Kenneth Kim Storms Back to Win His First WSOP Bracelet
Table Of Contents
Kenneth Kim didn’t have high hopes when he entered the Event #10: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack tournament at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
After getting eliminated in Event#1 Mystery Millions, Kim jumped in knowing that he would have to leave Las Vegas after a couple of days. He just wanted to enjoy and play his best while he was at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas before he left.
“I didn't think I was going to win this tournament till the end, till the very end, because you just never know. And my approach was to play one level at a time, and try not to think too far ahead.“
That approach worked wonders, as Kim scored the top prize of $318,842 from the prize pool of $3,069,360, outlasting a total field of 6,090 entries.
Event #10: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenneth Kim | United States | $318,842 |
| 2 | Alex Paredes | Ecuador | $212,275 |
| 3 | Daniel Muniz | United States | $157,968 |
| 4 | Gary Blackwood | United Kingdom | $118,468 |
| 5 | Jared Anderson | United States | $89,541 |
| 6 | Raul Melendres Cruz | Mexico | $68,212 |
| 7 | Edgar Antezana | South Africa | $52,377 |
| 8 | Luis Diaz Moreno | Mexico | $40,541 |
| 9 | Chad Cullimore | United States | $31,633 |
Kim's Turning Point
He was very calm throughout the whole tournament, and winning it was the farthest thing from his mind, especially when he was down to eight big blinds after the dinner break. One hand turned his fate when Kim made a hero call against David Gonia, who shoved all-in on a complete bluff.
“I was pretty happy that I went with my read instead of just giving in to the pressure. So that [hand] gave me a healthier stack, making it easier to navigate through the field. I tried to play one level at a time, and that approach really helped me a lot. I didn't try to change my mindset.”
From that point on, he was able to maintain his chip stack and entered the final table second in chips, right behind Alex Paredes.
When action was down to the final five, Kim was unstoppable, eliminating three players in successive hands - Jared Anderson with top pair, Gary Blackwood with a turned pair, and Daniel Muniz with a full house - until just two players remained.
Heads Up Action
It didn’t take long for Kim to defeat Paredes during heads-up, outdrawing the Ecuadorian to secure the win and earn his very first WSOP gold bracelet.
"It's an amazing feeling. But I just want to play my best and see what the results will bring." Kim will be coming back to Vegas in a few days to hopefully win some more bracelets.
That concludes our coverage of Event #10, but stay with us as PokerNews brings you more poker action from the 2025 World Series of Poker.
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
- 25 Nick Guagenti Crushes Chino Rheem’s Triple Crown Bid in $10K Stud Victory
- 26 Beginner's Luck? Surely Not. Chang Lee Wins $25,000 High Roller ($1,949,044)
- 27 Penalized Poker Player Wins WSOP Bracelet Despite Color Up Controversy
- 28 LA Poker Player Outlasts 16,300 Opponents to Win 2025 WSOP's Colossus
- 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
- 91 Ian O’Hara Turns Up the Heat to Capture First WSOP Bracelet in Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship
- 92 Ryutaro Suzuki Ends Summer Grind With Victory in $3,000 T.O.R.S.E.
- 93 Joshua Boulton Bags Bracelet Before Boarding Flight Home With $311,349
- 94 Legends Never Fold: Nelson Mari Sanchez Strikes Gold in WSOP $777 Lucky 7’s
- 95 Mariano Balfagon Hits The Big Time Winning First WSOP Bracelet in $800 Deepstack for $252,386
- 96 Sam Soverel’s Speedy Sweep Secures Third Bracelet in $10k NLHE 6-Hand
- 97 Chad Eveslage Claims Fourth Bracelet in the $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E.
- 98 Andrew Ostapchenko Wins Event #99: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $606,849
- 99 Lukas Zaskodny Wins Second Bracelet in the $1,500 The Closer Event
- 100 Mitchell Hynam Wins First Bracelet in Final Event of 2025 World Series of Poker
