Lots to unpack here.
MONDAY, JUNE 22
Mondays, amirite? But forget the office, there's plenty of poker to be played at the WSOP today.
Here's what to look forward to on Monday, June 22:
- 10am: $1,000 Super Seniors NLH (Day 1)
- 11am: $1,500 Millionaire Maker (Day 3)
- 12pm: $1,000 PLO (Day 1C)
- 12pm: $500 Salute to Warriors (Day 2)
- 1pm: $250 Daily Deepstack
- 1pm: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw (final day)
- 2pm: $50,000 Poker Players Championship (Day 2)
- 2pm: $2,500 NLH (Day 1)
- 4pm: $400 Daily Deepstack
Everyone's motivations for playing poker are different. Some are more different than others.
Also, X is back up. As you were.
First 2p2, now X? Don't worry, PokerOrg is still running fine (did I just jinx it?)
The state of the WSOP PoY race.
As of last night:
We agree with Rob Kuhn. Sneezing into your clothes should be against the law.
I guess we're going to have to just... talk to each other? Did someone forget to pay a bill?
The beautiful game (of Omaha): read our full recap of Joao Simao's win in the WSOP $50K High Roller now - link below.
#Negativity: Phil Hellmuth is officially healthy again, and is coming for the PPC!
Bubble bursts to end Day 1 of Salute to Warriors: We needed a bit of extra time, with 674 left after the allotted 17 levels of play today. Two more players were eliminated and all Day 2 players are now guaranteed $1,000. Adam Brody bagged the biggest stack worth 1.5 million, closely followed by Nick Rigby (below) in second. Jamie Gold (22nd) also bagged a big stack. Play restarts at 11am tomorrow.
Omar Sader
Day 1 of $50K Poker Players Championship done: 66 players have survived from a field of 87. Defending champion Michael Mizrachi was eliminated late in the day, guaranteeing a new champion will be crowned in 2026. Check out our full Day 1 report below.
Joao Simao wins $50K PLO for $1,368,700: Simao put on a heads-up clinic and finished Santhosh Suvarna off with aces. Suvarna missed out on his second bracelet of the summer. We'll have a full report soon.
Players on final break of the day in PPC: There's one more 100-minute level to play today, and Matt Glantz is still at the top of the leaderboard – although he hasn't cracked seven figures yet. Chino Rheem has joined him at the top. Nacho Barbero and Patrick Leonard have been ousted.
Top 5 stacks
- Matt Glantz – 926K
- Chino Rheem – 748K
- Robert Wells – 700K
- Jason Mercier – 671.5K
- Jesse Lonis – 670K
$50K PLO – Robert Cowen eliminated in 3rd ($628,510): PLO can be a brutal as well as a beautiful game. An hour ago Cowen had 70% of all the chips in play after winning a 22 million pot with aces against Joao Simao. An hour later he was out.
Santhosh eliminated him with 
against 
. The 
flop ensured all the money was going in and it bricked out for Cowen. Suvarna now has a big chip lead heads-up.
- Santhosh Suvarna – 20.8M
- Joao Simao – 12.2M
Matt Glantz still leading $50K PPC: We're two-thirds of the way through Day 1 and Glantz has more than tripled his starting stack of 300K. Shaun Deeb is up to ninth, Negreanu is 19th. Joao Vieira and Jeremy Ausmus have both been eliminated.
Top 5 stacks
- Matt Glantz – 985K
- Jesse Lonis – 765.5K
- Chris Brewer – 727K
- Aaron Kupin – 700K
- Robert Wells – 680K
There's $208,800 up top for the last remaining Warrior: Not bad for a $500 buy-in. Kristin Brotherton is leading the way with the tournament clock reading 1,180/4,478. Lexy Gavin-Mather (below) also has a decent stack.
David Williams wants in to the PPC: Anyone want any of his action?
What does it feel like to bust the PPC? Scott?
Venkat Chivukula eliminated from $50K PLO in 4th ($445,440): We're down to three in the High Roller PLO, with Chivukula (below) following Carlo Van Ravenswoud to the rail.
- Joao Simao – 15M
- Robert Cowen – 8.6M
- Santhosh Suvarna – 7.8M
Three more eliminations in $50K PPC: Chad Eveslage (below), Scott Seiver and Robert Mizrachi have hit the rail and will be playing no further part in the tournament. We're up to 73 entries and there's a new chip leader – Matt Glantz.
Three WSOP stream thoughts ahead of today's 6.30pm start:
- The quality of the stream has improved over the past few days.
- Not streaming final tables from the start and continuing with the two-and-a-half delay is a killer.
- How they treat the $50K PPC over the next few days will determine whether they get a lot of the critics back on board.
Muck of the summer: Has been awarded to Chris Brewer by Nick Schulman who said, "This for me is what some must feel when they see the Mona Lisa in person. The Sistene Chapel. The early celebration, and then the mucking of each down card, one by one. I almost wept the first time I saw it. Breathtakingly perfect."
Shaun Deeb on the Countdown Show: He'll be talking about his struggles this summer, the Player of the Year race – and perhaps that curse. Catch him at 6:30pm ahead of the $50K PLO stream at 7pm.
First player down in $50K PPC: Jason Kluska was propping up the leaderboard with Daniel Negreanu earlier. He's become the first and only player out so far in 2026, with entries up to 58. We had 88 on Day 1 last year.
Aaron Kupin (below) is the new chip leader, ahead of Justin Liberto and Chris Vitch. Negreanu now has a top-10 stack after a much improved second level of the day.
