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WSOP 2026 Highlights Day 6: Phil Hellmuth Chases Historic 18th Gold Bracelet
- Phil Hellmuth in final 14 for Record 18th WSOP Bracelet.
- David Prociak and Scott Clements lead major events; Casella wins Badugi.
- Alex Foxen, Marco Johnson headline top stacks and semifinalists.
Image Credit: Eloy Cabacas/pokernews
Day 6 of the 2026 WSOP featured Phil Hellmuth reaching the final 14 of Event #9, David Prociak leading Event #1, Alex Foxen making the Event #7 semifinals, Michael Casella winning Event #8, and Marco Johnson bagging big in Event #10.
The Day 6 action at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas delivered major storylines across multiple disciplines.
From legendary champions positioning themselves for historic milestones to massive field reductions and intense heads-up brackets, the tournament floors provided high-stakes drama.
Only 14 players remain in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, and all eyes are on Phil Hellmuth. The "Poker Brat" is navigating a star-studded lineup as he seeks a record-extending 18th WSOP gold bracelet.
Hellmuth experienced a volatile day on the leaderboard, capturing the chip lead with 18 players left before a late slump dropped him into the middle of the pack. He will return for the next stage of play sixth in chips.
Sitting at the top of the leaderboard is three-time bracelet winner Scott Clements, who claimed the chip lead earlier in the session and sustained his momentum. Clements will return for Day 3 as the odds-on favorite with nearly 2 million in chips.
He faces a highly competitive remaining field, including Dylan Weisman, who holds a stack nearly equal to Clements, alongside Todd Brunson, Josh Arieh, and James Obst. The eventual champion will secure the coveted gold hardware along with a first-place prize of $450,176.
Event #1: $550 Mini Mystery Millions No-Limit Hold'em has officially reached its deep, business end. The massive tournament drew an entry field of 20,488 buy-ins, generating a total prize pool of $7,747,082. From that total, $4,097,600 was allocated exclusively for the mystery bounty pool, which included Andrew Shelton pulling the top bounty prize.
Just 13 players remain in contention for the $400,000 top prize and the gold bracelet. Every returning player has locked up a minimum payout of $21,790, but the upcoming pay jumps put seven-figure target paydays in focus as the final table nears.
David Prociak concluded the penultimate day at the top of the chip counts, bagging a leading stack of 88,000,000 as he pursues another WSOP bracelet. Alexander Kaviani sits in second place on the leaderboard, with Jurgen Pirgu completing the top three podium spots.
Following two intense rounds of play on Day 2, only four players remain in Event #7: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship. American high-stakes professional Alex Foxen advanced to the final day of one of the toughest brackets on the WSOP schedule.
Foxen is hunting for his fourth career bracelet, following his recent $3.8 million victory at the $100,000 Triton Main Event during the 2024 WSOP Paradise. WSOP commentator Joe Stapleton previously predicted a deep run for Foxen, a prediction that stands on the verge of coming true.
The final four lineup features a mix of seasoned champions and rising contenders. Foxen will face Russia's Nikita Kuznetsov in the semifinals on Monday. On the other side of the bracket, Bulgarian bracelet winner Dimitar Danchev will battle Japan's Ryuta Nakai across the stage, with both Kuznetsov and Nakai pursuing their first career gold bracelets.
In Event #8: $1,500 Badugi, former high-level chess player Michael Casella made his presence felt in the poker history books. Having transitioned to poker with four career WSOP cashes to his name, Casella navigated a competitive field of 554 entries.
The fourth edition of this event drew top minds from the mixed game community, but Casella outlasted them all to capture the absolute top spot and the $141,963 first-place prize.
Concurrently, Event #10: $600 Deepstack No-Limit Hold'em wrapped up its opening flight. The tournament saw an unexpected elite contender near the top of the standings.
Marco Johnson, a prominent $25K Fantasy Draft pick with two WSOP bracelets and more than $5.5 million in live tournament earnings, bagged a top 10 chip stack.
Though more accustomed to high-stakes fields with buy-ins ten times larger than this entry point, Johnson ended Day 1 with 1,535,000 chips. He trails only a small group of players, including overall chip leader Adam Cohen, who set the pace with 2,300,000 chips.
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