button in SafariGlantz Leads 66 Survivors after Day 1 of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship
Stud Games: 1,500 Ante, 2,000 Bring-In, 6,000 Completion, 6,000-12,000 Limits
Pot-Limit & No-Limit: 3,000/4,500 Ante, 1,500-3,000 Blinds
We all know and adore the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning, and such pleasure can be difficult to replicate. For those who stand at the pinnacle of the poker world, the equivalent would likely be this morning.
Day 1 of Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship is in the books here at Paris Las Vegas, where 87 of the most talented poker players in the world ponied up just shy of the median American salary to compete with one another in nine different poker variants.
By night’s end, just 66 players remain in contention for what many consider to be the most prestigious prize in poker: the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy.
In last year’s edition of the event, 88 players entered on Day 1 from the 107 total, and 66 advanced to Day 2, eerily similar to today’s numbers.
Leading the pack after six levels is Matt Glantz, who rode the momentum of a gigantic Pot-Limit Omaha hand in which he eliminated Scott Seiver on his way to a bag of 989,000.
Finishing the day in second is eight-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser (826,000), while Welshman Robert Wells (790,000) rounds out the podium in third.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Glantz | United States | 989,000 |
| 2 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 826,000 |
| 3 | Robert Wells | United Kingdom | 790,000 |
| 4 | Chino Rheem | United States | 763,000 |
| 5 | Kristopher Tong | United States | 739,500 |
| 6 | Chris Brewer | United States | 694,500 |
| 7 | Josh Arieh | United States | 652,500 |
| 8 | Frank Brannan | United States | 649,000 |
| 9 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 643,500 |
| 10 | Carlo van Ravenswoud | Netherlands | 605,000 |
The Day’s Action
38 players took their seat during the first level of play, which was highlighted by an altercation between poker’s biggest star Daniel Negreanu and Chris Brewer.
In a hand of No-Limit Hold’em, Negreanu had squeezed preflop against an open and a call, and he led all three streets on a king-jack-eight-deuce-seven board after the flush completed on the turn. Brewer put in a river raise, and Negreanu could not get away as he paid off his opponent, who turned a flush, and Negreanu quickly lost eighty percent of his stack.
However, Negreanu was able to slowly rebuild his stack as more legends of the game filled the tables, with nearly 60 entries at the second break, with the unfortunate title of first elimination going to Jason Kluska, followed by Chad Eveslage.
The largest pot of the day occurred between Matt Glantz and Scott Seiver in Pot-Limit Omaha. Glantz had potted from the big blind over some limpers, and five people saw a king-six-three flop in a bloated pot. The two ended up getting over 150 big blinds into the middle, with Seiver holding top two pair against the top pair and flush draw of Glantz. The flush completed on the river, and Seiver cussed his way out of the room as the table stood again at what they just witnessed.
Shortly after, another clash would ensue between Kristopher Tong and Maxx Coleman. While playing No-Limit Hold’em, Coleman squeezed from the big blind with jacks and Danny Tang just flatted with ace-king suited. Tong would then back-jam for 302,000 with ace-queen. Coleman rejammed, and Tang painfully folded his big slick. Tong would end up making trip queens, and he collected the second largest hand of the day.
Later in the evening, the first wave of eliminations began, with Joao Vieira, Jeremy Ausmus, Nacho Barbero, and Patrick Leonard among those who were removed throughout the day.
A pair of former champions also had their day cut short, with Dan Cates and Elior Sion taking their leave early in the proceedings.
Defending champion Michael Mizrachi was also unable to advance to Day 2. With a camera crew filming his table all day, the Hall of Famer was unable to ever build a stack, ultimately bowing out in Razz at the hands of Brad Ruben. Michael's brother, Robert Mizrachi, was also unable to survive the day.
The only ones with their name on the Chip Reese trophy to put chips in a bag are Negreanu (247,000), Brian Rast (276,000, and Phil Hui (330,000).
Day 2 begins on Monday at 1 p.m. in the Gold Section of Paris. The action will resume in Level 7 with big bet blinds of 1,500/3,000 and limits of 6,000/12,000. Another six levels of 100 minutes are on the docket for tomorrow. However, registration for the event remains open until the start of Level 10 around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, so it is yet to be seen if last year's total of 107 can be surpassed.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage from the floor in Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, and all other events here at the 2026 World Series of Poker.