button in SafariWho Will Reach the Final Day of the 2026 $50,000 Poker Players Championship?
Two tournament days remain to declare the next winner of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and 15 players out of 108 entries remain to compete for the lion's share of the $5,130,000 overall prize pool. All those still in contention have already accumulated a combined sixty-five World Series of Poker gold bracelets and the new champion is set to be crowned on the feature stage at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas until June 25, 2026.
Leading the way into Day 4 is the UK's Benny Glaser with a stack of 4,705,000 and he sits in a prime position to compete for his ninth career bracelet. What better event would there be to achieve that feat as the Main Event of the mixed game players in which everyone has to showcase their talents in nine different poker variants?
Paul Volpe returns as second in chips with 4,020,000 followed by Day 2 chip leader Kristopher Tong (3,305,000), who reached the final table in this very event three years ago. The incredibly stacked field furthermore includes Josh Arieh (2,640,000), Phil Ivey (2,555,000), and Jason Mercier (2,180,000) all of which can be found in the overnight top ten.
And then there is the 17 time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth who just recovered from covid and turned a late entry on Day 2 into another deep run. He will be the second-shortest stack of 545,000 among the 15 finalists but can never be ruled out on the big stage.
Top 10 Chip Counts for Day 4
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 4,705,000 |
| 2 | Paul Volpe | United States | 4,020,000 |
| 3 | Kristopher Tong | United States | 3,305,000 |
| 4 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 2,850,000 |
| 5 | Josh Arieh | United States | 2,640,000 |
| 6 | Phil Ivey | United States | 2,555,000 |
| 7 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 2,530,000 |
| 8 | Jason Mercier | United States | 2,180,000 |
| 9 | Maxx Coleman | United States | 1,780,000 |
| 10 | Chris Brewer | United States | 1,565,000 |
As previously mentioned, a new winner will be crowned in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship as the last former champion bowed out late on Day 3 when Brian Rast was eliminated in 20th place. The money bubble burst 47 hands later with the elimination of Bryce Yockey before another two players earned a six-figure cash without bagging up chips.
At 1 a.m. local time, the tournament floor stopped the action with half a level left in level 18 and there will be 50 minutes remaining when the action resumes at 1 p.m. local time for the penultimate tournament day. The 15 contenders are spread out evenly across three tables but as soon as one of them bows out, the field will be reduced to the final two tables.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,343,764 | 7 | $176,732 |
| 2 | $895,837 | 8-9 | $144,054 |
| 3 | $600,698 | 10-11 | $122,709 |
| 4 | $417,607 | 12-14 | $109,459 |
| 5 | $301,405 | 15 | $102,474 |
| 6 | $226,172 |
The PokerNews live reporting team will pick up the action live from the start at 1 p.m. local time for the first one and a half levels before the $50,000 Poker Players Championship is moving to the live stream tables, after which all coverage will be on delay in accordance with the WSOP YouTube channel to not spoil any of the action.