WSOP Mystery Millions Draws Record 23,706 Entries Across Four Day-1 Flights, On Pace to Break Open-Event Field Record; Ciro Gonzalez Wins Event #65 Freezeout for US$449,067; Quebec's Frederic Normand Cashes 483rd as Lone Canadian Finish

By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · June 26, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen

Event #63 of the 2026 World Series of Poker, the $1,000 Mystery Millions multi-flight No-Limit Hold'em, closed late-registration on Friday with a cumulative 23,706 entries across four Day-1 flights, on pace to break the open-event field record set by the inaugural 2024 Mystery Millions at 18,372 entries. The four-flight count broke down as follows: Day 1A drew 2,244 entries on Tuesday, Day 1B drew 6,903 on Wednesday, Day 1C drew 8,859 on Thursday and Day 1D drew 6,012 on Friday. The Day 1C session is now the largest single Day-1 flight in WSOP history, surpassing the 2025 Day 1B of the same event at 8,341 entries. American recreational player Jason Jung leads the combined Day 1 chip counts at 1,343,000 chips ahead of Day 2 on Saturday.

The Mystery Millions structure layers a randomised mystery-bounty pool on top of the standard prize distribution. Every entry contributes a fixed bounty value to a prize-pool envelope; players who eliminate other entries receive a random envelope drawn from a tiered pool that includes envelopes worth a small fraction of the buy-in up to a single grand-prize envelope of US$1 million. The 2025 event produced a US$2.5 million top prize plus a US$1 million grand mystery bounty. The 2026 event's first-place prize is projected at approximately US$2,900,000 against a prize pool that will likely exceed US$21 million when bounties are added to the standard distribution.

Day 1 cumulative breakdown

Among the recognisable names confirmed in the Day 1 bag list were Benny Glaser (1,061,000), 24 hours after his $50,000 Poker Players Championship win for US$1,343,764 and his ninth career WSOP gold bracelet; Joshua Remitio (1,314,000); John Gorsuch (1,240,000); and Brandon Allen (1,099,000). The breadth of the bag list is itself the story; the 2024 inaugural Mystery Millions produced a 1,041 top-stack count after the four-day Day 1 close, and the 2026 figure of 23,706 cumulative entries sits well above that pace.

Ciro Gonzalez breaks through with Event #65 win

While Day 1 of the Mystery Millions ran in volume, Event #65, the $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em, concluded Friday with Mexican recreational professional Ciro Gonzalez taking his first WSOP gold bracelet against a 2,617-entry field for US$449,067. Gonzalez, a self-described jewelry maker from Cancun, defeated American Kyle Lin in a short heads-up battle after a winding final table that featured Juan Maceiras leading entering the day. Gonzalez had never recorded a five-figure live cash before this victory; the US$449,067 first-place prize is now the largest single result on his Hendon Mob ledger by a factor of nine.

The Canadian angle came in 483rd place. Quebec native Frederic Normand, the year's first Canadian WSOP gold bracelet winner (Event #21 $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo, US$235,377), entered Day 2 of Event #65 with 284,000 chips and ran his pocket tens into ace-king on a no-improvement board to fall in 483rd for US$3,030. The cash, while small by Normand's 2026 standards, is significant in that it confirms his continued live activity through the back half of the schedule and adds to the cumulative Canadian-flag notable cashes figure that now sits at approximately US$3,101,000 for the 2026 series.

Lance Montgomery leads $10,000 2-7 Championship Day 1

Friday also opened Event #67, the $10,000 2-7 Limit Championship, the WSOP's most-revered single-game lowball event. American mixed-game specialist Lance Montgomery led the 88-survivor bag list at 440,500 chips against a 116-entry field. Notable Day 1 survivors include Ryan Laplante (304,500), Chris Brewer (232,500), Chad Eveslage (225,500), James Obst (219,500), Dan Shak (207,500), Todd Brunson (178,500), and Daniel Negreanu (126,000). Negreanu's appearance in Event #67 marks the Toronto-born seven-time bracelet winner's fourth mixed-game cash attempt of the 2026 series; he has previously bagged Event #44 ($25K Heads-Up, exited round of 16), Event #47 ($25K PLO High Roller, 26th for US$69,531), Event #60 ($50K PPC, eliminated before late reg closed) and Event #64 ($25K PLO/NLH Mixed, seventh for US$152,954).

Other Friday news

Event #66, the $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em, played its Day 2 session down to the final 27 teams (from a Day 1 close of 81 teams of 1,254 total entries). The Tag Team format permits two-to-four-player teams to share a single tournament entry and swap players in and out throughout the level. Day 3 plays Saturday with a US$209,440 first-place prize for the eventual winning team.

Event #68, the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship, plays its Day 2 session Friday. American recreational standout Jessica Vierling led the Day 1 bag list at 865,000 chips; American psychologist and bestselling author Maria Konnikova bagged 790,000 chips; Canadian-American five-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen bagged 620,000 chips. The Ladies Championship has been a longstanding WSOP open event with a US$10 buy-in nominal entry for male players (a practical impossibility in the modern WSOP), with the field of approximately 1,053 entries this year representing the third-largest in event history.

The Canadian summer to date

With Normand's Event #65 cash now official and Negreanu still alive in Event #67, the 2026 series Canadian-flag notable cashes total has approached US$3,101,000. The three gold bracelets and US$2,395,570 in combined first-place prize money is unchanged; the cumulative notable cashes figure now reads approximately US$3,101,000 with Foxen's continuing Ladies Championship Day 2 stack still in play.

What to watch Saturday

Three threads continue Saturday. Event #63 Mystery Millions plays its Day 2 from Jason Jung's 1,343,000-chip lead with roughly 1,800 surviving players. Event #67 $10K 2-7 Championship plays Day 2 with Lance Montgomery leading at 440,500 chips and Negreanu among the 88 returning players. Event #68 Ladies Championship plays Day 2 with Foxen seventh in chips at 620,000 ahead of the bracelet-day field. Event #69, the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller, opens Saturday afternoon, expected to draw approximately 350 entries against a projected US$1.5 million first-place prize.

Ontario players watching from home can follow the live updates on PokerNews, WSOP.com and the PokerGO live stream. The regulated Ontario market overview is on the best poker sites in Ontario page; the WSOP Super Circuit Canada qualifiers operating in August are covered on the GGPoker Ontario page; and the four-week tournament guide is at Ontario poker tournament schedule.

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