2025 WSOP Day 2: First of 100 Bracelets Awarded; Keokham Wins the Industry Employees Event

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May 29, 2025 6 min read Last updated Jun 03, 2025

It is a case of one down, 99 to go here at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, as the first bracelet of the summer has been won. Phovieng Keokham came out on top in Event #2: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em and helped himself to a $64,369 prize.

The tournament drew a 914-strong crowd, which created a $402,617 prize pool that the top 138 finishers shared. PokerNews' Claudio Elizalde was among the in-the-money players, reaching the final three tables before busting in 22nd place.

Our very own Connor Richards navigated to the final table, eventually falling in seventh for $8,301.

You can relive the event's action right here.

$25K Fantasy Draft Pick and Team Owner Didier Guerin Bags Big on Day 1b of the Mystery Millions

Another 1,833 players entered Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions on Day 1b, but only 85 of them remained after the 22nd level concluded. Veerachai Vongxaiburana bagged up the largest stack of the night and the tournament so far, turning his 40,000 starting stack into 2,975,000.

Australia's Didier Guerin owns Team Australia in the 25K Fantasy Draft. He not only paid $25,000 to enter a team but also put his money where his mouth is and drafted himself for a potential bargain $1. Guerin looks set to earn his own team some valuable points after finishing Day 1b of this event with 1,495,000 chips, enough for fifth place on the Day 1b leaderboard.

Others who made it safely to Day 2 include two-time bracelet winner Jason Dewitt (2,000,000), Samuel Bernabeu (1,230,000), and Martin Zamani (1,075,000), who all finished the night with a seven-figure stack.

William Kopp (955,000), Lok Chan (905,000), and AP Garza (820,000), Evan Sandberg (620,000), George Wolff (540,000), Ray Henson (245,000), and reigning WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Tamayo (200,000) are just some of the other stellar names through to Day 2.

Day 1c shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time on May 29, with PokerNews' traditional live updates commencing from Day 2 on June 1.

Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts

Victoria Livschitz Bags a Top 10 Stack in the $5,000 NLHE 8-Max

Event #3: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em burst into life on May 28, with 558 players entering the mix. After the completion of ten levels, only 205 players had chips requiring bagging and tagging.

Jake Schwartz is the man to catch on Day 2, having finished with a 538,000 stack, which is the equivalent of 215 big blinds. Schwartz has $4.7 million in live tournament cashes, but a WSOP bracelet continues eluding him. After starting this event on fire, perhaps Schwartz's long wait for some WSOP hardware will end?

Schwartz wasn't the only player off to an impressive start because Nicholas Go (492,500) and Thomas Cazayous (462,000) also ended Day 1 with large stacks. As did Pavlin Karakikov (421,500) and Shawn Daniels (402,000), who round out the top five positions on the overnight leaderboard.

High Roller regular Victoria Livschitz (346,000) ended her Day 1 endeavors with a top 10 stack. The Ukraine-born Montana resident has almost $2.4 million in live cashes but, like Schwartz, is still hunting for her first gold bracelet. She came close to winning some poker gold in 2021, finishing 17th in the $1,000 Ladies Championship.

The chunky $5,000 buy-in resulted in a stellar crowd descending on the casino, and several top-tier grinders punched their Day 2 tickets at the first time of asking. Renji Mao (278,500), Mustapha Kanit (244,000), Simone Andrian (210,000), Dong Chen (203,000), Christopher Brewer (197,000), Ren Lin (190,000), and Toby Lewis (183,500) all return in the top 40.

Lower down the counts but certainly not out of contention are such luminaries as Patrick Leonard (145,000), Dylan Linde (138,000), Jeremy Ausmus (110,000), Adam Friedman (101,500), and Chance Kornuth (91,000).

Day 2 starts at 12:00 p.m. local time on May 29, with late registration open for the first two 60-minute levels. Join PokerNews then for all the updates from this star-studded event.

Event #3: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Jon Kyte Flies High on Day 1 of the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo

The first non-Hold'em event of the 2025 WSOP got off to a flying start with 910 players buying into Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. After 15 levels, the field was reduced to a more manageable 224 players, with a certain Norwegian star, Jon Kyte, flying high.

Kyte came agonisingly close to winning a WSOP bracelet last year, finishing second in the $2,500 Omaha 8/Stud 8 or Better mixed event. Kyte's love of O8 showed through Day 1 of this event, and he finished with only 2,000 fewer chips than chip leader David Shmuel (249,000). The Norwegian comes into the 2025 WSOP full of confidence, having won an event in Monte-Carlo for €340,000 in late April.

Only a handful of chips separate Shmuel and Kyte from the rest of the top ten, such is how split-pot games tend to pan out. Alex Livingston (215,000) lurks just outside the top ten, with Mike Matusow (172,000), Dylan Smith (170,000), online phenom Denis Strebkov (161,000), Brad Owen (154,000), Yueqi Zhu (153,000), and "Big" Chris Hunichen (141,000) bagging up enough chip to return in the top 50 places.

25K Fantasy Draft managers will be keeping a close eye on David Funkhouser (137,000), Yuval Bronshtein (132,000), Christopher Vitch (125,000), Robert Mizrachi (104,000), Brad Ruben (95,000), and Scott Seiver (50,000) as this event progresses.

Day 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. local time on May 29, and PokerNews will be on the tournament floor bringing you all the Omaha Hi-Lo updates you can handle.

Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

What's Happening on Day 3 of the 2025 WSOP?

Day 3 of the 2025 WSOP is another busy day – get used to us saying that – with five events taking place across May 29. Players wishing to enter Day 1c of Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions need to be up and at 'em at 10:00 a.m. Remember that PokerNews' traditional coverage of this event starts from Day 2 on June 1.

Day 2 of Event #3: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em commences at 12:00 p.m. local time, with 205 players returning to their seats. That number should rise because late registration remains open for the first two levels of the day.

An hour later, Day 2 of Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better shuffles up and deals.

That takes care of the in-play events, but what about the new tournaments starting on Day 3 of the 2025 WSOP?

Event #5: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha gets underway at 12:00 p.m. local time. This is only the second time this event has run, having made its debut in 2024. On that occasion, Bryce Yockey got his hands on the bracelet and $606,654 after outlasting 732 opponents.

The first Stud event of the series, Event #6: $500 Seven Card Stud, begins at 2:00 p.m. local time. British pro Richard "Chufty" Ashby, a stud specialist, is the reigning champion. Ashby won this event in 2010 and again in 2024. Will he enter in 2025 to defend his title?

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.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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• Tags $25K Fantasy Adam Friedman Alex Livingston Brad Owen Brad Ruben Connor Richards Jeremy Ausmus Dylan Linde Jake Schwartz Jason Dewitt Mike Matusow Mustapha Kanit Patrick Leonard Ray Henson World Series of Poker WSOP Victoria Livschitz Yuval Bronshtein
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