button in SafariJC Tran Bags a Top 10 Stack on Day 1a of the $1K Mystery Million
The first of six flights in Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions No-Limit Hold'em saw 1,643 players take their shot at World Series of Poker (WSOP) glory, but only 76 of those advanced to Day 2.
JC Tran, a two-time bracelet winner, finished Day 1a with 1,610,000 chips, enough for a top 10 stack at this early stage. Tran captured his first bracelet in 2008 in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event. His second bracelet came a year later in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha.
Readers of a certain age may remember that Tran finished fifth in the 2013 WSOP Main Event, which earned him a career-high $2,106,893.
According to the WSOP LIVE app, Leo Soma (3,180,000) bagged the largest Day 1a stack, followed by his fellow Frenchman Vincent Lavollee (2,200,000), with Greece's Emmanouil Chalkiotis (2,120,000) just behind him.
Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Soma | France | 3,180,000 | 80 |
| 2 | Vincent Lavollee | France | 2,200,000 | 55 |
| 3 | Emmanouil Chalkiotis | Greece | 2,120,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Brad Sailor | United States | 1,950,000 | 49 |
| 5 | Jian Levine | United States | 1,701,500 | 43 |
| 6 | Donald Fulton | United States | 1,700,000 | 43 |
| 7 | Jakob Miegel | Germany | 1,650,000 | 41 |
| 8 | JC Tran | United States | 1,610,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Andre Cullins | United States | 1,610,000 | 40 |
| 10 | Armen Minasyan | Armenia | 1,535,000 | 38 |
Others who navigated their way through the Day 1a minefield include Jakob Miegel (1,650,000), Yen Han Chen (760,000), Zdenek Zizka (665,000), David "ODB" Baker (665,000), Jason James (318,000), David Shmuel (313,000), and Howard Mash (30,000).
The 76 Day 1a survivors won't be back in action until June 28, but Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time on June 24. Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates from the 2026 WSOP.