The first starting flight of the Main Event hinted that WSOP Paradise is taking the 'Super' in its name seriously. Yesterday saw 869 entries, marking the largest single flight in poker history at a $25,000 buy-in. Thanks to unlimited re-entries, organizers managed to add over a third of the required 2,400 entries needed to meet the gigantic $60 million guarantee.
Top 10 Filled with Familiar Names
At the end of the night, 295 players bagged their chips. Leading was Canadian Leonardo Song-Carrillo, who heads to Day 2A with a stack of 4,485,000. Close behind him was Spaniard Alejandro Ganivet with 4,430,000, and in third place was American Bartley Dowling with 4,400,000. The top 5 were rounded off by Argentine Franco Spitale (4,325,000) and American Sean Suh (4,210,000).
Top 10 Chip Counts after Day 1A:
| Position | Player | Country | Stack |
| 1. | Leonardo Song-Carrillo | Canada | 4,485,000 |
| 2. | Alejandro Ganivet | Spain | 4,430,000 |
| 3. | Bartley Dowling | USA | 4,400,000 |
| 4. | Franco Spitale | Argentina | 4,325,000 |
| 5. | Sean Suh | USA | 4,210,000 |
| 6. | Rodrigo Seiji | Brazil | 3,965,000 |
| 7. | John Barr | USA | 3,950,000 |
| 8. | Ruben Suarez | Venezuela | 3,935,000 |
| 9. | Raoul Kanme | Netherlands | 3,850,000 |
| 10. | Christopher Nguyen | Germany | 3,805,000 |
Main Event Champions, the Mizrachi Clan, and the Unfortunate Title Defender
Phil Hellmuth shared a video yesterday showing several former WSOP Main Event champions who joined the game. Many of them advanced to Day 2A—Chris Moneymaker (2,775,000), current world champion Michael Mizrachi (2,620,000), Hossein Ensan (1,700,000), Ryan Riess (1,300,000), Joe Cada (1,130,000), and Greg Merson (725,000). Along with them, Max Neugebauer, Viktor Blom, and Kristen Foxen also bagged chips, promising more star-studded tables in the coming days in the Bahamas.
CHECK THIS OUT 🤯
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) December 10, 2025
All previous @WSOP Main Event Winners were invited to WSOP Paradise to play the Main Event Champions Invitational with 4 seats to the Super Main Event up for grabs! 🔥
Who was your favorite WSOP Main Event winner? pic.twitter.com/72AzvEr4Ks
Special mention goes to the Mizrachi family clan. Brothers Michael, Robert, Eric, and Donny joined the Super Main Event, along with Michael's son Paul. At the end of the day, reigning world champion Michael had the best stack in the family with 2,620,000, while Eric survived with just half the starting stack (125,000). Robert, Donny, and Paul will need to try their luck in the upcoming flights.
Yinan Zhou, the first champion of the 2024 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event, was less fortunate. The title defender burned two bullets on Day 1A, failing to bag any chips. The bustout list includes GPI Player of the Year leader Jesse Lonis, Jean-Robert Bellande, Brandon Steven, Faraz Jaka, David Jackson, Roman Hrabec, and Shaun Deeb.
Negreanu's Six-Bullet Stint in Five Hours
Daniel Negreanu deserves a special mention today. He began the day in the $100,000 Triton Main Event, where he ended in 57th place, far from the money. There was no lack of a 'backup plan' — he walked a few meters to the Super Main Event tables at 6:00 PM local time, kicking off a bullet spree never seen before at WSOP Paradise.
The first bullet was gone in ten minutes. The second ended with a jam into Bryce Yockey's aces with 15 big blinds, and the third when his sevens ran into Casey Hatmaker's nines. The fourth and fifth buy-ins quickly followed — one saw Negreanu losing with queen-high to a flopped full house. Thanks to unlimited re-entries, he repeatedly returned to the cashier. Within five hours, he fired six $25,000 bullets between 6:00 PM and 10:45 PM, totaling $150,000.
😅 As Day 1A of the Super Main Event bag, 🇨🇦@RealKidPoker has fired his 6th bullet into the event. He is in the Super Main Event for $150,000!
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 11, 2025
➡️ Follow for updates on the WSOP+ app! pic.twitter.com/1E1TPs6K9I
The sixth bullet turned out to be the 'golden' one. Negreanu quickly doubled up and ended Day 1A with a stack of 1,105,000. Although below the average (about 1.47 million), it still represents a comfortable 44 big blinds heading into Day 2A. Negreanu openly admits that he isn't a fan of unlimited re-entries, but if they're in the rules, he'll use them — and use them to the fullest he did.
Today, Atlantis Resort hosts Day 1B, following the same schedule as the opening flight — starting at noon local time with ten hour-long levels. Then Days 1C and 1D will follow over the weekend. With this momentum, it looks like WSOP Paradise has a real shot at not only meeting but potentially exceeding the legendary $60,000,000 guarantee.
Sources – WSOP, PokerNews, IG, X, WSOP+
