Three-way to the 8♥4♦9♠ flop, Bryce Yockey bet 15,000 from the small blind. Najeem Ajez called in the big blind, and Evan Krentzman tossed in calling chips as well.
The 7♥ turn then checked to Krentzman. He committed his last 15,000 to the pot, which Yockey called. Ajez announced a pot-sized raise, causing Yockey to instantly muck his cards.
Evan Krentzman: Q♦J♦6♣5♣
Najeem Ajez: A♠10♥8♠8♣
Ajez's set became a full house on the 9♦ river, sending Krentzman to the rail.
"Why didn't he jam flop like he's supposed to?" Ajez pondered after the hand.
"You would've won the same amount of money," Yockey assured him.
Yuhong Liu entered the day as one of the shorter stacks and raised the pot for Chris Hunichen to call in the big blind. Hunichen checked the Q♠10♣8♦ flop and Liu then made it 20,000 to go in order to win the pot uncontested.
Picking up the action on the A♠Q♦3♠5♦ turn, Lawrence Chang checked his option out of the blinds. Artur Martirosian then bet 75,000 for Chang to call. Both checked the 7♦ on the river and Chang tabled his J♠10♠10♣8♠ for a pair of tens with missed straight and flush draws.
Martirosian won the pot holding the A♦10♥6♣5♥ for aces and fives.
Daniel Negreanu has often said he considers Pot-Limit Omaha one of his best games, if not his best game. On Day 2 of Event #47: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha of the 2026 World Series of Poker, he can put his skills to the test, as he is one of only 110 players from the starting field of 329 entries who will return to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas at noon local time today.
Negreanu will bring a stack of 789,000 into Day 2, worth a whopping 158 big blinds, placing him barely outside of the top ten. Meanwhile, chipleader Youness Barakat has more than double Negreanu's chips, starting the day with 1,675,000. Joni Jouhkimainen was the best on Day 1a and follows Barakat with 1,598,000 in chips. Negreanu's fellow poker boom personality David Benyamine also managed to bag seven figures with 1,209,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Youness Barakat
Italy
1,675,000
335
2
Joni Jouhkimainen
Finland
1,598,000
320
3
Philip Marsico
United States
1,570,000
314
4
David Benyamine
France
1,209,000
242
5
Ka Kwan Lau
Hong Kong
1,205,000
241
6
Alex Foxen
United States
1,150,000
230
7
Nino Pansier
Netherlands
1,028,000
206
8
Robert Cowen
United Kingdom
1,026,000
205
9
Artur Martirosian
Russian Federation
870,000
174
10
Richard Gryko
United Kingdom
800,000
160
Youness Barakat
Other notable figures in the top ten include 2023 $25,000 PLO winner Ka Kwan Lau, Alex Foxen and Artur Martirosian, both hunting their second bracelet of the summer, and PLO specialists Nino Pansier, Robert Cowen, and Richard Gryko.
Dennis Weiss won the last edition of this event, conquering a record-breaking field of 489 in 2025. Weiss has already appeared on three final tables this summer, but will come back to Day 2 today as one of the shortest stacks with 55,000. With two more levels of late registration and the option for two reentries, however, Weiss will have plenty of time to amass more than the starting stack of 150,000 by the time the prize pool has been confirmed.
Dennis Weiss
Hall of Famers Nick Schulman (418,000), Brian Rast (412,000), and Erik Seidel (233,000) are still in contention, as is Dan "Jungleman" Cates (475,000). Other notable returning players include Jason Mercier (552,000), Stephen Chidwick (542,000), Josh Arieh (489,000), and UFC star Colby Covington (299,000).
Day 2 will begin with blinds of 3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. There is still a chance the $7,731,500 current prize pool will grow to record-breaking heights with the two 60-minute levels of late registration in mind. After late registration closes, eight more 60-minute levels will be played before Day 2 wraps up. A short break will take place after every two levels, with a 60-minute dinner break planned after Level 16, around 6:30 p.m. local time.
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Day 2 of the $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha will be reported live from start to finish, so tune in to PokerNews as the four-card action will get underway shortly.
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