Overview
- The first week of the 2026 World Series of Poker produced five bracelet winners across varied formats, including Daniyal Gheba ($502,985), Yang Wang ($595,388), Jason Daly ($191,362), Jerome Neppl ($64,083), and James Cheung ($103,185).
- The $25,000 Heads‑Up World Championship has reached the Final Four with Foxen facing Nikita Kuznetsov and Danchev meeting Ryuta Nakai, each player guaranteed $300,000 and the winner slated to receive $800,000.
- Phil Hellmuth advanced to the final table of the $10,000 Omaha Hi‑Lo Championship after making quad eights and eliminating Josh Arieh, putting him in contention for a possible 18th WSOP bracelet and a $450,176 first prize.
- The opening stretch has highlighted non‑Hold’em formats and international entrants, and included a human‑interest win by New Mexico dealer Jerome Neppl who said he will continue working at the series despite his bracelet victory.
- The WSOP runs May 26 through August 5 across Paris and Horseshoe Casinos in Las Vegas with 100 bracelet events to come, many high‑buy‑in tournaments still in play and multiple finals scheduled for livestream coverage.