Event #4: $400 NLH Mini Main Event Day 1D ($330 + $70)
| Date: | Day 1d: Jan 10, 11 AM |
| Blinds: | 30 Minutes |
| Starting Stack: | 30k |
| Late Entry: | 12 Levels (~6:15 PM) |
| Day 1 Ends: | End of Level 22 or 5% of the field |
| Entries: | 1,353 |
| Prizes: | $441,227 |
I’m calling it now — the January 2026 Mini Main Event is going to set a new Alberta record for field size. With three flights in the books, the game already has 1,353 entries for nearly $450k in prizes.
The previous biggest field in Alberta came in January 2024, when the 4-Flight got 1,715 entries by the end of Day 1d. To contrast that with this year’s Mini Main, after three flights in 2024, the field was at 1,093, nearly 300 fewer than this year’s 3-flight total.
The Jan 2024 game got 622 entries on Day 1d, and that seems like a pretty easy target to hit, based on the interest in this 2026 game so far. But this year’s 1d doesn’t even have to hit that number — 362 entries are all Day 1d needs to meet the record, and it seems impossible to imagine it getting less. With nearly $450k in prizes so far, I’d bet that the 1d field will easily beat the 622 from Jan 2024 1d, and could approach 4 digits as players start to look at what is likely to be a top prize nearing $100k or more for this $400 buy-in.
The 1d action kicks off at 11 AM on Saturday, and expect the game to overflow from Sundance to Chrome fairly early in the day. Blinds are 30 minutes, with the usual 30k starting stack.
They play 12 levels of poker with entries open, with entries closing at the start of Level 13 after the dinner break at about 6:15 PM. Once entries close, they’ll play down to 5% of the starting field, or the end of Level 22, whichever comes first.
2024 & 2025 API Player of the Year Mike Malm is the stack to beat for 1d players. He has 2.2 million in his bag from Day 1b, and no one else is even close yet, with the 1a leader Ankhbayar Bayar at 1.45 million and the 1c leader at 1.495 million, giving Malm a 700k lead over the field, so far anyway.
Get ready for a massive Day 1d. I don’t always get my predictions right, but I’m pretty confident in saying that 1d will be among the biggest flights ever at a Deerfoot WSOP-C, and that the final number will not only break the local records, but could easily flirt with 2,000 entries or more for prizes in the $650k range.
Buckle up, Calgary — Day 1d of the Mini Main Event is going to be massive.
