Carlos Leiva wasn’t planning on playing Event #42: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the 2025 World Series of Poker. But on a whim, and with some encouragement from his fellow Argentines, he jumped in. Three days later, he found himself posing for photos with his first gold bracelet and $237,852 in prize money.
The tournament drew a massive 1,932 entries, creating a $1,700,160 prize pool and delivering the kind of wild, four-card action PLO fans have come to expect. Leiva entered the final day as chip leader and never looked back. Runner up, Hooman Nikzad did his best to close that gap at several phases of the final table, but in the end, he couldn’t gain the momentum to overtake Leiva.
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Upon winning his first bracelet, Leiva had this to say about how he felt (translated from Spanish):
“I feel good, of course, I feel good. I’m surprised still. I’m so happy to be here with my friends who supported me on the rail.”
When asked about what it felt like to come into the day with the chip lead, Leiva said nerves were more of an issue than they would have been if he had been on a short stack; he felt he had more to lose with such a lead. He didn't let himself down, winning every chip in play bit by bit and pot by pot.
Carlos Leiva
This win marks Leiva’s second biggest career score, but he says it won’t change any of the plans for the summer. He did say that it takes the pressure off and allows him to fire the rest of the summer with full confidence.
Typically, No-Limit Hold’em is Leiva’s game of choice, but he played this event on a whim. He credits the support of his friends and fellow Argentines in helping him succeed along the way. Several of those on his rail skipped events they planned on playing to be there for their compatriot’s deep run. Leiva made mention that those who make the pilgrimage to the WSOP are a tight-knit community quick to root for each other.
Day 3 Action
Only seven hopefuls battled through to Day 3 and when they returned, Carlos Leiva was the only competitor with over a hundred big blinds. Although Brian McKain bringing up the rear 25 big binds deep meant it was still anyone’s game.
Florian Ribouchon tried to run a bluff that Leiva picked up, distancing himself even further from the field with more than half the chips in play. Ribouchon moved significantly down in the counts after that hand and, ultimately, Dylan Weisman’s aces held over his kings double-suited to dispatch him in 7th.
With all the short stacks close in the counts, it was Joshua Palmer who was next to fall at the hands of the chip leader. This allowed Leiva to return from the first break of the day with nearly four times what the second place stack had.
Kyle Rosnes was guaranteed a career high score coming into the day and showed relief at finding two big ladders but ultimately he lost the last of his chips, forced all in, after losing a big pot.
A previous champion of this event, in the form of Weisman, played a surgical game employing limps from various positions to bob and weave through the ICM implications of the final table. In the end, Weisman had his aces cracked by the danglers of Nikzad’s kings.
Dylan Weisman
A short-stacked McKain fought valiantly, doubling several times in three-handed play to stay in contention. McKain had come into the day in pain, suffering from some sort of ailment but despite trying his best, his set of threes was unable to improve to a boat against the flopped straight of Leiva.
With a nearly 2:1 chip advantage going to Leiva, heads-up was a short affair that saw him win a series of small pots before getting it in against Nikzad’s straight draw and flush draw. Nikzad caught a straight but with a higher connecting card, Leiva made a superior straight to win the tournament and send his rail into an uproar.
