PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 2 (July 13). 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 #93: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold’em
Day 1b Completed
The second and final flight of Event #93: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em attracted 2,646 players to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Twenty levels later, only 292 players remained, and three-time bracelet winner Nick Guagenti (1,400,000) had the fourth-most chips.
Guagenti has eight cashes at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), including an impressive eighth-place finish in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. The Ohio native won his first bracelet in 2020 and could make it four in six years if he continues his early form in this event.
Greece's Iason Filippidis (1,825,000), Frenchman Alexandre Moreau (1,605,000), and Zi Long Zhang (1,445,000) were the only Day 1 survivors who bagged more chips than Guagenti.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iason Filippidis | Greece | 1,825,000 | 91 |
| 2 | Alexandre Moreau | France | 1,605,000 | 80 |
| 3 | Zi Long Zhang | United States | 1,445,000 | 72 |
| 4 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 1,400,000 | 70 |
| 5 | Anthony Marquez | United States | 1,390,000 | 70 |
| 6 | Arturas Astrauskas | Lithuania | 1,345,000 | 67 |
| 7 | Rute Jin | United States | 1,155,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Dan Au | United States | 1,150,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Gaspar Fernandez | Argentina | 1,125,000 | 56 |
| 10 | Gregory Fabiao | Brazil | 1,115,000 | 56 |
Also safely through to the second and final day are the likes of Anthony Marquez (1,390,000), Alen Bakovic (1,070,000), David "ODB" Baker (1,065,000), Ori Hasson (930,000), Max Kruse (660,000), Lukas Zaskodny (610,000), Benjamin Zamani (600,000), Brett Shaffer (565,000), Matt Glantz (515,000), Jim Collopy (415,000), Martin Jacobson (375,000), and Shiina Okamoto (225,000).
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. local time on July 13, with blinds starting at 10,000/20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante. The plan is to play down to a winner, although 421 players return, so a long day is on the cards. Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates.
These are the chip counts of the 292 surviving players, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
Day 1b of Event #93: $1,500 The Closer has now concluded. Of the 2,646 entries to the flight, 292 players bagged to join the rest of the field for Day 2.
Standby for the chip counts and recap.
The least and most surprising World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion ever is arguably the same person.
Confused? You won't be in a bit. Poker's most prestigious annual event, with the purpose of crowning a 2026 world champion, kicks off today at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Michael Mizrachi, the newest Poker Hall of Famer, won this $10,000 buy-in tournament last summer for $10,000,000.
"The Grinder's" win brought some excitement around the poker community, but it wasn't a huge surprise like some past champs. Mizrachi didn't come out of nowhere before winning the Main Event. He wasn't an accountant who won a cheap online satellite to enter the tournament or some random amateur low-stakes cash game player.
According to 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.
In the 989th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway honors the 20th anniversary of the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) by chatting with a trio of players who made a name for themselves that year.
That includes Paul Wasicka, who finished runner-up to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event and, a year later, went on to win the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. What has the former young gun, who doesn't play much serious poker anymore, been up to over the past two decades? Find out here.
Likewise, Sabyl Cohen-Landrum finished 56th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, making her the last woman standing by outlasting Annie Duke. ESPN captured it and vaulted her to temporary "Poker Boom" fame, but what is life like for her now?
Finally, Chad caught up with Jon Friedberg, who topped a then-record 2,891-player field to win a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for $526K and a gold bracelet. Friedberg has gone on to become a major player on the poker operator side of things, and part of that success stems from his big bracelet win. Learn more about his story 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.
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