2026 WSOP Day 44: Texas Mike Eyes Bracelet in $600 Ultra Stack

The 2026 World Series of Poker is barreling towards its final week, with the hallowed halls of Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas buzzing with escalating intensity. No new bracelets were claimed on Wednesday, July 8th, as the poker world's attention was firmly fixed on several major events reaching critical junctures, including the Main Event bubble.

The highly anticipated 2026 WSOP Main Event saw its sprawling field combine for the first time. From an initial 9,208 entries, 3,294 players returned for Day 3, battling through five grueling levels. By the day's close, only 1,389 remained, teetering on the precipice of the money bubble. A mere seven eliminations separate the remaining hopefuls from a guaranteed $15,000 payday, setting the stage for an explosive start to Day 4.

Leading this monumental field is Pot-Limit Omaha cash game specialist Sasha Liu, who turned an impressive Day 2 entry into a commanding chip lead. Liu, who began Day 3 with a seven-figure stack, more than doubled her holdings to an astonishing 2,364,000 chips. She now sits comfortably atop the leaderboard, surpassing Martin Zamani, who bagged 1,963,000. The Main Event will resume on Thursday, July 9th, at 11 a.m. local time, with blinds at 4,000-8,000 and an 8,000 big blind ante, ensuring immediate hand-for-hand play.

| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Sasha Liu | United States | 2,364,000 | 295 | | 2 | Martin Zamani | United States | 1,963,000 | 245 | | 3 | Levon Khachatryan | United States | 1,745,000 | 218 | | 4 | Robert Gill | United States | 1,604,000 | 200 | | 5 | Zdenek Zizka | Czechia | 1,576,000 | 197 | | 6 | Robin Kleinbeck | Germany | 1,558,000 | 194 | | 7 | Will Givens | United States | 1,540,000 | 192 | | 8 | Brian Carraher | United States | 1,463,000 | 182 | | 9 | Felix Kuemayr | Austria | 1,398,000 | 174 | | 10 | Jared Passanante | United States | 1,361,000 | 170 |

In Event #86: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Ultra Stack, the massive field of 8,007 entries has been whittled down to a mere 16 contenders after two exhaustive days of play. France's Henry Benamram surged to the top, finishing with a late-day burst to become the only player above 70 million chips, holding 72,000,000. Hot on his heels, American Michael Moncek, fresh off a 3rd-place finish in Event #81: £800 Summer Celebration, secured the third-largest stack with 44,500,000.

| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Henry Benamram | France | 72,000,000 | 48 | | 2 | Mikko Torkki | Finland | 66,500,000 | 44 | | 3 | Michael Moncek | United States | 44,500,000 | 30 | | 4 | Sriharsha Doddapaneni | India | 43,000,000 | 29 | | 5 | Yunhan Yang | United States | 34,000,000 | 23 | | 6 | Eric Weber | United States | 31,000,000 | 21 | | 7 | Renato Roizenblit | Brazil | 28,000,000 | 19 | | 8 | Aaron Crisp | United Kingdom | 26,500,000 | 18 | | 9 | Daniel Biddle | United States | 24,500,000 | 16 | | 10 | Kazuto Takeuchi | Japan | 19,000,000 | 13 |

These 16 finalists will return to the Paris Ballroom's feature tables on July 9th at 1 p.m. local time, where they will play down to a champion and award a coveted WSOP bracelet.

Elsewhere, Event #88: $300 Gladiators of Poker, the series' lowest buy-in event, kicked off its first flight. Day 1a attracted 1,810 players, with 66 advancing after 22 levels of play. Jose Cayetano emerged as the dominant force, bagging 2,350,000 chips, the only player to cross the two-million mark. Cayetano, who already boasts two cashes this WSOP, will be looking to convert his chip lead into a deep run. Notable bracelet winners Thong Do (960,000), Ben Yu (750,000), and Andrew Brown (375,400) also navigated the field to secure their spots in Day 2.

In Event #87: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha, Day 1b concluded with 426 players out of 2,842 entries finding bags. China's Yuhong Liu leads the flight with 1,167,000 chips, closely followed by Japan's Hiroyuki Noda (1,049,000) and Costa Rica's Alberto Fonseca (1,031,000). Three-time bracelet winner Jason Daly also successfully advanced, adding more star power to the field as it progresses. The remaining players will converge to hunt for both the bracelet and the elusive mystery bounties.

Finally, Day 1a of Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship saw poker legend John Juanda headline the 140 survivors. Juanda, a multiple bracelet winner, will return for Day 2 alongside a competitive field, all vying for a significant championship title. As the WSOP enters its twilight, every event promises high drama and the potential for new champions to emerge, or established legends to add to their glittering resumes.