"The best poker tournament that exists": Brian Rast has won the Poker Players Championship three times already. Can he make it four in 2026? He's taking it seriously.
Late reg shut in Salute to Warriors: And it's the second-biggest ever with 4,478 entries.
Negreanu above starting stack: It's a marathon not a sprint, and after his early setback Negrenau has just got his stack back above 300K.
SUNDAY, JUNE 21
Final 30 minutes of late reg in Salute to Warriors: The players are on an extended break and late registration will close just after 5:15pm. The field is up to 4,274, making it the third biggest, and closing in on 2023 numbers of 4,305. The biggest Warriors event was in 2024 when it hit 4,517 entries. It's up a bunch from last year when the field was 3,937.
Michael Mizrachi makes his entrance: He's no Phil Hellmuth but the defending PPC champ was met by a waiting entourage of cameras. The defence of his title is now on.
Show some love: It's important to remember the people that make all this possible every summer.
Fantasy Freeroll scores updated: And there's a new team on top thanks to big hauls from Alex Foxen and Calvin Anderson – SmolNPudgy. 1,180 points is the new target to hit. Check the full leaderboard.
$50K PLO onto the TV stage: And that means delayed reporting in line with the stream, which starts at 7pm. Robert Cowen has a huge chip lead.
$50K PPC gallery: We're up to 40 players now.
Esther 'Etay' Taylor back for another run at the $50K PPC: She finished third last year for $595,136. Can she go two better in 2026?
First 100-minute level of $50K PPC in the bag: 38 players have entered and 38 players remain, but Daniel Negreanu hit a speed bump in the shape of Chris Brewer early on. He lost a big pot in no-limit hold'em that saw him plummet to the bottom of the leaderboard with 146K. We're playing 6 levels in total today.
Top 5 stacks
- Chris Brewer – 574K
- Chance Kornuth – 513K
- David Benyamine – 415K
- Aaron Kupin – 405K
- Ioannis Angelou Konstas – 370K
$50K High Roller PLO – Naoya Kihara eliminated in 7th ($189,720): He promised action from the start and he delivered it, scoring a quick double before losing a string of hands to bust. He's hopped straight into the $50K PPC. Just 5 left in the $50K PLO after the first level of the day – Yuri Dzivielevski was also eliminated in 6th ahead of the break.
- Robert Cowen – 13.8M
- Joao Simao – 6.8M
- Carlo Van Ravenswoud – 6.3M
- Venkat Chivukula – 4M
- Santhos Suvarna – 2.2M
Daniel Negreanu joins PPC party: Negreanu, who won the $50K Poker Players Championship in 2024, will be looking to bag one of this summer's biggest bracelets when he takes his seat in Level 1 today.
Expect action from Kihara: He's already won two bracelets this summer, and Naoya Kihara has only eyes for the golden prize at today's $50K PLO final table. Posting on X, he wrote: "I’m not worried about pay jumps at all, just gonna go all-in aggressively chasing that win!" Start time is 2pm.
Isildur in from the start: Viktor Blom is one of the players who will be in the $50K Poker Players Championship from the start. Cards will be in the air in 30 minutes.
How many Warriors? Last year's Salute to Warriors drew 3,937 entries. The WSOP has kept the same format for 2026 – a three-day event with one re-entry and late registration open until the end of Level 9 today. With just under four hours left, the field has already climbed to 3,020 entries.
Lennart Hennig
ICYMI – Tempers fray at $10K H.O.R.S.E: John Veltri, Josh Arieh and Calvin Anderson played for hours three-handed on Saturday night, and it got a little tense when the rules were pointed out to Veltri.
WSOP livestream starts 7pm tonight: It's showing the final table of the $50K PLO – or what's left of it. That starts at 2pm live and will move across to the TV stage at 4.30pm for the broadcast, with the usual two-and-a-half hour delay.
Negreanu's $50K PLO journey: Today's vlog is out, and you can follow his Day 2, which ultimately ended with an 11th-place finish. "Very emotional day, but it ended on a high," Negreanu says. "I made the money... I hung in there."
Daniel Negreanu now has the most WSOP cashes in history. After making the money three times in the past 10 days, Negreanu has overtaken Phil Hellmuth at the top of The Hendon Mob's chart.
And don't forget the Daily Deepstacks. Three to choose from today:
- 1pm: $250
- 4pm: $400
- 8pm: $200
A day of rest? Not if you don't want one.
Here's what's happening at the WSOP on Sunday, June 21.
- 10am: $500 Salute to Warriors (Day 1)
- 11am: $1,500 Millionaire Maker (Day 2D)
- 12pm: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (Day 1B)
- 1pm: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw (Day 2)
- 2pm: $50,000 Pot-Liimit Omaha (Day 3)
- 2pm: $50,000 Poker Players Championship (Day 1)
Is it time for a shot clock in every tourney? 3-time WSOP bracelet winner David Bach thinks so.
How many entries will the Poker Players Championship get this year? It's one of the most prestigious events in poker, and attracts a select band of the best players in the world.
Here's what the winners, entries and first-place prize money look like over the past 5 years:
- 2025: Michael Mizrachi – 107 entries / $1,331,322
- 2024: Daniel Negreanu – 89 entries / $1,178,703
- 2023: Brian Rast – 99 entries / $1,324,747
- 2022: Dan Cates – 112 entries / $1,449,103
- 2021: Dan Cates – 63 entries / $954,020
And here's a look ahead to this year's event, starting today at 2pm.
Are you grinding the WSOP, or is it grinding you? Run through this checklist to keep your motor running all the way through to the last hand.
Happy Fathers Day - to those who celebrate.
