PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 2 (June 23). 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.
In the 977th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz are joined at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas by a pair from the UK in Grosvenor Poker's Katie Swift and Philip "The Tower" Heald.
The quartet discusses the recent high-profile bet between Phil Hellmuth and Shaun Deeb, one involving the former's son, Phillip "P3" Hellmuth III, and the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Deeb stands to win $14,000 max, while Hellmuth could potentially win $10,000,000! It's an extremely long shot, but what do you think?
From there, the crew looks at a pair of game-changing hands. In the first, Dario Sammartino shared on social media that an automatic shuffler has apparently sorted the cards, which resulted in two very similar hands, and in the other, a dealer error resulted in the final two players in the COLOSSUS being dealt the wrong cards in the first hand of heads-up play. No one noticed in real time, and the tournament ended as a result.
Other topics include changes to the Poker Hall of Fame, The Tower advocating for Barny Boatman and John Duthie to be inducted, and a look ahead to Grosvenor Poker's famed GOLIATH, which will run July 23-August 2. Finally, don't forget to order your Think Jerky here!
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.
According to the WSOP live app.
With late registration one of the hottest topics of the 2026 World Series of Poker, Daniel Negreanu made sure to avoid the debate entirely in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Kid Poker was in his seat from the very first hand, however ten minutes later, he had lost more than two-thirds of his stack.
The seven-time bracelet winner and 2024 Poker Players Championship champion suffered one of the roughest starts imaginable Sunday after paying off Chris Brewer in a massive pot during the opening level, watching his 300,000 starting stack shrink to 60,000 before some players had even settled into their seats.
According to the WSOP live app.
Shaun Deeb came up one spot short yet again for a 2026 World Series of Poker bracelet, falling to Joey Couden in Event #52: $3,000 Nine Game Mix after a grueling three-and-a-half-hour heads-up battle. The defeat was Deeb's ninth in a bracelet match and dropped his all-time heads-up record to 8-9.
The latest near miss added to a frustrating run of runner-up finishes for the eight-time bracelet winner. Deeb had already finished second twice at WSOP Europe earlier this year to take an early lead in the Player of the Year race, but after arriving in Las Vegas with just one cash through the opening weeks of the series, another silver medal may prove crucial as he chases back-to-back POY titles.
As painful as Deeb's 8-9 record may be, it doesn't rank among the unluckiest in WSOP history. Several poker crushers have reached heads-up for a bracelet time and again, only to walk away empty-handed. Here are the players with the most WSOP runner-up finishes without ever sealing the deal.
According to the WSOP live app.
Brayden Lou managed to improve on an already outstanding year with a remarkable victory in the $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em at the 2026 World Series of Poker.
After weeding his way through a field of 4,100, the inexperienced Lou wrestled the crown away from Jason Hoffman heads-up to claim the $196,066 winner’s share of a $1,701,500 prize pool.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Lou said. “I guess I can scratch this off my bucket list. I ran well, played well. That’s how it usually goes for tournament winners.”
Not that Lou would know, considering he won a gold bracelet in just his fourth ever live tournament.
The tournament many players consider the toughest in poker gets underway on Sunday as the $50,000 Poker Players Championship returns to the 2026 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Now in its 16th edition, the PPC has become one of the most coveted titles in the game, with only the WSOP Main Event rivaling it in prestige for many of poker's elite.
Over five days, a field packed with mixed-game specialists and Hall of Famers will battle across nine disciplines in pursuit of the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy and a place alongside some of the game's greatest champions.
The seven-handed tournament rotates between No-Limit Hold'em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Razz, Pot-Limit Omaha, Limit Hold'em, No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and 2-7 Triple Draw. Players begin with 300,000 chips and face 100-minute levels throughout the event.
Yesterday's flight of Event #57: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha brought 683 entries to the field for a prize pool of $601,040. Today at noon, Day 1b begins, and a whole new set of players will take over.
Day 1a saw 32 players survive to Day 2. The expectation is that today will see a bigger field and bigger numbers all around.
For now though, Paul Roy has the chip lead with 934,000, according to the WSOP LIVE app. Behind him is Harry Rubin (795,000) and in third is Oleksii Holubov (755,000).
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Roy | United States | 934,000 | 93 |
| 2 | Harry Rubin | United States | 795,000 | 80 |
| 3 | Oleksii Holubov | Ukraine | 755,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Joseph Curcio | United States | 716,000 | 72 |
| 5 | Geoffrey Mooney | Australia | 621,000 | 62 |
| 6 | Steven Forman | United States | 620,000 | 62 |
| 7 | Aurelien Martin | France | 607,000 | 61 |
| 8 | Jiyang Gan | China | 553,000 | 55 |
| 9 | Makoto Yoshimichi | Japan | 525,000 | 53 |
| 10 | Benjamin Juhasz | Hungary | 477,000 | 48 |
Chip counts according to WSOPLive App.
Action begins at 12 p.m. local time with two more Day 1 flights to go — one today and one on June 22. Each flight begins with a 20,000 starting stack and 40-minute levels. Registration remains open till the end of the dinner break after level nine. This should be around 7:40 p.m. as currently scheduled.
Survivors from the starting flights combine for Day 2 at noon on Tuesday, June 23, when PokerNews traditional live coverage will start.
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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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.
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Event #57: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Day 1b Started
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