What's new at the felt

Grinder's Run Comes to a Halt

Michael Mizrachi's bid to become the first back-to-back WSOP Main Event champion has come to an end, as both he and high-stakes standout Alex Foxen were eliminated on Day 5 at the TV table of the 2026 WSOP Main Event.

A Historic Pursuit, Cut Short

For poker fans, the storyline was compelling from the start. Mizrachi — widely known as Grinder — was chasing history, and deep runs in the Main Event are notoriously difficult to string together even once, let alone consecutively. Making it to the TV table on Day 5 is no small feat in a field of this size, but the cruelest exits often come precisely when the spotlight is brightest.

What makes this elimination particularly striking is the detail buried in the headline: Mizrachi was reportedly knocked out by another former WSOP Main Event champion. That adds a layer of symmetry — and irony — to the storyline. Champions eliminating champions at the sport's most prestigious stage is the kind of moment that crystallises just how deep the talent pool at the modern Main Event has become.

Foxen Also Falls

Alex Foxen, one of the most decorated tournament players in recent history with multiple GPI Player of the Year accolades, also exited on the same day at the same table. Losing two high-profile players in the same session on the TV feature table makes Day 5 one of the more dramatic stretches of the 2026 Main Event so far.

What's Next

With Mizrachi and Foxen now on the rail, the remaining field will be closely watched for who carries momentum into the later stages. The 2026 Main Event continues to thin toward its eventual champion — and the field is clearly not short on firepower.

Read on PokerOrg

When the Classroom Runs Out of Challenges, the Felt Beckons

For most kids, middle and high school math is plenty daunting. For Kevin Ordet, it wasn't nearly enough. The Florida native reportedly exhausted the math curriculum available to him long before graduation — a detail that says a great deal about the analytical horsepower he now brings to the poker table.

A Natural Fit for the Game

Poker, at its core, is an applied mathematics problem wrapped in psychology and pressure. Players who genuinely love numbers — not just tolerate them — tend to find a natural home in the game's strategic layers: pot odds, equity calculations, range construction, and game-theory optimal (GTO) play. Ordet appears to be precisely that profile of player: someone for whom the quantitative demands of high-level poker feel less like work and more like a native language.

The University of WSOP

The World Series of Poker has long served as the game's most prestigious proving ground, drawing amateurs, seasoned pros, and everyone in between to compete for life-changing prize pools. For mathematically inclined players, the WSOP's multi-day tournament structure rewards disciplined, data-informed decision-making over extended periods — a format that arguably suits the analytical mind well.

Ordet's journey from a classroom that couldn't keep up with him to one of poker's biggest stages is a compelling reminder that the paths leading to the WSOP are as varied as the players who take their seats.

What to Watch

• Can raw mathematical talent translate cleanly to live tournament pressure? The mental game — handling variance, fatigue, and opponent dynamics — adds dimensions that no equation fully captures.
• Florida has produced notable poker talent before. Ordet's emergence adds another name to watch from the Sunshine State's growing poker community.

WPT Prime Lodge Championship Heads Back to Texas

The World Poker Tour is bringing its Prime series back to one of the most buzzed-about card rooms in the country — The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock, Texas — for a return visit this September.

What We Know So Far

The headline number is a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, which keeps the WPT Prime Lodge Championship firmly in the major regional event tier. Details on the buy-in structure, starting flights, and full schedule have not yet been published in the excerpt, so players interested in satellite opportunities or side events will want to watch the official WPT and Lodge Card Club channels for updates.

Why This Event Matters

The Lodge has rapidly built a reputation as one of the most player-friendly and professionally run independent card rooms in the United States. Partnering with the WPT Prime series — WPT's mid-major tournament brand — gives the venue a national spotlight and draws a competitive field that extends well beyond the Texas poker community.

For the WPT, anchoring a Prime stop at The Lodge makes strategic sense: the room already attracts high-traffic mixed fields, and the $1M guarantee signals confidence that the player pool can support it.

