The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 13 Edition
A Canadian player won a bracelet yesterday in a game he'd never played before - he entered for fantasy points. Kristen Foxen and Galen Hall headline the $25K High Roller final today, with Foxen one win away from becoming the first woman to take an open WSOP event in five years. Michael Mizrachi leads the $10K Stud final with bracelet number nine in play, and Naoya Kihara is sitting sixth in that same final three days after winning his last one. The Monster Stack crossed 10,000 entries for the first time in its 12-year history. And Daniel Negreanu has now flamed out of both his $25K 6-Handed entries and remains without a live cash this summer.
Story 01 of 6
Canadian pro Frederic Normand won Event #21: $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $235,377 and his first career WSOP bracelet. He entered the 1,093-player field - generating a $1,450,957 prize pool - primarily to earn points for his $25K Fantasy team. He had no competitive background in the split-pot format. He led the final table nearly wire-to-wire on the final day and eliminated Josh Arieh in a decisive pot. Arieh, hunting bracelet number eight, finished third for $110,085. Runner-up Michael Rodrigues (Portugal) received $156,863. Normand completed a straight in the final heads-up hand to close it out. Seven of the final 13 players were already bracelet winners.
Why it mattersNormand is an experienced NLH and PLO grinder. PLO Hi-Lo is structurally different - half the pot can go to the best qualifying low hand - requiring different hand selection and decision-making. He dominated a table full of experienced split-pot players in a format he hadn't played competitively and led from the front. It is not supposed to happen this way.
Story 02 of 6
Event #19: $25,000 High Roller NLH (247 total entries, $5,804,500 prize pool) has six players returning for today's final day after a Day 2 that saw Barak Wisbrod - the overnight chip leader - exit ninth, along with Nick Schulman, Jesse Lonis, and Brian Rast. Galen Hall (USA) leads at 16,050,000. Kristen Foxen (Canada) sits second at 9,325,000. The full six: Ignacio Moron (Spain, 7,900,000), Joey Weissman (USA, 7,200,000), Biao Ding (China, 6,875,000), Zdenek Zizka (Czech Republic, 4,375,000). First place is worth $1,773,083. Hall reportedly spent Day 2 eliminating nearly every opponent himself, going from 14 players to the final 6 through direct confrontation.
Why it mattersFoxen already has five WSOP bracelets and is among the most accomplished high-stakes tournament players in the world. A sixth would move her into rare company. More specifically: no woman has won an open WSOP event in Las Vegas in five years. Foxen is two double-ups from the chip lead and will have to go through Hall, who holds a substantial chip advantage entering the day.
Story 03 of 6
Event #23: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship has 11 players returning for its final today, with Michael Mizrachi holding the chip lead at 1,429,000. The 130-entry field generated a $1,209,000 prize pool. The 11 finalists hold 28 combined bracelets - Allen Kessler and Jason Kluska are the only two without one. Behind Mizrachi: Chris Brewer (USA, 1,301,000), James Cheung (UK, 1,242,000), Ryan Miller (USA, 845,000), Jeremy Ausmus (USA, 702,000), Naoya Kihara (Japan, 702,000), Maksim Pisarenko (Russia, 644,000), Allen Kessler (USA, 582,000), Dan Sepiol (USA, 187,000), Brad Ruben (USA, 132,000), Jason Kluska (USA, 59,000). Notable Day 2 exits: David 'ODB' Baker (21st, the money bubble), Patrick Leonard (12th), Eli Elezra (13th).
Why it mattersMizrachi is the defending POY and Main Event champion. A Stud bracelet today would be his ninth career gold and a significant POY points haul. The Kihara subplot: he won Event #17, the $10K 2-7 Championship, on June 4 - three days ago. Winning two championship-level events in four days at the same series would be exceptional. He is short-stacked at 702,000 but far from eliminated.
Story 04 of 6
Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH has surpassed 10,000 total entries across all starting flights, breaking the event's own record of 9,920 from 2025 for the first time in the event's 12-year history. The final starting flight, Day 1d, ran June 7 and drew 3,887 entries with 1,460 players advancing. Total entries now exceed 10,500 and the prize pool is approaching $15 million. Day 2c saw 175 players advance, led by Vincent Albert (France). From the combined Day 1a and 1b groups, 216 players already hold Day 3 seats, with Jason Funke on top at 8,500,000. Notable Day 3 survivors include Kathy Liebert, Martin Zamani, David Peters, Brian Yoon, John Wasnock (2025 ME runner-up), Martin Kabrhel, Joao Simao, Stoyan Madanzhiev. All flights merge June 8.
