button in SafariAlex Foxen Advances to Final Day of $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Just four players remain in the fight for one of the toughest World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets to win after two rounds in Day 2 of Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
The biggest player in name, and bicep, to advance through Day 2 is American high-stakes pro Alex Foxen, who is looking for his fourth career bracelet after most recently winning the $100,000 Triton Main Event at 2024 WSOP Paradise for $3.8 million.
Foxen will be joined by fellow bracelet winner Dimitar Danchev of Bulgaria and two first bracelet hopefuls in Japan's Ryuta Nakai and Russia's Nikita Kuznetsov.
WSOP commentator Joe Stapleton predicted big things in this event for Foxen, affectionately dubbed "Foxy" by Martin Kabrhel last summer, and that prediction may just come true on Day 3 on Monday. He will face Kuznetsov in the semifinals, while Nakai and Danchev will battle one another across the stage.
Suckout Sees Negreanu Blow Massive Lead
The day began with plenty of legendary poker players to keep an eye on as Poker Hall of Famers Daniel Negreanu and Michael Mizrachi were both in contention. The reigning champ was the first player to fall on Day 2 as the eight-time bracelet winner's flopped top pair was no good against the overpair of Japan's Ryuta Nakai, marking Mizrachi's elimination in the first round of Day 2.
That was a rather innocuous exit compared to Negreanu's. The seven-time bracelet winner had Biao Ding on the ropes before the high-stakes Chinese pro landed multiple doubles to stay in contention. He then turned the tables by rivering a three-outer to leave the father-to-be short and frustrated.
"I can't f***ing take it anymore. We're not done, but we're basically done," Negreanu vented shortly before being eliminated by Ding.
Other first-round casualties on Day 2 included French pros Florian Pesce and Julien Sitbon and American pros Justin Saliba and Brandon Wilson, the latter of whom fell to Alex Foxen as his top pair ran into a flopped set.
Round 2 went until the early morning hours as PokerGO boss Cary Katz fell to Nakai, while Belgian pro Thomas Boivin was eliminated by Foxen despite having doubled a few hands earlier by flopping trips with a dominated ace. Also eliminated in the second round were Ding and Finnish online crusher Henri Puustinen, better known as "'buttonclickr," who finished third in this event in 2021 as a baby-faced 21 year old.
Day 3 will take place on June 1 inside the Paris ballroom, with the first match kicking off at 3:30 p.m. local time. There will be two rounds ahead of the winner being crowned and taking home the top prize of $800,000. Each returning player is guaranteed a payout of at least $300,000.
$25,000 Heads-Up Championship Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 |
| 2 | $528,000 |
| 3-4 | $300,000 |
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage of Day 2 of the $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship at the 2026 WSOP. Check out the live reporting portal for more coverage from the summer festival in Las Vegas.