FeltIQ Take

Regional poker has been quietly thriving, and events like this one illustrate that the action isn't exclusively concentrated in Las Vegas or major casino corridors. A September window also slots neatly after the summer WSOP grind winds down, making it a natural destination for tournament players looking to keep momentum into the fall.

Keep an eye on registration timelines — guaranteed prize pools at this level tend to draw early interest and can fill up fast.

The Poker Brat Is Back — And Already Making Headlines

Phil Hellmuth's flair for the dramatic was on full display during Day 1A of the 2026 WSOP Main Event, where his signature theatrical entrance was reportedly upstaged — though that didn't stop him from making his presence felt at the tables.

Key Storylines from Day 1A

• Ryuta Nakai closed the flight as the chip leader, emerging from a packed field as the name to watch heading into Day 2.
• Scott Seiver enjoyed a strong surge through the day, positioning himself among the notable stacks at the end of play.
• Hellmuth brought his customary showmanship but also reportedly stirred up some controversy — living up to his long-standing reputation as one of poker's most polarizing personalities. Despite the drama, he did bag chips and advance to Day 2.
• One subdued note: overall Day 1A attendance dipped compared to last year, a trend worth monitoring as the remaining Day 1 flights play out.

FeltIQ Take

Hellmuth drama is almost a prerequisite for a WSOP Main Event cycle at this point — but what's genuinely interesting here is the chip-leader storyline. Nakai leading a Day 1A field is a result that will fly under casual radar, making it worth keeping an eye on as the tournament progresses. Meanwhile, Seiver's strong showing is a reminder that experienced tournament players who avoid the early-day noise often quietly pile up chips while others are busy with sideshows.

The dip in Day 1A turnout is a small data point for now, but it's something the poker community will be watching closely as the full field numbers take shape across all starting flights.

From Pre-Solver Study to Published Authority

Fernando Habegger — better known in poker circles as JNANDEZ — has carved out a distinctive niche as one of pot-limit Omaha's most trusted educators. A new profile on Poker.org traces how his journey began at a time when solvers were not yet part of the everyday player's toolkit, forcing him to develop a deep, intuition-driven understanding of PLO's core concepts.

Learning the Hard Way — Then Teaching It Right

What makes Habegger's path particularly interesting is the era in which he came up. Without solver outputs to lean on, early PLO students had to build mental frameworks from first principles — hand reading, equity intuition, positional awareness, and board-texture recognition. That foundation, developed before modern GTO tools became mainstream, arguably gave Habegger a more explainable understanding of the game than players who came of age with solver shortcuts.

That capacity to explain complexity is precisely what drove him toward authorship. Habegger went on to write books aimed at illustrating PLO's major strategic concepts in an accessible way — a format that still resonates in an era when video courses and training sites dominate poker education.

Why This Matters for PLO Students

• Pre-solver frameworks remain relevant. Even as GTO tools evolve, understanding why a play is correct — not just that it is correct — separates strong players from those who merely memorize outputs.
• Written material still has a place. Books force authors to construct coherent, linear arguments, which can deepen comprehension in ways that video content sometimes skips over.
• With four hole cards and dramatically wider hand-vs-hand equity ranges than Texas Hold'em, PLO punishes intuition gaps quickly — making quality education especially valuable.

From Content Creator to WSOP Contender

Caitlin Comeskey has long been a recognizable name in the poker content space, but this summer she made headlines for what she accomplished at the table rather than in front of a camera.

According to a new feature on Poker.org, a sharpened focus on her poker game paid off in a big way for Comeskey at the 2025 World Series of Poker — culminating in what the piece describes as new career highs for the creator-turned-competitor.

Why This Story Matters

Comeskey's trajectory is a compelling example of a broader trend in modern poker: the blurring line between media personality and serious tournament player. For years, the community has debated whether content creators who straddle both worlds can develop the disciplined study habits required to compete at WSOP-level fields. Comeskey's summer appears to offer a meaningful data point in that conversation.

