Ian Johns Slays 'Isildur1' to Win WSOP Limit Hold'em Championship for a Second Time

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Event #41: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship here at the 2025 World Series of Poker, hosted by Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas, was a reminder that a game of days past still attracts quite the eclectic mix of competitors. A field that was modest in size (118 entries) but had no shortage of accolades saw Ian Johns hold up the gold bracelet. This is the second time Johns has won this very event, and his third Limit Hold’em title at the WSOP.
With a total prize pool of $1,097,400, the first-place reward of $282,455 was quite the treasure chest to battle for. Though, for this lineup, the bracelet and adding to their legacy may have carried more weight than the purse itself. Johns denied Viktor Blom of his maiden bracelet in heads-up play. This marks the Swedish online legend's first runner-up finish for a bracelet and it appeared he had a good chance, as he entered the day with the chip lead but his surgical opponent entered heads up with the lead and never relinquished it.

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Final Table Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ian Johns | United States | $282,455 |
2 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | $188,295 |
3 | Anthony Zinno | United States | $130,447 |
4 | Pedro Neves | Portugal | $92,774 |
5 | Ryan Bambrick | United States | $67,782 |
6 | Max Hoffman | United States | $50,915 |
7 | David Lieberman | United States | $39,349 |
8 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | $31,316 |
9 | Scott Bohlman | United States | $25,687 |
Winner's Reaction
Johns won his first bracelet in a $3,000 Limit Hold’em Event ($291,755) in 2006 and ten years after that he won two bracelets in the summer of 2016, defeating tough fields in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E ($291,755) and the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship ($290,635). Fast forward to 2025 and he’s done it again.
When asked about what it felt like to win this prestigious event a second time, this is what he had to say:
“The satisfaction of getting it done and knowing that I can come here and be competitive over so many years, just feels really good.”
With three titles in Limit Hold’em, PokerNews asked Johns how his journey with the game began:
“When I was 18 I started playing Limit Hold’em a lot online, I just became obsessed with that game and that game only – studied forums, played a gazillions of hands, playing eight tables – like for years and years. And then when I moved on to live play I [continued] to play a lot.”
Needless to say, Johns played with an intense confidence, maintaining a stack well capable of winning throughout the tournament by navigating four streets. Johns sifted through a field of end bosses, as the final table had a collective 19 bracelets amongst them, including Daniel Negreanu vying for his eighth and Anthony Zinno seeking his sixth.
Day 3 Action
Nine players returned for Day 3 of the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, but Scott Bohlman, with just three big bets when he came back at the table, knew he had to take risks to get back in contention for the WSOP bracelet. Fifteen minutes after the restart, he picked up aces against Max Hoffman’s flush draw, hoping for a double-up. But Hoffman completed his flush on the turn, eliminating Bohlman in ninth place for $25,687.
With Bohlman gone, Daniel Negreanu became the shortest stack. He saw his stack dwindle during the first hands of the final table and eventually moved all-in against David Lieberman, who completed a flush on the river to end Negreanu’s deep run in 8th place for $31,316.
Lieberman’s momentum, however, stopped after that elimination. Despite being very active at the table, he lost more small pots than he won, like in a hand where he missed a straight against Anthony Zinno. Down to just 25,000, Lieberman was forced all-in from the big blind on the next hand. His jack-deuce couldn’t crack Hoffman’s pocket nines, and Lieberman exited in seventh place for $39,349.
Zinno, meanwhile, continued to build his stack, climbing close to the 2,000,000 chip mark before the first break of the day. Ryan Bambrick, who began the day second in chips, had the opposite trajectory, watching his stack slowly decrease. Zinno and Pedro Neves teamed up to eliminate him in fifth place for $67,783, just minutes after Hoffman’s ace-queen was dominated by Neves’ ace-king, sending him out in sixth place for $50,915.
With just four players remaining, the clock was paused and the field was sent on an early 60-minute dinner break to prepare the feature table for streaming. Pedro Neves, the shortest stack at the time, managed to chip up little by little after the break. However, despite his efforts, the 2024 WSOP Monster Stack champion couldn’t close the gap on his three opponents and was ultimately eliminated in 4th place for $92,774.
Three-handed play then stretched for over three hours, during which the chip lead changed hands multiple times. Anthony Zinno was the first to cross the three-million chip mark, but Viktor “Isildur1” Blom came back, followed by Ian Johns, who held more chips than both of his opponents combined by the next break.
The biggest downfall of this phase was suffered by Zinno, who went from chip leader to short stack. He managed to double up once with a lucky straight, but was eliminated shortly after in third place for $130,447 by the eventual champion.

