2025 WSOP Day 49: Dzivielevski In Pole Position After Day 1 of the $25K H.O.R.S.E.

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Jul 15, 2025 6 min read

After more than a week in the spotlight, the $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship took a back seat as the nine finalists enjoyed a well-deserved break from the action. Though there was no Main Event action, there was plenty to shout about on Day 49 of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Event #90: $777 Lucky 7's awarded its bracelet and its $777,777 top prize on July 14. Only eight players returned for the third and final day, and it was Mexico's Nelson Mari Sanchez who came out on top, defeating Yu Liu heads-up to capture the title, the bracelet, and a bankroll-boosting prize.

Bracelet number two, awarded on Day 49, is on the wrist of Mariano Balfagon, proud champion of Event #95: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack. A 162-strong field returned for Day 2, but only one of them would emerge victoriously after a long day at the baize. Balfagon is now $252,386 richer than they were two days ago.

Event #94: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship was scheduled to crown its worthy champion, but four players remained in contention for the $986,337 top prize as the clocks approached 1:00 a.m. local time. The tournament director and the players decided to pause the event and return for an unplanned Day 4 at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 15.

Sam Soverel (22,125,000) holds a commanding lead from Daniel Vicente (5,750,000), Isaac Kempton (3,875,000), and Klemens Roiter (1,025,000).

Yuri Dzivielevski Gallops Away With Day 1 $25K H.O.R.S.E. Chip Lead

Brazilian ace Yuri Dzivielevski (642,500) came out on top after Day 1 of Event #98: High Roller H.O.R.S.E. where 121 entrants were reduced to 77 after ten hour-long levels. The five-time bracelet winner has racked up a dozen cashes at the 2025 WSOP, but only one of those has been a final table appearance. Could Dzivielevski end the series with a bang and capture his sixth piece of WSOP hardware?

This event is in its infancy, and the 77 players who return for Day 2 are likely to be joined by several players who take advantage of the late registration period, which ends after the second level of Day 2 action.

Though we do not know who those arriving fashionably late will be, we do know some of poker's superstars will be present and correct after bagging and tagging their stacks at the end of Day 1.

Paul Volpe (621,500), Jon Kyte (593,000), Phil Ivey (542,500), and Hall of Famer Todd Brunson (519,000) return to the action with top five stacks. Jesse Klein (507,500), Kane Kalas (480,500), John Hennigan (472,500), and Jon Turner (372,500) find themselves in the top ten.

Lower down the pecking order but still in contention are such luminaries as Chad Eveslage (366,000), Nick Guagenti (363,500), David Oppenheim (351,000), Brad Ruben (320,000), Brian Yoon (287,500), Jesse Lonis (270,000), Daniel Negreanu (263,000), Shaun Deeb (258,000), Scott Seiver (173,000), and Benny Glaser (158,500) among others.

The all-star cast will return to their seats at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 15, and another ten levels are planned.

Event #98: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller Top Ten Chip Counts

Brad Albrinck Leads the Way as the $3K PLO Reaches Day 3; 21 Remain

Ohio's Brad Albrinck (5,140,000) is the man to catch going into the final day of Event #96: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha. Albrinck, a player with over $1.9 million in live earnings, is yet to capture a bracelet, but having bagged up 129 big blinds on Day 2, that could be set to change.

While Albrinck is the only player of the remaining 21 who bagged over five million chips, the chasing pack is all vying to spoil his party. Ryan Leng (4,135,000) and Day 1 chip leader Joshua Ladines (3,795,000) make up the podium places, while Richard Gryko (3,060,000) and Fahredin Mustafov (2,800,000) complete a stellar top five.

Eight players who are bracelet winners, $25K Fantasy picks, or a combination of both, also made it through to the business end of this event. The aforementioned Leng and Gryko are joined by Joe Serock (2,395,000), Daniel Zack (1,555,000), Jeremy Ausmus (1,500,000), Chino Rheem (865,000), Elior Sion (570,000), and JC Tran (290,000) on Day 3.

