The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 39
Day 38 was the kind of day that makes the WSOP. Daniel Negreanu won the $100,000 PLO High Roller for $2,257,718 and bracelet number eight on the same afternoon Main Event Day 1A fired, delivering one of the best narrative arcs of the summer: a man who was down $500,000 on the series went out and won a $2.25 million pot on the biggest day of the WSOP calendar. Matt Grapenthien flipped the script in the Stud Hi-Lo, hitting quads twice on the final day to take the bracelet from a field that entered with Maxx Coleman as the 2:1 chip leader. Daisuke Ogita won the $1,000 Mini Main over a 12,560-entry field for $1 million and his first bracelet. Martin Kabrhel won his sixth WSOP bracelet online while simultaneously in the money in two live events, screaming 'VAMOS!!' on the way out. And Patrick Stacey claimed his first bracelet today in the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw, sending Allen Kessler home empty-handed again. Day 1A drew 2,599 entries to the Main Event. Day 1B is live right now.
Story 01 of 6
Daniel Negreanu won Event #76: $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha on Thursday July 2 for $2,257,718 and his eighth WSOP bracelet. He outlasted 83 entries, came back from losing half his stack on the final day, and beat Artur Martirosian heads-up - defeating a player who started the heads-up match with nearly twice as many chips. The winning hand was the wheel: Negreanu flopped A-2-3-4-5 and it was over by the turn. The final table was a spectacle: Negreanu lost a major pot early and briefly looked like the wrong side of the story, then caught a heater and built more than a 2:1 chip lead. Philip Sternheimer busted 4th ($705,448) visibly rattled by the crowd noise around Negreanu. Chris Frank had been stuck in third with a distant stack and doubled up briefly before losing everything to Martirosian, sending Martirosian into heads-up with the advantage. Negreanu came back immediately, retook control, and closed it. Full results: Artur Martirosian $1,477,434 (2nd), Chris Frank $1,002,107 (3rd), Philip Sternheimer $705,448 (4th), Yosuke Miki $516,160 (5th), Sean Winter $393,139 (6th), Sergio Martinez Gonzalez $312,233 (7th), Jeremy Ausmus $259,047 (8th). The win pushed Negreanu past $60 million in lifetime live tournament earnings per Hendon Mob and turned a losing summer into a profitable one. 'I ran good heads-up, but I also played really well,' Negreanu said. On PLO: 'I don't study the game with solvers or anything, because, frankly, I don't need to. I eat it, I breathe it, I sleep it. I'm in the moments, I play by feel.' The win happened while Main Event Day 1A was live - Negreanu said the energy of the crowd, rows deep at the rail, made it feel even bigger.
Why it mattersNegreanu was down more than $500,000 on the summer entering this event. A fifth-place finish would have zeroed out the deficit. Instead he won the whole thing and put up one of the top individual results of the 2026 WSOP. The narrative of his summer is completely rewritten: two bracelets in three years, $60M in career live earnings, and the statement he made about PLO - that he plays it entirely by feel without solvers - is either going to age beautifully or become a running debate on poker Twitter. Martirosian pushed him the whole way and deserves credit: four bracelet wins already this summer, Triton PLO titles, and he nearly held a 2:1 heads-up chip lead. He just ran into a Negreanu flopping the nuts.
Story 02 of 6
Matt Grapenthien won Event #75: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship on Thursday July 2 for $415,648 and his second WSOP bracelet - 12 years after his first. He entered the final day not as the chip leader but as a midpack contender, then hit quads twice on the way to the title, including four deuces in heads-up against Jack Germaine to clinch the bracelet. Germaine finished second ($277,087). Maxx Coleman, who had entered the final day with nearly twice the chips of second place, finished third ($191,165) - a result that stings for POY purposes given he was the heavy favorite to win when the day started. Full final results: Grapenthien $415,648 (1st), Germaine $277,087 (2nd), Coleman $191,165 (3rd), Walter Chambers $135,065 (4th), Caitlin Comeskey $97,785 (5th). 190 entries total, $1,767,000 prize pool.
Why it mattersColeman was the story walking into the final day: nearly double the chips of second place, two prior bracelets, nine WSOP cashes this summer. That lead evaporated, and Grapenthien - who was well off the pace - won it with flopped quads, twice. The cruelty of chip leads in Stud Hi-Lo is that they mean less than in hold'em, where pot control and antes grind stacks more predictably. For Coleman the POY race just took a hit. Grapenthien's second bracelet coming 12 years after his first is the kind of gap that comes with a good quote, and the 'quads twice in a day' finale is the sort of headline poker writes itself.
