button in SafariNaoya Kihara Continues Scorching Hot Summer with Big Stack on Day 2 of $10,000 Big O Championship
Naoya Kihara is having the summer of his life at the 2026 World Series of Poker. Already having accomplished a rare feat by winning back-to-back Championship events in the first week at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, the Japanese poker veteran remains hungry for more, having his eyes on becoming the eighth player ever to capture three bracelets during a single WSOP.
Kihara entered Event #42: $10,000 Big O Championship with his eyes on yet another prize. Although the proceedings are early, with two more levels of late registration to grow the current 362-strong field and $3,375,900 prize pool to possible record heights, he has given himself a shot at another deep run by amassing a stack 405,500, securing a top ten stack when Day 2 commences at 1 p.m. local time. Kihara is just under 40 big blinds behind chipleader William Kerkaert, who tops the 132 returning players with 500,500 in chips.
Chad Eveslage follows Kerkaert with a bag of 489,000 waiting for him today. PLO specialist Bruno Furth already notched a deep run in the $1,500 Big O a couple of days ago and is looking to improve on his 17th-place finish in its bigger brother, starting the day with 436,500. Meanwhile, WSOP regulars John Racener and Dylan Linde round out the top ten, placing below Kihara with stacks of 375,000 and 342,000, respectively.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Kerkaert | United States | 500,500 | 200 |
| 2 | Chad Eveslage | United States | 489,000 | 196 |
| 3 | Daniel Aharoni | United States | 458,500 | 183 |
| 4 | Philip Long | United Kingdom | 445,000 | 178 |
| 5 | Sam Soverel | United States | 437,000 | 175 |
| 6 | Bruno Furth | United States | 436,500 | 175 |
| 7 | Gary Bolden | United States | 415,000 | 166 |
| 8 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 405,500 | 162 |
| 9 | John Racener | United States | 375,000 | 150 |
| 10 | Dylan Linde | United States | 342,000 | 137 |
As is par for the course for a prestigious $10,000 Championship event, the returning field is filled to the brim with 25K Fantasy picks. Dylan Weisman
bagged just under double the average with 295,000, while mixed-game legend James Obst follows close at 266,000. Speaking of legends, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom continues hunting a first bracelet with a stack of 219,500, and Mike Matusow returns with 202,000, eyeing his first piece of WSOP jewelry since 2013. Hall of Famer Nick Schulman is looking to join the exclusive nine-bracelet club after capturing number eight a few days ago, having 196,000 to start with on Day 2.
Meanwhile, the likes of Allen Kessler (116,500), Robert Mizrachi (112,800), Qinghai Pan (103,000), Matt Glantz (83,000), and Joao Vieira (81,000) play less than the average stack, but still more than anyone who enters during the two levels of late registration today.
With the blinds starting at 1,000/2,500/2,500, the 60,000 starting stack will be worth 24 big blinds at the start of the day, and anyone who has not fired three bullets yet can enter or reenter until the start of Level 13, when blinds have reached 2,000/4,000/4,000.
Day 2 will play ten 60-minute levels in total, with an hour-long dinner break scheduled after Level 16, around 7:30 p.m. local time. The night is scheduled to end around 1 a.m. local time, but with the bubble set to burst today, it might become a late endeavor for the surviving players.
Never Miss a Moment with MyPlayers on PokerNews
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether
you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
From railbirds to backers, MyPlayers is the smarter way to stay connected to the game.
PokerNews will provide live updates of the second day of the $10,000 Big O Championship from start to finish, so stay tuned as the five-card action will resume shortly.