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Daniel Geeng Emerges as Unexpected Chipleader After Day 2 of $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo
Bring-In: 20,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
It's a Thursday night, and you're looking to kill some time at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas during 2026 World Series of Poker. What to do? Well, if you're Daniel Geeng, you register for Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, make it to Day 2, and, despite a lack of experience, crush the field to bag the chip lead with ten players remaining out of the starting field of 647 entries.
Geeng did not plan to make it nearly this far into the tournament. As a high-stakes PLO regular, Geeng was looking forward to playing the $10k PLO Championship instead, and just wanted to play some cards on his day off. Now, it seems he might have to miss one of his favorite events as his 3,625,000 stack will be worth a massive 30 big bets when play resumes on Day 3. Were Geeng to go all the way and capture the $159,276 top prize, however, he would surely not regret registering.
Geeng is closely followed by mixed-game regular Dave Stann, who bagged 3,020,000 on the hunt for his first bracelet. Just like Geeng, Daniil Fedunov noted his first-ever stud cash when he secured himself a piece of the $858,892 prize pool. He ended Day 2 third in chips with 2,950,000, creating a big gap with Day 1 chipleader Taylor Atchison, who sits in fourth place with 1,455,000.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Geeng | United States | 3,625,000 | 30 |
| 2 | Dave Stann | United States | 3,020,000 | 25 |
| 3 | Daniil Fedunov | United States | 2,950,000 | 25 |
| 4 | Taylor Atchison | United States | 1,455,000 | 12 |
| 5 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | 1,240,000 | 10 |
| 6 | David Bach | United States | 1,025,000 | 9 |
| 7 | Jeff Myers | United States | 885,000 | 7 |
| 8 | Alan Ledford | United States | 640,000 | 5 |
| 9 | Kane Kalas | United States | 275,000 | 2 |
| 10 | Thomas Bessoir | United States | 170,000 | 1 |
Adam Owen sits in the middle of the pack, on the verge of making his tenth live WSOP final table and still eyeing his first-ever win. Three-time bracelet winner David Bach is looking for his first victory since 2017, while high roller Kane Kalas also made it through, albeit very short with two big bets. Thomas Bessoir, dubbed "The Cockroach" by his opponents, survived no fewer than seven all-ins at the end of the night, but will still bring the shortest stack to Day 3, bagging just one big bet.
Day 2 Action
With 146 players to start the day, about a third of the field had to depart to reach the money. The early eliminations came quickly. Among others, 25k Fantasy picks Renan Bruschi and Marco Johnson were unable to spin up their stacks, being eliminated in the first few hands of the day. After about two hours, Liam Jehu, Patricia Yannuzzi, and Pearce Arnold all busted on the first hand of bubble play, splitting the first two min-cashes between them as a result.
Fan-favorite Daniel Negreanu recorded yet another cash at the WSOP, but fell early in the day, getting $3,167 for his 63rd place. Defending champion Blaz Zerjav made a good attempt at going back-to-back, but his efforts ended in 45th place, picking up $3,819. Mike Matusow made an uncharacteristically silent exit in 35th for $4,344, while Hall of Famer Brian Rast's deep run ended in 18th place, cashing $6,016.
Kao Chieng Saechao became the final elimination in 11th place for $9,093, and the remaining players are guaranteed the same amount when they come back tomorrow at 1 p.m. Payjumps will take place at every elimination, and with six-figure prizes reserved for the first two spots, the remaining contenders will have to conisder every move carefully.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $159,276 | ||
| 2 | $106,162 | ||
| 3 | $73,068 | ||
| 4 | $51,217 | ||
| 5 | $36,574 | ||
| 6 | $26,618 | ||
| 7 | $19,749 | ||
| 8 | $14,945 | ||
| 9 | $11,538 | ||
| 10 | $9,093 |
Day 3 of The $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo will be the final day of the tournament. It will restart on June 27 at 1 p.m. local time, one elimination away from the unofficial final table of nine players. The limits will start at 60,000/120,000, with every level lasting for 60 minutes. A break is scheduled after every two levels, and play will conclude only when a winner has been declared.
PokerNews will be back to live report the final day of the $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo from start to finish, so make sure to tune back in then for extensive updates straight from the tournament floor.