What stands out isn't just the result — it's the deliberate reprioritization behind it. Deliberately carving out more time and energy for poker study, rather than letting it remain secondary to content obligations, reflects a maturity of approach that many recreational players aspire to but struggle to execute.

Key Takeaways

• Intentionality pays off — redirecting focus toward skill development can yield measurable results, even for players already active on the live circuit.
• The WSOP remains the proving ground — for players looking to validate their game against the widest competitive field in the world, Las Vegas in the summer still sets the standard.
• Dual careers are increasingly viable — Comeskey's story suggests that content creation and serious competitive play don't have to be mutually exclusive pursuits.

Skye Chen Claims Her First WSOP Bracelet

Skye Chen has added her name to the WSOP Ladies Championship roll of honour, defeating Aubrey Williams in a heads-up finale that kept rail and spectators on the edge of their seats until the very end.

A Hard-Fought Final Table

The Ladies Championship is one of the most celebrated events on the annual WSOP schedule, drawing a passionate field and producing some of the series' most memorable moments. This year's edition was no exception. Chen and Williams pushed deep into a prolonged heads-up battle before Chen finally sealed the victory and secured the gold bracelet.

For Chen, it marks a significant career milestone — a first WSOP bracelet is the kind of result that defines a tournament player's résumé, and winning it in such a high-profile, competitive event makes it all the more meaningful.

Why This Result Matters

• Heads-up duels of this length at a WSOP final table test not just card-playing ability but composure, adaptability, and stamina — all on full display here.
• Aubrey Williams should be recognised for an outstanding run of her own; reaching heads-up at a WSOP event is a major achievement in its own right.
• The Ladies Championship continues to shine a spotlight on women in competitive poker, a segment of the community that has been growing steadily in both numbers and profile at major live events.

What's Next?

With bracelet season still in full swing at the Rio and Horseshoe in Las Vegas, Chen's win adds momentum to what has already been an eventful 2025 WSOP series. Expect her to be a name worth following as the remaining open events play out.

Read on PokerOrg

The Grinder Inches Closer to History

Michael Mizrachi — known across the poker world as The Grinder — is on the cusp of one of the most remarkable individual achievements in World Series of Poker history. Heading into the final three of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship at the 2026 WSOP, Mizrachi holds a commanding chip lead over his two remaining opponents.

What's at Stake

A ninth WSOP bracelet would be an extraordinary milestone. Only a small handful of players have ever reached that tier, and Mizrachi winning a ninth would further cement his legacy as one of the greatest tournament players the game has ever seen. His previous victories span multiple disciplines, but his PLO credentials are particularly well established — making this final table a natural hunting ground for him.

Why This Moment Matters

Three-handed PLO with a big chip lead is far from a formality — Pot-Limit Omaha's volatility means the stacks can shift dramatically in just a few all-in confrontations. Still, holding a huge lead at this stage is the closest thing to a commanding position the format allows. Mizrachi will need to navigate that pressure while his opponents look for any opportunity to close the gap.

For context on the broader picture:

• Event: $10,000 PLO Championship
• Series: 2026 World Series of Poker
• Players remaining: 3
• Mizrachi's current bracelets: 8 (chasing No. 9)

What to Watch For

All eyes will be on how Mizrachi manages his lead — whether he applies maximum pressure early or plays a more controlled game. Either way, the poker community will be watching closely as history potentially unfolds on Monday.

Octopi Poker Eyes a Significant Step Forward

Solver-based training platform Octopi Poker is reportedly on the cusp of a major leap, with co-founders — including high-stakes stalwart Stephen Chidwick — discussing what's next for the player-friendly site.

What Is Octopi Poker?

For those unfamiliar, Octopi Poker has carved out a niche in the increasingly crowded poker-training space by leaning heavily into solver-integrated learning — tools that help players understand game-theory-optimal (GTO) play through structured, data-driven feedback. The involvement of Chidwick, widely regarded as one of the strongest tournament and cash players in the world, has lent the platform considerable credibility among serious students of the game.

