PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 2 (July 11). 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 #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1b Completed
The second of three flights in Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em at the 2026 World Series of Poker has concluded, with 263 of the 951 starters navigating their way through 10 levels. A whole host of stars bagged up chips at the close of play, including Maria Konnikova.
According to the WSOP LIVE app, Konnikova finished Day 1b with 298,000 chips, enough for 22nd place, or the top 8% of the field. Konnikova won an online bracelet in 2024 and is now one step closer to adding a live bracelet to her collection.
Portugal's Luis Faria (431,000) is the apparent chip leader, with Augustin Naranja (413,000), and Yuxi Huang (399,500) hot on his heels.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Faria | Portugal | 431,000 | 172 |
| 2 | Agustin Naranja | Argentina | 413,000 | 165 |
| 3 | Yuxi Huang | China | 399,500 | 160 |
| 4 | James Sileo | United States | 387,500 | 155 |
| 5 | Daemon Richardson | United States | 387,000 | 155 |
| 6 | Tom Kunze | Germany | 367,000 | 147 |
| 7 | Maher Achour | Turkey | 355,500 | 142 |
| 8 | Robert Nemeskeri-Kiss | United States | 344,500 | 138 |
| 9 | Lucas Cortijo | Argentina | 343,000 | 137 |
| 10 | Laith Sheena | United Kingdom | 342,000 | 137 |
The 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (110,000) made it through to Day 2, as did the likes of Barry Shulman (230,500), Niall Farrell (177,500), Brandon Sheils (168,500), Jonathan Little (151,000), Upeshka De Silva (98,000), Michael Gathy (90,000), Faraz Jaka (30,500), and the short-stacked four-time bracelet winner Georgios Sotiropoulos (18,000).
Day 1c is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. local time on July 10, and it should be a super busy flight. Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates from the Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Here are the chip counts of the 263 players who advanced to Day 2, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
Day 1b of Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship has concluded. Of the 951 entries to the flight, 263 players bagged to return for Day 2.
Standby for the full chip counts and recap.
The most exciting time in live poker is upon us, with the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship now underway.
The WSOP Main Event is considered the most prestigious live poker tournament, drawing thousands of entrants from far and wide, each hoping to become poker's world champion.
The field sizes of the Main Event are massive, despite the five-figure buy-in. With so many of poker's top players in action at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, you're spoiled for choice regarding who to add to your MyPlayers Feed.
In the 986th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway is joined by Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow are joined at Level 9 Studio by poker pro Jordan Westmorland to talk the latest from the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
That includes the $10,000 Main Event being in full swing, albeit with slightly fewer players than in past years. Will the field crack 9,000 players? Also, how did Jordan, Mike, and Ben, who got to play at the feature table with Daniel Negreanu, do in poker's premier tournament? Along those lines, the WSOP is back on ESPN, or at least the app, and not everyone is happy about that.
In non-WSOP news, there was a big development in the Texas poker scene as Doug Polk unexpectedly announced that he would be stepping away from The Lodge's core business. What might this mean for Texas poker? The crew discusses.
In other news, Doron Ziony shared details on both the upcoming WSOP Circuit stop in Malta and the Battle of Malta, a look ahead to the Borgata Summer Poker Open, and River Rat merch!
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.
As per the WSOP LIVE app.
Earlier this week, the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) held its biennial summit, which debuted back in 2001. The TDA Summit XII was held at the PokerGO Studio and drew more than 200 industry professionals from around the world.
“The goal of the TDA remains that we want a standard set of rules that players, tournament directors, and card room managers can reference,” said TDA board member Matt Savage, who recently appeared on the PokerNews Podcast to talk about the summit.
“It was an eventful meeting again. No major rule changes this time around, but some good tweaks to existing ones,” said famed tournament director and PokerStars Ambassador Kenny Hallaert. “It’s always good for the game of poker to share our experiences from PokerStars events with the rest of the industry and pick up new ideas from other operators.”
Likewise, PokerStars EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone told PokerNews: “The beauty of the TDA Summit is the mutual exchange of knowledge. Our core focus is always on making tournaments safer, fairer, and more enjoyable for the players. While the EPT is proud to already implement a lot of the cutting-edge rules and security measures being discussed, the summit is about lifting the global standard together. A huge congratulations to Matt Savage on 25 years of the TDA. What he started back then has transformed the live poker landscape, and his ongoing work continues to protect and grow the game we all love.”
As per the WSOP LIVE app.
Think you could wear the suit and make the tough calls? In the heat of the WSOP, tournament directors can change the course of a player’s entire summer.
But they're there to enforce the WSOP rules. We've all heard of some crazy rulings and penalties, but here we’ve pulled six scenarios based on the official WSOP rulebook to see if you've got what it takes to be a WSOP tournament director.
Read the scenarios, make your ruling, and check the answers at the bottom of the article.
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