The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 38
The Main Event is finally here. Day 1A fired today at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, opening the 10-day sprint to the August 3 ESPN finale. While the biggest tournament in poker gets underway, Markus Gonsalves closed out the $5,000 6-Max last night with three-outers in heads-up to take his first bracelet and $979,655. Negreanu is second in chips at the $100K PLO unofficial final table with nine players left and $2.2 million on the line, one win away from bracelet number eight and his best summer score in years. Maxx Coleman leads the Stud Hi-Lo final 13 into today. And Phil Ivey went 22nd in the Stud Hi-Lo, locked up $20,320, and walked.
Story 01 of 4
Markus Gonsalves won Event #73: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em for $979,655 and his first WSOP bracelet, beating Xiaoyao Ma heads-up in a final that went back and forth before Gonsalves delivered the decisive blow with a three-outer. The final day was a seesaw: Gonsalves built a commanding chip lead, lost a massive pot to Jeremy Izquierdo when pocket threes hit a set, then rallied back to hit the same two-outer against Izquierdo. Heads-up, Ma rallied from a 3:1 chip deficit to take the lead and got all the chips in as the favorite for the bracelet, then Gonsalves hit a three-outer to strip him. Ma doubled back in, Gonsalves hit another three-outer to end it. Full final table results: Xiaoyao Ma ($653,037), Jeremy Izquierdo ($460,256), Daniel Rezaei ($328,810), Dominykas Mikolaitis ($238,152), Joshua Boulton ($174,909), Oliver Weis ($130,287). Field was 1,402 entries, $6,449,200 prize pool. Gonsalves is a cash game specialist from San Diego who has been playing poker for 21 years and prefers 6-max online cash sessions. He said he was 'pumped' to play this specific event. The win pushes his live earnings past $3 million, nearly doubling his previous career best of $554,495.
Why it mattersCash players crossing over to win their first bracelet in a 6-max format is a story that writes itself. Gonsalves had the chip lead entering the final day, gave it away in a brutal three-handed swing, and came back with the same card that hurt him. The final heads-up sequence, where he was behind twice and won on thin equity twice, is the kind of thing that either feels like destiny or just variance depending on your disposition. Gonsalves himself is philosophical about it: he still prefers cash, plans to play the Main Event, then take his rail out to dinner. One WSOP, one bracelet, back to the cash games.
Story 02 of 4
Event #82: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em World Championship - the WSOP Main Event - fired Day 1A today, Thursday July 2, at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Day 1B runs Friday July 3, Day 1C Saturday July 4, Day 1D Sunday July 5. All flights combine on Day 2. The format this year includes a delayed final table for the first time in nearly a decade: the tournament plays through July 13 to set the final nine, then pauses 20 days. The finale airs live on ESPN August 3-5 from 6-9 p.m. local time each night. ESPN is airing more WSOP Main Event coverage in 2026 than at any point in years. Day 1A chip counts and final attendance numbers for the flight are not available at press time - the flight is still in progress.
Why it mattersThe Main Event is the tent pole everything else at the WSOP orbits around. After 37 days of bracelets and high rollers and mixed events, the $10,000 buy-in NLHE championship is the reason poker players come to Las Vegas every summer. The ESPN deal and delayed final table format are the biggest structural changes to the event since the November Nine era ended in 2016. Defending champion Michael Mizrachi - also the defending POY - is in the field. Phil Hellmuth is chasing bracelet number 18. Daniel Negreanu is trying to close out a high-roller final table before he even registers for Day 1. The next 10 days are the main event of the main event.
Story 03 of 4
Daniel Negreanu enters the final table of Event #76: $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha in second place with 11,465,000 chips, behind only Artur Martirosian's chip-leading 14,320,000. Nine players remain and the event plays to a finish. The unofficial final table chip counts: Artur Martirosian 14,320,000; Daniel Negreanu 11,465,000; Sean Winter 6,130,000; Jeremy Ausmus 5,285,000; Philip Sternheimer 4,990,000; Sergio Martinez Gonzalez 2,375,000; Yosuke Miki 2,180,000; Robert Cowen 1,920,000; Chris Frank 1,140,000. First place pays $2,257,718. Going into this event, Negreanu was down more than $500,000 on the 2026 WSOP summer - a fifth-place finish or better would erase that deficit entirely. This is his third final table of the series. A win would give him bracelet number eight of his career. Martirosian is hunting his second bracelet of the summer and fifth overall. He suffered a brutal bubble in the $100K NLH High Roller earlier in the series when pocket aces were cracked twice in succession. Naoya Kihara, who bubbled this event in 14th place after Martirosian sent him to the rail, locked up the minimum $204,938.