Why This Matters

The training-site market has grown competitive, with platforms like GTO Wizard, Run It Once, and Upswing vying for players' attention and subscription dollars. What distinguishes Octopi's pitch is its stated player-friendly philosophy — a positioning that suggests the team is thinking carefully about accessibility and user experience, not just raw solver depth.

The fact that both Livschitz (on the business and product side) and Chidwick (as a world-class playing ambassador) are publicly discussing upcoming developments signals that whatever is coming is substantial enough to warrant building anticipation now.

Key Takeaways

• Octopi Poker is growing quickly within the solver-based training niche.
• A significant expansion is described as imminent.
• The platform continues to emphasize a to its product design.

Stud Mastery Rewarded at the Felt

Matt Grapenthien has long been one of the most recognisable names on the Seven Card Stud circuit, and his dedication to the game's classic streets earned him his second WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

A Specialist's Edge

In an era when No-Limit Hold'em dominates the conversation, Grapenthien represents a rare breed — a player who has deliberately narrowed his focus to Stud variants rather than chasing the mainstream. That specialisation is not just a stylistic choice; it translates into a demonstrable competitive edge in high-buy-in mixed-game and Stud-specific events where the field is thinner and the edge of deep expertise runs larger.

Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better is among the most technically demanding poker formats. Players must simultaneously pursue the best high hand and qualify for the best low hand (eight-low or better), with scooping the entire pot — winning both directions — being the ultimate aim. Managing streets, reading exposed board cards across all opponents, and making precise pot-odds calculations in a split-pot format requires a specialised skill set that takes years to refine.

What the Second Bracelet Means

A second bracelet in the same discipline carries particular weight. It signals consistency over time, not a single hot run. For Stud aficionados, Grapenthien's name now sits firmly among the elite in this corner of the game.

His win is also a timely reminder of the depth and variety the World Series of Poker schedule offers beyond its flagship events — Championship-level Stud tournaments that reward genuine mastery over volume.

Read on PokerOrg

KidPoker Adds to a Legendary Collection

Daniel Negreanu has cemented his place even further in poker history, capturing his eighth World Series of Poker bracelet after defeating Artur Martirosian heads-up in the prestigious $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller event. The victory came with a staggering $2.25 million payday.

Why This One Stands Out

Eight bracelets is an extraordinarily rare achievement — only a handful of players in WSOP history have reached that milestone. What makes this result particularly noteworthy is the format: PLO High Rollers attract some of the sharpest, most technically refined players in the world. Winning at this level, against a field of elite professionals, carries a different weight than many open-field events.

Artur Martirosian, Negreanu's final opponent, is himself a formidable competitor with a strong international tournament résumé, which makes the heads-up victory all the more impressive.

A Career That Keeps Evolving

Negreanu has long been one of poker's most recognizable figures, but his recent results suggest he is far from coasting on reputation. Picking up a bracelet in a high-stakes PLO format signals continued adaptability — a quality that separates enduring champions from one-era wonders. For a player who built his early reputation as a No-Limit Hold'em specialist, thriving in PLO speaks to genuine strategic growth.

Key Numbers at a Glance

• 🏆 Bracelet count: 8
• 💰 Prize: $2,250,000
• 🃏 Event: $100,000 PLO High Roller
• 🥈 Runner-up: Artur Martirosian

Kabrhel Makes It Six

Martin Kabrhel is never short on personality at the felt, and his latest victory was no exception. The Czech poker star claimed his sixth World Series of Poker bracelet at the live final table of WSOP Online Event #20, held at the Horseshoe Event Center — and reportedly marked the moment with singing and dancing before the cameras could even be put away.

Why Six Bracelets Matters

Six bracelets puts Kabrhel in rarefied company. Only a handful of players in WSOP history have reached that milestone, a list dominated by legends of the game. What makes Kabrhel's collection particularly notable is its range — he has demonstrated consistent results across multiple formats rather than dominating a single niche. Collecting hardware in the modern, hyper-competitive WSOP era is a meaningfully different challenge than it was in earlier decades, making each additional bracelet incrementally harder to earn.

