Last Updated on July 13, 2026 by Bala Kumar
It’s starting to feel real for the players still standing in the 2026 WSOP Main Event. After five more grueling levels at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, the field has been trimmed from 62 down to just 21, meaning every player walking back into the arena for Day 8 is one session away from a final table seat, a guaranteed seven-figure payday, and a return trip to Las Vegas in August for poker’s biggest showdown.
WSOP Main Event — Day 7 Recap At a Glance
• Players remaining: 21 (down from 62 at the start of Day 7)
• Chip leader: Malcolm Trayner (Australia) — 63,200,000 (105 big blinds)
• Next milestone: Day 8 plays down to the final 9
• Final table date: August 3–5, live on ESPN
• Guaranteed payout for all 21 remaining: $325,000 minimum
• Final table guarantee: $1,000,000 minimum
• First prize: $10,000,000
Trayner Storms to the Top of the Counts
The headline of the day belongs to Malcolm Trayner. The 2026 Aussie Millions champion and 2024 WSOP Mystery Millions winner bagged the overnight chip lead with 63,200,000 — more than 20 million clear of second place. Rami Hammoud (41,500,000), Lucas Jumalon (40,800,000), Evagoras Evagorou (38,200,000), and Will Givens (31,700,000) round out the top five heading into Day 8.
Trayner is chasing something no player has ever done: winning the Aussie Millions Main Event and the WSOP Main Event in the same calendar year. He described the run as a dream, but insists he isn’t thinking about the money at this stage — just treating every hand as its own puzzle to solve.
2026 WSOP Main Event — End of Day 7 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Malcolm Trayner | Australia | 63,200,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Rami Hammoud | Canada | 41,500,000 | 69 |
| 3 | Lucas Jumalon | Canada | 40,800,000 | 68 |
| 4 | Evagoras Evagorou | Cyprus | 38,200,000 | 64 |
| 5 | Will Givens | United States | 31,700,000 | 53 |
| 6 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 31,300,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | 29,700,000 | 50 |
| 8 | Thomas Clack | United Kingdom | 27,500,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Antonio Galiana | Spain | 27,200,000 | 45 |
| 10 | Mario Boos | France | 24,300,000 | 41 |
The Storylines Still Alive Heading Into Day 8
Hossein Ensan chasing history.
The 2019 champion sits seventh in chips with 29,700,000 and is one day away from a second Main Event final table. A win would make him just the second player ever to capture the title twice, joining Johnny Chan, who did it back-to-back in 1987 and 1988. Ensan says the deep run has brought back memories of his 2019 title and that he feels like a sharper player than he was seven years ago.
Shaun Deeb’s deepest run yet.
The reigning WSOP Player of the Year sits sixth with 31,300,000, marking the deepest Main Event run of his career. True to his reputation, Deeb has downplayed the moment publicly, describing his mindset at the table as unusually detached compared to how much the tournament means to his opponents. He even joked that this is the longest stretch of the summer he’s gone without registering a side event.
Todd Brunson chasing his father’s legacy.
Returning to Day 8 with 7,800,000 chips, Brunson remains alive almost exactly 50 years after his late father Doyle Brunson won his second WSOP Main Event title — a remarkable anniversary storyline that’s followed him through the back half of this year’s tournament.
Big Stacks That Didn’t Survive the Day
Not every overnight leader made it through. Tyler Gaston, who ended Day 6 as the only player above 20 million chips, busted in 36th place, a reminder of just how quickly stack size can stop mattering in a field this deep. Historically, the end-of-Day-6 chip leader has gone on to win the title only twice since 2005 (Jamie Gold in 2006 and Martin Jacobson in 2014), though roughly 12 of the last 20 Day 6 leaders did at least reach the final table. Gaston wasn’t able to join either list this year.
Blake Barousse, the second-largest stack at the end of Day 6, also fell short, busting in 31st. Zhao Liu, who started the day third in chips with 50 million, saw his stack completely evaporate in the tournament’s final hour of play, one of the day’s more dramatic collapses.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $10,000,000 |
| 2nd | $6,000,000 |
| 3rd | $3,750,000 |
| 4th | $2,750,000 |
| 5th | $2,250,000 |
| 6th | $1,750,000 |
| 7th | $1,500,000 |
| 8th | $1,250,000 |
| 9th | $1,000,000 |
| 10th–11th | $750,000 |
| 12th–13th | $510,000 |
| 14th–17th | $410,475 |
| 18th–21st | $325,000 |
What Happens on Day 8
Play resumes at 11 a.m. local time with blinds of 300,000/600,000 and a 600,000 big blind ante. By the end of the day, the 21 remaining players will be cut down to the final nine — each of whom will lock up at least $1 million before heading home to wait. The finalists won’t play another hand until they return to Las Vegas on August 3, when the live ESPN broadcast decides who walks away with the bracelet and the $10 million top prize.
FAQs
1. Who is leading the 2026 WSOP Main Event after Day 7?
Malcolm Trayner leads the field with 63.2 million chips, giving him the largest stack heading into Day 8.
2. How many players remain in the 2026 WSOP Main Event?
Only 21 players remain from the original 9,208-entry field, with the tournament set to play down to the final nine.
3. How much is the 2026 WSOP Main Event first prize?
The winner will receive $10 million and the prestigious WSOP Main Event gold bracelet.
4. When is the 2026 WSOP Main Event final table?
The final table will be played August 3–5, 2026, with live coverage on ESPN from Las Vegas.
5. What is Malcolm Trayner trying to achieve in 2026?
Trayner is aiming to become the first player to win both the Aussie Millions Main Event and the WSOP Main Event in the same calendar year.
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