Day 1a of the Bar Poker Open 2026 Florida World Championship attracted 227 entries at the Palm Beach Kennel Club Poker Room. A total of 23 entries were permitted to advance to Day 2 as players continue their chase of the $100,000 estimated prize pool. Bryan Ducharme (920,000) finished Day 1a as the chip leader.

J.P. Terras (615,000) and David Short (599,000) round out the top three finishers for the opening flight.

Top Ten Chip Counts

Ducharme took some time after bagging as Day 1a chip leader to talk to PokerNews about his journey to the top of the leaderboard.

"It was a rough day at first. I was grinding most of the day," Ducharme said. "I just tried to play my game."

Ducharme's approach paid off, as he began to catapult up the standings when he hit a set to crack the pocket jacks of his opponent. This was a launching pad for Ducharme, who would go on to bag the biggest stack of the remaining 23 players.

"It hasn't hit me at all," Ducharme said. "We'll see what happens on Monday." 


An estimated 23 different poker leagues were present on Day 1a, notably the No Limit Pub Poker Tour, which had the largest contingency of any group. The league got its start in 2006 with co-owners Jimmy Rivers and Carl Pipitone in Jupiter, Florida. The league has since grown to include 13 regions and over 50,000 players since that time.

Players will have one last chance to qualify for Day 2 with flight Day 1b on Sunday, March 8, beginning at 11 a.m. local time. The remaining players will convene for Day 2 on March 9 at 11 a.m.

Stay tuned here at PokerNews for updates on Day 1b and beyond at the Bar Poker Open 2026 Florida World Championship.