The 2026 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event has reached a crucial juncture. Only one day of poker separates the last 21 players in the field from the most coveted final table of the year in poker.
What was once a field of 9,208 is down to just three tables going into day 8, and by the close of play on Monday, July 13, the final nine will claim their place in poker history. The fourth-largest WSOP main event of all time features standouts from multiple eras of the game, some new standouts, and one previous main event champion looking for the unlikeliest of repeat performances.
Everyone who made day 8 is guaranteed at least $325,000, but the prospect of the bracelet and a first-place prize of $10,000,000 is tantalizingly close.
The overall chip leader heading into day 8 is Australia’s Malcolm Trayner, with 63,200,000 (105 big blinds). The 26-year-old surged to the top of the chip counts and holds a considerable lead over the rest of the field.
“I’m excited, trying to stay calm and collected,” Trayner told Card Player. “Once-in-a-lifetime spot. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment. Usually, I play poker with headphones, and I’m very locked in. I’m trying to socialize a lot more now, and just really enjoy the moment. I think that’s really important for me, to play my best game.”
Leaning On Experience
Over the last two years, Trayner’s navigated some massive fields and big spots in major live tournaments. He won the 2024 WSOP millionaire maker for $1 million, and his first bracelet. Two months ago, in his home country, Trayner won the return of the Aussie Millions main event, for just shy of another $1 million. As he looks to navigate his way through day 8 of the 2026 WSOP main event, those experiences could prove incredibly valuable.
“I’ve been in seven-figure spots twice now, so I feel like I might have more experience than most of the people here,” said Trayner. “I mean, there are people like Hossein Ensan, who will have been in this same spot. There will be people who are super rich that will have less nerves than me, perhaps. But I feel very comfortable, and my deep runs in the past will definitely come in handy, no doubt.”
Ensan, Deeb Chase History
Speaking of Ensan, the 2019 WSOP main event champion is one day away from a return to the final table in 2026. He ended day 7 in seventh place overall, and maintained his chance to become the first repeat WSOP main event champion since Stu Ungar won his third main event in 1997.
Ensan, and Trayner for that matter, still have a lot of work left to do before the 2026 WSOP main event final table is set. After Trayner, the next three biggest stacks in the field are bunched together. Rami Hammoud (41,500,000), Lucas Jumalon (40,800,000), and Evagoras Evagorou (38,200,000) closed strong on day 8 to bolster their hopes of a final table run.
Will Givens rounds out the top 5 with 31,700,000. The 2014 WSOP bracelet winner once again held court for long stretches of the ESPN+ broadcast, and positioned himself for an incredible opportunity on day 8. He exited the main stage with a couple of hands remaining in the day, and WSOP’s Jeff Platt followed Givens out of the room to try to glean some insight about Givens’ process.
“I don’t want to give up too much of my secrets, because then I sound crazy,” Givens told Platt. “But it’s my own little thing. I have my reasons. I’ll put it at that. If I win it, I’ll tell you. ‘Til then, I have my reasons.”
Givens is just a hair ahead of Shaun Deeb, who finished day 7 in sixth place overall, with 31,300,000. The nine-time WSOP bracelet winner could lock down his third WSOP Player of the Year title, an emphatic 10th bracelet win and the biggest result of his accomplished career, all in one swoop.
Defending Player of the Year Among 42 Remaining in Main Event@shaundeeb‘s Main Event run continues on Day 7, and a final table finish would earn him more than 830 POY points while strengthening his bid for back-to-back WSOP Player of the Year titles.
Deeb admitted he’d like to… pic.twitter.com/yGK3b6wIDl
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 12, 2026
Two other multi-time bracelet winners also advanced to day 8 of the 2026 WSOP main event. Two-time WSOP winner Antonio Galiana of Spain is one of eight European players still in the field. Three-time bracelet winner Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller, one of two remaining Canadians, still has high hopes as he enjoys the deepest main event run of his career.
Experience Reigns Late In 2026 WSOP Main Event
While Mueller’s been a mixed game player for the bulk of his professional poker career, he’s afforded himself incredibly well thus far in the 2026 WSOP main event.
“When I first got into poker, I was grinding the low-limit stuff after retiring from hockey,” Mueller told Card Player. “Then I switched to no-limit. I was playing no-limit every day, and then I got into mixed games. And so I’d say in the last 15, 20 years, yes, [this is the most hold’em I’ve played in a long time]. I’ve made two day fives [in the main event], but this is the most by far. Normally, if I was playing eight days in a row of cash game, no limit hold’em, I would be ready to off myself. But this is unbelievable.”
It was a tough final level for Mueller on day 7, but he has 22 big blinds to start day 8. After sharing a last level beer with some of his tablemates, an experience Mueller compared to drinking Louis XIII on a ‘normal’ day, Mueller praised his remaining opponents and looked ahead to what will likely be one of the most important days of his decorated poker career.
“For people to last this long, they they’re capable of really good reads. They have balls,” said Mueller. “They’re capable of making bluffs. It’s hard for someone to get really lucky for seven days straight. For the most part, I’m up against some killers. I fancy myself a killer as well, but I obviously wish I had a bigger stack… Not loving the need to be a short stack ninja, but one thing I know is things change very fast. So if I don’t give up, and I play hard, I can be the chip leader in one orbit.”
