Tyler Schmidt opened to 60,000 from middle position, before Jason Wheeler put in a three-bet to 190,000 from the hijack. David Radich then called all in from the cutoff for the same amount, and Schmidt called, too.
On the A♥K♦2♣ flop, Schmidt snap-jammed and Wheeler snap-called.
David Radich: Q♠J♦
Tyler Schmidt: A♣J♥
Jason Wheeler: A♠Q♣
Wheeler was in prime position to knock out two opponents, but the 5♦5♥ runout had Schmidt out of his chair and celebrating. He and Wheeler then got into quite the heated debate, with the former claiming he deserved the chop, and the latter disagreeing. By the time the floor had came to confirm Radich's payout, the confrontation was still going on.
Michael Cannon moved all in from early position for his remaining 60,000. Sergio Barrios called from the small blind, with big blind Javier Fernandez opting to do the same.
The K♠2♠10♣ flop was dealt, and Sergio Barrios check-folded to a bet of 40,000 from Fernandez.
Michael Cannon: Q♦J♣
Javier Fernandez: Q♣10♦
Cannon was behind with outs, but couldn't find any on the 7♣5♠ runout to send him to the rail.
Reginald Leonardo began the action with an open to 60,000 from the cutoff. Christopher Staats wanted to play for it all and opted to jam for 180,000 on the button. Leonardo made the call to put Staats at risk.
Christopher Staats: K♦10♦
Reginald Leonardo: A♣4♦
Staats had a fighting chance, and the flop still kept him in the hunt when it came J♠K♥A♠. Although Leonardo hit his ace, Staats was still drawing to a straight and his hole cards for the win.
The 4♠ turn trimmed Leonardo's outs to hoping for a straight or trip kings.
That did not happen when the A♠ came on the river as Leonardo upgraded to a full house to eliminate Staats from contention.
Nicholas Callen shoved for his final 175,000 from middle position before he was called by Ken Doi in the next seat over from the hijack to be at risk in the opening minutes of Day 2.
Nicholas Callen: Q♣J♠
Ken Doi: K♦Q♦
Callen was in trouble against the better king of Doi.
The flop presented each player with a pair and a straight draw to chop when the dealer spread out K♥J♣10♥.
Doi took away Callen's trip outs when the K♠ peeled on the turn to give him three kings.
The 5♠ was a blank as Callen was eliminated early on Day 2.
Luis Miramontes opened to 60,000 on the button, with Kristin Bertilson flatting the bet from the small blind. Nishant Sharma then moved all in from the big blind, Miramontes rejammed, and Bertilson folded.
Nishant Sharma: A♠10♦
Luis Miramontes: A♥7♥
The 10♠3♠2♠ flop had Miramontes drawing to a specific two running cards for the win. He was dead by the 9♥ turn, with the 3♦ river changing nothing.
The opportunity to get one last shot at a gold bracelet at the 2026 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is coming to a close, as there are only a few events left for players to etch their name into WSOP history. Event #98: $800 Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em attracted a total of 2,036 hopefuls, creating a prize pool of $1,425,200. A total of 129 players will return on Day 2 as they take their shot at the $196,659 first-place prize.
Kfir Nahum (2,030,000) topped the leaderboard after one day of play. Nahum is followed by Josei Kamei (1,790,000) and Atanas Pavlov (1,635,000) to round out the top three.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Kfir Nahum
Israel
2,030,000
68
2
Josei Kamei
United Kingdom
1,790,000
60
3
Atanas Pavlov
Bulgaria
1,635,000
55
4
Ivan Govorov
Russian Federation
1,525,000
51
5
Michael Stein
United States
1,500,000
50
6
Danette Smith
United States
1,480,000
49
7
Ryuta Nakai
Japan
1,295,000
43
8
Jonathan Little
United States
1,280,000
43
9
Brett Richey
United States
1,225,000
41
10
Tristan Mcmillan
Canada
1,225,000
41
Nahum has been active this summer, accumulating seven cashes before this event, with his highest finish coming in the $1,500 Mystery Millions event, where he placed 31st for $36,750. Nahum has a WSOP Circuit ring, but is still in search of his first WSOP bracelet. Nahum will bring with him a wealth of experience as he has racked up nearly three million in live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob.
England’s Kamei had five total WSOP cashes this summer entering this tournament. Kamei’s high mark was a 38th-place finish in the $1,500 Five Card Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-Handed event, where he took home $7,410. Kamei is also in search of his first WSOP hardware.
Atanas Pavlov
Pavlov will enter Day 2 with nearly two million in career earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. Like the other competitors on the podium, the Bulgarian is still in the hunt for his first-ever WSOP bracelet and is looking to make his first final table at the WSOP.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$196,659
2
$131,002
3
$95,018
4
$69,677
5
$51,663
6
$38,737
7
$29,376
8
$22,534
9
$17,487
10-11
$13,730
12-13
$10,909
14-17
$8,772
18-26
$7,140
27-35
$5,883
36-44
$4,909
45-53
$4,148
54-62
$3,549
63-71
$3,077
72-80
$2,703
81-89
$2,406
90-98
$2,170
99-129
$1,985
Ryuta Nakai
Japan’s Ryuta Nakai (1,300,000) managed to crack the top ten chip counts with a strong Day 1. Nakai has had two deep runs at the 2026 edition of the WSOP with a third-place finish in both the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em Eight-Handed event and the $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship. Despite knocking on the door a couple of times, Nakai is still looking to capture the first bracelet of his career, which includes nearly three million in reported live tournament earnings.
Jonathan Little
Jonathan Little (1,300,000) is also still in contention with a top ten stack on Day 1. Little has one WSOP bracelet as he looks to add a second piece of gold to his cabinet. Little is perhaps the most accomplished player to make the top ten with $9,750,050 in total live earnings. Little has had three cashes this series, but is still looking for a six-figure score to round out his summer.
Day 2 will feature 30-minute blind levels, with the day scheduled to play down to a winner. Action is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. local time with 15-minute breaks slotted after every four levels. Play will resume with the blinds at 15,000/30,000/30,000.
Stay tuned here at PokerNews for complete coverage of the action on Day 2 as a new WSOP champion will be crowned on the final day of the series at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
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