2025 WSOP Day 7: Stephen Chidwick is Crushing the $25K PLO/NLH

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Jun 03, 2025 9 min read

The first week of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas has flown by, and time is showing no signs of slowing down. If anything, it's speeding up with several bracelet events filling the vast tournament areas morning, noon, and night.

Two bracelets were awarded on Day 7 of the 2025 WSOP. Michael Wilklow got his hands on the first of them, taking down Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions for a cool $1 million. Wilklow defeated Michael Acevedo heads-up, denying the Costa Rican what would have been his first piece of WSOP hardware. However, Acevedo did bank a $563,350 consolation prize.

Kenneth Kim won the second bracelet of the night in Event #10: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack. The tournament drew in 6,090 entrants, who were whittled down to only 301 on Day 1. Kim came out on top of that massive field and clinched the $318,842 top prize, Kim's second-largest haul and his best WSOP score.

Stars Turn Out for $25K PLO/NLH High Roller

The inaugural $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed drew in 178 of the world's best poker players, but only 70 navigated to Day 2. British superstar Stephen Chidwick bagged the overnight chip lead, his 1,136,000 stack is worth 227 big blinds on the second day's play.

Chidwick doubled through Jesse Lonis before building steadily throughout the rest of the day. The two-time bracelet winner is the only player returning with a seven-figure stack. He'll fancy his chance of not only cashing in Event #14 but going all the way, taking down the tournament, and clinching his third gold bracelet.

Jared Bleznick (975,000) is Chidwick's nearest rival in the chip counts, followed by Corel Theuma (894,000), Shaun Deeb (893,000), and Laszlo Bujtas (808,000).

Others through to the second day of this high roller include Bryce Yockey (808,000), Ben Tollerene (668,000), Dan Shak (476,000), Jeremy Ausmus (458,000), Nick Schulman (309,000), Joao Simao (279,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (212,000), Chance Kornuth (208,000), and Erik Seidel (50,000).

More elite names fell by the wayside than made it through the night. Isaac Haxton, Chris Brewer, Nacho Barbero, Josh Arieh, and Phil Ivey among them. Ivey is still uncharacteristically without an in-the-money finish so far at the 2025 WSOP.

Play resumes at noon on June 3, and ten more levels are planned. The money bubble will pop on Day 2, so stay tuned to PokerNews to see who makes it through to the final day of this massive event.

Event #14: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts

$10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship Is Down to Five Players

Only five players remain in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, including chip leader Viktor Blom and six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu. All eyes will be on Blom and Negreanu, and rightly so, because they are Goliaths of the poker world.

Blom is one of three players at the final table yet to win a bracelet. Hunter McClelland and Ofir Mor are the others. The Swedish high-stakes specialist returns to the tables with 4,020,000 chips with Ryan Bambrick (3,250,000) and Negreau (3,205,000) around four big blinds behind.

McClelland (1,300,000) and Mor (1,190,000) both have sub-ten big blind stacks and plenty of work ahead of them on Day 3 if they are to drag themselves back into contention.

One of these five players will walk away with $470,473, but it is the all-important bracelet that they all have an eye on; now it is within touching distance. Will it be the Blom and Negreanu show, or will one of the other three players cause an upset? Find out from 2:00 p.m. local time on June 3.

_{PokerGO is streaming this event's finale from 3:00 p.m. local time}

Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Chip Counts

$10,000 Mystery Bounty Is Down to Five Players; James Mendoza Leads

Like the Omaha Hi-Low Championship, Event #11: $10,000 Mystery Bounty is also down to only five players going into its final day. James Mendoza (10,620,000) holds a commanding lead going into Day 3 as he hunts his first bracelet.

Having the chip lead gives you an advantage at the business end of a poker tournament, but especially so in this event because a $250,000 mystery bounty is still in play. Being the chip leader means Mendoza can bully his way to potentially winning that chunky payout.

Alejandro Peinado (6,900,000) and Yosef Fox (4,700,000) round out the podium places, with Day 1 chip leader Richard Green (4,600,000) and Patrick Kennedy (4,250,000) completing the round up.

Cards are back in the air from noon on June 3, so return to PokerNews then to see which of these five players will win their first bracelet and which look entrants bag a $250,000 bounty prize.

Event #11: $10,000 Mystery Bounty Day 2 Chip Counts

Han Liu Holds Onto the Chip Lead in the $1,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Draw

Han Liu bagged the chip lead on Day 1 of Event #12: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw and stayed top of the pile after Day 2 concluded. Liu now enters Day 3 hoping to keep up that trend, which would mean he becomes a WSOP champion and $138,080 richer than a few days ago.

While Liu searches for his maiden bracelet, a victory for Brad Ruben would take his bracelet haul to five. Ruben returns with 3,520,000 chips.

Two Chinese players, Jun Weng (2,280,000) and Yueqi Zhu (1,915,000) occupy third and fourth spot in the chip counts, with five-time bracelet winner Brian Yoon (1,425,000) bringing up the rear. However, Yoon's stack is worth 57 big blinds, so being the shortest stack on Day 3 is nowhere near as bad as it sounds.

Day 3 starts at noon local time on June 3. Return to PokerNews at that time and see if Liu can go all the way and lead from start to finish.

Event #12: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Chip Counts

Ishizu Pipped to the Post On Day 1 of the $1,500 NLHE 6-Max

Japan's Tetsuma Ishizu thought he'd bagged the Day 1 chip lead in Event #13: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em having bagged 985,000 chips, but Forrest Blackwelder pipped him to the post by a mere 2,000 chips.

