With limited media access to the new feature tables, PokerNews will provide updates where possible, alongside the results of the match-ups and the updated bracket as players are eliminated. Some matches will be streamed by the World Series of Poker, and our updates will follow the same delay as the live stream.
Level: 2
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 0
Darren Elias raised to 1,600 on the button, and Phil Ivey called.
Ivey put in a check-raise on the 8♣2♣4♠ flop, making it 9,000 after Elias had continued for 3,000.
Ivey then slowed down on the 5♠ turn, check-calling a bet of 16,000.
When the 10♠ completed the board, Ivey checked for a third time, and Elias put 40,000 into the pot. Ivey called, mucking his cards when Elias showed J♠J♦ for the winner.
Joining the action with roughly 38,000 already in the middle, Faraz Jaka and Nikolai Mamut were looking at a 3♦3♥10♣ flop. Jaka checked the action to Mamut, who bet 13,000, and Jaka called.
Jaka check-called once again on the 2♠ turn, and the dealer completed the board with the J♦.
It was another check from Jaka, and this time Mamut went for it all, moving all in for 75,800. After taking a minute to consider, Jaka called.
Mamut flipped over his K♠K♥, and Jaka tossed his cards into the muck.
The cards are in the air for Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
Day 1a is a sellout, with 64 players registered.
Level: 1
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 0
The biggest buy-in tournament of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) so far explodes into action at 12 p.m. local time on May 29. As the clock strikes noon, some of poker's elite will exchange the eye-watering sum of $25,000 for 150,000 chips and the chance to become the champion of Event #7: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
This event is one of the most exciting to watch as a poker fan, not least because the biggest names always turn out in force. Heads-up poker is often called the purest form of the game, and this tournament is a one-on-one high-stakes spectacular.
The $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em event spans three days, with Day 1 consisting of Flight A and Flight B. Each Flight is capped at 64 players, with those who bust Flight A permitted to buy back in on Flight B.
The draw for Flight A takes place at 12 p.m. local time on May 29, with the Flight B draw taking place at the same time on May 30. Registration for each flight closes at the time of the first draw, or when 64 players have bought in. Heads-up matches then kick off at 12 p.m., 5 p.m., and 10 p.m. local time on their respective days.
Players receive 150,000 chips, and each level lasts 20 minutes. This event uses a 20-second shot clock preflop and a 30-second shot clock post-flop.
Day 2, on May 31, sees the surviving players from Flights A and B combined at 12 p.m. local time. Two more rounds are played, leaving four players. That quartet returns to the action at an unknown time on June 1, where they will play down to a winner.
High-stakes tournaments always capture the poker community's interest, and only a few 2026 WSOP events feature higher buy-ins. The $25,000 buy-in, combined with the heads-up format, usually turns this event into a star-studded affair, with the game's most recognizable stars battling it out in a series of one-on-one encounters.
If you want to see your favorite player in action and can get to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, this is the event where you are most likely to catch a glimpse of them at the tables.
Unsurprisingly, this event has produced some incredible final encounters over the years. In 2025, Artur Martirosian defeated Aliaksei Boika in the final and scooped $500,000 and his third WSOP bracelet.
Prior to Martirosian's victory last year, Darius Samual beat Faraz Jaka, Chanracy Khun defeated Doug Polk in 2023, Dan Smith brushed aside Christoph Vogelsang in 2022, and Jason Koon busted Gabor Szabo in the 2021 final. Here's hoping for another epic finale in 2026.
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Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Day 1a Started
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