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HomePoker News2026 WSOP Day 30: Lou Garza Eyes Back-to-Back Titles in $25k PLO/NLHE

2026 WSOP Day 30: Lou Garza Eyes Back-to-Back Titles in $25k PLO/NLHE



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Lou Garza

It was one of the busiest days at the 2026 World Series of Poker with ten events and three bracelets awarded.

Congratulations go to Joseph Liberta who won the $1,500 Millionaire Maker for $1,250,000 and Harry Rubin whose father watched on as he secured his first WSOP bracelet in Event #57: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha.

There was also a popular winner in Event #62: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em, as Josh Reichard finally secured his first WSOP bracelet in front of a rail packed with his supporters.

Away from that, the final table was confirmed in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the Mystery Millions and Super Seniors all rumbled on, with two new events getting underway.

Here PokerNews takes you through all the action from Day 30 at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Juha Helppi Leads in Event #64: $25,000 NLHE/PLO High Roller

Juha Helppi
Juha Helppi

Day 2 of Event #64: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed had it all: Hold’em and Omaha pros battling it out, the bubble bursting, max late reggers and coolers galore.

The 60 players made Day 2 quickly became 134 by the time late registration closed, with 41 of those arriving at the latest possible opportunity, sitting with just 18 big blinds.

By the end of the day, just 15 players remain, none of whom late-reg’d on Day 2. Those 15 are led by Juha Helppi, who bagged up the chip lead after a huge hand in the final level of play.

A two-time bracelet winner, Helppi leads defending champion Lou Garza who sits second in chips, with Daniel Negreanu also advancing, albeit as the shortest stack of all.

Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds
1 Juha Helppi Finland 6,370,000 127
2 Lou Garza United States 5,365,000 107
3 Sergio Martinez Gonzalez Spain 2,755,000 55
4 Edward Leonard United States 2,690,000 54
5 Eelis Parssinen Finland 2,425,000 49
6 Sean Winter United States 2,410,000 48
7 Yang Wang China 2,150,000 43
8 Dylan Weisman United States 1,705,000 34
9 Dylan Linde United States 1,530,000 31
10 Dominykas Karmazinas Lithuania 975,000 20

Play is set to resume at 1:00 p.m. local time in the Gold section of Paris Ballroom, playing down to a winner on Thursday.

Benny Glaser Leads Final Six in Poker Players Championship

Benny Glaser
Benny Glaser

The pinnacle of the mixed-game tournament schedule at the 2026 World Series of Poker, Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, is down to its final five players after four days of nine-game poker.

After a day full of up-and-down swings, mixed games phenom Benny Glaser bagged the most chips at the end of the night. Having started the day as chipleader as well, Glaser went wire-to-wire to set himself up to become the first player of the post-poker-boom generation to capture nine bracelets.

“It was a struggle for a bit today,” Glaser shared with PokerNews as he was bagging his chips. “The early levels were nice, but once we got moved to the feature table, things became pretty tough.”

Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Day 4 Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count
1 Benny Glaser United Kingdom 8,610,000
2 Maxx Coleman United States 5,565,000
3 Josh Arieh United States 5,265,000
4 Kristopher Tong United States 5,180,000
5 Phil Ivey United States 5,135,000
6 Paul Volpe United States 2,725,000

The star-studded lineup of Maxx Coleman, Kristopher Tong, Josh Arieh, and Phil Ivey all bagged around 5,000,0000, while Paul Volpe’s 2,725,000 is the shortest stack of all.

Day 5 will restart at 1:30 p.m. local time and will conclude only when a new Poker Players Champion has been declared.

Raymer Among Final 15 in $1,000 Super Seniors

Greg Raymer
Greg Raymer

After another ten levels of play in Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors, only 15 players remain in the hunt for the bracelet.

Topping the counts after the penultimate day was Timothy Garner, who bagged 8,015,000 after a great few final levels.

Meanwhile, 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer managed to survive the day, progressing with 5,410,000.

Raymer slowly gained chips throughout the day. One important knockout he got came when he backdoored into Broadway to eliminate William Derego. Then, with two tables left, Raymer won a multi-way pot with top pair top kicker on a scary board, all of which helped him end the day with an above average stack.

Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds
1 Timothy Garner United States 8,015,000 40
2 Glen Clementi United States 7,165,000 36
3 Micheal Dokell United States 6,525,000 33
4 Paul McMullin United States 6,050,000 30
5 Greg Raymer United States 5,410,000 27
6 Kevin Song Korea, Republic of 5,055,000 25
7 Lionel Barracano France 4,405,000 22
8 Donald Briggs United States 4,210,000 21
9 Istvan Toro Hungary 4,070,000 20
10 Alexander Dovzhenko Ukraine 3,890,000 19

The final day begins at 11 a.m. local time. Everyone returning has locked up $17,844 so far, but a spot at the final table doubles that with the winner taking home $355,263.

Valentin Oberhauser Leads Final 33 in $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em

Valentin Oberhauser
Valentin Oberhauser

Only 33 players remain in with a shot at WSOP gold in Event #65: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em, with Valentin Oberhauser holding the chip lead. He was the only player to finish the day above the five-million mark.