Story 03 of 6
Japan's Daisuke Ogita won Event #72: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Mini Main Event for $1,000,000 and his first WSOP bracelet. The field drew 12,560 entries generating a $11,052,800 prize pool - a massive result for a $1,000 buy-in. Ogita started the final day in fourth chip position and was immediately aggressive, building momentum through a series of legit hands that got paid off after opponents tried to push back. He eliminated Richard Harris (5th, $275,000) in a double-knockout hand that also busted Amin Mostafavi (4th, $360,000), then eliminated Jeffrey Evans (3rd, $475,000) to set up a brief heads-up match with Canada's Jaehwa Son. Heads-up ended quickly: Son's king-jack failed to improve against Ogita's ace-ten. Ogita left his family in Japan for a month to compete in Las Vegas. When asked about his celebration plans, he said: 'Alcohol. I love alcohol.' Son's $625,000 runner-up finish was also the biggest cash of his career.
Why it mattersJapan has been one of the stories of the 2026 WSOP - Naoya Kihara won two bracelets and came within one elimination of the $100K PLO money. Ogita's win reinforces that the Japanese player influx at the WSOP is producing real results, not just volume. A 12,560-entry Mini Main is also a data point: the WSOP's aggressive event scheduling at lower price points is drawing enormous fields. The $1 million payout at a $1,000 buy-in is the kind of thing that sells the game to recreational players better than anything else.
Story 04 of 6
Martin Kabrhel won WSOP Online Event #20: $3,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller for $195,195 and his sixth WSOP bracelet Thursday, completing a day that no other player in the room could have pulled off. Kabrhel entered the day simultaneously in the money in three separate WSOP events: the Online $3,200 NLH High Roller at its final table, Day 2 of the $3,000 Freezeout NLH with a below-average stack, and Day 2 of the $600 Deepstack Championship also with a below-average stack. He was physically running between Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas to manage them. He eventually busted 80th in the $3,000 Freezeout ($9,620) and 281st in the $600 Deepstack ($1,729), which cleared the schedule and let him focus on the online final table, where he defeated Krista Gifford heads-up. Gifford had won an online bracelet earlier this summer and made a real run here. Kabrhel closed her out and celebrated by screaming 'VAMOS!!' 338 runners, $195,195 first prize. The whole thing was documented on his YouTube vlog.
Why it mattersKabrhel doing three events at once is genuinely chaotic and genuinely impressive. He has been one of the most polarizing presences at the WSOP all summer - the vlog is entertaining, the gameplay is aggressive, and the results are real: six bracelets now, across online and live formats. The visual of him sprinting between two poker rooms on the same day he's playing a final table is the kind of thing that ends up in a year-end highlight reel. Gifford reaching a second online bracelet final table in the same summer is worth noting - she's been one of the quieter success stories of the online schedule.
Story 05 of 6
Canada's Patrick Stacey won Event #77: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball today, July 3, for $223,177 and his first WSOP bracelet, defeating Danny Tang heads-up. Stacey entered the final day in 15th of 18 remaining players, then climbed via a pivotal Badugi hand against Eli Elezra (his six-four besting Elezra's six-five for a double). Allen Kessler made the final four, brought a loud rail, and came agonizingly close to his first bracelet again before Stacey eliminated him in 2-7 Triple Draw when Kessler couldn't improve on the final draw. Stacey then beat Tang, who began heads-up even in chips, quickly and cleanly. Tang holds over $43 million in live tournament earnings. Stacey has been studying mixed games four to five hours a day for the past year after stepping away from his business. 'I'm just so happy. It brought tears to my eyes to win. I've been working so hard to do this,' Stacey said. Final table: Tang $145,365 (2nd), Gregorich $96,888 (3rd), Kessler $66,103 (4th), Kelsall $46,191 (5th), Morris $33,077 (6th). 508 entries total.
Why it mattersTwo stories here. First: Stacey's win is the payoff for a real study arc - he built this bracelet methodically over a year of dedicated prep on mixed games, and the discipline shows in how he played the final day. Second: Kessler's near-miss is one of those WSOP storylines that keeps regenerating. He has been grinding toward a first bracelet for years, made another deep run (third place in the $10K Stud Championship earlier this summer, fourth here), and came up short again. The crowd was there for him. Poker did not cooperate.
