Compared to the excitement that took spot connected the opening time of the World Series of Poker Main Event, Day 1B connected Friday was a low-key matter astatine the tables.
Other than defending champion Michael Mizrachi making his ain grandiose entrance, astir of the sound coming from the Paris Las Vegas Ballroom was for the thrilling World Cup lucifer betwixt Argentina and Cape Verde.
The $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship continues Saturday with Day 1C erstwhile a larger tract is expected connected the Fourth of July vacation for the 3rd of 4 starting flights.
Attendance for the tourney remains somewhat down past year’s gait but could prime up implicit the play arsenic much players get for the holiday. Registration remains unfastened until Day 2D connected Tuesday.
Mizrachi rivaled Phil Hellmuth’s superhero arrival Thursday, arsenic helium entered the playing country accompanied by respective women carrying cards that spelled retired his nickname “Grinder.”
The Champ is back. Michael @TheGrinder44 Mizrachi makes his entranceway for Day 1B of Event #82: the $10,000 @WSOP Main Event.#GGPoker #WSOP pic.twitter.com/twvAJP6tQZ
— GGPoker (@GGPoker) July 3, 2026
He was presented his ninth WSOP bracelet, which are awarded for tourney victories, during the archetypal break. Mizrachi won the $10,000 buy-in Pot-limit Omaha Championship connected Monday.
Mizrachi had much than treble his 60,000-chip starting stack aft the meal break, and the Poker Hall of Fame subordinate was good connected his mode to different heavy tally arsenic helium looks to go the archetypal back-to-back victor of the Main Event since Johnny Chan successful 1987 and 1988.
A fig of different apical players were successful the tract including 2004 Main Event champion Greg Raymer, who was good supra his starting stack astatine the meal interruption with 1 level of play remaining.
Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, a four-time bracelet winner, took an aboriginal deed to his spot stack erstwhile his pouch kings ran into the pouch aces of Damien Gayer of France.
Antonio Esfandiari was different notable sanction from the poker roar epoch successful the field, and helium entertained players and the ESPN assemblage astatine 1 of the diagnostic tables. Esfandiari is seeking his archetypal currency astatine the WSOP since an 82nd-place decorativeness successful the 2019 Main Event.
Former shot prima Gerard Pique besides was successful the tract but managed to enactment distant from immoderate large pots. The longtime Barcelona and Spain nationalist squad defender has much than $700,000 successful vocation unrecorded tourney earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database, but is yet to currency successful a WSOP event.
The archetypal time of the Main Event was overshadowed by superstar Daniel Negreanu winning his eighth vocation bracelet successful a abstracted lawsuit and besides featured an elimination not agelong aft the cards were successful the air. Day 1B was nary antithetic arsenic Israel’s Shraga Vrubel scored an aboriginal knockout.
Day 1 Level 1 of The Main Event
One player’s heartbreak is different player’s glory!
That was the lawsuit for Stephen Lee who was the archetypal subordinate eliminated connected Day 1B of the $10,000 MAIN EVENT astatine the hands of Shraga Vrubel. pic.twitter.com/SmhtF3xTOl
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 3, 2026
Stephen Lee flopped a acceptable of sevens and called for his tourney beingness erstwhile Vrubel raised all-in with pouch aces. The crook and stream cards were some diamonds, however, arsenic Vrubel came from down to marque the winning flush.
Vrubel utilized those chips to physique 1 of the biggest stacks successful the country astatine the meal break.
Contact David Schoen astatine dschoen@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ connected X.
English (US)·