A player in Group C of the WSOP Main Event had a straight within minutes of the start of the match but was eliminated.

Dewitt Newkirk went all-in with a straight in Group C on Day 1 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event, but lost to his opponent's Ace Full House, becoming the first player eliminated. For the third consecutive day, pocket Aces have eliminated players early.

Jamie Gold, the 2006 world champion, announced the "shuffle and deal" just after 11 a.m. on Saturday, before the start of Day 1, Group C of the 2026 WSOP Main Event.

Moments later, a player lost all 300 big blinds and was eliminated from the $10,000 buy-in tournament. That player was Dewitt Newkirk, a licensed general contractor from North Carolina with no record on The Hendon Mob. He was the first to be eliminated out of more than 925 initial entrants in the group, and the elimination took almost no time.

A quick way to squander $10,000

On Day 1, in Group A, one player went all-in with AK at the start, only to be eliminated by Pocket Aces. The situation in Group B on Day 1 was slightly different—a player hit trips on the flop and went all-in, also losing to Pocket Aces, but this time with a backdoor flush. For the third consecutive day, Pocket Aces eliminated players early.

According to a report by PokerNews reporter Laura Fryer, the board 10♦10♣9♥A♥J♣ sparked a cold showdown. Both players started the hand with approximately 60,000 chips. Newkirk made a straight with Q♥8♥ on the river and bet 20,000 chips into the heads-up pot.

Stephen Graner had already given his opponent a full house with Aces on the turn, drawing to his death. He then went all-in on Newkirk, adding an extra 26,100 chips. This put Newkirk in deep thought before he announced, "I think I have to call." He did call, only to receive bad news—his opponent had actually secured the win on the turn.

"Damn it," Newkirk said as he left the tournament area.

For the third consecutive day, the first-eliminator of the 2026 WSOP Main Event Day 1 fell victim to pocket aces. Newkirk, after being eliminated from the Main Event, immediately registered for the #85:$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event.

Shortly after Newkirk's elimination, another elimination occurred. You guessed it, pocket aces were involved again. This time it was a pre-flop all-in cold hand duel between Aces and Kings, but Abbas Heidari's Aces couldn't hold out—Michael Tweedlie hit trips for a bad beat.

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