Alan Keating didn't show up to the all-new second flight of the $25K Heads-Up Championship at the 2026 WSOP.
He registered and paid, but Keating ultimately thought better of it.
Other players didn't take Day 1B for granted. It was a first-ever second chance at the opening high-stakes bracelet of the summer, and 63 runners lined up for it. Opening round bustouts like Faraz Jaka, Thomas Boivin, Doug Polk, Phil Ivey, Shaun Deeb, and Martin Kabrhel all set their alarms and returned bright and early at noon for another Round 1.
All 63 players, unlike Alan Keating, were trying to punch a ticket into Sunday's Day 2 extravaganza, where Daniel Negreanu, Alex Foxen, and Michael Mizrachi are waiting from Day 1A.
Round 1
The opening round of Day 1B was a mix of new faces and unlucky souls from the first flight, with one missing person.
Polk won his opener against Alex Keating, who would become known as the Keating who showed up. The other Keating, Alan, registered for the tournament, but he took a powder after a late night at The Lodge Card Club.
He also had tickets to No Doubt at the Sphere, so the $25K Heads-Up Championship was a non-starter, and Piotr Krupa enjoyed a first-round bye.
Shaun Deeb, who beat Terrance Reid yesterday but fell short of the money, took an unsuccessful shot in the second flight and lost to Elijah Berg. Texas Mike Moncek returned for more, but he was out in Round 1 against Nick Yunis. Elsewhere in Round 1, Adrian Mateos, Ren Lin, and Aram Oganyan also struck out on their second chance.
Meanwhile, Kabrhel, Jaka, Boivin, Zamani, and Brock Wilson were among those who made good on bullet #2 in Round 1.
Round 1 results
- Doug Polk def. Alex Keating
- Nikolai Mamut def. Klemens Roiter
- Phil Ivey def. Aram Oganyan
- Shota Nakanishi def. Renan Bruschi
- Stoyan Madanzhiev def. Jesse McVicker
- Faraz Jaka def. Zackary Estes
- Thomas Boivin def. Pieter Aerts
- Dario Sammartino def. Aliaksei Boika
- Elijah Berg def. Shaun Deeb
- Thomas Eychenne def. Ren Lin
- Nikita Kuznetsov def. Adrian Mateos
- Piotr Krupa def. Alan Keating
- Nick Yunis def. Texas Mike Moncek
- Brock Wilson def. Franck Makaci
- Yaman Nakdali def. Patrick Kennedy
- Killian Desnos def. Keyavash Hemyari
- Biao Ding def. Owen Messere
- Brian Battistone def. Masato Yokosawa
- Alekseja Ponakovs def. Jun Obara
- Ivan Deyra def. Bill Klein
- Thomas Muehloecker def. Viktor Blom
- Harvey Castro def. Matthew Steinberg
- Brandon Wilson def. Michael Steele
- Shogo Otani def. Artur Martirosian
- Martin Zamani def. Michel Molenaar
- Martin Kabrhel def. Ryan Leng
- Julien Sitbon def. Mike Shi
- Patrick Leonard def. Antonio Vargas
- Florian Pesce def. Chenxiang Miao
- Kevin Rabichow def. Christopher Nguyen
- Richard Green def. Samuel Mullur
Round 2
Polk was on the edge of victory in Round 2 before he put Nikolai Mamut at risk with 
. Mamut had 
, and a chokehold on the hand, but a flop of 
brought flush opportunities.
The turn was 
, but that didn't help, and the 
sealed the deal on Mamut's must-have double.
It was an up-and-down round for Polk, who found some magic later against pocket aces with his back against the wall. Mamut had lured him in with a min-raise and 
, and Polk shoved his dwindling stack with 
.
But the board ran out 
and Polk lived to see another hand with the club flush.
Eventually, Polk's luck would run out, and he walked off the stage as the loser after one of the longest matches of the round.
On the main feature, Ivey was holding tough against Shota Nakanishi, but his night came to an end on a coin flip.
Ivey got it in with , and Nakanishi used a time extension before he called with . The board rolled out 
and Nakanishi dodged a lot of Ivey's outs to advance to Round 3.
Other Round 2 loss-takers were Kabrhel, who made a lot of noise before a quiet exit against Julien Sitbon, and Dario Sammartino, who gave way to Boivin.
Round 2 results
- Nikolai Mamut def. Doug Polk
- Shota Nakanishi def. Phil Ivey
- Faraz Jaka def. Stoyan Madanzhiev
- Thomas Boivin def. Dario Sammartino
- Thomas Ecyhenne def. Elijah Berg
- Nikita Kuznetsov def. Piotr Krupa
- Brock Wilson def. Nick Yunis
- Ryuta Nakai def. Yaman Nakdali
- Biao Ding def. Killian Desnos
- Brian Battistone def. Aleksejs Ponakovs
- Thomas Muehloecker def. Ivan Deyra
- Brandon Wilson def. Harvey Castro
- Martin Zamani def. Shogo Otani
- Julien Sitbon def. Martin Kabrhel
- Florian Pesce def. Patrick Leonard
- Richard Green def. Kevin Rabichow
Round 3
It looked like a smooth trip through Round 3 for Brock Wilson, especially after his pocket aces took yet another pot from Ryuta Nakai and his 
. A misplaced river bet appeared to be the start of the end for Nakai, but a coin flip turned it around.
It was match point for Wilson when Nakai shoved 
after a three-bet, and 
was the hand to beat. A board of 
would tip the pot to Nakai, along with the rest of the momentum.
Elsewhere in the late hours, Sitbon was the first player to lock in a seat for Sunday when he ended Martin Zamani's run, and Nikita Kuznetsov ousted Thomas Eychenne. Florian Pesce bounced Richard Green, Biao Ding beat Brian Battistone, and Brandon Wilson busted Thomas Muehloecker.
And finally, Boivin and Jaka squared off for a ticket to Day 2, both having tried in each of the opening flights. This time, it was Boivin who pulled away, starting with an early straight-on-straight clash where he walked away with the better of it.
Boivin stayed ahead and put Jaka away on a board of 
, showing 
after covering Jaka's 
. Jaka, who finished as the runner-up in this event in 2024, will try again next year.
Round 3 results
- Nikolai Mamut def. Shota Nakanishi
- Thomas Boivin def. Faraz Jaka
- Nikita Kuznetsov def. Thomas Eychenne
- Ryuta Nakai def. Brock Wilson
- Biao Ding def. Brian Battistone
- Brandon Wilson def. Thomas Meuloecker
- Julien Sitbon def. Martin Zamani
- Florian Pesce def. Richard Green
The final eight players from Day 1B will now get some rest and return on Sunday at noon for the big redraw. Players from Day 1A, like Negreanu, Mizrachi, and Foxen, will combine with Saturday's winners to create a final bracket of 16. They will play two matches on Sunday before returning to play the final four on Monday.
