PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 2 (June 29). Until then, we will keep readers informed with updates on chip counts and core event statistics, including entries and the prize pool. Scroll down to see more.
After a notably bad start to his 2026 World Series of Poker, Shaun Deeb seems to have turned things around. Less than two weeks after his runner-up finish in the $3k 9-Game, Deeb has given himself a chance at redemption as he grinded his way to the chip lead on Day 2 of Event #74: $1,500 8-Game Mixed.
Deeb, who started the day at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas short-stacked with only 90,500 to his name, ended the day with 3,090,000, worth around 25 big bets when play resumes. Deeb has put himself in pole position to capture the $181,625 top prize and his ninth WSOP bracelet.
Like Deeb, Blaz Zerjav has had a lackluster series by his standards, but the Slovenian phenom now eyes his first final table of the summer, following Deeb at a considerable distance with 2,330,000.
Others among the 13 remaining players from the 766-entry field include Itsuko Yoroi, who continues Japan's strong showings in the mixed-game tournaments as she bagged 1,410,000 for an average stack. Meanwhile, Viktor Blom is looking to finally get his name off the "best without a bracelet" list, although he will have to turn around his luck if he wants to reach the highest payouts of the $1,016,865 prize pool with his short stack of 720,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 3,090,000 |
| 2 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | 2,330,000 |
| 3 | Jaswinder Lally | Canada | 1,985,000 |
| 4 | Fu Wong | United States | 1,900,000 |
| 5 | Jason Riesenberg | United States | 1,795,000 |
| 6 | Itsuko Yoroi | Japan | 1,410,000 |
| 7 | Patrick Mahoney | United States | 1,350,000 |
| 8 | Michael Balan | United States | 1,290,000 |
| 9 | Dean Joe | United States | 1,245,000 |
| 10 | Alexandre Amiel | France | 875,000 |
| 11 | Michael Koenig | United States | 860,000 |
| 12 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | 720,000 |
| 13 | Thomas Fuller | United States | 510,000 |
With 147 players returning for Day 2, 32 eliminations were required to reach the money. Among those who left empty-handed early were 25k Fantasy picks Ryan Leng, Tyler Phillips, and Brad Ruben. Allen Kessler was close to adding another min-cash to his WSOP resume, but was eliminated four spots from the money. The tournament didn’t even need to go hand for hand, as after 75 minutes of regular play, Scott Seiver popped the bubble by knocking Christopher Kay out in 116th place.
Newly crowned PPC champion Benny Glaser (98th) was one of the first to pick up the $3,010 min-cash, and he was soon followed to the rail by poker legend Phil Laak, who noted his third cash of the series with a 79th-place finish. Bubble-burster Seiver made a pay jump to $3,170 by making it four spots further than Laak, while Mike Matusow received $3,310 for coming in 64th after being eliminated by Chris Brewer. Brewer himself became the final elimination before the dinner break, falling to Blom in 34th.
Crowd favorite Daniel Negreanu started the day second in chips, but after having trended down for a while, he eventually petered out in 32nd place, decreasing his losses for the summer by $3,670. At the final three tables, Christopher Vitch seemed unbustable for a while, but he finally fell in 15th place for $9,370 on his umpteenth all-in of the night. Robert Wells received the same amount when he became the final elimination of Day 3, busting with a full house against Deeb's rivered straight flush.
The 13 remaining players will return on June 30 at 1 p.m. local time for Day 3 of the $1,500 8-game. The limit for the fixed-limit games will be at 60,000/120,000, while the blinds for PLO and no-limit hold’em will restart at 15,000/30,000. All levels will remain 60 minutes long, and a break is scheduled after every two of them. A marathon session might be on the cards for the remaining players, as Day 3 will not conclude until a winner has been crowned.
The 13 remaining contenders have secured themselves a payout of $9,370, with the next pay jump set to happen when 11 remain. The final table of six will be guaranteed a payday of $28,420, while six-figure payouts await those who make it to heads-up play.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $181,625 |
| 2 | $120,570 |
| 3 | $81,530 |
| 4 | $56,230 |
| 5 | $39,570 |
| 6 | $28,420 |
| 7 | $20,840 |
| 8-9 | $15,620 |
| 10-11 | $11,960 |
| 12-13 | $9,370 |
PokerNews will be back on the floor on Day 3 to bring you the thrilling conclusion to the $1,500 8-game, so tune back in then to not miss any of the mixed-game action.
Razz
Daniel Negreanu: XxXx/2x5x 
Fu Wong: XxXx/10x6x
"All in in Razz. Let's see if I can beat a ten," Daniel Negreanu said as he had all his chips in the middle on fourth street against Fu Wong.
Wong finished with AxJx4x10x9x for 10-9-6-4-A. Negreanu couldn't catch up with JxKxJxQx7x and was sent to the rail.
"Look at all those paints. I once knew a guy who got a tattoo, ace-deuce-three-four, banana, banana, banana," Negreau joked as he made his exit.
Seven Card Stud
Fu Wong: XxXx/3♣J♠10♣4♣
Daniel Negreanu: XxXx/A♠8♥5♠7♠ - folded on sixth street
Jaswinder Lally: XxXx/3♦2♦Q♥ - folded on fifth street
Daniel Negreanu completed and was called by Fu Wong and Jaswinder Lally.
Negreanu bet on fourth street and both opponents called. He then bet on fifth, and only Wong called this time.