Story 06 of 6
Main Event Day 1A completed Thursday July 2 with 2,599 entries, the smallest of the four starting flights as expected - Day 1A is historically light, with players preferring Day 1B or 1C. Day 1B fires today, Friday July 3, and is currently in progress. Day 1C is Saturday July 4. Day 1D is Sunday July 5. All flights bag and combine on Day 2 starting Monday July 6. Phil Hellmuth made his annual themed entrance to Day 1A in a Superman costume. The first elimination of the tournament came when a player shoved immediately with AK and ran into a better hand. Chip counts and top stacks from Day 1A are not available at press time. Day 1B numbers will not be known until the flight bags later tonight.
Why it mattersThe Day 1A count of 2,599 is a baseline data point. The series has shown strong attendance all summer - the Mini Main drew 12,560 entries at $1,000. Whether the $10,000 Main Event can crack 10,000 entries again (the 2025 edition drew 10,112) is the question of the week. Day 1B is always the first flight with real traffic, and today's count will be the first signal. Hellmuth's Superman entrance is on-brand and required minimal explanation - it has become a WSOP institution at this point. He needs one more bracelet to reach 18.
Four new bracelet winners confirmed July 2-3. Grapenthien ($10K Stud Hi-Lo), Ogita ($1K Mini Main), Kabrhel (Online $3,200 NLH HR), and Stacey ($2,500 Mixed Triple Draw) all confirmed. Negreanu ($100K PLO, bracelet #8) also confirmed July 2. Total bracelet count this summer: 75 confirmed per PokerNews series tracker.
Bracelet #8. Beat Martirosian heads-up, flopped the wheel to clinch. Was down $500K+ on the summer entering this event. 83 entries. Now past $60M lifetime live earnings.
Bracelet #2, first in 12 years. Hit quads twice on the final day, including four deuces heads-up vs. Germaine to close it. 190 entries, $1,767,000 pool. Coleman led entering the day; finished 3rd.
First bracelet. 12,560 entries, $11,052,800 pool. Beat Jaehwa Son (Canada) heads-up. Started final day 4th in chips. Celebration plan: 'Alcohol. I love alcohol.'
Bracelet #6. Won while simultaneously in the money in two other live events. Beat Krista Gifford heads-up. 338 entries. Victory scream: 'VAMOS!!'
First bracelet. Beat Danny Tang ($43M+ live earnings) heads-up. Started final day 15th of 18. Studied mixed games 4-5 hours daily for a year. 'It brought tears to my eyes.'
Main Event Day 1A chip counts not available - posted chip counts come after the flight bags. Day 1B is in progress. No other major event final tables currently running with available chip counts.
Final table bustouts from Negreanu's $100K PLO win and Grapenthien's Stud Hi-Lo win confirmed. Stacey's $2,500 Triple Draw final table confirmed today.
Started heads-up with nearly 2:1 chip lead. Couldn't hold. Negreanu flopped the wheel to end it. Martirosian praised his opponent's PLO skills post-match. Won the $25K NLH High Roller earlier this summer.
Was in distant third most of the day, doubled once, then lost everything to Martirosian to set up heads-up.
Entered the final day with 2,430,000 chips - nearly double second place. Finished third. Bracelet hunt falls short. Still one of the most consistent performers of the summer.
More than $43M in live tournament earnings. Went even in chips into heads-up against Stacey. Lost quickly and cleanly.
Came back from near-bust to reach the final four. Loud rail showed up for him. Lost to Stacey in 2-7 Triple Draw when he couldn't improve on the last draw. Third final-four result or better this summer without a bracelet.
Visibly affected by the noise and energy of the Negreanu rail, per PokerNews coverage. Busted in fourth.
Leads the POY race entering Day 39 with 2,816 points after his ninth bracelet win in the 8-Game Mix. Two-time POY pursuing an unprecedented third. Official wsop.com standings not yet updated to reflect all recent results.
Second in the POY standings per SoMuchPoker with 2,721 points. Won two bracelets this summer. A consistent high-roller presence who has been racking up points across multiple event formats.
Two bracelets, a third-place finish, and a painful $100K PLO bubble in the same summer. Still third in the POY race on volume. Remarkable result set even with the late-summer heartbreak.
The $100K PLO win is one of the highest-value events of the summer from a prize pool and prestige standpoint. His exact POY point total post-win is not confirmed at press time, but the result should move him meaningfully up the leaderboard. He has been down $500K on the summer; he is now profitable.
Nine WSOP cashes and two final tables this summer. Entered the Stud Hi-Lo final day as a heavy chip leader and left with a 3rd-place finish. Still one of the strongest overall summers of anyone on the tour.