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Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
Day 3 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
Day: 3
Players Left 7 / 1,402
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
The intensity ramped up on Day 3 of Event #78: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em at the 2026 World Series of Poker inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Of the 60 players who returned to the felt, only seven survived the day's gruelling action to earn a spot at the unofficial final table.
The event attracted 1,402 entries, creating a prize pool of $6,449,200. With $979,655 awaiting the eventual champion, along with the coveted WSOP gold bracelet, every pot carried enormous significance. Each of the seven remaining players is guaranteed $130,287.
The field remained stacked with accomplished professionals, including several players chasing additional WSOP bracelets, while numerous competitors were also battling for valuable 25K Fantasy Draft points. The combination of prestigious hardware, nearly a million-dollar first prize, and fantasy implications made for an action-packed day from start to finish.
Markus Gonsalves ended the day atop the chip counts with a commanding stack of 17,150,000. One of the pivotal moments of his run came when his pocket kings held against the pocket jacks of Daniel Smiljkovic. He continued to build throughout the evening, adding significantly to his stack after winning a key pot against Canadian Patros Behnam.
Sitting second in chips is Xiaoyao Ma with 11,200,000. Ma spent much of the day near the top of the leaderboard and enters the final day in prime position to challenge for the title. According to The Hendon Mob, he has more than $700,000 in live tournament earnings. One of Ma's biggest hands came when he filled up to eliminate Erik Eisen.
Rounding out the top three is Lithuania's Dominykas Mikolaitis (8,150,000). The online specialist-turned-high-stakes regular has established himself as one of poker's rising stars and will look to convert his healthy stack into his first WSOP bracelet.
The 25K Fantasy Draft community will also have its eyes on Daniel Rezaei, who returns with a middle-of-the-pack stack. Despite sitting below the chip leaders, the Austrian pro brings more than $14 million in live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob, and has the experience to make a serious run at the title.
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 |
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 |
Start-of-day chip leader Roeland Peeks was unable to maintain his momentum, bowing out in 27th place for $37,196.
Several bracelet winners also made deep runs but came up short in their pursuit of another WSOP title, including Paulius Vaitiekunas ($46,385) and JC Tran ($30,292).
Other notable players to cash included 25K Fantasy Draft selections and bracelet winners Andrew Lichtenberger ($58,729), Brek Schutten ($46,385), Josh Arieh ($25,058), and Dario Sammartino ($25,058).
Additional 25K Fantasy Draft and ODB selections who added valuable points for their teams were Gabriel Andrade ($46,385), Jon Kyte ($46,385), Zackary Estes ($21,062), and Christian Harder ($15,623).
Rounding out the notable finishers was the last woman standing, Angelina Rich, who also earned $37,196 for her impressive run.
The remaining seven players will return at 3 p.m. local time on Wednesday, July 1st, at Level 30 with blinds at 100,000/250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante for 12:59 minutes. Breaks are to be determined. The stream will start at 3:30 p.m., and PokerNews will report on a delay.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage as the live reporting team follows the event through to the crowning of a champion.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
The remaining seven players have bagged up for the penultimate day of Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Jean Lhuillier jammed for 1,200,000 from the button, and Jeremy Izquierdo made the call from the big blind to try to bring Lhuillier's spin-up to an end.
Jean Lhuillier: Q♠8♣ 
Jeremy Izquierdo: 10♠10♦
Lhuillier had been ahead the previous two times he was all in, but this time he needed to come from behind to survive.
It proved to be the end of the road for Lhuillier as the board ran out A♠4♥J♦8♦3♥. Izquierdo's pocket tens held up, ending Lhuillier's remarkable comeback in eighth place just before the end of the day.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Markus Gonsalves raised from under the gun to 400,000, and Daniel Rezaei called from the big blind. The flop came out with A♠6♥5♠. Rezaei checked, and Gonsalves continued with 400,000. Rezaei folded K♣Q♦, while Gonsalves held J♥7♠.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
With A♥4♦, Markus Gonsalves raised to 400,000 from the cutoff, and Joshua Boulton defended his big blind with K♠Q♥.
Boulton check-called a continuation-bet of 350,000 from Gonsalves on the 8♠10♥9♣ flop.
The 6♠ turn checked through before the A♠ completed the board. Boulton led out for 750,000, and Gonsalves tossed his cards into the muck.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Patros Behnam raised to 500,000 from the cutoff, and Oliver Weis three-bet from the big blind to 3,175,000, which would put Behnam all in. Behnam called.
Patros Behnam: J♥J♦
Oliver Weis: A♣K♠
The board dropped with Q♣9♥7♣K♥4♦, and Weis eliminated Behnam with his pair of kings.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
With Jean Lhuillier forced all in from the big blind, Xiaoyao Ma completed from the small blind, and the players tabled their cards, with Lhuillier needing to win to stay alive.
Jean Lhuillier: Q♦7♥
Xiaoyao Ma: J♥4♦
Lhuillier's queen-high improved to two pair, eights and sevens, on the 8♣3♣3♥8♥7♣ runout, and his stack increased to around half a million.
The very next hand, Lhuillier jammed for 500,000 from the small blind, and Dominykas Mikolaitis called without looking from the big blind.
Jean Lhuillier: Q♥10♣
Dominykas Mikolaitis: 7♥2♦
Again, Lhuillier started ahead, but this time Mikolaitis paired his seven on the 8♥5♠7♠ flop to take the lead.
The 4♣ on the turn changed nothing, but the 10♠ rolled off on the river to give Lhuillier a pair of tens. In the space of less than an orbit, he had spun his stack from 25,000 up to 1,200,000.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Jean Lhuillier called for his last chip of 25,000 from under the gun, and Dominykas Mikolaitis raised to 400,000 on the button. Everyone else folded, leaving Mikolaitis with the chance to finish Lhuillier off.
Jean Lhuillier: 8♣6♥
Dominykas Mikolaitis: A♣K♠
Lhuillier needed to hit something on the runout to begin the spin-up of all spin-ups, but that looked unlikely on the 5♥5♦K♥ flop as Mikolaitis paired his king.
Lhuillier found the perfect turn card in the form of the 4♥, giving himself both straight and flush outs.
The dealer burned a card and revealed the Q♥ on the river to complete Lhuillier's flush, and he increased his stack twelvefold to 300,000.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Jean Lhuillier completed from the small blind, and Dominykas Mikolaitis checked his option in the big blind.
Lhuillier bet 300,000 on the 3♠10♥6♥ flop, and Mikolaitis called.
Lhuillier fired another 300,000 on the 7♥ turn, and once again, Mikolaitis called.
The 6♦ landed on the river, and after a brief pause, Lhuillier bet 1,225,000, leaving himself with just one green T-25,000 chip behind.
Mikolaitis called, and Lhuillier revealed J♦5♦ for a bluff. Mikolaitis tabled 10♣8♣ for a pair of tens to win the pot, leaving Lhuillier with a chip and a chair.
