Zhiqiang Shen Wins $500 Mini Main Event for $747,545

The $500 buy-in Mini Main Event, part of the 2026 WSOP Online at GGPoker, paid its champion the largest prize of the series so far, namely $747,545. That bumper prize now belongs to China’s Zhiqiang Shen, who was the last player standing from a 12,113-strong crowd.

All those entrants resulted in a $5,753,675 prize pool that all 1,208 players who reached Day 2 shared. Andrey Pateychuk, Brunno Botteon, Ole Schemion, Ognyan Dimov, Chris Klodnicki, Martin Finger, Joao Vieira, Rayan Chamas, and Audrius Stakelis were among those who saw a return on their $500 investment.

Day 2 ended with only nine players. Japan’s Seiichi Kanemitsu sat down at the final table with the chip lead, with Chinese duo Zhiqiang Shen and Ziqian Wang occupying the podium places.

#7: $500 Mini Main Event Final Table Results

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Cypriot Nikolaos Angelou-Konstas was eliminated in ninth place, and he collected the final five-figure prize, or $93,443 if you prefer.

Two South Americans were the next to fall. First, Argentina’s Ignacio Sagra came unstuck and had to console himself with a $121,162 bankroll addition. Then one of the two Brazilian finalists, Mauricio Rocha, saw his deep run end in a seventh-place finish worth $157,109.

Six-handed play ended with Vladislav Chechenin’s elimination, which came with a $203,727 payday.

The $500 Mini Main Event guaranteed an Asian champion after Rafael Yamaki of Brazil was cut down in fifth, a finish good for $264,182.

Wang’s stack was reduced to dust, and he saw the $342,583 fourth-place prize money land in his GGPoker account. Malaysian Lee Wee Liew then fell by the wayside in third, which earned him an impressive $444,257.

Heads-up pitted China’s Shen against Japan’s Kanemitsu. Surprisingly, no deal was struck despite the first- and second-place prize money difference being an eye-watering $171,434. That lack of a chop meant Kanemitsu collected $576,111 when he fell at the final hurdle, leaving a delighted Shen reeling in a potentially life-changing $747,545, a $30,000 Super Pass to the 2026 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event, and a gold WSOP bracelet.

Badziakouski Among the $5K 6-Max NLHE Championship Final 8

Only eight players remain in the hunt for the title of $5,000 6-Handed NLH Championship champion, including high-stakes guru Mikita Badziakouski. The Belarusian, playing from Slovenia, already has a WSOP bracelet, having won the $50,000 High Roller at the 2021 WSOP in Las Vegas.

Badziakouski’s fellow Belarusian, Ilia Arkhipov, is the chip leader going into the final day, with seasoned pros Wai Kiat Lee and Yulian Bogdanov in second and third place.

Others at the final table include Daniel Da Silva, who finished 11th in the $500 Mini Main Event, Ukrainian ace Vlad Martynenko, Edilson Junior, and a certain Joseph Cheong.

#8: $5,000 6-Handed NLH Championship Day 2 Chip Counts

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Play resumes at 7:00 p.m. BST on August 26, continuing until someone claims the $371,793 top prize and this event’s bracelet.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.