button in SafariBelgium's Bart Lybaert Among the Day 1b Mini Main Event Leaders
The second of three flights in Event #72: $1,000 Mini Main Event at the 2026 World Series of Poker saw 4,053 entries, bringing total attendance to 6,652. By the close of play, only 295 of those starters had chips to bag, and Belgium's Bart Lybaert (2,600,000) had one of the largest stacks.
Belgium's Lybaert is a top-tier player, one with more than $4.1 million in live tournament earnings. Lybaert came close to capturing a bracelet in 2018 when he finished third in the $2,620 Marathon before crashing out of the $10,000 Main Event in 24th place.
Switzerland's Karim Ghozlani (3,750,000) claimed the Day 1b chip lead. Ghozlani finished 22nd in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker a couple of weeks ago and banked a $60,600 career-best prize.
Mohammad Habib Nia (3,650,000) and Bartlomiej Kijak (3,430,000) rounded off the podium places.
Event #72: $1,000 Mini Main Event Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karim Ghozlani | Switzerland | 3,750,000 | 94 |
| 2 | Mohammad Habib Nia | United States | 3,650,000 | 91 |
| 3 | Bartlomiej Kijak | Poland | 3,430,000 | 86 |
| 4 | Maksim Petrov | Estonia | 3,215,000 | 80 |
| 5 | Bart Lybaert | Belgium | 2,600,000 | 65 |
| 6 | Ricky Flora | United States | 2,350,000 | 59 |
| 7 | Hyong Kim | United States | 2,290,000 | 57 |
| 8 | Kyle Hughes | United States | 2,265,000 | 57 |
| 9 | Seiji Sasaki | Japan | 2,120,000 | 53 |
| 10 | Guilherme Bernardino | Brazil | 1,965,000 | 49 |
Some of the other grinders who progressed from this flight included Maksim Petrov (3,215,000), Michael Moncek (1,535,000), Niall Farrell (1,400,000), Jim Collopy (1,220,000), Keven Stammen (1,055,000), Justin Vaysman (880,000), Matthew Wantman (870,000), Ilan Boujenah (771,000), and Michael Wang (575,000).
The Day 1b survivors are back in action on July 1, which is when Day 2 begins. Before them, there is Day 1c from 10:00 a.m. local time on June 30. Standby to PokerNews for updates from the Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.