Michael Mizrachi Finishes Among the Day 1c Chip Leaders in WSOPE Main Event
GGPoker ambassador Michael Mizrachi knows a thing or two about making poker history.
"The Grinder" was the first player to win three Poker Players Championship (PPC) titles at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). After Brian Rast tied that feat, Mizrachi moved ahead once again by winning the PPC for a record fourth time at the 2025 WSOP. He then completed a double few thought possible, winning the WSOP Main Event just weeks later. The achievement was so remarkable that he was immediately inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame (PHOF).
Nine months later, he is positioning himself to write his name into the history books once again, with the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event title now a possibility after bagging a top-ten stack on Day 1c.
A WSOP Main Event and WSOP Europe Main Event double has been achieved only once before, by all-time WSOP bracelet record holder Phil Hellmuth in 1989 and 2012.
Mizrachi ended the final starting flight of the WSOP Europe Main Event with 344,000 chips, though he needed a bit of luck to get there. Earlier in the day, he shoved with second pair on a seven-high board and was snapped off by pocket aces. Fortunately for Mizrachi, he turned two pair to secure a double-up. From there, he steadily built his stack, scoring several knockouts along the way.
Late in Day 1c, he eliminated Paulina Loeliger, who had flopped Broadway. But once again the turn favored Mizrachi, improving his two pair into a full house to seal the knockout.
Mizrachi has already enjoyed strong results inside King's Casino at Hilton Prague, cashing three times prior to the Main Event:
- €1,100 The Opener Mystery Bounty - 103/2,195 for €1,350 plus €2,000 in mystery bounties
- €3,300 Mixed PLO - 24/181 for €6,545
- €565 COLOSSUS - 88/2,195 for €1,725
He's already made deep runs in multiple large-field events, and with momentum on his side, Mizrachi could be a tough man to stop.
Rezaei's Late Surge Puts Him at the Top
While Mizrachi was one of the 299 players to advance from the 713 Day 1c entrants, another player stole the spotlight late in the day. Daniel Rezaei ended the session with a tournament-leading stack of 639,000.
Going into the final level of the night, Rezaei had around 500,000 before notching a double knockout late on to cement the chip lead.
He's the only player to bag more than 600,000, with his closest rival across all three flights being Jan-Henrik Westerhoff, who finished with 499,000.
WSOP bracelet winner Alex Keating rounded out the top three with 440,000, two spots ahead of 2023 WSOP Main Event runner-up Steven Jones, who bagged 392,000.
Several WSOP Main Event runners-up also made it through to Day 2. Martin Staszko, who finished second in 2011, bagged 166,500, while the man Mizrachi defeated for the title, John Wasnock, advanced with 55,000.
2022 WSOP Main Event champ Espen Jorstad also navigated the opening ten levels, alongside 2020 WSOP Online Main Event winner Stoyan Madanzhiev.
Past WSOP Europe Main Event champions Alexandros Kolonias and John Juanda are also still in contention as they chase the chance to become the first two-time WSOP Europe Main Event winner.
WSOPE Main Event Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 639,000 | 320 |
| 2 | Jan-Henrik Westerhoff | Germany | 499,000 | 250 |
| 3 | Alex Keating | United States | 440,000 | 220 |
| 4 | Martin Tsvetanov | Bulgaria | 428,000 | 214 |
| 5 | Steven Jones | United States | 392,000 | 196 |
| 6 | Egor Sukhov | Ukraine | 378,000 | 189 |
| 7 | Adil Oubaaous | Morocco | 345,000 | 173 |
| 8 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 344,000 | 172 |
| 9 | Sondre Stormyr | Norway | 323,500 | 162 |
| 10 | Oskar Massesson | Denmark | 310,000 | 155 |
Plan for Day 2
The record-breaking WSOP Europe Main Event has seen 2,169 entries across the Day 1 flights, with 904 of those returning tomorrow at noon local time.
The tournament board shows a current prize pool of €11,511,600, meaning the series' marquee event has already crushed its €10 million guarantee.
Those figures are only expected to grow further, as late registration remains open for the first two levels of Day 2, closing at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The plan for Day 2 is to play six 90-minute levels, with extended breaks after the first two levels. A dinner break is scheduled following the fourth level of the day.
Prize pool information and payouts will be confirmed once the final numbers are locked in.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for continuing coverage of the 2026 WSOP Europe festival.