WPT Cambodia 2026 Day 9: Gathercole Leads Day 1A of Championship
Championship Event $500K GTD Flight 1A Underway
The main attraction of the festival kicked off as players took their seats for Flight 1A of the marquee Championship Event ($1,300 Buy-In) . With a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool up for grabs, players are set to battle through 14 levels today before bagging for Day 2. The field reached 124 entries after nine levels of registration.
After more than 12 hours of play and 14 levels, Day 1A of the $500,000 Championship Event at NagaWorld has come to an end with 21 players surviving. Leading the field is Australia’s Nathan Gathercole , who held the chip lead for most of the day and finished with 590,000 chips (118 big blinds).
One of the most notable names in the field, Ari Engel , also made it through the opening flight. He finished the day with 90,000 chips (18 big blinds). It is not the biggest stack heading into Day 2, but with his experience, he remains very much in the hunt.
Day 1A Top 10 Chip Counts
| # | Player | Country | Chips | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathan Gathercole | Australia | 590,000 | 118 |
| 2 | Benoit Besnardeau | France | 495,000 | 99 |
| 3 | Dale Townsend (2) | Australia | 412,000 | 82 |
| 4 | Erwann Troncay | France | 363,000 | 73 |
| 5 | Min Ho Cho | South Korea | 347,000 | 69 |
| 6 | Jiaxian Pan | China | 302,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Shixiang Khoo | Singapore | 290,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Lucia Martinez | Spain | 289,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Xuqian Li | Australia | 253,000 | 51 |
| 10 | Aditya Agarwal | India | 251,000 | 50 |
Simon Solli Wins Early Bird Megastack 30 Sec
The morning session kicked off with fast-paced action in Event #M8 Early Bird Megastack 30 Sec . Simon Solli navigated the 15-minute blind levels and strict 30-second shot clock to conquer the opening field of the day and take home the trophy with a prize of $2,112.
| # | Payout | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,112 | 297.76 | |
| 2 | $1,267 | 210.55 | |
| 3 | $792 | 171.91 | |
| 4 | $634 | 148.88 | |
| 5 | $475 | ZS Zeyu Sun ![China [CHN]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/cn.svg "China [CHN]"){kind=small} China | 133.16 |
High Roller Action and Satellite Qualifiers
High-stakes competition continued across the room alongside milestone satellite qualifiers, offering players multiple avenues to compete for WPT titles and seats to the World Championship.
Day 10 at NagaWorld
Day 10 promises another massive turnout at NagaWorld, headlined by Championship Event Flight 1B and upcoming High Roller restarts.
Click to Expand: Day 10 Schedule (Friday, August 21)
| Event | Time | Tournament | Buy-In | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 10 – Friday, August 21 | ||||
| #M9 | 10:00 – 11:40 | Early Bird Megastack (30 Sec) | 250 USD | Stack: 30,000 | Levels: 15 min (7 lvl @11:40) |
| #S18 | 10:30 – 11:52 | WYS@50K Milestone Satellite – 2 Seats GTD (20 Sec) | 300 USD | Stack: 10,000 | Levels: 12 min (7 lvl @11:52) |
| #39 D1B | 11:30 – 18:00 | Championship – Day 1B | 1.3K USD | GTD: 500K | 🔴 Live |
| #41 D2 | 11:30 | 5K Super High Roller – Day 2 | 5K USD | Stack: 250,000 | Levels: 60 min |
| #44 | 11:30 – 13:25 | PLO Turbo (20 Sec) | 250 USD | Stack: 20,000 | Levels: 15 min (8 lvl @13:25) |
| #45 | 12:00 – 16:40 | Mystery Bounty HR (30 Sec) | 2.2K USD | Stack: 100,000 | Levels: 25 min (11 lvl @16:40) |
| #46 | 18:00 – 19:40 | Freezeout Turbo (20 Sec) | 300 USD | Stack: 15,000 | Levels: 15 min (7 lvl @19:40) |
| #S19 | 20:30 – 22:10 | WYS@50K Milestone Satellite – 5 Seats GTD (20 Sec) | 300 USD | Stack: 10,000 | Levels: 15 min (7 lvl @22:10) |
| #47 | 21:00 – 22:50 | 1K Hyper Turbo (20 Sec) | 1K USD | Stack: 40,000 | Levels: 10 min (11 lvl @22:50) |
![Canada [CAN]](/assets/images/flags/1x1/ca.svg "Canada [CAN]"){kind=small}
Khanh Ho is a Live Content Writer at SoMuchPoker, covering major poker festivals across Southeast Asia, including APT and PokerStars LIVE events. Alongside live tournament reporting, he conducts interviews and writes player features, bringing the human stories behind the game to life.
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![Cambodia [KHM]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/kh.svg "Cambodia [KHM]"){kind=small}
![Cambodia [KHM]](/assets/images/flags/1x1/kh.svg "Cambodia [KHM]"){kind=small}
