button in SafariTodd Brunson, Justin Smith Lead Final 11 in the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw
Limits: 30,000-60,000
It was moving day here at the Paris Las Vegas for Day 2 of Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship at the World Series of Poker. The starting field was finalized before it was reduced to its final 11 after ten hours of play. Yesterday's 140 entries were joined by 36 Day 2 entrants, bringing the total to 176 and generating a total prize pool of $1,636,800.
It is Todd Brunson who leads the pack with 11 left as they chase the first-place prize of $392,478. Brunson's lone bracelet came in 2005, and he has put himself in a great position to add a second one tomorrow after he bagged 2,010,000.
Close behind him in second is Justin Smith (1,960,000), who looks to win his first piece of WSOP hardware in his first summer playing a substantial schedule since 2013. Japanese mixed game regular Koji Fujimoto (1,275,000) rounds out the podium in third as he looks to add another title for his country this year.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todd Brunson | United States | 2,010,000 | 25 |
| 2 | Justin Smith | United States | 1,960,000 | 25 |
| 3 | Koji Fujimoto | Japan | 1,275,000 | 16 |
| 4 | Nick Schulman | United States | 1,125,000 | 14 |
| 5 | Andrew Kelsall | United States | 1,085,000 | 14 |
| 6 | Tommy Hang | United States | 875,000 | 11 |
| 7 | Billy Baxter | United States | 665,000 | 8 |
| 8 | Robert Wells | United Kingdom | 600,000 | 8 |
| 9 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 430,000 | 5 |
| 10 | Nam Le | United States | 420,000 | 5 |
| 11 | Brandon Shack-Harris | United States | 140,000 | 2 |
A stacked lineup will return tomorrow to play down to a winner, with several storylines emerging. Nick Schulman and Naoya Kihara sit third and fourth, respectively in the Player of the Year race, and a strong result here could allow them to move into second place.
Poker Hall of Famer Billy Baxter (665,000) has already cemented himself as the best Lowball player in history, and he has the opportunity to add a sixth Lowball bracelet and eighth overall.
60 players advanced to today after Wednesday's Day 1, and they were joined by 36 new entrants in the first level of action.
Start-of-day chipleader Brian Tate would go on to earn the unfortunate title of bubble boy. He had a healthy stack before losing several hands in a row, and he got his final chips into the middle from the big blind drawing three. He finished with a pair of eights, losing to the ten-seven of Tommy Hang, and the remaining 27 players were all in the money and guaranteed a minimum cash of $20,229.
Over the next three hours, the final 27 was reduced down to 11, with some notables to cash including Jerry Wong (26th - $20,229), Ray Henson (22nd - $22,273), Viktor Blom (20th), Andrew Yeh (18th), Joe McKeehen (17th - $25,484), John Juanda (16th), and Michael Moncek (13th).
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $392,478 |
| 2 | $256,181 |
| 3 | $172,064 |
| 4 | $119,011 |
| 5 | $84,845 |
| 6 | $62,404 |
| 7 | $47,401 |
| 8-9 | $37,224 |
| 10-11 | $30,255 |
The restart is Friday at 1 p.m. in the Paris Gold Section. Action resumes in Level 21 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and limits of 40,000/80,000, with an average stack of 960,000. Levels are 90 minutes in length on Day 3, and play will continue until a winner is crowned.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates from the floor as we play down to a winner in Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship, as well as updates from all other events here at the 2026 World Series of Poker.