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Eighty-five returning players were reduced to 25 after Day 4 of the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event inside King's Casino at Hilton Prague, as the series' marquee tournament moved one step closer to crowning its champion.
Leading the field heading into the penultimate day are Hengtao Zhu and Brandon Sheils, who bagged 16,395,000 and 15,935,000 respectively. They are the only players returning with stacks of 100 big blinds or following the six levels of action that unfolded on Wednesday.
WSOP bracelet winner and high roller Chris Hunichen, who also made it through with a top ten stack, called Zhu "too f****** good" at one stage during the day, but the Finnish player remains a largely unknown quantity in the live poker arena.
Zhu has modest live earnings of just $39,361 from 12 recorded cashes, according to The Hendon Mob. His biggest score stands at $24,915 from a €560 buy-in event, which is also the largest buy-in he has cashed on record. Now, he finds himself in the biggest spot of his tournament career, sitting in pole position for a major title and the €2,000,000 first-place prize.
Zhu's rise to the top began when he bested Johan Espholm's set of tens on a four-to-a-flush board. He extracted maximum value with the nuts, before later benefitting from a kings-versus-queens cooler against poker Triple Crown winner Roberto Romanello.
Sheils, however, offers a sharp contrast. The Brit has cashed for more than $250,000 already in 2026, with results dating back to 2013 and more than $3 million in total live earnings. He also arrived in Prague in strong form. In January, he booked a High Roller and Main Event double in London, before winning his first two SCOOP titles in March.
Other notables advancing to the next stage include bracelet winners Marius Kudzmanas (6,595,000) and Yuhan Wang (4,510,000), alongside 2023 WSOP Main Event runner-up Steven Jones (5,980,000).
Also still in contention are accomplished regulars Tom Hall (5,100,000), Sonny Franco (2,900,000), and Day 2 chip leader Thomas Eychenne (2,340,000).
End of Day 4 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hengtao Zhu | Finland | 16,395,000 | 102 |
| 2 | Brandon Sheils | United Kingdom | 15,935,000 | 100 |
| 3 | Rokas Asipauskas | Lithuania | 12,100,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Akihiro Konishi | Japan | 9,490,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Vasileios Panagiotidis | Greece | 9,275,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Peter Koevesdi | Germany | 8,085,000 | 51 |
| 7 | Marius Kudzmanas | Lithuania | 6,595,000 | 41 |
| 8 | Joona Nyholm | Finland | 6,405,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 6,310,000 | 39 |
| 10 | Steven Jones | United States | 5,980,000 | 37 |
Deep Runs End for Okamoto and Obrestad on Day 4
Two of the headline storylines going into Day 4 centered around Shiina Okamoto and Annette Obrestad, but both saw their deep runs come to painful ends.
Okamoto was eliminated late on Day 4 after being involved in a brutal cooler that saw her pocket aces crushed by quads.
The reigning back-to-back WSOP Ladies Championship winner couldn’t find a fold when Vasileios Panagiotidis flopped and turned a monster with quad jacks. Meanwhile, Obrestad’s fairytale return to the felt, 19 years on from her 2007 WSOPE Main Event success, ended when her deuces fell short against Sondre Stormyr.
Both players banked €40,000 for their deep runs, with GTO Wizard ambassador Okamoto eliminated in 37th place, while the youngest-ever WSOP bracelet winner Obrestad finished in 34th.
Remaining Payouts
Each remaining contender has secured at least €50,000, but the biggest paydays are now within reach.
Six-figure prizes begin at 11th place, while reaching the final table guarantees at least €140,000. The rewards climb sharply from there, with the final five locking up €425,000 and the top three all earning at least €800,000.
All eyes, however, remain on the €2,000,000 top prize that awaits the next WSOP Europe Main Event champion.
Plan for Day 5
Cards will be back in the air for Day 5 on Thursday, April 9, with play getting underway at 12 p.m. local time.
Action will resume on Level 29, with blinds at 80,000/160,000 and a 160,000 big blind ante. The plan for Day 5 is to play six 90-minute levels, or until the final table is reached ahead of Friday’s finale. A dinner break is scheduled after Level 32.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for full coverage from the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event.
