button in SafariMatt Grapenthien, Bryce Yockey Lead 75 Survivors after Day 1 of the $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship
Low Card: 1,000
Completion: 3,000
Limits: 3,000-6,000
One of the most popular of the Championship events got underway today at Paris Las Vegas for Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. This year's edition is already on pace to attract a larger field than the H.O.R.S.E., Razz, Limit Hold'em, Dealer's Choice, Seven Card Stud, and 2-7 Triple Draw Championship, as many of poker's brightest minds found themselves in the mix today.
A total of 156 hopefuls tried their luck in this freezeout format, with just 75 advancing to Tuesday's Day 2, just under half of the field. Last year's edition of this event had 160 entrants on Day 1 with 78 advancing, and 186 total runners. However, Day 2 registration has seen an increase in popularity as the 2025 figure is certain to be surpassed.
Leading the way after eight hours of limit split-pot action is Matt Grapenthien (322,000), who already has a bracelet to his name, coming back in 2014 in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud, as he looks to add another to his resume.
With just 500 fewer chips is Bryce Yockey (321,500), who wasted no time building a stack after late registering the event. Yockey claimed the $10,000 Dealers Choice championship earlier this summer as he looks to make another deep run.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Grapenthien | United States | 322,000 |
| 2 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 321,500 |
| 3 | Andrew Bradshaw | United Kingdom | 307,000 |
| 4 | Patrick Moulder | United States | 297,000 |
| 5 | Eric Rodawig | United States | 286,000 |
| 6 | Mark Rubbathan | United Kingdom | 281,000 |
| 7 | Calvin Anderson | United States | 253,500 |
| 8 | John Wasnock | United States | 237,000 |
| 9 | Jack Germaine | United Kingdom | 231,000 |
| 10 | Allan Le | United States | 210,000 |
Also finding their way towards the top of the counts by night's end include Andrew Bradshaw (307,000), 2011 champion Eric Rodawig (286,000), Calvin Anderson (253,500), and 2025 Main Event runner-up John Wasnock (237,000).
Some of the other players who have punched their ticket to tomorrow's restart include Chad Eveslage (156,500), Jerry Wong (155,000), Justin Liberto (151,500), Eli Elezra (133,000), Nick Guagenti (130,000), Nick Schulman (113,500), Paul Volpe (97,000), James Obst (79,500), Todd Brunson (41,500), and Norman Chad (33,500).
The defending champion of the event, Qinghai Pan, was able to find a bag for Day 2, with his stack surviving a rollercoaster ride to finish with 62,000.
Not everyone was so fortunate, with many notables hitting the rail throughout the day, including Daniel Negreanu, Brian Rast, Scott Seiver, Joao Vieira, Jeff Madsen, Marco Johnson, Ben Yu, Nacho Barbero, David Bach, Ryan Miller, and Chino Rheem.
Day 2 will begin at 1 p.m. on Tuesday in the Gold Section of Paris. Play resumes in Level 11 with limits of 4,000/8,000, and with a 1,000 ante and 1,000 bring-in. Ten hour-long levels are on the docket for Day 2, with a 60-minute dinner break after Level 15 around 6:30 p.m.
Registration remains open until the start of Level 12 around 2:15 p.m. tomorrow, at which point any new players can register with a fresh stack of 60,000 chips at limits of 6,000/12,000.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we deliver updates from the entirety of Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship and all other events here at the 2026 World Series of Poker.