Why it matters10,000 entries is a first for a non-main WSOP event of this vintage. The $1,500 Monster Stack becoming this large is a strong signal that recreational player participation is healthy. The $15M prize pool produces the biggest first-place payout this event has ever offered.
Story 05 of 6
In the final hands of Day 1 of Event #24: $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed (166 total entries, 45 advancing), Nick Schulman was in a three-way all-in against Nick Petrangelo (pocket fives) and Justin Saliba (A-K). Schulman held A-Q. The board ran J-8-3-9-T, completing broadway. Petrangelo was eliminated, the massive pot went to Schulman, and he bagged the Day 1 chip lead at 1,215,000. Danny Tang (Hong Kong, 1,060,000) and Eli Berg (USA, 980,000) are second and third. Erik Seidel also made the top 10. Day 2 plays today. Daniel Negreanu burned through both re-entries: his first exit came when his queens ran into Hemyari's aces; his second attempt ended when a flush draw collided with Alex Foxen's straight.
Why it mattersSchulman has strong history in this format and starting a high-roller event with the chip lead after a last-hand miracle is ideal positioning. The field includes Foxen (Alex), Danny Tang, Seidel, Aido, Linde, and Plesuv - a fully loaded Day 2. Negreanu's summer continues to stack improbable coolers: aces cracked earlier in June, queens into aces here, flush draw into a straight in the same event.
Story 06 of 6
Event #22: $1,500 Big O drew 2,150 total entries across two starting flights, generating a $2,763,538 prize pool. Day 2 plays today. Nicolas Milgrom (France) leads heading in, followed by John Holley, the Day 1a chip leader. A statistical curiosity: Lonnie Proby cashed in both starting flights but failed to advance to Day 2 in either. Dario Sammartino, Daniel Weinman, and Brian Rast are among the advancing players.
Why it mattersBig O is a five-card Omaha hi-lo variant - one of the more complex formats on the WSOP schedule. 2,150 entries at $1,500 is a strong field for a specialty game. Sammartino has been active all series, including a Dealers Choice final table, and remains a story to watch.
21 confirmed bracelets awarded through Day 12. Frederic Normand's Event #21 win (June 6) is the most recent confirmed bracelet. Events #19, #23, and #24 have final tables playing today.
First career bracelet. Never played the format competitively before. Entered for $25K Fantasy points. Eliminated Josh Arieh in the key hand.
Fifth career bracelet. Full recap in June 6 edition.
Second career bracelet. Single-chip comeback. Now 6th in chips at the Event #23 Stud final.
First bracelet. Coached by Faraz Jaka.
First bracelet. First GGPoker-branded bracelet event won in Las Vegas.
First live bracelet.
Fourth bracelet. Denied Hellmuth bracelet #18.
Second bracelet.
First bracelet. Coached by Kristen Foxen.
Event #19 $25K High Roller and Event #23 $10K Stud final tables are playing today. Event #24 $25K High Roller 6-Handed Day 2 is in progress. Stacks below reflect entering-the-day counts.
Notable eliminations from the past 24 hours.
Entered Day 2 as chip leader. Exited on the final table bubble.
Was simultaneously the Day 1 chip leader in Event #24. Playing two high rollers at once.
Seven-time bracelet winner. Eliminated during Day 2.
Exited during Day 2 consolidation.
Poker Hall of Famer. Two spots from the final table.
Arrived at the WSOP with a patch controversy post that reached 12 million people. Cashed in Stud, did not final table.
Queens into Hemyari's aces. Flush draw into Alex Foxen's straight. Zero live WSOP cashes this summer.
Lithuanian pro leading the POY standings at 1,392 points through Day 10, 29 points ahead of Deeb. Results from WSOP Europe in Prague are baked in. Not prominent in recent daily coverage but sitting first.
1,363 points through Day 10. Playing heavy volume. A fifth in the $10K 2-7 hurt but Deeb is built for long seasons. 29 points back from Kudzmanas with the summer still early.
Won Event #20 Dealers Choice for bracelet number five. Points from that win would have moved him significantly in the standings. Publicly stated intent to win a second POY title 20 years after his first. Updated standings incorporating his win were not in published leaderboards at brief generation time.
Leads the $10K Seven Card Stud final with 1,429,000 chips. A win today adds to his POY total and would be his ninth career bracelet. Wants to repeat as POY - a second consecutive title would be unprecedented.