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Event #90: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #90: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Players Left 13 / 202
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Day 1 of Event #90: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed has come to an end here at the 2026 World Series of Poker, running at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Curtains came to a close at the end of Level 10, with 131 entries into the tournament creating a prize pool of $6,222,500 so far. With late registration still open until July 10 at 3:15 p.m., that number will certainly grow.
Leading the field is Daniel Rezaei of Austria with 2,010,000, who is no stranger to high roller events. Rezaei has had a good summer thus far, with a fourth-place finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed (Bracelet Event #73) for $328,810.
Just behind the chip leader is Paulius Vaitiekunas of Lithuania with 1,965,000. Vaitiekunas has one WSOP Circuit ring and $1,836,095 in WSOP live earnings. Rounding out the top three is Thomas Boivin of Belgium with 1,510,000. Boivin has a whopping $17,240,730 in live tournament earnings and is well positioned to make a deep run.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 2,010,000 | 134 |
| 2 | Paulius Vaitiekunas | Lithuania | 1,965,000 | 131 |
| 3 | Thomas Boivin | Belgium | 1,510,000 | 101 |
| 4 | Zachary Grech | United States | 1,465,000 | 98 |
| 5 | Eelis Parssinen | Finland | 1,450,000 | 97 |
| 6 | Aram Oganyan | United States | 1,440,000 | 96 |
| 7 | Bill Klein | United States | 1,325,000 | 88 |
| 8 | Kristen Foxen | Canada | 1,220,000 | 81 |
| 9 | Michael Macchia | United States | 1,140,000 | 76 |
| 10 | Biao Ding | China | 1,100,000 | 73 |
Martin Kabrhel (350,000) made his presence known towards the end of Day 1 as he registered during Level 9. Others that bagged included Eelis Parssinen (1,450,000), Kristen Foxen (1,220,000), Daniel Negreanu (1,085,000), Bryn Kenney (1,000,000), Brandon Wilson (935,000), Cary Katz (815,000), and Ren Lin (590,000). Each of them will be looking to deepen their own WSOP legacy with a victory in this $50,000 High Roller.
Not all were able to secure a place in Day 2 with just one bullet. Many of the game's regulars fell on bullet number one, including Kai Cohen, Erik Seidel, Igor Yaroshevskyy, and Jesse Lonis. Marius Gierse, Adrian Mateos, and Klemens Roiter, who all found themselves firing both of their bullets into the tournament.
Gierse jammed ace-queen into Nazar Buhaiov's ace-king suited, and unfortunately for Gierse, he could not find himself a lucky lady. Mateos found himself in a brutal spot on the river against Vinny Lingham, who had top set against Mateos' middle set to bust him. Roiter lost with top pair against a flopped straight versus Emilien Pitavy blind on blind. The very next hand, Roiter found himself all in against two players, and Josef Schusteritsch's ace-high was best.
The 51 surviving players will return at 1 p.m. on Friday at Level 11, with blinds at 10,000/15,000 and a 15,000 big blind ante. Registration will remain open until the end of Level 12 and the subsequent break, around 3:15 p.m. Play will continue until there are just five players left, with a 60-minute dinner break after Level 18, around 6:30 p.m.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates as reporters catch the Day 2 action.
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Play has concluded in Event #90: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. Stay tuned for end of day chip counts and a full recap of today's action.
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
There were roughly 450,000 chips in the pot on A♥9♣5♠6♠.
Chang Lee, who was under the gun, checked to Michael Macchia, who was on his direct left. Macchia bet 130,000, then Lee took a few moments before he put Macchia all in for 394,000. Macchia snap-called.
Michael Macchia: A♦K♠ 
Chang Lee: A♠Q♠
The 8♦ on the river meant Macchia held for a double up.
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
"You have so few chips," said Daniel Negreanu to Nikita Kuznetcov in the big blind before he opened to 30,000 on the button.
"If you shove, I'm going to call," said Negreanu to Kuznetcov as he thought over his decision.
Kuznetcov decided to take a stand and went all in for his final 75,000, despite Negreanu's warning. Negreanu called to put Kuznetcov at risk.
Nikita Kuznetcov: Q♣J♥
Daniel Negreanu: A♦4♦
Kuznetcov was unable to find much help on the 10♠6♦5♠ flop, but the 9♠ turn gave him additional outs with a straight draw.
That did not come to pass on the 4♠ river as Negreanu busted Kuznetcov in the final minutes of the evening.
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
This hand was picked up on a board that read 4♣10♠8♣5♦ with approximately 100,000 already in the pot.
Ilya Nikiforov checked from the big blind before Daniel Rezaei bet 110,000 from the hijack.
Nikiforov opted to make the call and sent them to a 5♠ river before he checked. Rezaei went for it all as he put out four stacks of green chips for a total of 400,000. Nikiforov went into the tank, playing multiple time banks as he contemplated his decision.
Eventually, Nikoforov made the call to put himself at risk for 244,000.
He found out the bad news when Rezaei tabled Q♦Q♣ to best Nikiforov's 8♠7♦.
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Biao Ding began the bidding with an open to 26,000 from the cutoff. Zach Bruch three-bet to 54,000 on the button, which led to a call from Ding.
The Q♣3♦Q♥ flop resulted in a check from Ding. Bruch continued for 75,000 before Ding came along with a call.
Ding checked again on the 9♦ river. Bruch was not done betting as he put out a second barrel for 125,000. Ding fought fire with fire and check-raised all in. Bruch quickly called to put himself at risk for 385,000.
Zach Bruch: A♠A♣
Biao Ding: K♦J♦
Bruch was ahead with his pocket aces, but Ding had plenty of outs as the turn card gave him a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw.
Ding found one of his outs on the 10♣ river as he improved to a straight to eliminate Bruch during the twilight stage of Day 1.
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
There was already 100,000 in the pot on a complete board of 7♦2♥A♥J♣5♣ when this hand was picked up.
Ren Lin bet 100,000 on the river from the under-the-gun position. Brandon Wilson gave it some thought before he made the call to go to a showdown.
Lin showed A♠5♠ for aces up. It was good as Wilson pitched his had into the muck to award the pot to Lin.
Level 10
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Daniel Negreanu opened the bidding with a wager of 27,000 from under the gun. Sebastian Gaehl was the only taker as he called from the cutoff.
The Q♦J♠9♥ flop led to a round of checks to bring the 2♦ turn.
Negreanu chose to bet 40,000, and Gaehl made the call.
Both players slowed down with a check on the 4♥ river to go to a showdown.
Negreanu showed ace high with A♣K♦. Gaehl had the winner as he tabled K♠J♦ for a pair of jacks to claim the pot.