Online-to-Live Final Table Format

This result also spotlights the growing prominence of the WSOP's hybrid online-to-live structure. Players grind through the online portion remotely, but the final table convenes in person — blending the accessibility of online poker with the spectacle of a live championship setting. It's a format that continues to attract top-tier fields and produce headline-worthy finishes.

What's Next?

With the 2026 WSOP in full swing, Kabrhel will almost certainly be back at the tables chasing bracelet number seven. Whether he brings an encore performance — musical or otherwise — remains to be seen.

Read on PokerOrg

From Mahjong Tables to a WSOP Bracelet

In one of the more remarkable stories to emerge from the 2026 World Series of Poker, Skye Chen has claimed the Ladies Event championship — in only her second WSOP tournament ever. Chen, whose strategic roots trace back to competitive mahjong rather than the poker felt, made the trip to Las Vegas and proceeded to outplay an entire field of experienced competitors on her way to the title.

A Pattern-Recognition Edge

The connection between mahjong and poker may not be immediately obvious, but both games reward sharp pattern recognition, disciplined hand-reading, and composure under pressure. Chen's background in mahjong appears to have given her a transferable toolkit — an ability to process incomplete information and make confident decisions — that translated remarkably well to the poker table. It is a reminder that strategic thinking developed in one game can carry meaningful weight in another.

What Makes This Win Stand Out

• Tournament count: Chen had played one prior WSOP event before this victory, making her championship run exceptionally rare by any measure.
• Field depth: The WSOP Ladies Event consistently draws a competitive, international field, so there are no easy paths to the final table.
• Story arc: Her journey from mahjong enthusiast to bracelet winner in a handful of sessions is the kind of narrative that the poker world tends to remember.

FeltIQ Take

Chen's win is a compelling case study in how strategic fundamentals — patience, reading opponents, managing uncertainty — can cross game boundaries. Whether her poker career extends beyond this moment or this bracelet stands as a singular achievement, she has already secured a place in WSOP history. Stories like hers are worth following closely.

Kihara on the Brink of a Historic Summer

Japan's Noaya Kihara is putting together one of the most remarkable individual runs at the 2026 World Series of Poker. After already claiming two bracelets this summer, Kihara now carries a big-stack advantage into the final stages of the Big Bet event — and a third title is firmly within reach.

Why This Run Stands Out

Back-to-back bracelet wins at a single WSOP are rare enough to turn heads. A third in the same series would place Kihara in genuinely elite company — a feat achieved by only a handful of players across the tournament's history. What makes the story compelling is not just the hardware collected, but the consistency required to run deep in multiple high-pressure fields across a grueling summer schedule.

The Big Bet Format

Big Bet poker — a catch-all term for pot-limit and no-limit variants outside of Hold'em and Omash — tends to attract a technically diverse field. Navigating that field twice to a bracelet already, and then converting chip-leader status in a third final table, would demand both versatility and mental endurance.

What to Watch

• Chip lead dynamics: Entering a final table as the big stack is a meaningful edge, but short-stack pressure and post-bubble dynamics can shift momentum quickly.
• Historical context: If Kihara closes, the 2026 WSOP will likely be remembered as one of the defining individual performances in the tournament's modern era.
• International spotlight: A strong Japanese representative reaching the pinnacle of the poker world repeatedly in a single summer adds a compelling global storyline to what is typically a U.S.-dominated leaderboard.

ODB on the Hunt for Bracelet No. 5

David ODB Baker is making noise at this year's World Series of Poker, putting himself in contention for what would be a remarkable fifth career bracelet. For context, reaching five bracelets places a player in genuinely elite company — a tier that includes some of the most celebrated names in the game's history.

Fantasy Poker Adds Another Layer

Beyond Baker's individual run, the story has extra dimensions for the growing community of Fantasy Poker participants. High-profile names including Naoya Kihara and Daniel Negreanu are also in the spotlight, giving fantasy rosters across the field plenty of reason to track results closely. The intersection of live tournament drama and fantasy engagement is increasingly shaping how fans consume WSOP coverage — turning deep runs like Baker's into appointment viewing for thousands of players and fans who have skin in the game (in a fantasy sense).

