Defending champion Mizrachi dominated despite facing four opponents in the WSOP Main Event.

Michael Mizrachi accumulated 890,000 chips on Day 3 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event, placing him in the top 50. Despite suffering four cold hands, he demonstrated the overwhelming strength of the defending champion.

"He can't do it, right?"

Last summer, before Michael Mizrachi accomplished the incredible feat of winning both the Poker Players Championship and the WSOP Main Event, this was the question everyone was asking.

Now, a year later, people are asking the exact same question.

Mizrachi once again looks poised for a deep run in the WSOP Main Event, remaining in the top 50 of the chip leaderboard despite a quadruple cold hand.

How Mizrachi accumulates chips on the third day

Mizrachi began his Main Event title defense on Day 1 in Group B, accumulating a starting stack of 60,000 to 73,200.

"The Grinder" lived up to his nickname on the second day in the ABC group, nearly tripling his total to 202,500.

He has now amassed 890,000 chips, securing his place among the tournament's largest chip holders. In comparison, the defending champion was only ranked 1,056th on the chip leaderboard when the third day of packing ended last year.

Mizrachi's first big hand on the live stream came from Dominic Cullen, who opened and raised to 8,000 from his 549,000 chips with A♠9♠. The defending champion called from the button with J♣8♣ (holding 267,000 chips), and Rahul Jaisingh called from the big blind.

The flop came 4♥Q♣6♣. Cullen checked. The turn was 9♦, giving Cullen second pair and Mizrachi a backdoor flush draw. Jaisingh led out with a bet of 15,000, which both Cullen and Mizrachi called.

The river card, A♣, completed Mizrachi's flush. After Jaisingh checked, Cullen bet 40,000 with two pair, unaware that he was behind. Mizrachi thought for a moment and raised to 140,000. Cullen quickly folded, pushing the pot of 92,000 into the defending champion's hands, increasing his chip stack to 367,000. However, he then dropped to 259,000 before rising again.

Mizrachi defeated Haoxin Tong with A-7 and KQ in a pre-flop all-in showdown, winning a pot of 298,000 chips and increasing his chip count to 412,000. The Poker Hall of Famer then won several smaller pots—making flushes and catching bluffs—to further increase his chip stack to 523,000.

Mizrachi delivered a bad beat to Kyle Arora, winning another huge pot and securing yet another elimination. Mizrachi checked and called on the turn with a straight draw, while Arora made two pair with Q and 4. Mizrachi made a straight on the river and took his final 140,000 chips after Arora called for tournament life.

In the same round, Mizrachi's hot streak continued—his AJ beat his K. His overbet on the river was called, taking him to 910,000.

The champion's chip stack peaked at 1.2 million, but it dwindled when he faced Marshall Daigle in a pre-flop showdown of 647,000 chips. Mizrachi held A♣K♣ against Q♠Q♦. Daigle survived by hitting four queens on the flop, halting the unstoppable Mizrachi.

Other noteworthy chip volumes

If Mizrachi somehow manages to pull off another incredible feat, he will win his tenth WSOP gold bracelet in 16 years, and his second in the 2026 series.

He has led for almost the entire $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship, winning his ninth gold bracelet.

However, Mizrachi wasn't the only player to reach nine gold bracelets this summer. Benny Glaser achieved it a few days earlier by winning the Mizrachi Poker Players Championship, followed by Shaun Deeb ending his heads-up curse in the $1,500 Eight Mixed Event and joining the club shortly after.

Other notable players with large chip stacks include chip leaders Sasha Liu (1,450,000), Deeb (1,075,000), Artur Martirosian (890,000), and Alex Foxen (830,000) from GGPoker.

If you're looking for chip stacks for Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Martin Kabrhel, and Will Kassouf, PokerNews regrets to inform you that they have all been eliminated.

How do the chip leaders perform in the WSOP Main Event on Day 3?

Leading at the end of Day 3 of the main event might sound like the perfect position, but recent history shows otherwise.

In the early stages of the Main Event, leading in chips at the end of Day 3 often foreshadows future success. Between 1975 and 2002, overnight leaders went on to win the title 15 times, with legends like Stu Ungar, Johnny Chan, Jack Straus, Scotty Nguyen, Chris Ferguson, and Robert Varkonyi translating their dominance into some of the biggest poker championships.

However, the modern era presents a very different picture. The last Day 3 chip leader to reach the Main Event final table was Kenny Hallaert in 2016. The Belgian player—who also reached the final table last summer—ultimately finished sixth with $1,464,258, but no Day 3 chip leader has gone that far since.

While several players still managed to make deep runs, Aaron Mermelstein (20th in 2022) and Preben Stokkan (21st in 2019) are the only two Day 3 chip leaders to finish in the top 25 in the last seven editions.

Day 3 Chip Leader History

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