Even though all eyes were on Blom and his quest for a first WSOP bracelet, it was Johns who began the heads-up duel with a commanding lead. He quickly extended his advantage, winning a big pot with pocket tens against ace-jack. Blom never managed to close the gap and eventually moved all in on the turn with a flush draw against Johns’ top pair. The river changed nothing, and the bracelet was for Ian Johns.
That concludes the PokerNews coverage for this event, but stay tuned for our continuing coverage of the 2025 WSOP.

In this Series
- 1 Who Won $64K and the First 2025 WSOP Bracelet?
- 2 David Shmuel Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo for $205,333!
- 3 Furth Wins Second WSOP Bracelet; Denies Kabrhel in $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 4 GTO Study Sees Antonio Galiana Win Second WSOP Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em
- 5 Persistence Pays Off: Dan Heimiller Wins $1,500 Seven Card Stud for Third WSOP Bracelet
- 6 Artur Martirosian Wins WSOP $25,000 Heads Up Championship ($500,000)
- 7 Benny Glaser Adds to His Legacy With Bracelet No. 6 in Event #8: $1,500 Dealers Choice
- 8 Michael Wilklow: Once a Mystery, Now a Millionaire (and WSOP Bracelet Winner)
- 9 Kenneth Kim Storms Back to Win His First WSOP Bracelet
- 10 Father-Son WSOP Bracelet Duo Made as Yosef Fox Wins $10,000 Mystery Bounty
- 11 Five Bracelets in Five Years: Brad Ruben Wins the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw ($138,080)
- 12 Ryan Bambrick Denies Daniel Negreanu to Claim Second WSOP Bracelet
- 13 Christopher Staats Denies David Jackson in WSOP $1,500 6-Handed NLH for $414,950
- 14 Corey Thompson Nearly Wins Two WSOP Online Bracelets Right Off the Bat
- 15 Cristian Gutierrez Wins $600 PLO Deepstack For His First Bracelet and $193,780
- 16 Lou Garza Mounts Memorable Heads-Up Comeback to Clinch Second WSOP Bracelet
- 17 Benny Glaser Goes Back-to-Back (Again) for 7th Bracelet in $1,500 Mixed
- 18 Zachary Zaret Overcomes Stacked Final Table to Win First Bracelet
- 19 Michael Lavin Steamrolls the Competition on Way to a Second WSOP Bracelet
- 20 Ryan Hoenig Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship
- 21 Bohlman's Breakthrough: Mixed Game Vet Wins 2nd Bracelet in $2,000 NLH ($436,044)
- 22 Blaz Zerjav Wins Maiden WSOP Bracelet in $25,000 6-Handed High Roller
- 23 Aloisio Dourado Claims Redemption with First WSOP Bracelet in Record-Breaking Badugi Event
- 24 Mixed Game Maestro Xixiang Luo Bags $290,400 and Third WSOP Bracelet
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- 29 Igor Zektser Scoops His First Bracelet in Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 A Few Cocktails on the Road to First WSOP Bracelet for Mark Darner
- 31 Rising New Jersey Poker Star Captures First WSOP Bracelet
- 32 Jason Koon Moves to Third on All-Time Money List w/ WSOP $50,000 High Roller Win
- 33 Toy Charizard, Pink Slipper Carry Canadian Family Man to WSOP Victory
- 34 Nick Schulman Joins Poker's Immortals With Bracelet No. 7 in the $10K 2-7 Championship
- 35 Ukraine's Renat Bohdanov Spikes Gutshot to Win Second WSOP Bracelet
- 36 John Racener Claims Third WSOP Bracelet For His Third Son
- 37 Philip Sternheimer Tears Up After Ending 13 Year Bracelet Chase
- 38 Joao Vieira Avenges WSOP Paradise Loss to Win WSOP $100K High Roller ($2,649,158)
- 39 Andrey Zhigalov Wheels In Second Bracelet in Event #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($197,923)
- 40 Ian Johns Slays 'Isildur1' to Win WSOP Limit Hold'em Championship for a Second Time
- 41 Fourth Bracelet & $647K for Seniors High Roller Champ David "ODB" Baker
- 42 Carlos Leiva Defeats Weisman on Way to Winning WSOP $1,000 PLO Bracelet Event
- 43 A Father's Day Special: Allan Le Denies Shaun Deeb in $1,500 Razz
