WSOP Day 41 | Main Event Day 1d attracts 4,694 players! Taylor von Kriegenbergh becomes chip leader.

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) entered its 41st day of competition. Although only three events were running concurrently, the start of the Main Event Day 1 brought a large influx of participants to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Horseshoe venue, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

The largest starting day of this year's WSOP Main Event, Day 1d, attracted 4,694 entries, making it one of the most anticipated days of the tournament. Taylor von Kriegenbergh led the field with 312,800 chips, securing the Day 1d chip lead.

The main event Day 1 attracted 4,694 participants.

A total of 4,694 players competed for the World Championship on Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event.

After five two-hour rounds of competition, a total of 3,638 contestants successfully bagged themselves and advanced, while approximately 1,000 contestants were eliminated on the first day.

Taylor von Kriegenbergh from Massachusetts, USA, leads the leaderboard with 312,800 chips, laying a solid foundation for his bid for the first WSOP gold bracelet.

Day 1d Top 10 Scoreboard

Several previous Main Event champions successfully advanced.

Day 1d also attracted many world-renowned professional poker players.

Including multiple WSOP Main Event champions:

• Max Neugebauer

• Jonathan Tamayo

• Ryan Riess

• Scott Blumstein

• Joe McKeehen

• Hossein Ensan

• Chris Moneymaker

• Robert Varkonyi

All of them successfully advanced to the second round.

In addition, well-known players such as Martin Kabrhel, Viktor Blom, Stephen Song, and Chris Hunichen also successfully completed the first day of the competition.

Patrick Lander's six-fold bluffing failure becomes the focus.

Besides the chip leaderboard, Day 1d also featured an impressive hand.

Patrick Lander made a large bluff with 6♠5♦, betting continuously from the flop all the way to the river, and finally went all in to put pressure on his opponent.

However, his opponent eventually called, revealing a set, leaving Lander with only six high cards and losing all his chips.

This hand became one of the most discussed classic hands in the main event that day.

Zixuan Liu wins his first WSOP gold bracelet

The only event on Day 41 to produce a champion was Event #85: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

Chinese athletes Zixuan Liu He defeated numerous opponents to win his first WSOP gold bracelet and a $219,391 first-place prize.

After the tournament, Liu said he plans to use part of his prize money to buy a new car for his wife, who has always supported him, so he can share in the joy of winning the WSOP championship.

Ultra Stack's first initial group completed.

Another event that started simultaneously, Event #86, the first starting group of Ultra Stack with a $600 prize pool, attracted 1,366 participants.

After 22 competition levels, only 98 contestants successfully advanced.

Two-time WSOP champion Ryan Bambrick, Japanese star Naoya Kihara, and 888poker brand ambassador Ian Simpson all advanced to the second round.

Naoya Kihara has accumulated 14 money line wins, 5 final table appearances, and two gold bracelets at this year's WSOP, maintaining an amazing performance.

The main event is about to enter Day 2.

With Day 1 concluded, the starting groups for the WSOP Main Event have been completed.

Day 2abc will begin next, with 2,468 players returning to the tables.

Currently, Japanese player Ryuta Nakai still leads the overall chip count with 323,000 chips, closely followed by Taylor von Kriegenbergh, and the battle for the Main Event title is about to enter a new phase.

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