The 7-week World Series of Poker may be more marathon than sprint, but it’s always a good idea to get off to a fast start if you can.
You can catch up with the Day 1 vibes here — including the thoughts of an overexcited Martin Kabrhel and an excited-as-he-always-is Daniel Negreanu — but for the second day of this series there’s one event we can’t take our eyes off: Event #2, the $5K No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed tourney.
It’s already attracted a wealth of top pros (is that the proper collective noun? Feel free to suggest alternatives in the comments), and with registration still open until 3:15pm local time on Wednesday, there’s still time to hop in yourself if you’re rolled and ready.
There’s close to $2 million in the prizepool, and counting.
Last year’s event got 693 entries, and 415 have already been recorded so far this year. 142 of those made it to Day 2 with hopes of getting the best possible start to the series.
One man has leapt out to an impressive lead in the overnight chip counts, however. Yuri Dzivielevski of Brazil ended Day 1 with a stack of 286bb — a full 76bb more than his nearest rival, Peter Cross of the USA.
Knowledge is power
With our free 2026 WSOP Fantasy Freeroll draft not closing until Thursday at 1pm PT — when this tournament will be playing Day 3 of 4 — the timing throws up an interesting question:
Should you wait to see who’s off to a strong start before locking in your draft choices?
By Thursday we’ll have a much better idea of who’s likely to run deep in this one, and waiting until then to finalize your team means you could benefit from spotting a cheap pick who could pay off almost immediately.
Their great start to the series would also be a fantastic way to boost your own chances of Fantasy Freeroll success, and the prizes that come with it.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that anyone makes it all the way, and we don’t yet know who else might stump up the $5K to take a swing.
Daniel Negreanu, one of the most expensive picks in the draft at $116, elected not to play Day 1 of the $5K in favor of the $550 Mini Mystery Millions.
He didn’t find a bag in that one (don’t worry, starting flights are running daily until the weekend) and we have a feeling we’ll see him in action over in the $5K in the Paris Ballroom today.
But no need to panic if you’ve already picked your team; success in one event out of 99 won’t make the difference… will it?
Now might be a good time to remind you it’s possible to tweak your team right up until the deadline of 1pm PT on Thursday.
So, where’s the value?
Chip leader Dzivielevski is going for big money in the fantasy draft ($90), and he’s not the only pricey pick who’s carrying a decent stack into Day 2 of the $5K.
Shaun Deeb was the most expensive draftee at $133, and hits Day 2 in 35th place with 86bb. Also still in there and swinging are Martin Kabrhel (11th, 119bb) and Viktor Blom (38th, 80bb), who both went for a nice $69.
At more of a midrange price point it’s worth checking out Tony ‘Ren’ Lin (10th, 126bb), who’ll cost you $29 of your $200 budget, and Chris ‘Big Huni’ Hunichen (20th, 99bb) at $35.
But for the best potential upside you’ll be looking for players with low prices but big stacks, and in that respect it’s tough to look past Renji Mao (14th, 108bb) who comes in at just $7. And a little more expensive, at $19, is Maksim Pisarenko (15th, 107bb).
But it’s early days in the tournament, in the Fantasy Freeroll, and in the series itself. Anything can happen, and it always does.
Play in Event #2 resumes at 1pm PT on Wednesday with blinds at 1K/2.5K and a 2.5K big blind ante. Late registration ends at 3:15pm when blinds will be 1.5K/3K/3K and $5K will get you a starting stack of 50K. Stick with PokerOrg for regular updates and results.
Registration in the PokerOrg 2026 WSOP Fantasy Freeroll closes at 1pm PT on Thursday, May 28, and it won’t cost you $5K to play — it’s free.
Additional images courtesy of WSOP/Miguel Cortes/Omar Sader.
