2026 World Series of Poker
Jose Lesta raised to 16,000 from the cutoff and Joseph Riley defended from the big blind.
Riley checked the 6♠4♠10♦ flop, and Lesta bet 20,000. Riley went for the most aggressive option with a check-raise to 125,000, which Lesta called.
Both players checked the 2♥ turn and 8♠ river. Riley tabled J♠10♣ for top pair, and Lesta returned his cards to the dealer.
Sasha Liu was heads-up against Chi Chen on a board of 10♥5♦8♥3♠ with about 150,000 already in the middle. Chen bet 95,000 from middle position and Liu called from directly behind.
The A♠ completed the board and Chen checked. Liu went deep into the tank and eventualy decided to check back after a couple minutes of contemplation.
Chen turned over A♥Q♥ for a rivered pair of aces and Liu sent her cards into the muck.
Marshall Daigle opened to 16,000 from under the gun. Francois Norpetlian in middle position three-bet all-in for 140,000 and Daigle called.
Francois Norpetlian: K♣K♦
Marshall Daigle: A♥Q♦
After a flop of 3♥5♣J♥, Daigle hit runner-runner two pair with the Q♠ turn and the A♦ river to send Norpetlian to the rail.
Heads-up on a flop of 2♥6♣3♥, Martin Quirke moved all in from the hijack and Maksym Bednarskyi called for his last 220,000 in the big blind.
Maksym Bednarskyi: J♥4♥
Martin Quirke: 4♠4♣
Quirke was ahead with his pair, while Bednarskyi had straight and flush draws. The K♣ turn was safe for Quirke, and the 8♣ river secured him the pot to send Bednarskyi to the rail.
Three-way to the 3♣8♥J♦ flop, it checked to Bryn Larkman in the cutoff. He bet 15,000, which big blind Joe Cho and Daan Mulders under the gun called.
The trio then checked through the A♠ turn, and Cho checked again on the Q♥ river. Mulders fired a bet of 75,000, winning the pot as both opponents swiftly mucked.
Josh Arieh raised to 18,000 under the gun and faced a three-bet to 36,000 from Michael Bickley in the cutoff. After a minute or so, Arieh four-bet to 90,000 and quickly faced a five-bet all in for 199,000, which he called.
"We might have the same hand", Ariah said in hope rather than expectation.
Michael Bickley: A♥A♣
Josh Arieh: A♦K♦
"I'm so bad at poker", Arieh continued once he saw the cards.
He found some outs on a Q♦J♥6♠ flop, but there was no bad beat to be dished out, as the A♠ turn and 4♣ river completed the board.
Chipleader Sasha "PokerSasha" Liu has had a great first level of the day, adding half a million to her stack to soar to nearly 3 million in chips.