Oberhauser already has several WSOP cashes to his name but is still searching for his first final-table appearance. However, he now sits in pole position not only to reach the final table but also to make a run at capturing his first gold bracelet.

End of Day 2 Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds
1 Valentin Oberhauser France 5,500,000 92
2 Kyle Lin United States 4,845,000 81
3 Jan Sanchez United States 4,175,000 70
4 Ciro Gonzalez Mexico 3,420,000 57
5 Brandon Hamlet United States 3,310,000 55
6 Micheal O’Neill Ireland 3,150,000 53
7 Leonardo Alves Brazil 3,120,000 52
8 Juan Vecino Spain 3,080,000 51
9 Ryan Julius United States 3,070,000 51
10 Julian Eibel Germany 2,625,000 44

Other notables further down the counts include Day 1 chip leader Shawn Puri (1,200,000), 2014 Main Event Champ Martin Jacobson (1,180,000), Nick Palma (1,135,000), and Antoine Labat (830,000).

Players will return tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time and play down to a winner.

Brian Tate Tops the Counts after Day 1 of the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship

Brian Tate
Brian Tate

A total of 140 entries were tallied in Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship, almost reaching last year’s total of 141 with registration still open.

After eight hours of limited wagering, just 57 players have put chips into a bag and will be returning for Thursday’s Day 2.

Atop the counts after today’s action was Brian Tate, who went on a late-night surge on his way to a bag of 367,000.

Event #67: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Championship Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Bets
1 Brian Tate United States 367,000 46
2 Andrew Yeh United States 327,000 41
3 Hanh Tran Austria 306,000 38
4 Robert Wells United Kingdom 281,000 35
5 Pierre Lewandowski France 280,000 35
6 Ryan Hoenig United States 260,000 33
7 Jon Turner United States 253,000 32
8 Patrick Stacey Canada 236,000 30
9 Michael Rodrigues Portugal 235,000 29
10 Oscar Johansson Sweden 225,000 28

Registration remains open until 12 p.m. on Thursday, with play resuming at 1 p.m. in Paris.

Team Chen Leads After Tag Team Day 1

Andy Chen
Andy Chen

The hugely popular Event #66: $1,000 Tag Team kicked off today, with 1,375 entries in total. Just 269 teams remain and they are led by Team Chen, made up of Andy and Jie Chen.

They are the only team above 400,000 in chips, ahead of the Portuguese pair of Ruben Correia and Rui Pinto Campos, and a team consisting of American Erik Ryland and Brazil’s Eduardo Nunes.

Event #66: $1,000 Tag Team Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank Team Chip Count Big Blinds
1 Andy Chen – Jie Chen 406,000 162
2 Ruben Correia – Rui Pinto Campos 325,000 130
3 Erik Ryland – Eduardo Nunes 309,000 124
4 Daniel Birmingham – William Birmingham 286,000 114
5 Amadeusz Roslik – Adrian Salwa 262,500 105
6 Alessandro Predaroli – Leonardo Tononi 256,500 103
7 Richard Freitas – Jonatas Roger Freitas 250,000 100
8 Quinn Do – Gennadiy Dvosis 241,000 96
9 Azedine Bendjilali – Idir Haiche 241,000 96
10 Marc Joseph – Conrad Fourie 233,000 93

These survivors and more will return at 12 p.m. on Thursday, June 25. The bubble burst on Day 1, with anyone making it through to Day 2 already locked up a min-cash of $2,001.

Simon Higgins Leads 125 Survivors From Mystery Millions Day 1b

Simon Higgins
Simon Higgins

From a field of 2,278 players, just 125 players have survived into Day 2 of Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions.

Leading the way is Simon Higgins who sits atop the chip counts, slightly ahead of Hayato Kitajima. They are the only two players above two million in chips.

They will join the 76 players who advanced from Day 1a on Day 2, which takes place on Sunday, June 28.

Event #63: $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds
1 Simon Higgins United Kingdom 2,890,000 72
2 Hayato Kitajima Japan 2,100,000 53
3 Avrohom Kraminer United States 1,820,000 46
4 Thomas Graupner Germany 1,720,000 43
5 Wesley Garver United States 1,710,000 43
6 Shachar Haran Israel 1,685,000 42
7 Ha Kwan United States 1,615,000 40
8 Julio Novo United States 1,540,000 39
9 Thiago Arcapalo Israel 1,520,000 38
10 Victor Fryda France 1,500,000 38

What to Expect on Day 31 of the 2026 WSOP

WSOP Branding 2026

Four winners crowned on Day 31, the biggest of which will come in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Another High Roller winner will emerge in the $25,000 PLO/NLH Mixed, with the $1,000 Super Seniors and $1,500 Freezeout also scheduled to finish.

The popular Tag Team will continue with Day 2, as will the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Championship with late registraiton still open until 12 p.m. local time.

Day 1c of the Mystery Millions gets underway at 10 a.m. before the $1,000 Lades Championship at 12 p.m.

The last new event starting today is Event #69: $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo, with cards in the air for that one at 2 p.m.

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Will Shillibier

Will Shillibier

Managing Editor

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor.

He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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