The first bracelets of the 2026 WSOP have been awarded in the $5,000 8-Max, the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and the annual $500 Industry Employees event.
However, the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship took center stage, with the 64-man tournament whittled down to 8 players after the first day of play. Those players will come back for Day 2 on Sunday.
The first major points of the $25K Fantasy contest were also handed out, with Ren Lin’s fourth-place finish in the $5K 8-Max giving Team Lang a massive 58 points to vault them into the early lead.
$25,000 Heads-Up Championship
From a field of 64 players, eight survived their first three rounds to clinch their spot in Day 2. More importantly, they’ve made the money. While it’s unclear how much they’ve pocketed, last year they issued $86,000 to the eight players who made the money.
Alex Foxen, Daniel Negreanu, Henri Puustinen, Dimitar Danchev, Barak Wisbrod, Michael Mizrachi, Justin Saliba, and Cary Katz were the fortunate players to get through the incredibly difficult field.
| Winner | Round 1 Opponent | Round 2 Opponent | Round 3 Opponent |
| Cary Katz | Chino Rheem | Patrick Kennedy | Ryuta Nakai |
| Justin Saliba | Sam Laskowitz | Eric Wasserson | Masato Yokosawa |
| Michael Mizrachi | Shannon Shorr | Jun Obara | Phil Hellmuth |
| Barak Wisbrod | Keith Lehr | Sam Soverel | Darren Elias |
| Dimitar Danchev | Ian Bromfield | Christopher Nguyen | Killian Desnos |
| Henri Puustinen | Shawn Smith | Nikolai Mamut | Michael Berk |
| Daniel Negreanu | Darius Samual | Brock Wilson | Harvey Castro |
| Alex Foxen | Vinny Lingham | Alex Keating | Joey Weissman |
Seven of the eight players who advanced are bracelet winners, with Henri Puustinen, who many believe is the best heads-up specialist in the world, being the only one without any hardware.
The world’s most popular player, Daniel Negreanu, progressed after dispatching former heads-up champion Darius Samual, Brock Wilson, and Harvey Castro, who reached the quarterfinals of this event last year.
Reigning WSOP Main Event champion and eight-time bracelet winner Michael Mizrachi also had an impressive road to Day 2, beating Shannon Shorr and Jun Obara before a seismic battle against Phil Hellmuth. Eventually, “The Grinder” beat Hellmuth in a two pair vs. two pair cooler.
Alex Foxen also had one of the toughest heads-up roads to navigate at the 2026 WSOP, defeating Vinny Lingham, Alex Keating, and Joey Weissman to punch his ticket to Day 2.
Controversially, the 2026 WSOP has added a second 64-player day, meaning players who busted out can hop back in for a second bite at the apple. On Saturday, a new 64-man bracket will be created, with the rounds taking place at noon, 5pm, and 10pm Vegas time.
First bracelets awarded
The first three bracelets at the 2026 WSOP were awarded on Friday.
$500 Industry Employees
Jerome Neppl defeated Sean Hamrick to win the annual $500 Industry Employees event for $64,083. Prior to the tournament, the poker dealer from New Mexico had only cashed a single tournament in his life for $613.
He says the money is “life-changing” and will help him get debt-free. He plans on staying at the 2026 WSOP to keep dealing poker.
$1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Jason Daly defeated Dorian Rios in heads-up play to top the 828-player field to win $191,362 – the third-largest cash of his career.
For Daly, it was also his third-career WSOP bracelet after having won the $3,000 6-Max Limit Hold’em event in 2023 for $165,250 and the $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo mix in 2025 for $244,674.
Daly told PokerNews: “Three years ago was the first summer that I came out and said I’m going to win a bracelet. So I played 30 or 40 events, won one, then I said I’m going to keep doing it. So I just focused on getting better at tournaments. I’ve been playing cash twice a week for a long time with the same people. Some came out here today. So I’ve been trying to get better, trying not to get too flustered.”
The legendary Perry Green, who won three WSOP bracelets in the 1970s, made the final table, finishing sixth for $30,973.
$5,000 8-Max
Daniyal Gheba topped Chenxiang Miao in heads-up play to defeat the 570-entry field and win his first WSOP gold bracelet and a career-best score of $502,985.
Tony “Ren” Lin finished fourth for $166,448.
“It’s obviously life-changing money, it’s a lot of money,” Gheba told PokerNews. “But coming into the final table, the pay jumps I wasn’t really concerned about. I don’t think anyone at this table really cared about the pay jumps, they were all wealthy.
“I think I was so focused on every hand, every spot, that I didn’t feel the pressure of the situation,” Gheba said. “Having them (Chance Kornuth and Alex Foxen) there at the end on the rail and for the picture was really good. It’s important to stay focused in these spots, think of the strategy, and play each hand at a time.”
It was also the first-ever WSOP bracelet handed out on the brand-new WSOP Mothership stage in the Paris Ballroom.
