Stephen Chidwick Advances as $25K High Roller PLO Prize Pool Hits $7.7M

The 2026 World Series of Poker continued to deliver high-stakes action at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with the completion of the second opening flight for Event #47: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha. 

Following an initial opening flight on Day 1a that saw 27 players advance from a field of 105 entries, competitors who failed to secure chips on the first day received a second opportunity to build a stack on Day 1b.

The second flight experienced a significant surge in attendance, drawing more than double the field size of Day 1a. A total of 224 entries were recorded through ten levels of play on Day 1b. This influx brought the total tournament field to 329 entries, generating a prize pool of $7,731,000. 

These figures remain subject to change, as late registration for the tournament is scheduled to conclude tomorrow before the start of Day 2.

When the final chips were bagged at the end of Day 1b, only 83 players managed to secure their progression to the second day of play. 

Among the competitors moving forward into Day 2 is United Kingdom poker professional Stephen Chidwick, who successfully bagged a stack of 542,000 chips, placing him 30th in the standings.

The headline story of Day 1b belonged to Youness Barakat, who claimed the overall chip lead after an impressive performance. 

Barakat eliminated multiple opponents throughout the session, including a double elimination that helped him eclipse the one million chip threshold. Barakat concluded the day with a massive stack of 1,675,000 chips.

Barakat holds a narrow lead over Philip Marsico, who finished the flight closely behind with 1,580,000 chips. 

Another notable contender to establish a dominant position was David Benyamine. Benyamine entered the tournament field early in the day and remained inside the top five chip counts for the duration of the flight, eventually bagging 1,209,000 chips.

With 83 survivors from Day 1b joining the 27 advanced players from Day 1a, a competitive lineup is locked in for Day 2. The combined field will return tomorrow to continue their pursuit of the high-roller title, with late registration still open for any final entries before the tournament prize pool is finalized.