Day 3 starts at 1:00 p.m. local time, and play continues until only one player has all of the chips in play in their stack. Their reward for completing that task? A WSOP bracelet and $471,170.

Event #96: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Top Ten Chip Counts

Day 1a of the $1,500 Closer Draws in 1,793 Entrants

The 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is almost over, and many players have returned home, yet that did not prevent Day 1a of Event #97: $1,500 The Closer from attracting 1,793 entrants. Of those starters, only 128 survived the fast-paced opening flight's structure. As is always the case in poker tournaments, some fared better than others.

Frenchman Julien Vanpelt (2,765,000) bagged up the largest stack. He was one of four players who turned their 50,000 starting stack into more than two million chips. Leo Lombardozzi (2,545,000), Zhen Cai (2,300,000), and Najeeb Elkamand (2,165,000) were the others.

Jakob Miegel (1,655,000) progressed in fifth place. Miegel busted from the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed championship in 13th place and decided to almost immediately hop into this event. The German's dedication to the grind could reap the rewards because he has put himself in a decent position for another deep run and his 12th cash of an impressive summer.

A dozen bracelet-winners navigated their way through the choppy Day 1a waters and will take their seats on Day 2. Czech star Lukas Zaskodny (1,335,000) is the best-placed of them; he finished the night in eighth place.

Safiya Umerova (1,145,000), Kyle Julius (1,115,000), and Upeshka De Silva (1,045,000) will return with seven-figure stacks while Anthony Zinno (840,000), Jason Wheeler (600,000), Howard Mash (575,000), Dimitar Danchev (410,000), Brett Shaffer (395,000), Aram Zobian (362,000), Kenneth Kim (305,000), and Axel Bayout (249,000) will add some star quality to Day 2's proceedings.

Before we can see these heroes in action again, Day 1b needs to take place. Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 10 a.m. local time on July 15, with a crowd of more than 2,000 grinders expected to take their seats. Although PokerNews' traditional coverage of this event starts on Day 2, we will have a recap of the action for you shortly after the close of play.

Event #97: $1,500 The Closer Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

_{Big blinds based on players returning on Day 2 on Level 23}

What to Expect on Day 50 of the 2025 WSOP

Hold onto your hats because it is time for the 2025 WSOP Main Event's final table. Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time. It sees John Wasnock lead the nine finalists back into battle, each guaranteed $1 million for their efforts, but all of whom have an eye on the title of poker's world champion and the $10 million prize that comes with such an honor.

Play continues until only four hopefuls remain. PokerNews' industry-leading live reporting team will be on hand to bring you all of the penultimate day's action.

Day 1b of Event #97: $1,500 The Closer shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time. The first flight saw 1,793 players enter the mix, so expect an even larger crowd for this final starting day.

At 1:00 p.m. local time, the final four players in Event #94: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship sit down and fight it out for the near $1 million top prize. Event #96: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed sees 21 players return to their seats, also at 1:00 p.m. local time. By the time the day is over, this event will have crowned its champion. It is also a 1:00 p.m. local time restart for Event #98: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. Another ten 60-minute levels are on the schedule.

Last but not least is Day 1 of Event #99: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed from 2:00 p.m. local time. Matthew Alsante triumphed in this event in 2024, outlasting 1,041 opponents on his way to scooping $785,486 and his first WSOP bracelet.

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 WSOP25 $25K Fantasy Benny Glaser Brad Ruben Chino Rheem Daniel Negreanu Dimitar Danchev JC Tran Jeremy Ausmus Jon Kyte Matthew Alsante Sam Soverel Scott Seiver Phil Ivey Paul Volpe Upeshka De Silva Todd Brunson Yuri Dzivielevski
• Related Players Daniel NegreanuPhil IveyTodd BrunsonJC TranScott SeiverChino Rheem