WSOP Hands of the Week: Schulman Owns Kabrhel & A New Cult-Hero

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Jun 02, 2025 5 min read

The first week of the 2025 World Series of Poker came out swinging with big bluffs, brutal beats, and more than a few moments that had the entire poker world talking.

Whether it was Nick Schulman dropping the coldest line of the summer, Michael "Texas Mike" Moncek shoving blind into four premium hands, or Christopher Zollo turning a meme-worthy alias into a legit bracelet run, the first seven days of poker's biggest festival did not disappoint.

Ice Cold Schulman Drops Line of the Series

Schulman and Martin Kabrhel quickly became the most talked-about moment, thanks to PokerNews' Claudio Elizalde following the action in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha.

On a river reading Q♠5♦Q♦4♠J♣, Kabrhel had placed a bet of 140,000 but was soon faced by an all-in raise from Nick Schulman up to 342,000.

Schulman, always even-keel, stomached Kabrhel's table talk and antics. The Czech pro said, "I have a full house but not the best one..." before the dealer reprimanded him for discussing his hand. Kabrhel requested that the dealer pull in the difference of his bet, which Schulman obliged and did himself.

After cutting out the chips and holding the double barrels but not calling, Shaun Deeb called the clock on Kabrhel. This noticeably agitated Kabrhel, who said, "Complete joke, you're out of line..."

Kabrhel looked pained but allowed the 30-second countdown to run through, and his hand was dead.

Schulman went on to windmill-slam his hand on the table with the A♠J♠5♥4♦, which only had blockers to the boat.

"No round of applause?" Schulman said, as the rest of the table couldn't quite process what had happened yet.

"I thought you had just the four-five for the bluff, ace-jack is even better," said Deeb.

All of a sudden, Kabrhel, who never has a shortage of things to say, was left in a palpable silence, only to be broken by Schulman chiming in, "Say my name, Martin."

Ultimately, it was Kabrhel who had the last laugh, kicking off his summer grind with a $288,775 payday for finishing third, while Schulman bowed out in 24th.

Aces vs. Kings vs. Queens vs. Jacks

"Texas Mike" is always good for some WSOP chaos, and he delivered in vintage form on Day 1c of the $1,000 Mystery Millions.

In between hands of the $5,000 NLHE 8-Handed (where he and brother Tyler both cashed), Moncek decided to go out with a bang. Ready to head back to the bigger buy-in, he moved all-in blind in the Mystery Millions, because, of course, what else are you supposed to do?

Moncek, who had 8♣6♥, ran into a gauntlet of premium hands. The players behind him consecutively showed J♣J♦, Q♥Q♣, K♣K♥, and A♥A♠. Somehow, the madness didn't end there as the dealer fanned a 5♣K♦5♠ flop to give the player with kings a boat for a quadruple knockout.

Zollo Gets Risqué with a Bracelet on the Line

The WSOP+ app has been relatively well-received since making its summer series debut. It allows players to pre-register for live events, skip lengthy registration lines, and receive real-time updates about seat availability through a virtual queue and push notifications.

While most players signed up using their real names, Christopher Zollo opted for a more colorful approach. His choice of the screen name “SuckMe69” quickly became a fan favorite, earning laughs across the poker community. Unfortunately for railbirds, Zollo reverted to his real name before reaching heads-up play in the Industry Employees tournament.

Still, he left everyone with one last memorable moment.

While heads-up for the bracelet and $64,369 first-place prize, Zollo risked it all with, let's say, a very suggestive hand...

As reported by PokerNews reporter Erick Torres, Zollo opened from the button to 400,000, but was met with resistance from Phovieng Keokham, who chose to raise 2,000,000 in response to Zollo’s open. Zollo pondered, then four-bet jammed for 9,880,000. Keokham did not hesitate to call, putting Zollo at risk.

Christopher Zollo: 6♠9♦
Phovieng Keokham: A♦Q♣

Zollo found himself in the lead when the board flopped 9♠10♠4♦, turning the tables on Keokham. The turn reversed the fortune when the Q♥ put Keokham back into the lead. Zollo’s tournament run was officially over when the 2♣ flipped over on the river.

While the winner's spoils went to poker dealer Phovieng Keokham, Zollo quickly became a 2025 WSOP cult-hero. The summer of "SuckMe69" could be about to get a whole lot bigger as Zollo's through to the final day of the $1,000 Mystery Millions, sitting 15th out of 20 players remaining, where there's $1 million up top.

Magnus Two-Outered on $10K O8 Championship Bubble

"This is one of the worst beats I've ever seen," was what one of Nadya Magnus' tablemates could only say as she was eliminated on the stone bubble of the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship.

The early bad beat of the WSOP contender came when 34 players remained in the split-pot game, with Magnus seemingly appearing like she was going to be one of those to lock up at least the $20,280 min-cash. However, the deck had other ideas.

Ryan Bambrick started the action by raising and and Nadya Magnus defended her big blind.

The flop scrolled across the 5♦5♠7♣, and Magnus check-raised, receiving a call.

The turn brought the K♠, and Magnus put her remaining chips at risk, and Bambrick called.

Nadya Magnus: A♣Q♠5♥3♥
Ryan Bambrick:K♥J♦6♥2♠

With trip fives and the better low draw, Magnus seemed poised to lock up a double on the bubble, but it wasn't meant to be when the K♦ peeled on the river, leaving her shaking her head as she left the tournament area.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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