Event #5: €5,300 WSOPE Main Event NLHE European Championship Day 1c | 2026 WSOP Europe

04-06-2026 01:10 UTC+2

Michael Mizrachi Finishes Among the Day 1c Chip Leaders in WSOPE Main Event

Calum Grant

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

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.

Tags: Adil Oubaaous Alex Keating Alexandros Kolonias Big Blinds Brian Rast Daniel Rezaei Egor Sukhov Espen Jorstad Hilton Prague Jan-Henrik Westerhoff John Juanda John Wasnock Martin Staszko Martin Tsvetanov Michael Mizrachi Oskar Massesson Paulina Loeliger Phil Hellmuth Sondre Stormyr Steven Jones Stoyan Madanzhiev

04-06-2026 00:20 UTC+2

Rezaei Scores a Double Elimination to Secure the Chip Lead

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Maxime Taldir

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Nicola Marxer raised from the cutoff and was called by James Ross on the button. Daniel Rezaei in the big blind raised for more than his opponents' stacks. Marxer shoved all-in for 52,500 and Ross eventually jammed as well for approximately 75,000.

Nicola Marxer: Q♦Q♥ All in
James Ross: K♠J♦ All in
Daniel Rezaei: A♥2♥

Rezaei found a few outs thanks to a flop of 10♦9♥10♥. The K♣ turn gave the lead to Ross, but the cruel A♣ river sent both Marxer and Ross to the rail. Thanks to this pot, Rezaei ends the day as the overall chip lead with 639,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel Rezaei	639,000 452,000	452,000

Nicola Marxer	Busted
James Ross	Busted

Tags: Daniel Rezaei James Ross Nicola Marxer

04-06-2026 00:13 UTC+2

Moncek Four-Bet Jams Blind; Jams Blind Again

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Calum Grant

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Jeff Madsen raised from the cutoff before Michele Lawson three-bet on the button. Michael Moncek then four-bet jammed without looking at his cards for around 83,000. Madsen called off his stack of 56,500, and Lawson also called to cover both players.

Jeff Madsen: 10♠10♥ All in
Michael Moncek: J♦3♠ All in
Michele Lawson: AxKx

Madsen stayed ahead for the main pot on the Q♣6♥3♥ flop, while Moncek paired his three to move into the lead for the 53,000 side pot. The 5♦ turn and 2♥ river changed nothing, allowing both Madsen and Moncek to survive.

On the very next hand, Madsen limped in and Lawson followed suit. Moncek, once again shoving blind, moved all in for 53,000. Madsen reshoved, forcing Lawson out of the pot.

Michael Moncek: 9♠8♣ All in
Jeff Madsen: A♥9♦

Moncek couldn't believe his bad luck after seeing he was dominated, and Madsen sealed his fate as the board ran out K♥J♠7♣4♦Q♠, sending Moncek to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jeff Madsen	210,000 96,000	96,000

Michele Lawson	135,000 42,500	42,500

Michael Moncek	Busted

Tags: Jeff Madsen Michael Moncek Michele Lawson

04-05-2026 23:38 UTC+2

The Grinder Busts The Bunny

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Calum Grant

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Paulina Loeliger put in her last 14,000 from the button. Reigning WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi snap-called from the big blind.

Paulina Loeliger: Q♦J♠ All in
Michael Mizrachi: A♦K♥

Loeliger made the nut-straight on the A♠K♣10♥ but was immediately drawing dead after Mizrachi made aces full of kings on the A♣ turn. The 6♠ river completed the board, and Loeliger wished the table luck as she departed.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Mizrachi	435,000 49,500	49,500

Paulina Loeliger	Busted

Tags: Michael Mizrachi Paulina Loeliger

04-05-2026 23:18 UTC+2

2011 WSOP Main Event Runner-Up Building a Stack

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Calum Grant

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

2011 WSOP Main Event runner-up Martin Staszko opened to 3,500 from under the gun and called when Pedro Cassar made it 9,000 on his direct left.

Staszko check-called for 11,000 on the Q♦10♠5♣ flop, bringing in the 9♦ turn. He checked once more, and Cassar sized up to 25,000. Staszko, the bigger stack, jammed for the 100,000 more his opponent had behind. After some thinking time, Cassar folded.

Staszko won $5,433,086 for coming second in Poker's World Championship fifteen years ago. But did you know his last tournament cash was in an €80 buy-in event in February?

He came 39th in that tournament that was a part of the King's Prague 1 Million Crown Series, earning €185.

Player	Chips	Progress
Martin Staszko	220,000 96,000	96,000
Pedro Cassar	100,000 15,500	15,500

Tags: Martin Staszko Million Crown Series Pedro Cassar

04-05-2026 20:40 UTC+2

Day 1c on Stream

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Maxime Taldir

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

04-05-2026 20:33 UTC+2

How to Bust the WSOP Main Event in Less Than an Orbit

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Calum Grant

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Vidar Oie was a new arrival into the WSOP Europe Main Event and was delighted to find himself seated with Carl Shaw, with the Brit sharing the sentiment.

Oie told the table he had just busted the €2,200 Turbo, a tournament he had four bullets into.

