2025 WSOP Day 1: The Wait Is Over; Two Events Kick Off the Series
Table Of Contents
- Day 1a of the Mystery Millions Draws in 1,394 Entrants; Brian Yoon Second in Chips
- Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
- Money Bubble Bursts in the $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em Event
- Event #2: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em Event Top 10 Chip Counts
- PokerNews Deepstack Challenge Crowns Its First Winners
- What's Happening on Day 2 of the 2025 WSOP?
It feels like only yesterday since the last person out of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas switched off the lights and brought the curtain down on the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP), but it's actually been 315 days! Thankfully, the wait is finally over, and the 2025 WSOP has exploded into action. Until July 16, PokerNews will provide you with live updates from all 100 bracelet-awarding events, and a daily recap of the action.
As is tradition, the 25K Fantasy Draft kicked off proceedings in Las Vegas. A record 24 teams each ponied up $25,000 in exchange for a virtual $200 that they could spend on a squad of eight players. Team captains placed bid for players, hoping to cheaply acquire them, but rival captains could increase the bid in attempt to wrestle that player from their grasp. Drafted players earn points based on their finishing positions in bracelet events during the WSOP.
Jeremy Ausmus was the most expensive player of the 25K Fantasy Draft 2025, with Team DPMD paying a whopping $141. Paying such a vast sum left Team DPMD low on funds for future rounds, yet they still managed to acquire the services of some stellar talent, including Seth Davies, man of the moment Stephen Song, and Boris Angelov.
Other players who eventually sold for three figures were Scott Seiver ($125 to Team Frog Poison) and Daniel Negreanu ($108 to Team Negreanu). Perennial Player of the Year chaser Shaun Deeb was drafted by Team Phenom for $99 despite the six-time bracelet winner telling PokerNews that he isn't amped up for this year's series.
You can check out the full coverage of the 25K Fantasy Draft 2025, including the full team rosters, right here.
Bookmark this page! All you need to know about the 2025 WSOP is here.
Day 1a of the Mystery Millions Draws in 1,394 Entrants; Brian Yoon Second in Chips
Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions got the 2025 WSOP underway on May 27. The first of five scheduled flights drew in 1,394 entrants, but only 70 of those starters progressed to Day 2 at the first time of asking.
Konstantin Held bagged up the overnight chip lead, finishing the night with a tournament-leading 2,485,000 chips. Held already has a bracelet to his name, having won the $500 Mini Main Event online at GGpoker in 2024. That result saw Held bank a cool $582,945 in prize money.
Two other players ended their night trying to figure out how to cram more than two million chips into their overnight bags. Brian Yoon, a five-time bracelet winner, and Narcis-Gabriel Nedelcu, finished Day 1a with 2,410,000 and 2,335,000 chips, respectively.
Other players safely through to Day 2 include Ryan Otto (1,780,000), Georgios Sotiropoulos (940,000), Scott Bohlman (795,000), Daniel Charlton (640,000), reigning champion Malcolm Trayner (545,000), and Kevin Eyster (445,000).
Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Konstantin Held | Germany | 2,485,000 | 62 |
| 2 | Brian Yoon | United States | 2,410,000 | 60 |
| 3 | Narcis Nedelcu | Romania | 2,335,000 | 58 |
| 4 | Zdenek Zizka | Czech Republic | 1,835,000 | 46 |
| 5 | Ryan Otto | Australia | 1,780,000 | 45 |
| 6 | Sohale Khalili | United States | 1,755,000 | 44 |
| 7 | Leo Lombardozzi | France | 1,740,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Daniel Pearlman | United States | 1,735,000 | 43 |
| 9 | Jeffrey Extor | United States | 1,655,000 | 41 |
| 10 | Joe Gardenhire | United States | 1,425,000 | 36 |
As with all events with multiple Day 1s at the 2025 WSOP, PokerNews' hand-for-hand coverage begins on Day 2. However, you can still check out social media and MyPlayers updates, chip counts, and seat draws on the event's live reporting pages and via the WSOP+ App.
Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time on May 28. Twelve levels are scheduled, with surviving players progressing to Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 1.
Money Bubble Bursts in the $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em Event
Event #2: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em was the only other bracelet-awarding event on Day 1 of the 2025 WSOP. It attracted a field of 914 players, who created a $402,617 prize pool. Of that sum, $64,369 and the first piece of WSOP hardware will go to the eventual winner.
Day 2 will see 138 players return to the action, with Shaun Colquhoun leading the way with 895,000 chips. If Colquhoun's name strikes a bell, it could be because he finished fourth in this very event at the 2022 WSOP. He followed up that final table with a tenth-place finish in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super Bounty later in the same series.
Colquhoun leads from Andrew Vodinh (686,000), with John Vournas (593,000) rounding out the podium.
Several PokerNews employees have punched their Day 2 tickets. Claudio Elizalde (360,000) is the best placed of them, with the one and only Connor Richards (351,000) also well-positioned. Joseph Berg (174,000), Chad Holloway (83,000), Brett Slezak (21,000), and Myles Phago (12,000) are the others flying the PokerNews flag. You may recall Holloway triumphed in this event in 2013; could he become a two-time bracelet winner?
Event #2: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em Event Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Colquhoun | United States | 895,000 | 149 |
| 2 | Andrew Vodinh | United States | 686,000 | 114 |
| 3 | John Vournas | United States | 593,000 | 98 |
| 4 | Rick Muniz | United States | 515,000 | 85 |
| 5 | Konstantinos Polin | United States | 507,000 | 84 |
| 6 | Keegan Mccann | United States | 489,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Miguel Cardenas | United States | 460,000 | 76 |
| 8 | Keith Williams | United States | 394,000 | 65 |
| 9 | Angelo Perez | United States | 385,000 | 64 |
| 10 | Austin Hortaleza | United States | 365,000 | 60 |
Day 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. local time on May 28, with play only ending once the event has a champion.
PokerNews Deepstack Challenge Crowns Its First Winners
In case you missed it, proceedings for the 2025 PokerNews Deepstack Challenge also got underway at the WSOP, crowning its first three champions.
The leaderboard contest, which will send 50 players to the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship bracelet event, is currently being led by Mark Selley, who took down the 1 p.m. $250 Daily Deepstack. The British firefighter picked up his biggest cash, besting the 143-entry field for $7,126.
Brazil's Adauto Viana Junior reigned supreme in the $400 tournament, banking $5,414 as the last player standing from the 50 entries. Jeremy Calverley, who clinched victory in the $200 event for $5,288, rounded out the trio of winners.
What's Happening on Day 2 of the 2025 WSOP?
Day 2 of 2025 takes place on May 28, and four events are taking place at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Day 1b of Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions kicks things off at 10:00 a.m. local time and should see another bumper crowd turn out.
At 1:00 p.m. local time, Day 2 of Event #2: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em shuffles up and deals. The 138 surviving players return to their seats and battle it out until only one player has all of the chips in play. Whomever that player is, they will become the first bracelet winner of the 2025 WSOP.
Two new events begin on May 28. At 12:00 p.m. local time, Event #3: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em begins. Last year, Brent Hart outlasted 659 opponents to secure the first bracelet of his career and a career-best $660,284 payday.
Two hours later at 2:00 p.m. local time, the first non-hold'em tournament of the 2025 WSOP commences. Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better is a three-day event that should see upwards of 900 entrants if past years are anything to go by.
James Chen is the reigning champion, having navigated through a 928-strong field in 2024. Chen walked away with $209,350.
Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the 2025 World Series of Poker as we bring you all the action, as it happens, from the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
