PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 2 (July 2). 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..
Event #78: $600 Deepstack Championship No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 Completed
A massive crowd of 5,177 entrants competed on Day 1 of Event #78: $600 Deepstack Championship No-Limit Hold'em at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. After 17 levels, each spanning 40 minutes, only 556 of those starters bagged up chips.
Four-time bracelet winner Georgios Sotiropoulos (1,028,000) bagged up one of the largest stacks in the room, according to the WSOP LIVE app, and is one to watch when Day 2 gets underway on June 2. The Greek all-time money leader last added to his bracelet collection in a $3,200 online event in 2024.
Bryan Piccioli (1,004,000) is another star flying high in the early stages of this event. The New Yorker has a pair of bracelets to his name, and has done his chances of adding to his collection no harm at all by being fast out of the blocks in this tournament.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MD Bikas | United States | 1,415,000 | 142 |
| 2 | Diogo De Souza | Brazil | 1,169,000 | 117 |
| 3 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | Greece | 1,028,000 | 103 |
| 4 | Michael Starek | United States | 1,025,000 | 103 |
| 5 | Bryan Piccioli | United States | 1,004,000 | 100 |
| 6 | Viraj Khanna | United States | 947,000 | 95 |
| 7 | Nicholas Burris | United States | 939,000 | 94 |
| 8 | Robert Pacleb | United States | 915,000 | 92 |
| 9 | Li Chengbei | China | 887,000 | 89 |
| 10 | Jorge Duarte | Canada | 881,000 | 88 |
Plenty of other household names advanced to Day 2. They include Jeremy Becker (311,000), Terrance Reid (293,000), Martin Kabrhel (233,000), Ryan Leng (225,000), Men "The Master" Nguyen (179,000), and Svetlana Gromenkova (106,000).
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 11:00 a.m. local time on July 2, with the plan to play another 10 levels, each extended to 60 minutes. Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates from the 2026 WSOP.
Here are the chip counts of the 556 surviving players, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
Day 1 of Event #78: $600 Deepstack Championship has concluded. Of the 5,177 entrants, 556 have bagged and tagged to return for Day 2.
Standby for the full chip counts and recap.
In the 981st episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are joined by Jamie Gold at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas.
Gold reflects on the 20th anniversary of his game-changing win in the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which includes some never-before-shared stories, remembering his father's battle with ALS, and his secret weapon, blueberries! Gold also talks about the immediate aftermath of winning $12 million, including high-profile media appearances, being sued for part of the winnings, and his career as a Hollywood agent.
Even the most die-hard Jamie Gold fans are sure to learn something new in this episode!
Finally, the crew thanks sponsor Think Jerky, which you can order here.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
There are 100 bracelet-awarding events on the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule, but every poker player dreams of becoming the champion of just one of those tournaments: the $10,000 WSOP Main Event. Unfortunately for some, the $10,000 buy-in puts the 2026 WSOP Main Event out of reach, which is where satellites come into their own.
In 2003, the aptly-named Chris Moneymaker, then an accountant from Atlanta, Georgia, won a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat via an $86 buy-in satellite online at PokerStars. Moneymaker outlasted 838 opponents, including defeating seasoned pro Sammy Farha heads-up, to win the WSOP Main Event and kickstart the phenomenon that would be called the Moneymaker Effect.
Fast forward to today, and hundreds, if not thousands, of players will head to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas hoping to win their way into the 2026 WSOP Main Event for a fraction of the $10,000 asking price. The 2026 WSOP Main Event satellites run from July 1-7 and come in buy-ins of $150, $260, $585, $1,100, and $2,200.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
The total prize pool for this event is $2,609,208. The top 777 players will make the money, with $282,817 reserved for the outright winner.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $282,817 | 45 -53 | $6,194 |
| 2 | $188,231 | 54 -62 | $5,179 |
| 3 | $139,723 | 63 -71 | $4,370 |
| 4 | $104,555 | 72 -80 | $3,722 |
| 5 | $78,876 | 81 -89 | $3,199 |
| 6 | $59,994 | 90 -98 | $2,775 |
| 7 | $46,010 | 99 -143 | $2,431 |
| 8 | $35,580 | 144 -197 | $2,149 |
| 9 | $27,747 | 198 -251 | $1,918 |
| 10 -11 | $21,822 | 252 -305 | $1,729 |
| 12 -13 | $17,309 | 306 -359 | $1,574 |
| 14 -17 | $13,848 | 360 -413 | $1,447 |
| 18 -26 | $11,176 | 414 -467 | $1,344 |
| 27 -35 | $9,099 | 468 -521 | $1,260 |
| 36 -44 | $7,474 | 522 -777 | $1,200 |
button in Safari