- 44 Seth Davies Wins $250K WSOP Super High Roller for First Bracelet and $4.75M Score
- 45 V for Vongxaiburana as 'Hobby' Player Beats Pros to $10k Big O Bracelet
- 46 Hellmuth Denied as Jason Daly Wins Second Bracelet in $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo
- 47 Joey Couden Wins Second Bracelet in $500 SALUTE to Warriors ($187,937)
- 48 Tyler Patterson Grabs Second Bracelet in $3K 6-Handed NLHE for $574K
- 49 Klemens Roiter Finishes the Job for First Bracelet in Event #37: $1,500 MONSTER STACK
- 50 Brian Rast in Seventh Heaven w/ Miraculous Comeback in WSOP $10k Razz Championship
- 51 Texan Punches Ticket to WSOP Main Event with $1.5K Freezeout Bracelet Win
- 52 Dennis Weiss Claims Victory in $25K PLO High Roller for $2,292,155
- 53 After 3 Runner-Ups, Matt Vengrin Finally Gets His WSOP Bracelet in $1.5K PLO
- 54 Mateos Makes History as 5th Youngest to Win 5 WSOP Bracelets
- 55 Emotional Kristopher Tong Uses Inspiration to Capture First WSOP Bracelet
- 56 Brett Lim to Sail Off into the Sunset After Senior's Championship Win
- 57 Benny Glaser Wins Three WSOP Bracelets in Three Weeks w/ Mixed Triple Draw Triumph
- 58 Dylan Linde Takes Down the $50k PLO High Roller for Third Bracelet and Career-Best Score
- 59 Welshman Wells Roars to Victory in $3K 9-Game Mix for Maiden Bracelet
- 60 Sebastiaan de Jonge the Sole Survivor in WSOP Battle of the Ages
- 61 Gavrieli Denies Bohlman Second Bracelet of the Summer in $3K Limit Hold'em
- 62 Craig Savage Bides His Time to Triumph in WSOP $500 No Limit Hold'em Freezeout
- 63 Yaginuma Overturns 9:1 Deficit to Win Millionaire Maker & 4th Bracelet
- 64 It's Déjà Vu as Aaron Cummings Goes Back-to-Back in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw
- 65 Nedelcu Dominates Final Table to Win First Bracelet in $1,500 Eight Game Mix
- 66 Queen of the Felt: Shiina Okamoto Wins Back-to-Back WSOP Ladies Championships
- 67 Michael Mizrachi Makes History with Fourth $50K PPC Title at 2025 WSOP
- 68 Yilong Wang "Lucky Enough" To Win Bracelet In $3k No Limit Hold'em
- 69 Runs In the Family: Alex Wilkinson Finally Wins The $10k 2-7 TD Event
- 70 Rainer Kempe Speedruns First Bracelet In $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty
- 71 Zerjav Wins Second Bracelet of Summer as Huck Seed Narrowly Misses Out
- 72 Brazil’s Kerber & Patricio Win WSOP Tag Team Bracelet After 14-Year Journey
- 73 Andjelko Andrejevic Wins Maiden Bracelet in $5,000 6-Handed NLH ($855,515)
- 74 Lucky Eight for Lonny Weitzel as He Wins $1,000 Super Seniors Event
- 75 Ian Pelz Wins Gladiator Off One Hungover Bullet ($420,680)
- 76 Negreanu Denied as Aaron Kupin Wins First Bracelet in Mixed Big Bet
- 77 Michael Wang Completes One of WSOP’s Greatest Comebacks in $10K PLO
- 78 Just Like That! Martin Kabrhel Wins Fourth Bracelet in Mini Main Event
- 79 Qinghai 'The Terminator' Pan Comes Back for Extra Day & Wins $10K Stud Hi-Lo Championship
- 80 Shaun Deeb Wins Seventh WSOP Bracelet; Overtakes Player of the Year Lead
- 81 Fireworks in Las Vegas as Nick Ahmadi Wins PokerNews Deepstack Championship For $302,165
- 82 Mike Gorodinsky Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $10K 8-Game Championship
- 83 Backgammon Pro Zdenek Zizka Denies Shaun Deeb Eighth Bracelet
- 84 WSOP Glory at Last: PokerGO Founder Cary Katz Wins $2,500 NLH Freezeout
- 85 Giuseppe Zarbo Wins $504,180 For $800 Summer Celebration Victory
- 86 "A Win with the Help of God" for Netanel Stern in Event #87: $5,000 Super Turbo Bounty ($618,377)
- 87 No Leaks in Fawcett's Game After WSOP Ultra Stack Triumph
- 88 Ferenc Deak Keeps Promise to Son With $1K PLO Mystery Bounty Bracelet Win
- 89 Slow and Steady, Khoi Le Nguyen Wins WSOP $50,000 High Roller
- 90 Kasparas Klezys Claims His First WSOP Bracelet in 6-Handed $1,500 PLO