual champion. With just 146 places paid, players will return close to the money bubble when action resumes today.
Prize Pool Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
$288,064
14–17
$11,748
2
$191,997
18–26
$9,733
3
$135,294
27–35
$8,207
4
$96,783
36–44
$7,046
5
$70,300
45–53
$6,162
6
$51,862
54–62
$5,490
7
$38,868
63–71
$4,986
8
$29,600
72–80
$4,617
9
$22,912
81–89
$4,361
10–11
$18,031
90–98
$4,204
12–13
$14,430
99–146
$4,004
Several WSOP bracelet winners were spotted in the field early on Day 1, including Shiina Okamoto, Renat Bohdanov, Sam Jaddi, and Pengfei Wang.
Two‑time, back‑to‑back Ladies WSOP bracelet winner Okamoto had a strong showing and returns today with an average stack of 180,000. Wang (86,000) also survived but will need to find an early double as he comes back with under 15 big blinds. Bohdanov and Jaddi had less luck and were among those who fell short during the later levels of play.
2024 Main Event champion Jonathan Tamayo (151,000) is also set to return, alongside fellow bracelet holders Aaron Kupin (170,000), Ivan Deyra (144,000), Stanislav Barshak (123,000), Shannon Shorr (110,000), Stephen Hubbard (93,000), Frank Brannan (89,000), Stanton Tentnowski (75,000), and Joshua Boulton (29,000).
All return with below‑average stacks and will be looking to battle their way into the money. Brannan, Shorr, and Kupin will also be aiming to lock up points for their teams in the 25K Fantasy Draft, alongside fellow draftee Adam Hendrix (187,000).
Zdenek Zizka
WSOP bracelet winner and fellow 25K Fantasy Draft pick Zdenek Zizka is also due back on the felt this morning. Fresh off his deep run in the $25,000 High Roller, Zizka navigated a 345‑player field and, after three intense days among poker’s elite, locked up sixth place for $300,942. He wasted no time carrying that momentum into this event and begins Day 2 inside the top ten chip counts.
Xuan Liu also spent much of Day 1 near the top of the leaderboard and continued her climb throughout the evening, ultimately bagging 585,000. She returns third in chips, just behind USA’s Jason Palker (742,000) and Srivinay Irrinki (612,000), who narrowly edged her out to claim the top two spots.
Top Ten 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
Cards go back in the air at 12 p.m. local time, with play resuming in Level 16, where blinds are 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante.
Levels will remain 60 minutes throughout Day 2, with a 15‑minute break every two levels. A 60‑minute dinner break is scheduled after Level 21 (approximately 6:30 p.m.).
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PokerNews will be on the floor all day long, bringing you live updates, chip counts, eliminations, and all the key hands as the field continues its pursuit of the bracelet in Event #26: $2,000 No Limit Hold’em.
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