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WSOP 2026 Day 3 Recap: First Bracelet Awarded as Big Names Flood the Felt

Callum Jury
Callum JuryLive Content & Social Media Specialist

Day 3 of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas delivered the first gold bracelet of the summer, another enormous Mini Mystery Millions flight, and a host of familiar faces deep in multiple events across a six-event day.

Event #3: $500 Industry Employees — Winner

Jerome Neppl
Jerome Neppl

Jerome Neppl etched his name into the WSOP 2026 history books by claiming the first gold bracelet of the series, topping a 906-strong field to take home $64,083. PokerNews' Brett Slezak and Tyler Boyer both made the final two tables before bowing out in 16th and 18th place respectively.

Event #1: $550 Mini Mystery Millions — Day 1c

Shawn Daniels
Shawn Daniels

The Mini Mystery Millions shows no signs of slowing down. Day 1c drew another 2,450 entries, bringing the running total to 5,647 with three flights still to go — putting this event on course for upwards of 15,000 entrants. The allure of a $1 million mystery bounty envelope is clearly doing its job. Matthew Todd led the flight with 2,300,000 chips, ahead of bracelet winner Shawn Daniels (1,800,000) and Cero Zuccarello (1,700,000). Day 1d fires at 10:00 a.m. on May 29.

Event #1: $550 Mini Mystery Millions — Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank

Player

Country

Chip Count

Big Blinds

1

Matthew Todd

United States

2,300,000

58

2

Shawn Daniels

United States

1,800,000

45

3

Cero Zuccarello

United States

1,700,000

43

4

Lorenzo Rivera

United States

1,600,000

40

5

Tam Nguyen

United States

1,400,000

35

6

Joao Rocha

Brazil

1,300,000

33

7

Wesley Cannon

United States

1,300,000

33

8

Phillip Hui

United States

1,200,000

30

9

Richard Kaiser

United States

1,200,000

30

10

Yaniv Linvat

United States

1,200,000

30

Event #2: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em — Final Five

Chenxiang Mao
Chenxiang Mao

China's Chenxiang Miao goes into the final day of the $5,000 8-Handed event as the clear chip leader with 10,850,000 (90 BBs), having surged late including flopping pocket aces to bust Ivan Ruban in sixth. Daniyal Gheba (8,600,000) sits second, with Xiaohu Liu (3,365,000), Ren Lin (3,000,000), and Peter Mugar (2,640,000) completing the final five. The winner earns $502,985, with play resuming at 1:00 p.m. on May 29.

Event #2: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em — Final Five Chip Counts

Rank

Player

Country

Chip Count

Big Blinds

1

Chenxiang Miao

China

10,850,000

90

2

Daniyal Gheba

United States

8,600,000

72

3

Xiaohu Liu

China

3,365,000

28

4

Ren Lin

China

3,000,000

25

5

Peter Mugar

United States

2,640,000

22

Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better — Final 17

Credit: PokerNews
Credit: PokerNews

Two-time bracelet winner Jason Daly holds the narrowest of leads going into the final day, returning with 2,100,000 — just 10,000 ahead of Kelly Vandemheen (2,090,000). Vanessa Selbst (1,050,000) remains very much in contention among the 17 survivors, alongside Renan Bruschi (1,675,000), Valentin Vornicu (1,470,000), and Ryan Bambrick (610,000). Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. on May 29.

Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo — Final Day Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank

Player

Country

Chip Count

Big Blinds

1

Jason Daly

United States

2,100,000

21

2

Kelly Vandemheen

United States

2,090,000

21

3

Joseph Hallock

United States

2,045,000

20

4

Renan Bruschi

Brazil

1,675,000

17

5

Amnon Filippi

United States

1,640,000

16

6

Tyler Phillips

United States

1,615,000

16

7

Valentin Vornicu

United States

1,470,000

15

8

Nolan Guagenti

United States

1,205,000

12

9

Benjamin Gold

United States

1,130,000

11

10

Per Hildebrand

Sweden

1,125,000

11

Event #5: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha — Day 1

Dylan Weisman
Dylan Weisman

Two-time PLO bracelet winner Dylan Weisman is in familiar territory, leading the field after Day 1 of the $5,000 PLO with 951,000 chips (119 BBs). Jesse Lonis (906,000), James Chen (856,000), Glen Tinney (801,000), and David Eller (801,000) are the other players returning with triple-figure big blind counts. Notable names also through to Day 2 include Ari Engel (576,000), Robert Mizrachi (414,000), Nick Schulman (336,000), and Ben Lamb (285,000). Day 2 begins at noon on May 29.

Event #5: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha — Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank

Player

Country

Chip Count

Big Blinds

1

Dylan Weisman

United States

951,000

119

2

Jesse Lonis

United States

906,000

113

3

James Chen

United States

856,000

107

4

Glen Tinney

United States

801,000

100

5

David Eller

United States

801,000

100

6

Ka Kwan Lau

Hong Kong

790,000

99

7

David Morris

United Kingdom

774,000

97

8

Stephen Hubbard

United States

750,000

94

9

Frank Brannan

United States

625,000

78

10

Evan Krentzman

United States

602,000

75

Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud — Day 1

Bradley Jensen
Bradley Jensen

The first Stud event of the summer drew 359 entrants, whittled to 62 by the end of Day 1. Mixed game specialist Bradley Jansen leads with 363,500, ahead of five-time bracelet winner Brian Yoon (326,000) — a previous Seven Card Stud Championship winner — in second. Scott Seiver (211,000) and Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson (73,500) are among the notables also returning. Day 2 begins at 1:00 p.m. on May 29.

Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud — Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank

Player

Country

Chip Count

Big Bets

1

Bradley Jansen

United States

363,500

30

2

Brian Yoon

United States

326,500

27

3

Vasu Amarapu

United States

315,500

26

4

Scott Adaska

United States

287,500

24

5

Jonathan Glendinning

United States

273,000

23

6

Dustin Miller

United States

270,000

23

7

Parth Jha

United States

270,000

23

8

Ryutaro Suzuki

Japan

259,500

22

9

Christopher Viox

United States

254,500

21

10

Ilkka Heikkila

Finland

241,000

20

What's Coming on Day 4

Six events remain in play on May 29. The Mini Mystery Millions Day 1d fires at 10:00 a.m., followed by Day 2 of the $5,000 PLO at noon. The $5,000 8-Handed final five and the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Day 2 both resume at 1:00 p.m. Two new events also debut: the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship — won last year by Artur Martirosian — gets underway from noon, and the $1,500 Badugi starts at 2:00 p.m.

All images and data courtesy of PokerNews and the WSOP.

About the Editor

Callum Jury

Callum Jury is Somuchpoker's Live Content and Social Media Specialist, reporting live from WSOP and Asia Pacific poker festivals including the APT and PokerStars LIVE series. Originally from the Lake District in the UK, he has covered the Southeast Asian poker circuit since 2025, combining day-by-day tournament reporting with the social and digital content that brings the action to fans.