Two of the WSOP's biggest titans clashed on the first day of the brand-new TV stage, a fitting debut for the supersized setup in the Paris Ballroom.
Phil Hellmuth, who is in pursuit of bracelet #18, went toe-to-toe with 2025 WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi in the third round of the evening. It didn't work out so well.
Meanwhile, it was a day of marquee matchups and bad beats over three rounds in the fancy new digs, where the new livestream spun around the room to cover the action in ways we haven't seen before.
It's also a new era for the $25K Heads-Up Championship, which will feature two opening flights, each playing three matches on Day 1.
Round 1
Big movers from the first round included Martin Kabrhel, Daniel Negreanu, and Shaun Deeb, who beat our former colleague Terrance Reid. But the juicy opening round story was Doug Polk's horrible luck.
Polk, who drew Alex Keating in the first round, was all in and at risk with 
, and everything was looking good against 
. It would continue to look good after a flop of 
, but the turn 
brought on a nightmare 
and Keating's rivered straight sent Polk to the showers.
Polk joined Sergio Aido, Kevin Rabichow, Phil Ivey, Texas Mike Moncek, and others in the losers' lounge after the opening round.
Round 1 results
- Shaun Deeb def. Terrance Reid
- Ryuta Nakai def. Mike Shi
- Patrick Kennedy def. Yaman Nakdali
- Cary Katz def. Chino Rheem
- Martin Kabrhel def. Brandon Wilson
- Masato Yokosawa def. Thomas Boivin
- Eric Wasserson def. Tetsuya Tsujisaka
- Justin Saliba def. Samuel Laskowitz
- Jun Obara def. Carl Shaw
- Michael Mizrachi def. Shannon Shorr
- Phil Hellmuth def. Ian Matakis
- David 'ODB' Baker def. Sergio Aido
- Darren Elias def. Phil Ivey
- Vladas Tamasauskas def. Kevin Rabichow
- Sam Soverel def. Texas Mike Moncek
- Barak Wisbrod def. Keith Lehr
- Keyavash Hemyari def. Elijah Berg
- Killian Desnos def. Pieter Aerts
- Christopher Nguyen def. Samuel Mullur
- Dimitar Danchev def. Ian Bromfield
- Nikolai Mamut def. Faraz Jaka
- Henri Puustinen def. Shawn Smith
- Michael Berk def. Linglin Zeng
- Pavel Spirins def. Dara Taherpour
- Brock Wilson def. Chance Kornuth
- Daniel Negreanu def. Darius Samual
- Harvey Castro def. Viktor Blom
- Justin Dykes def. Adrian Mateos
- Alex Foxen def. Vinny Lingham
- Alex Keating def. Doug Polk
- Joey Weissman def. Matthew Steinberg
- Owen Messere def. John Smith
Round 2
The second round would set up Kabrhel vs. Masato Yokosawa, a matchup that put the tournament's loudest player against the somewhat soft-spoken Japanese superstar. Kabhrel talked up a storm and dominated the stream, but Yokosawa had the last word when he sent the Czech chatterbox to the door after a big cooler caught on tape.
On the other side of the big stage, Hellmuth would take care of David 'ODB' Baker after a successful bluff, and Negreanu dispatched Brock Wilson.
Round 2 results
- Ryuta Nakai def. Shaun Deeb
- Cary Katz def. Patrick Kennedy
- Masato Yokosawa def. Martin Kabrhel
- Justin Saliba def. Eric Wasserson
- Michael Mizrachi def. Jun Obara
- Phil Hellmuth def. David 'ODB' Baker
- Darren Elias def. Vladas Tamasauskas
- Barak Wisbrod def. Sam Soverel
- Killian Desnos def. Keyavash Hemyari
- Dimitar Danchev def. Christopher Nguyen
- Henri Puustinen def. Nikolai Mamut
- Michaek Berk def. Pavel Spirins
- Daniel Negreanu def. Brock Wilson
- Harvey Castro def. Justin Dykes
Round 3
The final 16 players returned at 10pm on Friday night with a chance to lock in their spot on Sunday's Day 2, but the marquee matchup at center stage had everyone's attention. Hellmuth and Mizrachi faced off in a 1989 vs. 2025 World Championship showdown, but it was the new school champ who took it down.
Not much went Hellmuth's way in the matchup. Mishaps like running a pair of aces into two pair put him on the road to ruin, and the wheels came off at the end when both players turned two pair on a board of 
. Mizrachi raised with 
and Hellmuth jammed the last of it 
. The river was a dud, and Hellmuth hit the bricks.
Mizrachi says he will be in the $550 Mystery Bounty on Saturday, but he'll return to the $25K on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Negreanu looked across the table at Harvey Castro in the third round. Castro, a former collegiate soccer player, put up a good fight, but the seven-time champ is moving on to Day 2. A relatively even match broke open after Negreanu stole a big pot when he fired a big bluffy bet with a pair of sixes. Castro folded his kings, and it was downhill from there.
Elsewhere, Alex Foxen was on the ropes against Joey Weissman, but he staged a late-night comeback to advance in the last match of the night. Darren Elias battled for several hours against Barak Wisbrod, but he ran out of room and missed the money.
Round 3 results
- Cary Katz def. Ryuta Nakai
- Justin Saliba def. Masato Yokosawa
- Michael Mizrachi def. Phil Hellmuth
- Barak Wisbrod def. Darren Elias
- Dimitar Danchev def. Killian Desnos
- Henri Puustinen def. Michael Berk
- Daniel Negreanu def. Henry Castro
- Alex Foxen def. Joey Weissman
Saturday brings a second flight with the same circumstances. Three rounds will play out and leave eight players, making a total of 16 runners for the final stretch. They'll redraw into a new bracket on Sunday for the Sweet Sixteen.
