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Hoenig Aiming for Title Defence as 66 Return for Day 2 of Possible Record-Breaking Dealer's Choice Championship
Just over one year ago, accomplished mixed-game pro Ryan Hoenig was awarded his first-ever bracelet in one of his favorite events on the World Series of Poker schedule.
This year, Hoenig was one of the 135 players who registered on Day 1 of said tournament, Event #27: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship, and he bagged an above-average stack as 66 return for Day 2.
Hoenig will unload a stack of 127,000 onto the table when play resumes at 1 p.m. local time today at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, just over two starting stacks.
When Hoenig won in 2025, it was by far the largest field ever assembled in the history of the $10k Dealer's Choice Championship.
However, only 18 more entries are needed to smash that record and increase the current $1,255,500 prize pool to an unmatched level, which seems more than possible with one full level of late registration remaining.
Hoenig's fellow Dealer's Choice champions Ben Diebold (2022) and Chad Eveslage (2023) will join him on Day 2, both having bagged a top ten stack on Day 1 with 216,500 and 213,000, respectively.
The chip lead of 347,000, meanwhile, is in the hands of Chris Brewer, who registered straight after being eliminated from the final table of the $10k Stud Championship and is looking to make back-to-back final days in a mixed-game event.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Brewer | United States | 347,000 |
| 2 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 339,500 |
| 3 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 268,000 |
| 4 | Matt Glantz | United States | 266,000 |
| 5 | Matthew Valeo | United States | 259,500 |
| 6 | Owais Ahmed | United States | 230,000 |
| 7 | Ben Diebold | United States | 216,500 |
| 8 | Chad Eveslage | United States | 213,000 |
| 9 | Marco Johnson | United States | 209,500 |
| 10 | Ariel Mantel | Argentina | 194,000 |
Todd Brunson, meanwhile, leads four Hall of Famers into Day 2 with 139,500 in chips. John Hennigan (111,000) and Eli Elezra (108,000) also managed to get above six figures, but Brian Rast will return as one of the absolute short stacks with 16,500. Josh Arieh continues his hunt for bracelet eight with a stack of 99,500 after a heartbreak third-place finish earlier this series, while poker legend Viktor Blom (70,500) and popular vlogger Brad Owen (158,000) still have hopes of capturing their maiden bracelets in this event.
The $10k Dealer's Choice Championship will resume in Level 11. Limits will be at 4,000/8,000, while the blinds in big bet games are 1,000/2,000.
Ten 60-minute levels are scheduled for Day 2, with a dinner break planned after Level 15, around 6:30 p.m. local time.
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A full day of high-level mixed-game action is about to start, so be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for extensive coverage of the $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship's second day.