Why This Run Matters

Baker has built a reputation as one of the most consistent tournament performers on the circuit. A fifth bracelet would:

• Cement his legacy among the sport's all-time achievers
• Validate his standing as a perennial contender across multiple formats
• Fuel fantasy leaderboards at a critical stage of the WSOP calendar

The Bigger Picture

The WSOP continues to deliver the kind of narratives that resonate well beyond the poker room — veteran pros chasing history, international players like Kihara pushing into the frame, and fan-engagement formats like fantasy leagues keeping the community invested between final table announcements. Baker's deep run is a reminder of just how compelling the grind of a long WSOP series can be when experienced players find their form at the right moment.

Fan Favorites Revealed for the 2025 WSOP Main Event

With the World Series of Poker Main Event drawing closer, PokerOrg has pulled back the curtain on the five players chosen most frequently in their Pick 3 contest — a fan-driven exercise that offers a revealing snapshot of who the poker community is most excited to watch this summer.

What the Picks Tell Us

Popularity contests like Pick 3 aren't just fun sideshows — they're a real-time barometer of public sentiment around the game's biggest names. The players who rise to the top tend to share a few traits:

• High visibility — whether from streaming, content creation, or deep Main Event runs in recent years
• Consistent results — a track record that makes backing them feel reasonable to a broad audience
• Compelling storylines — narratives that extend beyond the felt and into the broader poker conversation

It's worth noting that fan popularity and actual deep-run probability don't always align. The Main Event field routinely tops 8,000 entries, meaning even the very best players face a grueling path to a final table. Still, the overlap between who fans pick and who actually runs deep is an interesting tension to track as the tournament unfolds.

Why This Matters for the Broader Poker Community

Events like Pick 3 lower the barrier to engagement for casual fans and newer players, creating a shared conversation around the Main Event that goes well beyond tournament results. When the community rallies around specific players, it tends to drive viewership, rail energy, and overall excitement for the game's marquee event.

Unlikely Duos Take Center Stage at the WSOP Tag Team Event

The World Series of Poker's Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em event has always been one of the more creatively fun stops on the WSOP schedule, and this year's field is no exception. Among all the pairings drawing attention, Mike Matusow and Nick Hellmuth — son of the legendary Phil Hellmuth — stand out as perhaps the most intriguing collaboration of the tournament.

Why This Pairing Catches the Eye

Matusow is a four-time WSOP bracelet winner and one of poker's most recognizable personalities, known for his fiery table demeanor and decades of high-level tournament experience. Nick Hellmuth, meanwhile, is still carving out his own identity in the poker world, operating very much from the shadow — and the surname — of his famous father. The Tag Team format, which allows players to swap in and out at the table, could be a perfect proving ground for a younger player looking to learn on the fly alongside a veteran presence.

The Format Itself Adds a Layer of Strategy

Beyond the personalities, the Tag Team event demands a kind of meta-game that standard tournaments don't require. Partnerships must decide:

• When to swap — protecting a chip lead vs. letting a hot player ride
• How to communicate strategy within the rules
• Balancing styles — aggressive openers paired with patient closers, for example

These dynamics make team chemistry just as important as individual skill, which is part of what makes the notable pairings worth following this year.

Five Teams to Watch

PokerOrg has identified five standout teams from this year's field, with the Matusow–Nick Hellmuth duo leading the list. Whether veteran experience and fresh energy can translate into bracelet hardware remains to be seen, but the storylines surrounding this event are already compelling.

The Milly Maker Lives Up to Its Name — Again

The 2026 World Series of Poker's Millionaire Maker event did exactly what it says on the tin: it minted not one but two millionaires in a single week, cementing its reputation as one of the most player-friendly flagship events on the WSOP calendar.

