LIVE Late Reg Closes on Day 2abc of WSOP Main Event

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event continues to unfold with high drama and surprising developments, as late registration for Day 2abc officially closed, solidifying the field at 8,467 entries. This impressive turnout marks the seventh-largest Main Event in WSOP history, though it trails slightly behind the 8,959 entries recorded by the end of Day 2abc last year. With 2,134 players still battling it out on Day 2abc, three more levels of intense play remain before the night concludes, setting the stage for an even more thrilling Day 2d on Tuesday, July 7, which will serve as the final opportunity for hopefuls to enter poker's most prestigious tournament.

Among the notable storylines emerging from the tables, the 2020 WSOP Main Event champion, Damian Salas, found his quest for a second title cut short. The Argentine pro was seen making his exit from the Paris Ballroom in the early evening of Day 2abc, a moment captured on the WSOP livestream, dashing his hopes of repeating history in 2026.

Adding a touch of nostalgia and excitement for long-time fans, poker boom-era personality Brad Booth, affectionately known as "Yukon Brad," has made a highly anticipated return to the Main Event. After more than a decade away from the tournament, Booth's presence injects a vibrant energy into the field. Known for his fearless style in high-stakes cash games and his iconic bluff against Phil Ivey on *High Stakes Poker*, Booth's journey back to the WSOP Main Event follows a period of personal and professional rebuilding, as detailed in a candid 2025 *PokerNews* interview where he spoke about making amends and grinding low-stakes cash games in Oregon.

Booth's return is particularly significant given his history; despite his legendary status in the cash-game world, he has only two recorded WSOP cashes to his name and is chasing his first live tournament cash since 2013, as well as his inaugural Main Event cash. Whether "Yukon Brad" can translate his cash game prowess into a deep tournament run remains to be seen, but his re-emergence is undoubtedly a highlight for many poker enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, the discussion around the significance of bagging the chip lead after Day 2 continues to be a hot topic. While an impressive achievement, history suggests its predictive power has waned in the modern era of massive fields. In the early decades of the WSOP, from 1973 through 2003, Day 2 chip leaders frequently converted their strong positions into final table appearances, with many going on to claim the coveted bracelet. Champions like Johnny Chan (1988), Hamid Dastmalchi (1992), Russ Hamilton (1994), Dan Harrington (1995), Scotty Nguyen (1998), and Noel Furlong (1999) all led after Day 2 before ultimately securing the trophy.

However, the landscape of the Main Event has dramatically shifted over the past two decades. As fields ballooned into the thousands, holding the chip lead after Day 2 became far less indicative of future success. Since 2004, only two Day 2 chip leaders have managed to finish inside the top 10: Ben Lamb, who placed 3rd in 2011, and Gaelle Baumann, who finished 10th in 2012. The vast majority of other Day 2 leaders in this period have fallen well short of the final table, with some still enjoying deep runs like Maurice Hawkins (35th in 2023) and Valentin Vornicu (23rd in 2016), while others, such as Anthony Marsico (481st last year) and Oleksii Kravchuk (604th in 2025), experienced less fortunate outcomes.

Intriguingly, only two Day 2 chip leaders since 1984 have failed to cash in the Main Event: Sammy Farha in 2001 and Julian Milliard in 2019. This statistic suggests that while a Day 2 lead doesn't guarantee a final table, it almost always locks up a payday. As Day 2abc concludes and Day 2d approaches, the player who emerges with the biggest stack will undoubtedly be in an excellent position to make the money and potentially embark on a deep run. However, the sheer size of today's fields, often reaching 9,000 to 10,000 players, means that the Main Event remains a marathon, not a sprint, and there's an enormous amount of work still ahead for any hopeful champion.

Here's a look at how previous Main Event champions fared on Day 2 of their respective winning years:

| Year | Player | Chips | Multiple | Vs. Chip Leader | Rank | Percentile | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1997 | Stu Ungar | 232,000 | 23.20 | 57.78% | 2 | 7.41% | | 1998 | Scotty Nguyen | 286,000 | 28.60 | 100.00% | 1 | 3.70% | | 1999 | Noel Furlong | 555,000 | 55.50 | 100.00% | 1 | 2.78% | | 2000 | Chris Ferguson | 183,500 | 18.35 | 64.73% | 9 | 20.00% | | 2001 | Carlos Mortensen | 67,300 | 6.73 | 43.09% | 26 | 18.44% | | 2002 | Robert Varkonyi | 79,500 | 7.95 | 39.81% | 21 | 16.15% | | 2003 | Chris Moneymaker | 100,900 | 10.09 | 33.26% | 26 | 23.42% | | 2004 | Greg Raymer | 297,300 | 29.73 | 88.67% | 4 | 1.45% | | 2005 | Joe Hachem | 95,900 | 9.59 | 20.67% | 239 | 42.15% | | 2006 | Jamie Gold | 155,400 | 15.54 | 28.30% | 94 | 8.11% | | 2007 | Jerry Yang | 415,500 | 20.78 | 66.77% | 25 | 3.09% | | 2008 | Peter Eastgate | ? | ? | ? | 484 | 37.00% | | 2009 | Joe Cada | 199,600 | 6.65 | 32.69% | 143 | 7.00% | | 2010 | Jonathan Duhamel | 54,600 | 1.82 | 14.08% | 1,641 | 64.23% | | 2011 | Pius Heinz | 256,000 | 8.53 | 46.41% | 88 | 4.72% | | 2012 | Greg Merson | 16,200 | 0.54 | 3.20% | 1,727 | 98.52% | | 2013 | Ryan Riess | 75,400 | 2.51 | 14.86% | 1,088 | 62.07% | | 2014 | Martin Jacobson | 342,700 | 11.42 | 67.86% | 20 | 1.07% | | 2015 | Joe McKeehen | 162,100 | 5.40 | 26.86% | 336 | 18.72% | | 2016 | Qui Nguyen | 279,900 | 5.60 | 33.38% | 255 | 11.67% | | 2017 | Scott Blumstein | 375,100 | 7.50 | 55.16% | 62 | 2.41% | | 2018 | John Cynn | 138,900 | 2.78 | 22.15% | 1,212 | 43.50% | | 2019 | Hossein Ensan | 209,000 | 3.48 | 22.05% | 906 | 31.46% | | 2020 | Damian Salas | 5,653,528 | 94.23 | 54.79% | 3 | 33.33% | | 2021 | Koray Aldemir | 73,300 | 1.22 | 9.85% | 1,909 | 80.82% | | 2022 | Espen Jorstad | 463,500 | 7.73 | 43.66% | 80 | 2.73% | | 2023 | Daniel Weinman | 362,000 | 6.03 | 38.47% | 220 | 6.22% | | 2024 | Jonathan Tamayo | 272,500 | 4.54 | 34.19% | 566 | 15.65% | | 2025 | Michael Mizrachi | 331,500 | 5.53 | 35.36% | 312 | 9.04% |

Noel Furlong, Greg Raymer, Scotty Nguyen, and Stu Ungar (excluding Salas in the 2020 hybrid event) all had exceptional Day 2 starts. Conversely, Greg Merson survived with barely half his starting stack, while Koray Aldemir and Jonathan Duhamel were the only other champions who failed to at least double their chips by the end of Day 2.