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It took almost no time, but as per usual, a player has been eliminated early in Level 1 at the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Anthony Marini picked up A♦K♦ just after the World Championship event began and decided to gamble for his entire stack, while Ryan Sands didn’t want his opponent to earn an early double-up.
Big Slick Looks for Early Double
As PokerNews live reporter Jacob Wilson learned from Table 94 inside Paris Las Vegas, a player raised from early position and was followed by Marini making a standard three-bet to 1,500 with “Big Slick.” Sands was behind him and went for a four-bet to 3,500 (we’ll hold off disclosing his hand for a bit).
Marini, who cashed in 1,222nd place for $15,000 in the 2022 WSOP Main Event, came back over the top to 7,500. Sands then jammed all in for the 60,000-starting stack count. Despite it being early in a marathon tournament, and having over 250 big blinds remaining if he were to fold, Marini opted to call. What did Sands have? Of course, it was the A♠A♣.
A Kx did land on the flop, but no further improvement for ace-king on the turn or river. Sands scooped a 121,000-chip pot for a quick double-up in the Main Event, while Marini was the first player to be eliminated from this year’s biggest tournament.
There are four Day 1 starting flights, and registration remains open into the two Day 2 flights. At the time of publishing, 514 players had bought into Day 1a, and Marini was the only player to have busted in the freezeout tournament.
Main Event livestreaming coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET on the ESPN app, which does require a paid subscription. Michael Mizrachi, the defending champion who recently won his ninth WSOP bracelet, began the festivities by announcing “shuffle up and deal.”
PokerNews will provide live reporting coverage of the Main Event from start until finish on Aug. 5.