Why it mattersNegreanu with an above-average stack, $2.2 million for first, and bracelet number eight on the table is appointment poker. He has been one of the defining names at this WSOP but has been running at a deficit all summer. If he wins this, the narrative arc of his 2026 series gets completely rewritten. Martirosian in the lead adds a legitimate threat - he is a four-time bracelet winner going for number five and has been one of the most consistent performers all summer. Kihara getting eliminated one spot off the money after what has been a historic personal summer is a brutal footnote.
Story 04 of 4
Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship plays its final day today at 1 p.m. in Paris Gold, with 13 players returning under Maxx Coleman's chip lead of 2,430,000 - nearly double second place Jack Germaine's 1,490,000. The full final 13 chip counts: Coleman 2,430,000; Germaine 1,490,000; Walter Chambers 1,050,000; Nicolas Milgrom 1,030,000; Mark Rubbathan 955,000; Matt Grapenthien 890,000; Paul Volpe 715,000; Chris Brewer 680,000; Koji Fujimoto 640,000; Caitlin Comeskey 505,000; Jose Paz-Gutierrez 375,000; Matt Vengrin 305,000; Bradley Jansen 90,000. First place pays $415,648 from a $1,767,000 pool. Coleman is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner going for a third. Koji Fujimoto - who just won the $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship last week - is also in the final 13. Phil Ivey was eliminated in 22nd place for $20,320 after late-registering into the field.
Why it mattersColeman entering the final day with nearly two times the next stack in a 13-player Stud Hi-Lo final is about as favorable a position as you can draw. His best prior finish in a $10K championship was third place in the 2023 Stud. This is his ninth WSOP cash of the summer and his second final table. Fujimoto being in the final 13 four days after winning a bracelet is either superhuman scheduling or a testament to what kind of summer certain players are having. Ivey late-registering, bubbling the payout in 22nd, and exiting for a $20K score is exactly the kind of data point that makes Ivey's WSOP attendance a storyline every year.
Gonsalves win confirmed July 1 evening (after July 1 brief was published). No new confirmed bracelet winners from today July 2 at press time. Stud Hi-Lo and $100K PLO finals are both in progress today.
First bracelet. Cash game specialist from San Diego. 21 years playing poker. Beat Xiaoyao Ma heads-up - hit three-outers twice in the final stretch. 1,402 entries, $6,449,200 pool. Izquierdo 3rd ($460K), Rezaei 4th ($328K). Career earnings now past $3M.
Chip counts from end-of-Day-2 bag-up for Stud Hi-Lo and unofficial final table counts for $100K PLO. Both events play today. Main Event Day 1A is in progress - chip counts not available at press time.
Gonsalves 6-Max final table eliminations confirmed. Kihara's 14th-place bubble in $100K PLO confirmed. Ivey's 22nd-place finish in Stud Hi-Lo confirmed.
Rallied from a 3:1 chip deficit heads-up to take the lead, got chips in as a favorite, and lost to a three-outer from Gonsalves. Doubled his career live earnings per Hendon Mob.
Went from zero to hero to zero in 25 minutes three-handed. Hit a two-outer vs. Gonsalves to gain the chip lead, then ran into kicker problems to exit.
Nightmare final day - lost three pots in a row including calling down a Gonsalves triple barrel with top pair vs. aces, then shoved ace and was outkicked by Ma.
Eliminated by Martirosian on the money bubble. After two bracelets and a third-place finish this summer, Kihara goes from potential POY leader to painful bubble boy in the $100K PLO.
Late-registered, made the money, exited 22nd. Ivey's 2026 WSOP attendance has been sporadic - this is a confirmed cash, minimal payout.
Won his ninth bracelet yesterday in the 8-Game Mix. Poker.org confirmed he reclaimed the POY lead. His exact point total and official standing have not been posted to wsop.com as of press time. Two-time POY winner pursuing an unprecedented third.
Martirosian has been one of the most relentless performers all summer. He leads the $100K PLO final table today. A win gives him two bracelets in one summer - which would be remarkable at this buy-in level. He previously bubbled the $100K NLH High Roller when his aces were cracked twice. He's on the right side of the variance today.
Negreanu was down $500K+ on the summer going into this event. Second in chips at the $100K PLO unofficial final table with nine players left and $2.25M up top. Three previous final tables this summer without a win. If he takes this one down, the narrative of his 2026 WSOP changes completely.
Two bracelets, a third-place finish, and now a painful 14th-place bubble at the $100K PLO. His volume and depth of results keep him in the POY conversation despite the sting of today's exit.
Chip leader heading into the final 13 in the Stud Hi-Lo. This is his ninth WSOP cash and second final table of the summer. A win here would be bracelet three and a significant POY boost.