WSOP Day 43: We're getting down to the wire here, but the best has yet to come. 

The WSOP Main Event rolls on today. 3,638 survivors from Day 1D will return for Day 2D action at 11:00am local time. It's last call for any stragglers as late registration will officially close at the start of Level 8. The late registrants are already piling in – so expect that overall entrant tally to climb over the first four hours of play. 

Taylor von Kriegenbergh holds the chip lead to start after bagging up 312.8K (391 BBs) – but it's a long day ahead. 

Taylor von Kriegenbergh.

[Matthew Berglund]

If you put together a team for our Main Event Pick 3 competition, now's the time to start paying attention. We'll bring you all the big news from the Main Event as soon as cards are in the air. 

And elsewhere in the Paris and Horseshoe ballrooms, players will take their seats for Day 1C of the $600 Ultra Stack. 

Day 2ABC of the Main Event in the bags: Phil Hellmuth stole the spotlight on the feature table, Mike Matusow picked up a one-orbit penalty, and Michael Mizrachi is threatening to go back-to-back. Read our full report.

Hellmuth bites, Matusow gets one-orbit penalty as Main Event goes old school Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow rolled back the years on Day 2ABC of the WSOP Main Event, with table drama, a one-orbit penalty and more.

Dave Woods / July 7, 2026

Nicholas Rigby eliminated: He had his time on the feature table today but he couldn't get anything going – and not for want of trying. The Main Event will miss him. 

Hayley Hochstetler

Old school vs. new school: Phil Hellmuth was regaling his table with a story about his son Nick, who's sharing a table with old-school legend Freddy Deeb.

"Who's Freddy Deeb?" asked a player on his table. "Shaun's brother or son or something?"

Hellmuth also revealed he got 25 minutes of REM sleep during the dinner break and is feeling good.

Freddy Deeb. (Not Shaun's brother or son.)

Michael Mizrachi doubles up: The 2026 champion was all-in and at risk against Alexander Queen. Mizrachi had the best of it with kings against jacks and held to double up. "First all-in of the tournament," Mizrachi said with a smile as he stacked his newly won 143,400-chip stack.

Michael Mizrachi.

Omar Sader

Main Event on dinner break: 1,823 players remain and will return after dinner to play two more levels today. Notable Day 2ABC eliminations include Antonio Esfandiari, Jason Koon and Faraz Jaka.

Antonio Esfandiari.

Late registration closed on Day 2ABC: 312 players have entered today to bring the total field to 8,482 – including 93 players who have already registered for Day 2D. That means we're almost certainly looking at a drop from last year's 9,735 entries, though the field still looks set to surpass 9,000 players.

Vamos Espana: Earlier today in Dallas, Spain advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup – defeating neighboring Portugal in a 1-0 nail biter. 

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Spanish footballing legend and poker enthusiast Gerard Pique is battling it out on Day 2ABC of the Main Event. 

While his countrymen were winning on the pitch, the former Barcelona defender was dragging pots at the poker table – and chipping up nicely to take his stack to 145K (120 BBs). 

Gerard Pique.