PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 3 (June 18). Until then, we will be keeping readers informed with updates on chip counts and core event statistics, including entries and prize pool. Scroll down to see more.
Two lady legends of the game, JJ Liu and Kathy Liebert, are seated side-by-side in Day 1a Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship.
The fashion-forward Liu was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2012, while Liebert, who is fresh off a victory in the seniors event at the Wynn Summer Classic, was inducted two years earlier.
In a special 974th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow come to you from the floor of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and are joined by a special guest in 2006 WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Madsen.
With co-host Chad Holloway away for the week, the three discuss Holtz winning his second bracelet in Event #31: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em. The two-time WSOP.com POY topped a field of 2,103 entries and defeated heads-up opponent Mei Seow to win a career-best $238,097 and his first live bracelet.
Holtz, who had a rowdy rail that included Ludlow and Madsen, also delivered one of the most epic bracelet win celebrations in recent memory.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
Poker G.O.A.T. Phil Ivey's deepest run of the 2026 World Series of Poker came to an end in the most expensive tournament on the schedule.
The 11-time bracelet winner was eliminated in eighth place in the $250,000 Super High Roller for $553,270 after running pocket jacks into the pocket queens of Bryn Kenney at the official final table.
While the result falls short of bracelet number 12, it still represents Ivey's best finish of the summer and his first final-table appearance of the series.
The tournament attracted 56 entries and generated a $13,720,000 prize pool, with a first-place prize of $4,334,411 awaiting the eventual champion.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
Phil Hellmuth tries to keep it positive on social media. But a bad beat elimination from a recent 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) event caused the "Poker Brat" to rant.
The 17-time bracelet winner posted a three-minute video shortly after busting on Day 2 from Event #33: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. In that clip, he expressed frustration two weeks into a long WSOP.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
An angry poker player got into a verbal dispute with another player at the table at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) after having his cards mucked in the big blind.
The verbal altercation between Georgia's James Heath and Maine's Darrell Blodgett took place on Sunday during Day 1 of Event #43: $800 8-Handed Deepstack No-Limit, which drew 3,903 runners for a prize pool of $2,732,100. And there was no love lost between two of those players.
The poker community asked, and the WSOP listened.
In a major shake-up to the Poker Hall of Fame, the induction process is shifting away from its traditional "winner-takes-all" format. A brand-new voting system has been introduced, paving the way for up to six of the eight nominees to be inducted in a single year.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame. Once the public determines the top eight nominees, the final decision will rest with the 33 living Hall of Fame members.
It's an early start in Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship, as players will take their seats today at 10 a.m. local time at the 2026 World Series of Poker. Today marks the first of two Day 1s, with Day 1b commencing on Tuesday, June 16.
The event is open to anyone 50 years of age and older, and there are plenty of 50+ poker tournament players interested in taking down this event. Upwards of 7,000 entrants is the norm, with 7,575 entries processed in 2025.
This event follows a similar structure to the COLOSSUS and Monster Stack: Day 1a survivors face off against each other in Day 2a, while Day 1b survivors progress to Day 2b. Those who progress from each of those Day 2s are combined on Day 3 on Thursday, June 18. PokerNews traditional coverage of this event begins on Day 3.
Action will begin with blinds of 100/100 and a 100 big blind ante, with players starting with 20,000 chips. Levels will be 60 minutes long, with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 8, at approximately 7 p.m. on the opening day. There are two Day 1 flights that players can enter, with both flights allowing for a single reentry. Day 1a kicks off on June 15th, followed by Day 1b on June 16th. Late registration will stay open until roughly 8:15 p.m. at the start of Level 9 on each Day 1.
Ten levels are scheduled to be played on Days 1, 2, and 3, with Day 4 playing to the final five, before a champion is crowned on Day 5, Saturday, June 20.
Last summer, Brett Lim outlasted 7,574 entrants to win his first gold bracelet along with $653,839. It marked the largest cash of his career, and although this dream became a reality, Lim states it was the furthest thing from his mind for the most part.
“You always dream or aspire that something like this is gonna happen, but 48 hours ago this was the furthest thing from my mind,” Lim explained moments after holding his first WSOP bracelet. “I barely min-cashed. I was happy with some money jumps, and up until 20 minutes ago, I thought I had lost the heads-up match. A lot of things were going pretty grim, and then two key hands just came by 'boom, boom, boom'. I didn’t think I was gonna win, to tell you the truth, but luck finds you in strange ways, and it found me this time.”
Other recent champions of the Seniors event include Khang Pham (2024)
Lonnie Hallett (2023), and Eric Smidinger (2022).
Planning on playing this event? PokerNews activates MyStack for every WSOP event, regardless of that tournament's buy-in, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting
MyStack is a free poker tool that puts you in control of your chip counts on our live reporting pages. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!
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Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship
Day 1a Started
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