The Final Result

• 🥇 Joe Liberta — $1,250,000 (Winner)
• 🥈 Michael Monroig — $1,000,000 (Runner-Up)

The headline figure here isn't just Liberta's victory — it's that Monroig also crossed the seven-figure threshold in second place. That's a structural feature of the Millionaire Maker that sets it apart from most tournaments: the prize pool is deliberately constructed so that the top two finishers both walk away as millionaires, regardless of how heads-up play unfolds.

Why This Tournament Matters

The Millionaire Maker has long drawn massive fields precisely because of this built-in guarantee. For recreational and semi-professional players alike, the appeal is straightforward — a relatively accessible buy-in with a legitimate shot at a life-changing payday. The 2026 edition appears to have delivered on that premise in emphatic fashion.

Liberta's $1.25M score is a landmark result worth watching, particularly if this represents a significant breakthrough in his tournament career. Meanwhile, Monroig's seven-figure runner-up finish is a reminder that deep runs in this event carry real weight even without the trophy.

Bigger Picture

With two confirmed millionaires emerging from a single WSOP event in the span of one week, the 2026 series is already generating notable stories well before the Main Event takes center stage. Keep an eye on both players as the summer progresses — big scores like these can signal momentum heading into later bracelet events.

Michael Mizrachi Steps Back Into the Spotlight

Reigning WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi made his return to the felt on Day 1B of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event — and by all accounts, he arrived with plenty of confidence.

A Rare Defending Champion Moment

Winning the WSOP Main Event is one of poker's most coveted achievements, but defending that title is an entirely different kind of challenge. The field is enormous, variance is relentless, and the target on a champion's back grows larger with every hand played. Mizrachi, who has long been one of the most recognizable personalities in the game, appears undeterred by that pressure.

His presence on Day 1B immediately drew attention — defending champions generate a gravitational pull in a room full of thousands of competitors, and Mizrachi's reputation as a big-game player only amplifies that dynamic.

What to Watch For

• Deep run potential: Mizrachi has demonstrated time and again that he performs at a high level in large-field events, making him a genuine contender rather than just a feel-good story.
• The field: Day 1B typically draws a deep, competitive mix of recreational players and seasoned pros, meaning early chip counts can swing dramatically before the day is out.
• Historical context: Back-to-back Main Event titles would be an extraordinary feat — one that has never been accomplished in the modern WSOP era — adding a compelling narrative layer to every hand he plays.

Whether Mizrachi's bold confidence translates into a deep run remains to be seen, but his return is undeniably one of the storylines worth tracking as the Main Event continues to unfold across its opening flights.

Urbanovich Finally Gets His Bracelet — Right After Fantasy Drafters Looked Away

Timing, as they say in poker, is everything. Dzmitry Urbanovich made that point emphatically at this year's World Series of Poker, claiming his first career bracelet in the prestigious $10,000 8-Game Championship — and doing so in the very first year he went undrafted in the $25K WSOP Fantasy competition.

Why This Stings for Fantasy Players

The $25K Fantasy event is one of the most closely watched meta-games at the WSOP, with participants carefully selecting rosters of players they believe will rack up points through deep runs and titles. Urbanovich had clearly been on fantasy radars in previous years — only to slip through the cracks this season. His bracelet win is a sharp reminder of how unpredictable elite-field events can be, even when the player pool is well-documented.

About the $10K 8-Game Championship

The 8-Game mix is widely regarded as one of the most skill-intensive formats on the WSOP schedule, cycling through eight different variants including No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Razz, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo, 2-7 Triple Draw, Limit Hold'em, and Omaha Hi-Lo. A win here signals genuine all-around versatility, not just strength in a single format.

Urbanovich's Place Among Mixed-Game Elite

Urbanovich has long been considered one of the sharper mixed-game minds on the European circuit, with a résumé of deep runs and final tables that made his bracelet drought something of a quiet talking point in poker circles. That narrative is now firmly closed.

For fantasy participants who passed on him this year, the lesson is a familiar one: the field has a way of humbling even the most carefully assembled roster.