Action went heads-up to a flop of 8♦Q♠5♠ in a hand between Philip Sternheimer on the button and Michael Banducci in the big blind.
Both players checked to the 3♠ turn, where Banducci led out for 800 and Sternheimer called.
The river fell the 2♦ and both players checked, with Banducci tabling the winner with 9♦5♦3♣2♠ for two pair, fives and deuces.
James St. Hilaire called from the small blind and then called after Dylan Smith made it 600 to go from the big blind.
St. Hilaire check-called a 700, bet from Smith on the K♦A♦9♣ flop, but check-folded facing a 2,800 barrel from Smith on the 3♣ turn.
Chris Frank limped in from the cutoff, and Leonardo Daviglus raised to 900 on the button. The two players in the blinds folded, and Frank called.
The action checked all the way to a Q♥K♠4♠K♥4♥ river, where Frank flicked 800 into the middle. Daviglus called and tabled the best hand, A♥A♣10♣3♥ for a rivered flush.
Cards are in the air in Day 1 of Event #70: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
High-stakes action returns to the WSOP schedule on June 26 as Event #70: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship gets underway. Widely considered the "Main Event" of PLO, this four-day tournament is the ultimate test of four-card proficiency and high-variance aggression.
The world's best PLO specialists will converge on Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas to compete for a prize pool that regularly exceeds $8 million. With its deep structure and elite field, this event represents one of the most difficult paths to a WSOP gold bracelet in the modern era.
Play begins at 2 p.m. on June 26, with ten levels scheduled for the opening day. The structure details are built for deep-stack play, starting with 60,000 chips and 60-minute levels. Late registration is notably extended for this event, remaining open for the first two levels of Day 2 (approx. 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 27).
Survivors return for Day 2 at 1 p.m., where the intensity ramps up as the money bubble approaches. Day 3 will narrow the field toward a final table, which is expected to play out on Tuesday, June 29.
The $10,000 PLO Championship is the flagship event for the pot-limit format. It attracts a mix of high-stakes cash game legends, European specialists, and bracelet hunters. Winning this event is seen as a definitive mark of mastery in Pot-Limit Omaha, carrying a seven-figure top prize and immense industry respect.
The 2025 winner, Michael Wang, secured his third career bracelet in spectacular fashion last year. After falling to less than one big blind during the final table, Wang mounted a "chip and a chair" comeback to defeat an 874-entry field for $1,394,579. "I'm still in shock," Wang said during his winner's interview. "This game can turn on a dime, and today it turned in my favor."
Elie Nakache took down this prestigious bracelet event at the 2024 WSOP. He beat 811 entries to win $1,320,945. In 2023, this event drew 731 runners for a prize pool of $6,798,300. Ap "Lou" Garza won the event for $1,309,232 in a spectacular finish that saw him proposing to his girlfriend after winning the bracelet.
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Stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting updates on the ground of the 2026 WSOP.
Event #70: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
Day 1 Started
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