Honghao Zhang Converts First WSOP Cash into a Bracelet Win

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) continues to deliver escalating excitement with each passing day.  Day 9 of the 2026 WSOP featured a complete array of dramatic poker moments, including incredibly sick bad beats, winning hands being mucked, and world champions ending their cash droughts. With three gold bracelets awarded, the action unfolded with poker royalty seated at every table.

Georgia Tech PhD student Honghao Zhang became the first bracelet winner of the day by triumphing in Event #13: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em. 

Zhang earned a top prize of $346,108, which makes him one of the more affluent students on his campus. Impressively, this victory marked Zhang's first cash ever in a bracelet-awarding event.

In Event #14: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Justin Liberto emerged as the champion. This impressive victory arrived 11 years after Liberto secured his first WSOP bracelet. He is now a two-time bracelet owner, adding $265,297 in cash to his poker accolades.

The third bracelet of Day 9 was awarded in Event #15: $600 Deepstack Pot-Limit Omaha. Philip Ardire, a player who enjoys cigars, claimed the title along with the $171,589 top prize. 

Ardire had originally headed to the WSOP without a set tournament schedule, making his decision to jump into this specific event a highly rewarding one.

Another action-packed day at the WSOP-branded tables concluded with Event #11: $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller reducing its field to the final eight players. At the beginning of Day 3, 64 players took their seats ready for battle. 

Throughout the scheduled course of play, the field was systematically trimmed down to a final table of eight competitors, with Naseem Salem leading the remaining line-up. Antonio Vargas Leads After Day 2 of the $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship

The inaugural Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship is down to its final day, with only 32 players remaining from the original field of 2,148 entrants. 

Day 2 began with 381 players returning to their seats, but it was Antonio Vargas who finished the night in the lead. Vargas bagged up the largest overall stack with 8,435,000 chips.

Day 1a of Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack drew a strong crowd of 1,514 entrants, setting an expansive tone for the rest of the tournament. From the starting field of 1,514 players, a total of 538 survivors successfully progressed to Day 2a.

Among the players making it through Day 1a was five-time bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel, who bagged up 296,500 chips to secure 31st place on the leaderboard. 

While Kabrhel may be a controversial figure in the community, he continues to demonstrate a phenomenal poker talent and a distinct knack for going deep in prestigious events.

Daniel Rezaei topped the overnight chip counts, ending the session as the only player to successfully break through the one million chip milestone with 1,176,000 chips.