The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 29
Michelle Chin came back from two big bets to win the $1,500 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw and her first bracelet. Daniel Negreanu's PPC comeback story ended when Kane Kalas called it in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo - before registration had even closed on Day 2. Josh Arieh leads the survivors. The Millionaire Maker is down to the meat of the field with 424 players chasing $15.6 million. Seven bracelet events ran on Day 29, and it was the kind of day that starts one legend and ends another's hope.
Story 01 of 4
Michelle Chin won Event #58: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw for $161,313 and her first WSOP bracelet - a career-high cash that more than doubled her previous best of $88,126. The win came after Chin was reduced to just two big bets late in the night and appeared close to elimination. She ran it up through a four-way pot where she made a number-two low, ending with a top-five stack. In heads-up play, Daniel Strelitz started with a lead, but Chin won hand after hand. The final hand: Chin pulled an eight-seven while Strelitz drew two and paired, giving Chin the pot and the bracelet. Strelitz earned $72,152 for second. Chip leader entering the final table Alessio Isaia of Italy was eliminated by Nick Pupillo when Isaia patted a jack-nine and Pupillo caught a nine to beat him. Pupillo himself finished 4th, pairing on his final draw. The field drew 657 entries for an $872,167 prize pool.
Why it mattersChin's win is one of the more dramatic comebacks of the series - from near-bust to bracelet in a single session. The 2-7 Triple Draw final table had legitimate threats in Isaia (chip leader) and Pupillo (one-time bracelet winner playing on Daniel Negreanu's stable). Both fell short. Chin, who previously made history as the first female WSOP Circuit Main Event champion, now has a gold bracelet at the full World Series. The $161,313 payday is not nothing.
Story 02 of 4
Daniel Negreanu, who started Day 2 of the $50,000 Players Championship as a short stack after losing 80% of his chips within the first 10 minutes of Day 1, was eliminated on Day 2 by Kane Kalas in Seven Card Stud 8-or-Better. Negreanu found himself with queen-high and backdoor flush, straight, and low draws - not nothing - but Kalas had the better of it and delivered the knockout. Negreanu was gone before Day 2 registration had even closed, which meant players were still firing bullets while he was heading for the exit. Josh Arieh leads the Day 2 survivors heading into Day 3.
Why it mattersThe comeback narrative from Day 1 - Negreanu coughing up 80% of his stack to Chris Brewer in the first ten minutes, then grinding it back to 247,000 - made Day 2 worth watching. It didn't hold. Negreanu is now out of the PPC, the event he won in 2024. Arieh leading is relevant because a Josh Arieh PPC win would be a meaningful result for one of the game's most experienced mixed-game players.
Story 03 of 4
The Millionaire Maker (Event #50) played its Day 3 on June 23 with 424 players returning. Qasem Jamhour entered Day 3 as the chip leader at 2,650,000, tied with Rob Kuhn (2,650,000). Zak Delaimy sits third (2,300,000), followed by Hugo Jimenez (2,220,000). Notable names still alive include Eugene Katchalov (680,000), Harrison Gimbel (880,000), Marle Spragg (765,000), and Chris Hunichen (755,000). The official prize pool stands at $15,623,347. Day 3 is not expected to conclude today - additional flights to be played before a final table is set.
Why it matters11,769 entries is a massive field and the money is real from the first cash. The Day 3 field is now a mix of professional grinders who know how to navigate a large-field NLHE structure and the recreational players who have run insanely hot to still be here. Neither advantage is absolute from this point. Katchalov and Gimbel are credentialed names; Jamhour and Kuhn have chips and momentum.
Story 04 of 4
Day 29 of the 2026 WSOP featured a packed slate. Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions No-Limit Hold'em opened its first flight - a six-flight event running through June 27 with at least one $1 million mystery bounty on the line. Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors (60+) and Event #62: $2,500 NLHE both ran their Day 1 flights. All three are multi-day events with results pending. The $50,000 PPC played its Day 2. The 2-7 Triple Draw crowned a winner (Chin). The Millionaire Maker ran Day 3. The $1,000 PLO (Event #57) also continued from its Day 1c flight.
Why it mattersThe second half of the WSOP is a volume game - more events running simultaneously means more action and more chances for big-name results to emerge quickly. The Mystery Millions format has proven popular (the opener drew massive entries earlier this series) and the Super Seniors event typically draws several thousand entries from the 60-and-over contingent.
Michelle Chin claims the bracelet from Day 29 (June 23), winning the $1,500 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw after coming back from near-elimination.
PPC Day 2 survivors and Millionaire Maker Day 3 leaders entering the next session. PPC Day 3 begins June 24; Millionaire Maker Day 3 still in progress.
Notable eliminations from Day 29 action.
Foxen leads the POY race with 2,720 points as of the most recent official standings. His lead over second-place Nick Schulman (2,093 points) is substantial but not insurmountable - there are still weeks of bracelet events left. He's been the most consistent performer of the series.
Trailing Foxen by over 600 points but positioned well heading into the second half. Mixed-game specialist who tends to run deep in the events left on the schedule. A bracelet in the back half would dramatically reshape the race.
Three final-table runner-up finishes this series, zero bracelets. Still accumulating POY points through consistency. The heartbreak leaderboard remains uncontested. Also sitting on a $10M exposure in the Hellmuth side bet on the Main Event. Great summer.
Kihara has two bracelets this series and was hunting a third in the $50K PLO High Roller (finished 7th). Fell to 4th in POY after a quieter stretch. Still very much in the race with quality events remaining.