WSOP 2026 Highlights: Hellmuth Chases Bracelet 18 While Foxen Reaches Heads-Up Semifinals

Day 6 of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas delivered crucial leaderboard shifts across multiple formats. High-stakes veterans and breakout players advanced toward final tables, highlighted by deep runs from Phil Hellmuth, Alex Foxen, and David Prociak.

Only 14 opponents stand between Phil Hellmuth and a record-extending 18th WSOP gold bracelet in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. 

Hellmuth experienced significant volatility throughout the day, briefly claiming the chip lead with 18 players remaining before enduring a late-session slump. He will return for Day 3 positioned sixth in the overall chip counts.

Scott Clements secured the chip lead earlier in the session and enters the final day as the leader with a stack of nearly 2 million. 

He faces a highly competitive returning field, including Dylan Weisman, who holds an identical stack to Clements, alongside Todd Brunson, Josh Arieh, and James Obst. The eventual champion will take home the gold bracelet and a $450,176 first-place prize.

Event #1: $550 Mini Mystery Millions No-Limit Hold'em has narrowed its massive field of 20,488 entries down to just 13 survivors. The tournament generated a total prize pool of $7,747,082, with a designated mystery bounty pool of $4,097,600. Andrew Shelton successfully drew the top bounty prize during the event.

David Prociak ended the penultimate day at the top of the leaderboard, bagging a dominant stack of 88,000,000 as he seeks another career WSOP bracelet. 

Alexander Kaviani sits in second place, with Jurgen Pirgu rounding out the top three positions. Each of the remaining 13 players has locked up a minimum payout of $21,790, with a $400,000 top prize awaiting the winner.

The final four competitors have been locked in for Event #7: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship after two rounds of play on Day 2. 

High-stakes American professional Alex Foxen successfully advanced to the final day, chasing his fourth career bracelet following his recent $3.8 million victory at the 2024 WSOP Paradise $100,000 Triton Main Event.

Foxen will face Russia's Nikita Kuznetsov in the first semifinal match. The second semifinal bracket features a battle between Bulgarian bracelet winner Dimitar Danchev and Japan's Ryuta Nakai.

In Event #8: $1,500 Badugi, the tournament drew a field of 554 entries to create a first-place prize of $141,963. Former chess player Michael Casella, who entered the event with only four career WSOP cashes, successfully navigated the field of mixed-game specialists to capture the title.

Meanwhile, Event #10: $600 Deepstack No-Limit Hold'em concluded its opening day. Two-time bracelet winner and $25K Fantasy Draft pick Marco Johnson bagged a top 10 stack of 1,535,000 chips. He trails early chip leader Adam Cohen, who concluded Day 1 at the top of the pack with 2,300,000 chips.