Malcolm Trayner Leads Final 21 Players in 2026 WSOP Main Event

By Mrinal Gujare

4 hours ago

Mrinal Gujare 4 hours ago

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Malcolm Trayner leads the 2026 WSOP Main Event with 21 players left.
Shaun Deeb and Hossein Ensan still in contention for the final table.
Top 9 players will return in August to compete for a $10M prize.

Image by Regina Cortina / Pokernews

The 2026 WSOP Main Event field is down to 21 players with Malcolm Trayner leading the pack. Shaun Deeb and former champion Hossein Ensan remain in contention for the final table, which awards a ten-million-dollar first-place prize in August.

The defining stages of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event are officially underway. For the remaining players in Event #82: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship, poker's most prestigious final table is finally within reach inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

After another intense five levels of play, the starting field of 62 competitors was whittled down to just 21 players. Each survivor has now positioned themselves one session away from securement of a million-dollar payout and an August return for the final table.

Leading the charge is Malcolm Trayner, who bagged the overall chip lead with 63,200,000. Trayner, the 2024 WSOP Mystery Millions champion and 2026 Aussie Millions winner, holds a sizable advantage over his nearest competitors.

Rounding out the top five chip stacks are Rami Hammoud with 41,500,000, Lucas Jumalon with 40,800,000, Evagoras Evagorou with 38,200,000, and Will Givens with 31,700,000.

While Trayner commands the leaderboard, several high-profile players remain in contention. Reigning WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb occupies the sixth spot in the chip standings with 31,300,000, marking the deepest Main Event run of his professional career.

Right behind Deeb is 2019 champion Hossein Ensan, who bagged 29,700,000. Ensan enters Day 8 just one day away from another final table appearance.

A victory for the German pro would make him the first player since Johnny Chan in 1987 and 1988 to win the WSOP Main Event twice. The deep run has already brought back memories of his title victory seven years prior.

Day 8 action resumes at 11 a.m. local time on Monday, July 13. Play will recommence with blinds at 300,000/600,000 along with a 600,000 big blind ante.

The upcoming session will conclude only when the field reduces to the final nine players. Those nine survivors will lock up a minimum payout of $1,000,000.

They will then earn their seats to return to Las Vegas on August 3 to compete for the gold bracelet and the $10,000,000 first-place prize.

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