Daniel Negreanu was early, Phil Hellmuth was late, and Michael Mizrachi picked up where he left off to bag one of the top stacks in Day 1B of the 2025 WSOP Main Event.
It was a long day for all three, but Negreanu and Hellmuth survived and they will play again on Day 2ABC. Though the hot TV lights weren't making it any easier for Kid Poker and Hellmuth might have been tuckered out after his grand entrance.
The second of four opening rounds drew 1,096 entries, but the lid is still off until Day 2 and the biggest flights are yet to come. Still, this year's Day 1B outpaced that of 2024, when over 830 players turned out on Independence Day to jump in what was the largest Main Event field of all time. The new number to beat is 10,112 after the 2023 edition set the modern standard with 10,043 runners.
Mizrachi has followed up a dominating performance in the $50K Poker Players Championship, a tournament he won for the fourth time. His 297K finish soared above of a surviving group of 799 players who put their chips in a bag for Day 2ABC, with names like Nick Rigby, Nick Marchington, Yuri Dzivielevski, Mike Matusow, and Eugene Katchalov finding a place among the top 100 spots.
In a case of conflicting traditions, two of poker's biggest superstars jumped in, though they each had a much different take on the Main Event routine. Negreanu hasn't missed the first hand of the Main Event since 1998, and the tradition continued with Kid Poker in his seat promptly for the 12 pm start.
"Special tournament," Negreanu said on X. "Like no other, and I want to be there for the entirety of it."
Let there be rock
Hellmuth, on the other hand, has not played a first hand of the Main Event in recent memory. In a year where he threatened to not show up, Hellmuth made up for it by treating everyone to the latest edition of the late-arriving Phil Hellmuth Main Event Entrance. This time it was music-themed, and reactions were mixed, as usual.
The dust settled and everyone went back to poker. Hellmuth spent a lot of the late evening with his head in his arms, but he perked up during the last level after he peeked down at pocket queens against Yukako Horai. A pre-flop raise exchange filled the pot with around 13,000 and the dealer spread 
before Horai deferred from the small blind. The turn fell 
after Hellmuth checked back, and Horai called his 7,000 bet to see 
on the river.
Hellmuth tossed out 10,000 and Horai called without much hesitation. "Queens," he said, and Horai tossed the losing hand in the muck. The pot moved Hellmuth above 85,000 and left Horai with under half the starting stack. Shortly after, Hellmuth returned his head to his arms for some much needed rest. The evening ended without further fanfare and Hellmuth will return with that same 85K.
It's a long way to the top
For his part, Negreanu had a good day. He cracked aces early and chipped up throughout the evening, spending some time on stream and bagging up with 122K. It was not without discomfort, however, as the temperature changes from room to room and the bright lights of the feature table at the WSOP may be finally getting to the seven-time champ.
"I don't want to be on the TV tables anymore if anyone's listening," Negreanu said at one point on stream. "If it's going to be this hot, I don't want to ever be on these anymore. It's not fun. I almost want to walk off now. It's too hot. It's not fun. It's stupid."
Everyone comes back on Sunday, where they'll face off against the survivors from flights A and C to secure a spot on Day 3. Anyone who gets out alive on Day 2D will join them on Tuesday and the merged field will battle it out until the end to crown this year's World Champion. Opening flight action will continue on Friday at 12 pm Vegas time with Day 1C.
