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Who will succeed Seth Davies, the defending champion of Event #41: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em at the World Series of Poker (WSOP)?
That question is beginning to take shape after Day 1 of the biggest High Roller of the summer at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. After eight levels of play, 41 entries had been recorded, with late registration still open for two more levels. Nevertheless, the prize pool has already reached $10,045,000.
Of those entrants, 31 players found a bag, led by Samuel Mullur, who finished as the chip leader with 4,315,000. Mullur enjoyed a strong day and climbed to the top of the counts after flopping a straight to send Alexandros Theologis to the rail, then catching Alex Foxen bluffing.
He later did the same against Daniel Negreanu. Despite this hand, "DNegs" still managed to finish the day with one of the top five stacks, bagging 2,970,000. Foxen, meanwhile, ended the night with 1,255,000, slightly below the starting stack.
Among the chip leaders, Brandon Wilson (4,295,000) sits just one big blind behind Mullur, while Christoph Vogelsang rounds out the top three. The German first eliminated Adrian Mateos with kings against ace-king and then knocked out Danny Tang on the final hand of the day to finish with 4,220,000.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Mullur | Austria | 4,315,000 | 173 |
| 2 | Brandon Wilson | United States | 4,295,000 | 172 |
| 3 | Christoph Vogelsang | Germany | 4,220,000 | 169 |
| 4 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 2,970,000 | 119 |
| 5 | Sean Winter | United States | 2,870,000 | 115 |
| 6 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | 2,730,000 | 109 |
| 7 | Dejan Kaladjurdjevic | Montenegro | 2,650,000 | 106 |
| 8 | Artur Martirosian | Russian Federation | 2,445,000 | 98 |
| 9 | Johannes Straver | Netherlands | 2,325,000 | 93 |
| 10 | Biao Ding | China | 2,050,000 | 82 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs (2,730,000) had an early double-up with aces against Dejan Kaladjurdjevic (2,650,000). Artur Martirosian (2,445,000) doubled up as well during the day, and looks set to avenge his $100,000 bubble finish in Event #36.
Martin Kabrhel entered during the last minutes of Day 1 (2,045,000), and so did Jesse Lonis, who finished fourth in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship earlier today. Lonis will return with 2,035,000, alongside Jason Koon (2,000,000), Stephen Chidwick (1,735,000), the $50,000 champion Santhosh Suvarna (1,665,000), Mateos, who re-entered (1,655,000), Emilien Pitavy (1,520,000), Nick Petrangelo (1,520,000) and Kristen Foxen (1,425,000).
Mikita Badziakouski thought he was going to be eliminated a long time ago after being left with only 5,000 by Barak Wisbrod (1,220,000). But, hand after hand, Badziakouski made a miraculous come back to reach 1,430,000, almost a starting stack.
Benjamin Heath (835,000), Alexandros Theologis (665,000) and Alex Kulev (400,000) will also be back on Day 2, with Leon Sturm last in chips with 385,000 despite a late double up.
All 31 remaining players and the new entrants will be back at the tables stronger than ever this Sunday, June 14 at noon local time. Action resumes at Level 9 with blinds of 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante.
Ten 60-minute levels are set to be played, during which the bubble is expected to burst. Last year, Davies took down a massive $4,752,551 and a gold bracelet for his victory.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of the $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em and all other events during the 2026 WSOP!