Negreanu checked on sixth as Wong put out a bet. Negreanu folded, and Wong took down the pot.
No-Limit Hold'em
Rick Aasen raised to 35,000 in the hijack. Daniel Negreanu clicked it back to 75,000 from the small blind, which Aasen called after much debate.
Negreanu then checked the 8♣10♣J♦ flop over to Aasen. After some more thought, Aasen bet 125,000, the majority of his stack. Negreanu quickly folded to give up on the pot.
"Weird spot," Aasen noted as he raked in the chips.
Pot-Limit Omaha
Small blind Hovsep Jahzian had gone all in before the 5♦7♣A♣9♦ turn. Matt Souza then bet 22,000 in the cutoff, and Daniel Negreanu called on the button.
The 4♣ river was checked to showdown, where Negreanu tabled K♦10♣9♣8♠ for a rivered flush. Jahzian's 6♠5♠4♥3♥ for a straight and Souza's 10♥9♥7♦6♦ for two pair were no good, sending the pot Negreanu's way and eliminating Jahzian.
The money bubble is within reach for the 147 players who return for Day 2 of Event #74: $1,500 8-Game Mix at 1 p.m. local time.
The surviving players come back just 32 spots away from the money and will look to secure a piece of the $1,016,865 prize pool. Dean Joe doesn't have to worry too much about the bubble, as he takes the chip lead into the event's penultimate day with 399,000. Daniel Negreanu sits right behind him in second place with 378,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dean Joe | United States | 399,000 | 133 | 33 |
| 2 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 378,500 | 126 | 32 |
| 3 | Ali Eslami | United States | 373,000 | 124 | 31 |
| 4 | Tobias Hausen | Germany | 365,500 | 122 | 30 |
| 5 | Jorge Ufano | Spain | 340,500 | 113 | 28 |
| 6 | Richard Freitas | Brazil | 285,000 | 95 | 24 |
| 7 | Felix Truelle | United States | 273,500 | 91 | 23 |
| 8 | Charles Tucker | United States | 264,500 | 88 | 22 |
| 9 | Scott Seiver | United States | 261,000 | 87 | 22 |
| 10 | Jason Stockfish | United States | 254,000 | 85 | 21 |
A host of bracelet winners and some of the top games in poker are further down the leaderboard. Scott Seiver begins the day inside the top ten with 261,500, while John Racener (222,000), Benny Glaser (221,000), Christopher Vitch (215,500), and Phil Hui (202,000) are also big stacks. Other returning players include Chris Brewer (190,500), Calvin Anderson (149,000), Eric Baldwin (146,000), Viktor Blom (125,000), Justin Liberto (111,500), Mike Matusow (110,000), and Allen Kessler (108,000). Shaun Deeb, who won this event in 2023, is one of the short stacks with 90,500.
A total of 766 players took their shot at mixed-game gold on Day 1. Just 115 will make the money and guarantee themselves at least a min-cash of $3,010. The eventual champion takes home $181,625 and the WSOP bracelet.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $181,625 | 18-23 | $7,500 |
| 2 | $120,570 | 24-29 | $6,150 |
| 3 | $81,530 | 30-35 | $5,170 |
| 4 | $56,230 | 36-41 | $4,450 |
| 5 | $39,570 | 42-47 | $3,930 |
| 6 | $28,420 | 48-53 | $3,560 |
| 7 | $20,840 | 54-65 | $3,310 |
| 8-9 | $15,620 | 66-77 | $3,170 |
| 10-11 | $11,960 | 78-115 | $3,010 |
| 12-17 | $9,370 |
The action on Day 2 picks up on Level 16 with No-Limit/Pot-Limit blinds of 1,500/3,000 and limits of 6,000/12,000. Levels will be extended to 60 minutes today, with a break after every two levels and a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 21. The plan is to play ten levels today.
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Stay tuned as PokerNews follows all the action and provides updates through the money bubble and onwards towards the final table.
There's a familiar name lurking at the top end of the chip counts after Day 1 of Event #74: $1,500 8-Game Mixed.
Daniel Negreanu may not have had it all his own way so far this summer, but his 378,500 in chips is good enough for fourth, behind chip leader Pedro Barossi, Devon Sampson and Dean Joe.
Just 147 players remain from a field of 766, with 115 players guaranteed a min-cash of $3,010. The winner will walk away with $181,625 and the WSOP gold bracelet.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pedro Barossi | Brazil | 554,000 |
| 2 | Devon Sampson | Canada | 515,000 |
| 3 | Dean Joe | United States | 399,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 378,500 |
| 5 | Ali Eslami | United States | 373,000 |
| 6 | Tobias Hausen | Germany | 365,500 |
| 7 | Jorge Ufano | Spain | 340,500 |
| 8 | Richard Freitas | Brazil | 285,000 |
| 9 | Felix Truelle | United States | 273,500 |
| 10 | Charles Tucker | United States | 264,500 |
Just missing out on the top 10 is Poker Hall of Fame nominee Scott Seiver. Also advancing is nine-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser (221,000), Phil Hui (202,000), Calvin Anderson (149,000), Mike Matusow (110,000) and Allen Kessler (108,000).
The event resumes at 1 p.m. on Monday, June 29 with PokerNews live reporting commencing from then. Stay tuned for full updates from this event and the rest of the 2026 World Series of Poker, hosted by the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
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