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2026 WSOP Day 10: Salem, Vargas, and Kihara Capture World Series Gold
- Salem, Vargas, and Kihara win WSOP gold bracelets in major events.
- Philip Wess leads $1,500 Dealer's Choice with nearly 1/3 of chips in play.
- Monster Stack & High Roller events see strong turnouts and record-breaking fields.
Image Credit - WSOP
Day 10 of the 2026 WSOP saw Naseem Salem, Antonio Vargas, and Naoya Kihara win gold bracelets. Meanwhile, Philip Wess built a massive chip lead in the $1,500 Dealer's Choice event ahead of second-place Dario Sammartino.
The tenth day of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) brought a massive wave of action, concluding three major events while setting the stage for deep runs from seasoned veterans and emerging contenders alike.
Players earned coveted gold hardware across high roller and championship formats, while field sizes continued to swell in the preliminary flights of the scheduling line-up.
Salem, Vargas, and Kihara Capture Major Titles
Event #11: $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller came to a close on June 4 with Naseem Salem securing the victory.
Known as Nick to his nearest and dearest, Salem entered the event as a relative unknown despite accumulating almost $470,000 from live tournaments throughout his career.
Following his breakthrough performance, Salem now commands the respect of his peers, a top prize of $1,089,964, and a WSOP gold bracelet.
In Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship, Antonio Vargas converted his final-day chip lead into an official victory. Vargas, who possessed more than $1.2 million in live earnings prior to the tournament, secured a new career-best score of $439,605 and the title of WSOP champion.
Meanwhile, a late flurry of activity prevented Event #17: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship from extending into an unscheduled fourth day.
Japanese grinder Naoya Kihara emerged as the victor once the field settled. Kihara, who was selected as a $1 bargain pick by Team Banana in the $25K Fantasy Draft, earned $428,923 and his second career WSOP bracelet.
Wess Leads Final Ten in Dealer's Choice as Sammartino Circles
Only 10 players remain in contention for Event #20: $1,500 Dealer's Choice. Philip Wess built a massive chip lead, concluding Day 2 with 5,370,000 chips, which represents nearly one-third of the total chips in play.
The Hendon Mob Database lists only four low-stakes No-Limit Hold'em cashes for Wess, though his performance indicates deep mixed game specialization.
Wess leads the remaining line-up ahead of Dario Sammartino, who holds ,203,000 chips and is searching for his second piece of WSOP hardware.
Nathan Gamble (1,350,000) and Jeff Madsen (750,000) stand as the only other bracelet winners left in contention after Allan Le exited in 11th place to conclude Day 2. The final 10 players return to action at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 5 to play down to a champion.
Monster Stack Fields Consolidate
Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack experienced heavy turnout across multiple segments. Day 1b drew 1,903 entries, with 667 players completing the 10th level to advance to Day 2b.
Notables moving forward from this flight include overnight chip leader Jamie Dwan (925,000), Jonas Lauck (516,000), Jason Daly (370,000), David Jackson (341,500), Sinead Davenport (285,500), Malcolm Trayner (230,000), Toby Lewis (115,000), Brandon Sheils (91,000), and Matthew Davenport (90,500).
Simultaneously, Day 2a commenced with 538 returning players from Day 1a, alongside 293 late registrants who utilized the open registration period in the first level. By the end of play, only 94 competitors remained.
Veteran player Ralph Perry, whose tournament record dates back to 1994 and includes a third-place finish in the 2002 WSOP Main Event plus a 2006 victory in a $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event, bagged an impressive 3,320,000 chips. Only Hayden Hetland (4,075,000) and Dustin Harrelson (3,850,000) outpaced Perry's stack.
Other competitors advancing to Day 3 include Day 1a leader Zhijian Zhang (3,010,000), Uri Reichenstein (2,140,000), Tyler Phillips (1,765,000), Martin Kabrhel (1,350,000), Daniel Rezaei (1,065,000), John Juanda (945,000), Michael Gathy (860,000), and Michael Noori (360,000).
High Roller Action and Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Turnout
Day 1b of Event #19: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em processed 167 entries. Following eight levels of play, 53 players advanced to Day 2. Spain's Yaman Nakdali claimed the overnight chip lead with 1,996,000 chips.
Nakdali secured a portion of his stack by eliminating Martin Kabrhel, winning a preflop confrontation where Kabrhel held ace-king against Nakdali's pocket nines on a seven-high runout.
Lastly, Event #21: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better attracted 1,093 entrants on Day 1, marking an increase over the 910 entries recorded the previous summer.
After 15 levels, Arizona's Thomas Zanot secured the top spot in the room with 485,000 chips. Having already cashed in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed and the $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo events this summer, Zanot put himself in prime position to lock up a third Omaha cash.
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