It’s a big day for the Mizrachi’s, Hellmuth’s, and Hachem’s. Three former WSOP Main Event champs still standing on Day 3, and so are their sons.
The session began at 11 a.m. PT on Wednesday with 3,294 players remaining, of which 1,382 will be paid. There were 12 past champions remaining after Tuesday’s Day 2d session concluded, and three of them — Phil Hellmuth, Joe Hachem, and Michael Mizrachi — all had at least one child advance with them.
Hellmuth Has Two Kids Still in the Main
Mizrachi, the defending champion who won this tournament for $10 million a year ago, had the biggest stack among the trio of past winners mentioned above with 202,500 chips, good for 81 big blinds. His son, Paul Mizrachi, was also in a solid position with 150,000 chips. The 21-year-old son of the “Grinder” bagged a big stack on Day 1 and is attempting to make for the first father-son Main Event champion duo ever.
If not a Mizrachi being the first, perhaps it will be a Hellmuth. Phil Hellmuth, the 1989 World Champion, had a solid Day 2 and finished with 173,000. The “Poker Brat” returned for Day 3 along with two of his sons — Phillip Hellmuth III (75,500) and Nicholas Hellmuth (24,000). Nicholas Hellmuth, the youngest child, had just nine big blinds but was still hanging in there at the time of publishing, at the first break of the day.
Phillip Hellmuth III, who is not a Junior (his dad is the Junior), took some flak from poker fans when his dad announced his son would be charging 1.4 markup on his Main Event action. But he is only a day away from reaching the money, which would make satisfy those investors.
The Hachem’s are also doing big things in the Main Event. Joe Hachem, the 2005 champion, came back on Wednesday with a healthy stack of 135,000 chips, a bit below average. But his son, Daniel Hachem, had him beat with 172,500. Daniel has had some success in the Main Event, with a 956th place finish for $17,000 in 2022 and a 179th place finish for $60,000 in 2024. He also reached a WSOP final table in 2024, taking second place for $180,541 in a $1,500 Mixed PLO/NLH Double Board Bomb Pot event.
The Mizrachi family is having the most success in the 2026 WSOP Main Event. Not only did Michael and Paul reach Day 3, but so did Michael’s brothers, Eric Mizrachi and Daniel Mizrachi. All the Mizrachi’s, Hellmuth’s, and Hachem’s who reached Day 3 all made it to the first break.
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