Other Big Names In The Mix
Almost half of the remaining field, 10 out of the 21 players, have at least one WSOP bracelet to their name. That includes Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson, who pushed through a tough final level on day 7 to continue the best WSOP main event run of his career. Brunson has 13 big blinds to start day 8, as he looks to join his father, the late, legendary Doyle Brunson, among the pantheon of main event champions.
Among the remaining short stacks, Brunson’s joined by high roller standout Brock Wilson, who has over $14 million in total career earnings. Dylan Smith, who recently added a WSOP bracelet to his 2024 World Poker Tour Rock -n- Roll Poker Open Championship, also remains in the hunt.
Last Woman Standing Goes Out
Two-thirds of the field who entered play on day 7 did not make it to the end of the night. Congya Zhang, the last woman remaining in the field, was one of the first day 7 casualties.
The 36-year-old fashion brand consultant from Shanghai, China came into the day as one of the very shortest stacks, having lost the majority of her stack late on day 6 with A♣K♠ against J♥J♦ for Felix Kuemayr. Zhang took a race shortly after play began, with her Q♠7♠ unable to outrun the 5♥5♣ of Thomas Clack. The ace-high runout kept Clack’s pair best to send Zhang packing in 61st place ($150,000).
This was the first six-figure score for Zhang. It increased her career tournament earnings to $482,761. A total of 431 women played in this year’s main event, a new record for the tournament. According to data released by the WSOP, women represented just shy of 4.7 percent of the field, up from 3.8 percent (369 out of 9,735) in 2025.
Last Woman Standing No More!
Congya Zhang was the last woman standing in the 2026 WSOP Main Event, but her exceptional run came to an end early on Day 7. Zhang entered the day as one of the short stacks and was unable to spin it up, taking home $150,000 for her efforts!
Watch… pic.twitter.com/BKUZyruBWZ
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 12, 2026
The past two years have seen particularly deep runs by women. Leo Margets finished seventh in 2025 for $1.5 million, following in the footsteps of Barbara Eright to record just the second final-table showing ever by a female player in this tournament. A year before that, women’s all-time money leader Kristen Foxen placed 13th in the largest main event ever held.
Other Notables Fall
WSOP bracelet winners Ralph Perry (44th – $215,000), Cade Lautenbacher (42nd – $215,000), Patrick Leonard (32nd – $265,000), and Giuseppe Pantaleo (25th – $325,000) each saw their main event hopes dashed on day 7. Kyosuke Nagami of Japan made his third consecutive deep run in the WSOP main event, narrowly missing out on beating his personal best by two spots. In the last three years in the WSOP main event, Nagami finished in 21st in 2024, 170th in 2025, and now 23rd place ($325,000) in 2026.
Zhao Liu went out in 22nd place, on the final hand of day 7 of the 2026 WSOP main event. It was a disastrous final level, during which Liu went from a stack of over 56 million, and the chip lead late on day 7, to out of the tournament.
Looking Ahead
The final 21 players return for day 8 at 11:00 AM local time on Monday, July 13, with blinds of 300,000-600,000 with a 600,000 big blind ante for level 35. The average stack of 26,317,142 represents just shy of 44 big blinds when play resumes. All remaining players have locked up at least $325,000 from a prize pool of $85,634,400. The nine players who make it to the end of the night on Monday guarantee themselves at least $1 million.
Here is a look at the complete chip counts after day 6:
| Rank | Player | Chip Count |
| 1 | Malcolm Trayner | 63,200,000 |
| 2 | Rami Hammoud | 41,500,000 |
| 3 | Lucas Jumalon | 40,800,000 |
| 4 | Evagoras Evagorou | 38,200,000 |
| 5 | Will Givens | 31,700,000 |
| 6 | Shaun Deeb | 31,300,000 |
| 7 | Hossein Ensan | 29,700,000 |
| 8 | Thomas Clack | 27,500,000 |
| 9 | Antonio Galiana | 27,200,000 |
| 10 | Mario Boos | 24,300,000 |
| 11 | Han Feng | 24,000,000 |
| 12 | Daniel Savas | 21,300,000 |
| 13 | Michael Gagliano | 19,300,000 |
| 14 | Jamie Shaevel | 17,100,000 |
| 15 | Romain Lewis | 15,800,000 |
| 16 | Lauri Saaskilahti | 15,600,000 |
| 17 | Brock Wilson | 13,600,000 |
| 18 | Greg Mueller | 13,200,000 |
| 19 | Dylan Smith | 9,600,000 |
| 20 | Todd Brunson | 7,800,000 |
| 21 | Tolga Karakaya | 3,000,000 |
Remaining payouts up for grabs in the 2026 WSOP main event:
| Place | Payout |
| 1 | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | $6,000,000 |
| 3 | $3,750,000 |
| 4 | $2,750,000 |
| 5 | $2,250,000 |
| 6 | $1,750,000 |
| 7 | $1,500,000 |
| 8 | $1,250,000 |
| 9 | $1,000,000 |
| 10-11 | $750,000 |
| 12-13 | $510,000 |
| 14-17 | $410,475 |
| 18-21 | $325,000 |
Photo credit: WSOP / Tyler Abrams