Ishizu cashed in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Secret Bounty event at the 2023 WSOP for what was a career-best $24,504 score. Going deep in this event should blow that sum clean out of the water.

Only 174 of the 2,354 starters progressed to Day 2 at the first time of asking. Belgian duo Johan Schumacher (833,000) and Thomas Boivin (788,000) bagged top ten stacks, while Sandeep Pulusani (656,000), Alexandros Kolonias (587,000), and David Funkhouser (531,000) remain in contention to add to their bracelet collections.

Lower down the counts but still with a genuine chance of glory are Uri Reichenstein (490,000), Tristan Wade (461,000), Jeremy Becker (332,000), Eric Baldwin (292,000), Martin Kabrhel (278,000), Brock Wilson (254,000), and Joe McKeehen (151,000).

The surviving players are due back in their seats from 11:00 a.m. local time on June 3.

Event #13: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts

Obst Bags Biggest Stack as $1,500 Mixed PLO8 Sets Attendance Record

Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Mixed set a new attendance record for this format, with 1,239 players buying in before late registration slammed shut. After 15 levels of split-pot action, oly 264 had chips requiring bagging and tagging, and nobody had more betting tokens than Australia's James Obst (481,000).

Obst arrived fashionably late, around four hours into the day, and wasted no time in building his stack. The two-time WSOP champion and 25K Fantasy Draft pick will be hopeful he can build on his Day 1 momentum and mount a serious charge for bracelet number three.

Benjamin Miner (467,500) also enjoyed a productive day at the tables, finishing in second place, with Ryan Laplante (388,500) claiming third place on the overnight chip counts.

The mixed format attracted household names in droves, with plenty punching their Day 2 tickets. Jonathan Shoreman (347,000), Sammy Farha (338,500), David Prociak (298,000), Rep Porter (271,500), Jason Daly (255,500), and Calvin Anderson (253,000) all return to the fight with a top 20 stack.

Other Day 1 survivors include Scott Clements (232,000), Patrick Leonard (189,500), Chris Vitch (185,500), Tyler Brown (167,500), Bruno Furth (165,000), Max Pescatori (150,000), Benny Glaser (133,500), Jeff Madsen (131,500), and Robert Mizrachi (113,000 among others.

These players will restart at 1:00 p.m. local time, and they plan to play ten 60-minute levels.

Event #15: $1,500 Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts

What's Happening on Day 8 of the 2025 WSOP?

Nine events are scheduled on Day 8 of the 2025 WSOP, making it the busiest day yet. Thousands of players will descend on the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas on June 3. Most will return to their hotel rooms disappointed, but some will be elated and be in with a shot of becoming a WSOP bracelet winner.

Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship will crown its worthy champion. Viktor Blom and Daniel Negreanu are among the final five, making the PokerGO stream a must-watch. Cards are in the air from 2:00 p.m. local time, with the card-up stream starting an hour later.

We will also see Event #11: $10,000 Mystery Bounty conclude, award its bracelet and a $729,333 top prize. Only five players remain and noe of them have a bracelet among their poker accolades. Discover who wins this event from noon local time.

A third bracelet will be dished out to whoever comes out on top in Event #12: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. Han Liu bagged the chip lead on Day 1 and again on Day 2. Can he ride his form to a bracelet-winning finish? Find out from noon local time.

Day 2 of Event #13: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em shuffles up and deals at 11:00 a.m. local time, with 174 returning to the action. The players are already in the money, but they'll all have their eye on the $414,950 top prize. By the time this day ends, we should have a clearer picture of who will take the event down.

The inaugural Event #14: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed event returns at noon local time to play out its Day 2. This is the tournament to tune into if you ever wanted to see your poker heroes in action because the returning field of 70 reads like a who's who of the poker world.

Players who reached Day 2 of Event #15: $1,500 Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better have a 1:00 p.m. local time start. The bumper crowd of 1,239 was cut to only 264 on Day 1 and will be vastly reduced again today. Find out who makes the cut via our live reporting pages.

Three more events start on June 3, starting with Event #16: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack at 10:00 a.m. local time. Alex Manzano is the reigning champion, having left 2,401 opponents in his wake on his way to scooping $161,846 in 2024. Manzano described his victory as "something beautiful," and we have to agree.

Event #17: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em gets underway at noon local time, and it should attract a crowd of around 1,500 entrants, if 2024's turnout is anything to go by. Longshoreman Jared Kingery came out on top last year, outlasting 1,560 opponents and banking $410,359 for his victory.

Poker's big guns will be out in force from 2:00 p.m. local time when Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship kicks off. The best mixed game players on the planet will showcase their skills in this three-day event, hoping to following in Robert Mizrachi's footsteps. Mizrachi claimed his fifth bracelet and $333,045 in this event in 2024.

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 Alexandros Kolonias Ben Tollerene Benjamin Miner Benny Glaser Brad Ruben Brian Yoon Bruno Furth Chance Kornuth Erik Seidel Joao Simao Joe McKeehen Isaac Haxton Patrick Leonard Phil Ivey Daniel Negreanu Stephen Chidwick Viktor Blom Yuri Dzivielevski WSOP25
• Related Players Daniel NegreanuPhil IveyErik SeidelIsaac HaxtonChance KornuthViktor Blom