button in SafariKristen Foxen Bags Top Five Stack in Pursuit of Bracelet Number Seven
Day 1 of Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em has come to an end here at the 2026 World Series of Poker, running at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The curtains came down at the end of Level 10 after 357 players entered the tournament, creating a prize pool of $3,320,100. With late registration still open until July 12 at 3:15 p.m., that number will definitely grow.
Leading the field is Kenzo Ishida from Japan with 479,500. Only slightly behind the chip leader is Fahredin Mustafov of Bulgaria with 477,000, while Loic Debregeas of France sits in third place with 475,000.
Kristen Foxen bagged with a top five stack, on the hunt for her seventh all-time bracelet.
End of Day 1 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenzo Ishida | Japan | 479,500 | 240 |
| 2 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 477,000 | 239 |
| 3 | Loic Debregeas | France | 475,000 | 238 |
| 4 | Armin Rezaei | Austria | 426,000 | 213 |
| 5 | Kristen Foxen | Canada | 414,500 | 207 |
| 6 | Aliaksandr Shylko | Belarus | 376,000 | 188 |
| 7 | Neil Warren | United States | 358,500 | 179 |
| 8 | Andrew Moreno | United States | 354,000 | 177 |
| 9 | Patrik Jaros | Czechia | 350,000 | 175 |
| 10 | Christopher Selph | United States | 342,000 | 171 |
Several notable players bagged for Day 2, including Faraz Jaka (283,000), Adrian Mateos (215,000), and Erik Seidel (180,000), who made his presence known towards the end of Day 1. Others who bagged included Paulina Loeliger (121,500), Tom Talboom (112,500), Joao Vieira (112,500), Thomas Boivin (108,500), Justin Liberto (108,500), Alex Foxen (82,000), Stephen Song (69,500), and David Peters (66,500).
Not all were able to secure a place into Day 2 and, with this tournament being a freezeout, those players will not be returning. This included football superstar Neymar, high rollers Dan Smith, Igor Yaroshevskyy, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Daniel Negreanu, and Josh Arieh.
Neymar got his last chips in on the turn with two pair, but Vitalijs Korhs had already improved to trip sevens. Neymar was drawing dead as the cards were revealed, and an inconsequential river sent him to the rail.
Negreanu got his last 13,000 in preflop with ace-jack against Ian Monahoyios's pocket tens in a four-bet pot. Negreanu even joked that he was a 96 percent favorite, but Monahoyios flopped a set and held to send the Poker Hall of Famer to the rail.
Arieh got his last chips in on the flop with king-queen after flopping an open-ended straight draw, but Edward Leonard already held ace-jack for ace high. Leonard improved to top pair on the turn, leaving Arieh drawing dead as he made his exit.
Not all heroes wear capes as Foxen found herself in one of the craziest pots of the day after a limped pot turned into a flop five-betting war on a paired board. Ponakovs check-raised her continuation bet before the two exchanged raises and words on the flop, with Foxen eventually making it 49,000 and Ponakovs calling.
After both players checked the turn, Ponakovs moved all in on the river. Foxen spent several minutes talking through the hand aloud before making the call with pocket nines. Ponakovs could only show queen-jack for a missed flush draw, and Foxen's pocket pair was enough to drag a huge pot.
The 130 surviving players will return at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Level 11, with blinds at 1,000/2,500 and a 2,500 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 for another ten levels, with a 60-minute dinner break after Level 16 at around 7:30 p.m.
Play will continue until a champion is crowned, so remain tuned in with PokerNews for live updates and find out who the next WSOP champion will be.