"That's good for you," joked Shaw.

Oie, who appeared to be in high spirits, possibly alcohol-related, wasted little time getting involved. He put out a blind raise to 2,000 from under the gun. The action folded to Shaw, who made it 4,500 from the hijack. Jaehoon Baek was in the cutoff and three-bet to 11,000. It folded back to Oie, who jammed for 60,000. Shaw folded, but Baek immediately called off his stack of 43,700.

Jaehoon Baek: A♣A♠ All in
Vidar Oie: K♠8♠

Oie had jammed into aces in his very first hand of the tournament and found no help on the 2♦3♣10♥J♠6♦ runout.

On the very next deal, Shaw raised to 3,500 and Oie defended the big blind. Oie checked the A♦A♥10♠ flop, and Shaw moved his friend all in.

"I have a wife and kids to go home to," Oie said as he considered his decision. However, the pull of seeing his family wasn't strong enough to earn a call, and he eventually folded.

Shaw opened to 3,000 the following hand, and Oie then jammed for 11,900 from the small blind. Mitchell Hynam reshoved from the big blind as the covering stack, forcing Shaw to fold.

Vidar Oie: J♠10♦ All in
Mitchell Hynam: A♣J♦

Oie was dominated but jumped into the lead on the 10♥8♥4♣ flop. He then found the last two jacks in the deck as the turn and river came J♣J♥, giving him a full house and a double-up.

Next, it was Shaw's turn to straddle, tossing in 2,000 blind from under the gun. Matteo Martorelli called from the cutoff, while Hynam defended his big blind.

The 9♦6♥5♠ flop checked through to the 2♠ turn. Hynam bet 6,000 and took down the pot.

Despite showing some discipline by folding preflop in that hand, Oie's rollercoaster start eventually came to an end, as he was later seen leaving his seat and heading to the exit after being eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matteo Martorelli	240,000 1,000	1,000
Mitchell Hynam	160,000 17,600	17,600

Jaehoon Baek	95,000 48,900	48,900
Carl Shaw	65,000 22,500	22,500

Vidar Oie	Busted

Tags: Carl Shaw Jaehoon Baek Matteo Martorelli Mitchell Hynam Vidar Oie

04-05-2026 18:13 UTC+2

Blom Navigates River Spots

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Calum Grant

Level 6 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante

There was around 40,000 in the pot on the 10♥8♣6♦K♠A♣ completed board. Cesar Veroez, in the big blind, had a bet of 26,000 out in front of him. His opponent was Viktor Blom, who was in the cutoff. After some thinking time, Blom called. Veroez immediately tapped the table, to signal to Blom that he was good. Veroez just mucked his hand and Blom took in the pot.

Around ten minutes later, Blom found himself in another spot on the river. This time the board read Q♣7♣5♠2♠10♦, and Raphael Debbah bet 6,000 into a pot of around 42,000 from the big blind. Blom, in early position, raised to 32,800 and folded out Debbah.

On the next deal, Blom opened to 1,800 from under the gun. Josef Schusteritsch called from the button.

On the J♣6♦5♦ flop, Blom had his 1,800 continuation bet called. Blom check-called for 7,500 on the 10♥ turn, before check-folding to a bet of 36,000 on the K♥ river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Viktor Blom	160,000 81,000	81,000
Josef Schusteritsch	115,000 12,000	12,000
Raphael Debbah	73,000 10,500	10,500
Cesar Veroez	72,000 11,000	11,000

Tags: Cesar Veroez Josef Schusteritsch Raphael Debbah Viktor Blom

04-05-2026 16:00 UTC+2

Blom Good at Stare Down and Showdown

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Calum Grant

Level 4 : Blinds 300/500, 500 ante

There was 9,000 in the pot on the K♠J♣5♠ flop in a battle of the blinds between Viktor Blom and Mert Hadioglu. Blom bet 2,600 from the small blind and Hadioglu called.

Blom checked the 2♦ turn, and Hadioglu fired 7,000. The two then locked eyes in a brief stare-down, with Blom ultimately winning that battle as Hadioglu broke eye contact several times.

Blom called, and the J♦ river was quickly checked through. At showdown, Blom tabled K♣Q♣ for kings and jacks, which was good enough to take the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Viktor Blom	83,000 13,000	13,000
Mert Hadioglu	44,000 19,800	19,800

Tags: Mert Hadioglu Viktor Blom

04-05-2026 15:12 UTC+2

WSOP Europe Hits Main Event Guarantee

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Calum Grant

Level 3 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

It only took until the third level of Day 1c for the WSOP Europe Main Event to surpass its €10 million guarantee, according to the tournament board in the room.

That’s an impressive milestone for the WSOP Europe brand. Despite the buy-in being halved to €5,300, organizers have had little trouble reaching the ambitious figure.

The event is now on track to set record figures for both field size and prize pool at this price point in Prague, with GGPoker’s stewardship of the WSOP continuing to deliver massive turnouts.

Day 1c is set to move into Level 4 shortly and will play through to the end of Level 10. Players who fail to bag tonight still have another chance, as late registration remains open for the first two levels of Day 2.