2026 World Series of Poker

Day: 1a
1a1b2
Event Info
2026 World Series of Poker
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$4,526,376
Total Entries
3,724
Players Left
37
Average Chip Stack
5,032,432
Total Chips
186,200,000
Next Payout
Place 37
$15,750
Level Info
Level
33
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
1,078
Players Left
129
Players Left 37 / 3,724

Andrew Kelsall Fourth In Chips In The Closer

Andrew Kelsall
Andrew Kelsall

On the first day of action in Event #93: $1,500 The Closer No Limit Hold'em at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, David Yue bagged an enormous chip lead of 2,640,000 in chips. Dragos Anton of Romania follows him with less than half with 1,185,000 in his stack.

Just a single 5k chip stands between him and the third-place stack of Daewoong Song (1,180,000) while Andrew Kelsall, a 25k Fantasy player, took fourth place with 1,100,000 in his stack. Preston McEwen is hot on his heels with 1,035,000.

They are the top five players from the 129 survivors after Day 1a of the Closer.

However, everything could change with tomorrow's Day 1b flight. The current field of 1,078 entries and prize pool of $1,431,045 are expected to more than double.

Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1David YueUnited States2,640,000
2Dragos AntonRomania1,185,000
3Daewoong SongKorea, Republic of1,180,000
4Andrew KelsallUnited States1,100,000
5Preston McEwenUnited States1,035,000
6Diogo DoliveiraPortugal1,020,000
7Emanuel GoldshideUnited States950,000
8Josh Norvock 830,000
9Florian DutaRomania810,000
10Jakub SterbaCzechia810,000
Caitlin Comeskey
Caitlin Comeskey.

Other notable players who made it through to Day 2 are Simeon Spasov (685,000), Arthur Morris (585,000), Eugene Katchalov (515,000), Caitlin Comeskey (475,000), Lara Eisenberg (435,000), Kevin Song (390,000), Mike Leah (350,000), Daniel Smiljkovic (270,000), Jonas Lauck (150,000), and Joshua Reichard (125,000).

These players will be back for Day 2 on Monday, July 13.

However, before that, there will be a second Day 1 flight starting at midday on July 12. The day will consist of 20 levels.

You can follow the action here on PokerNews, where our usual live reporting will begin on Day 2 of this tournament at the 2026 World Series of Poker.

Tags: Andrew KelsallArthur MorrisCaitlin ComeskeyDaewoong SongDaniel SmiljkovicDavid YueDiogo DoliveiraDragos AntonDragos-Florin AntonEmanuel GoldshideEugene KatchalovFlorian DutaJakub SterbaJonas LauckJosh NorvockJoshua ReichardKevin SongLara EisenbergMike LeahPreston McEwenRay MilareSimeon Spasov