Day 5 of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event wrapped up today with only 174 players remaining in contention for the $10,000,000 top prize. Reigning champion Michael Mizrachi hit the rail late during the day, ruling out any chances of him making history with back-to-back titles. Meanwhile, a fresh crop of recreational players rose to the top of the chip counts.
This year’s WSOP Main Event attracted a total of 9,208 entries, making it the fourth largest ever held, with a prize pool totalling $85,634,400.
Mizrachi had an opportunity to become the first player to make it two in a row since Johnny Chan back in 1987 and 1988 as he returned for Day 5 with a healthy stack. Unfortunately for Mizrachi, it wasn’t to be. According to PokerNews, he lost a good chunk of those chips in a cooler with a flush against a higher flush.
Later on, during Level 23, Mizrachi was down to just eight big blinds, which he put into the middle with king-queen, only to get called by another former champion, Hossein Ensan, who had pocket aces. Ensan’s aces improved to a full house and Mizrachi was eliminated in 241st place for $50,000.
Incidentally, Ensan is the only former champion who is still in the Main Event after Greg Raymer and Ryan Riess busted around a similar time. Ensan takes 3,450,000 into Day 6.
Recreational Players Top the Counts
When it comes to the WSOP Main Event, all eyes are normally on the big names; the Daniel Negreanus and Phil Hellmuths, and this year Mizrachi. Yet in the background, quietly climbing their way up the counts, are a bunch of recreational and part-time players who have their sights set firmly on a life changing score.
Zhao Liu sat at the top of the counts after Day 5 as the only player to go beyond the 10 million mark, bagging for 10,150,000. Liu only has a couple of recorded live scores, according to The Hendon Mob, one of which was a 161st place finish in last year’s Main Event. Liu is on track to surpass that finish by a long way in the 2026 edition.
Bagging in second place was Dhiraj Sharma, a recreational player from Canada, with 9,840,000, while rounding out the top three was Xingyu Liu of China with 9,040,000.
Challenging these fresh faced hopefuls at the top are several more experienced players. Fifth place Sachin Joshi had a deep run in the 2023 WSOP Main Event, finishing 13th for $535,000. Ninth place Malcolm Trayner already has a bracelet to his name and recently won the Aussie Millions Main Event, while tenth place Daewoong Song is a well known South Korean player with a respectable $2.29 million in live winnings.
Top Ten Day 5 Chip Counts
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zhao Liu | United States | 10,150,000 |
| 2 |  Dhiraj Sharma | Canada | 9,840,000 |
| 3 |  Xingyu Liu | China | 9,040,000 |
| 4 |  Allan Sannier | France | 8,680,000 |
| 5 |  Sachin Joshi | United Kingdom | 8,385,000 |
| 6 | Mario Boos | France | 7,850,000 |
| 7 | Justin Manjares | United States | 7,760,000 |
| 8 | Tyler Gaston | United States | 7,055,000 |
| 9 |  Malcolm Trayner | Australia | 6,740,000 |
| 10 |  Daewoong Song | Korea, Republic of | 6,565,000 |
Among the notable players still left outside of the top ten, nine-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb stands out as a serious contender. Deeb grew his stack throughout the day, only to lose a huge pot during the last few hands to bag with a middling stack of 4,305,000. He is currently third in the PoY race and looking to add masses of points to his tally along with a huge score.
Other notables with decent stacks include Greg Mueller (4,415,000), Day 4 chip leader Sam Sweilem (4,200,000), Hall of Famer Todd Brunson (3,690,000), Japanese vlogger Masato Yokosawa (3,200,000), Patrick Leonard (2,860,000), and Terrance Reid (2,685,000). Further down the counts are Sean Winter (1,885,000), Dylan Smith (1,805,000), Ryan Miller (1,310,000), and Brock Wilson (885,000).
Caitlin Comeskey is also still in the mix. She bagged for 1,420,000 and is one of only three ladies left in the Main Event. Slightly ahead of Comeskey are Lara Eisenberg (1,855,000) and Sarah Lee (1,665,000).
Will Givens has been making both literal and metaphorical noise, bagging in 22nd place with 5,615,000 after pulling off a fearless river bluff.
Martirosian Among Day 5 Bustouts
As the field was reduced from 533 to 174 players on Day 5, of course there were lots who fell short, among them Artur Martirosian, who started the day among the top three chip leaders before eventually busting out in 211th place.
Stephen Chidwich (394th), Brad Reben (329th), Alex Foxen (263rd), and many other bracelet winners fell by the wayside, including Brian Hasting (473rd), Chris Hunichen (394th), Josh Arieh (221st), Sergio Aido (209th), and Joey Weissman (190th).
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What’s Next at the 2026 World Series of Poker?
The 2026 WSOP Main Event continues with Day 6, running on July 12 at 11 a.m. Vegas time. Players return to blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante, with five two-hour levels on the schedule. By the end of Day 6, only around 50 or so players are expected to bag chips as poker’s richest tournament reaches the business end. All players who return for Day 6 are guaranteed $57,500, with those sums moving into six-figures late in the day.
| Date | Time | Day |
| Saturday, July 11 | 11:00 AM | Day 6 |
| Sunday, July 12 | 11:00 AM | Day 7 |
| Monday, July 13 | 11:00 AM | Day 8 |
| Monday, August 3 | 06:00 PM | Final Table Day 1 |
| Tuesday, August 4 | 06:00 PM | Final Table Day 2 |
| Wednesday, August 5 | 06:00 PM | Final Table Day 3 |
2026 WSOP Main Event in Numbers
- Day 1a – 722 entries, 543 players advanced
- Day 1b – 1,038 entries, 759 advanced
- Day 1c – 1573 entries, 1166 advanced
- Day 1d – 4,694 entries, 3638 advanced
- Day 2abc – 2,780 returned or late regged, 1,260 advanced
- Day 2d – 4,458 returned or late regged, 2,034 advanced
- Day 3 – 3,294 returned, 1,389 advanced
- Day 4 – 1,389 returned, 533 advanced
- Day 5 – 533 returned, 174 advanced
- Day 6 – 174 to return
Total entries – 9,208
Prize pool – $85,634,400
Top Prize – $10,000,000
2026 WSOP Main Event Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
| 1 | $10,000,000 | 18-26 | $325,000 |
| 2 | $6,000,000 | 27-35 | $265,000 |
| 3 | $3,750,000 | 36-44 | $215,000 |
| 4 | $2,750,000 | 45-53 | $180,000 |
| 5 | $2,250,000 | 54-62 | $150,000 |
| 6 | $1,750,000 | 63-71 | $125,000 |
| 7 | $1,500,000 | 72-80 | $105,000 |
| 8 | $1,250,000 | 81-89 | $90,000 |
| 9 | $1,000,000 | 90-98 | $75,000 |
| 10 -11 | $750,000 | 99-161 | $65,000 |
| 12-13 | $510,000 | 162-174 | $57,500 |
| 14-17 | $410,475 |
