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Markus Gonsalves Leads Final Seven in Quest for WSOP Gold
Three days of play have whittled a massive field of 1,402 entries down to just seven in Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em at the 2026 World Series of Poker inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. By the end of today, only one player will remain to capture the coveted WSOP gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $979,655.
Markus Gonsalves enters the final day as the chip leader after bagging a commanding 17,150,000 at the end of Day 3. One of the key hands in his rise came when his pocket kings held against the pocket jacks of Daniel Smiljkovic, helping him build the biggest stack heading into the final table. His closest challenger is Oliver Weis, who returns second in chips with 13,400,000, while Xiaoyao Ma rounds out the top three with 11,200,000.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremy Izquierdo | France | 7,750,000 | 31 |
| 2 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 5,775,000 | 23 |
| 3 | Markus Gonsalves | United States | 17,150,000 | 69 |
| 4 | Oliver Weis | Germany | 13,400,000 | 54 |
| 5 | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | 6,675,000 | 27 |
| 6 | Xiaoyao Ma | United States | 11,200,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | 8,150,000 | 33 |
While Gonsalves holds the lead, the rest of the field remains well within striking distance. Daniel Rezaei returns as the shortest stack, but with 23 big blinds still at his disposal, plenty of play remains. Every returning player has locked up at least $130,287, but all eyes are on the bracelet and the near seven-figure top prize.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $979,655 |
| 2 | $653,037 |
| 3 | $460,256 |
| 4 | $328,810 |
| 5 | $238,152 |
| 6 | $174,909 |
| 7 | $130,287 |
Play resumes at 3:30 p.m. local time in Level 30 with blinds at 125,000/250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante. Levels will continue until a winner is crowned, while the livestream gets underway at the same time, with PokerNews providing coverage on a delay.
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Stay tuned to PokerNews as the live reporting team follows the action through to the crowning of the next WSOP champion in Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em.