The busiest day of the 2026 PokerStars Open Philadelphia series has come to a close, as the $1,100 Main Event gets closer to surpassing the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The third flight of the week attracted 217 entries at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, bringing the overall total to 483. Of those playing on Day 1c, just 28 found a bag to return on Sunday, March 22. That leaves 62 players in the money so far, with one last flight to complete the Day 2 draw on Saturday, March 21.
Leading the way through this flight was Rajath Tangam, who became the first player in the tournament to crack the seven figure chip mark while ammassing 1,100,000. That is good for the overall lead after three days of action, as the New Jersey native looks to add a big score to his resume here in Philadelphia.
Tangam bagged a big lead over David Kinane, who finished in second spot after winning the final hand of the night to burst the money bubble.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Rajath TangamUnited States1,100,000183
2David KinaneUnited States724,000121
3Thilbaud MartinFrance721,000120
4Stephen MillerUnited States489,00082
5Scott FetterhoffUnited States431,00072
6Arlie ShabanCanada427,00071
7Michael SciuccoUnited States418,00070
8Craig GouldUnited States397,00066
9Grant WangUnited States362,00060
10Erald HaziziUnited States357,00060
Arlie Shaban
Day 1c Action
Among the leaders from Day 1c was PokerStars Ambassador Arlie Shaban (427,000), who steadily built his way to sixth place when play concluded. The Canadian now joins fellow Team Pro Jennifer Shahade in the money, looking to make a deep run on Day 2.
The leaderboard also includes Stephen Miller (489,000), who cracked aces to stay alive on the bubble in a hand that saw Martin Ryan (87,000) also stay alive. Edric Nicoli (168,000) improbably finished that hand in third place despite holding pocket aces, but he too bagged up for the final day.
The final hand of the night saw Aaron Fischer shove from the small blind, running into Kinane’s aces to finish outside of the money.
That left the remaining 28 players advancing to action on Sunday, March 22, where the full field will combine to play down to a champion.
PokerStars Open Philadelphia Main Event Trophy
$1,100 Main Event Remaining Schedule
DateDayTime
Mar. 21Day 1d10:15 a.m.
Mar. 22Day 211:15 a.m.
One last flight remains on the schedule, as Day 1d will begin at 11:15 a.m. local time on Saturday, March 21. Players will sit down with 40,000 chips, and blinds kick off once again at 100/100 along with a 100 big blind ante.
All levels are 40 minutes in duration, with breaks in play occurring after every three levels are completed. The schedule also includes a dinner break of 40 minutes at the end of Level 9.
The day continues until the final 12.5% of the field remains, when they will fill their bags for the final day. The last chance for players to join the action will be the start of Level 13, when late registration closes for the final time this week.
The final field will then combine on Sunday, with all players in the money ready to battle until the PokerStars trophy is awarded.
Action continues through the weekend at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and PokerNews will have you covered every step of the way, so don’t miss a moment from this exciting $1,100 Main Event.