2025 WSOP Day 37: Legend Billy Baxter Gets the $10,000 WSOP Main Event Underway

Copy link Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Jul 03, 2025 8 min read

Day 37 of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas saw the $10,000 Main Event burst into action, with the first of its four flights attracting 923 entrants. As you might expect, the Main Event was full of drama, big bustout hands, and more. However, there was more than just the Main Event in play on Day 37, as you are about to discover.

Martin Kabrhel earned his fourth bracelet after coming out on top in Event #75: $1,000 Mini Main. The talkative and often polarizing Czech grinder outlasted 10,793 opponents on his way to collecting $843,140, which takes his live tournament earnings past $16 million. Kabrhel is now the man to catch in the 2025 WSOP Player of the Year race.

Victor Vo Takes the Lead; Stanislav Zegal Bags Big in Day 1a of 2025 Main Event

Poker legend Billy Baxter instructed the dealers to shuffle up and deal and, like that, Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship was up and running. By the time the curtain came down on Day 1a proceedings, 923 players had bought in, and 634 will continue their quest to become poker's world champion on Day 2abc on July 6.

Victor Vo (352,000) claimed the Day 1a chip lead, closely followed by Justin Yaker (348,000), and Miguel Coussement (320,000). Germany's Stanislav Zegal (256,400), the man who won the inaugural WSOP Paradise Main Event in 2023, bagged up enough chips for sixth place on the overnight leaderboard.

Dozens of stellar names chose Day 1a to start their quest for the WSOP Main Event title. Among those who punched their Day 2abc tickets were Nikolaos Lampropoulos (235,900), Artur Koren (224,400), Alexandros Kolonias (185,500), Martin Kabrhel (168,700), Roman Hrabec (162,500), Ryan Eriquezzo (121,700), and Scott Blumstein (99,200).

Others to look out for include Marco Johnson (71,300), Kevin Gerhart (66,000), Bobby Baldwin (52,400), Adam Hendrix (44,500), Billy Baxter (39,900), and Adrian Mateos (31,200).

Be sure to relive the Day 1a action via our 2025 WSOP Main Event live reporting pages, and remember to tune in on Day 1b from noon on July 3 because the Main Event's story is starting to unfold.

Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

Stud Hi-Lo Championship Requires an Additional Day; Four Players Remain

Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship was scheduled to award its bracelet and $411,051top prize today, but it was not meant to be. With the clocks showing 12:30 a.m. local time, four players still had chips, so the decision was made to pause the tournament clock and for the four players to return at 12:00 p.m. local time on July 3 to conclude this event.

Two-time bracelet winner Qinghai Pan (5,265,000) leads the final four back into battle on the unscheduled Day 4. Pan leads from David Lin (3,135,000), Luke Schwartz (1,965,000), and Russia's Andrey Zhigalov (795,000).

The ball is in Pan's court when play resumes. Return to PokerNews at noon local time on July 3 to see if he can get the job done and his hands on a third gold bracelet.

Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Chip Counts

Only 55 Players Remain in the PokerNews Deepstack Championship

Daniel Schill (12,475,000) leads the way in Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship where 635 players who sat down on Day 2 were reduced to a more managable 55 after ten levels of play. The Michigan native is primarily an online poker grinder, but he has shown that he knows his way around a live event, too.

Schill is the only player with an eight-figure stack at his disposal on Day 3, but there's still a long way to go before he can celebrate becoming a WSOP champion.

Only one surviving player, Aditya Sushant (5,555,000), has won a bracelet before. The Indian grinder was part of the winning duo in the 2017 edition of the $1,000 Tag Team Event.

Lower down the counts is Tanner Martinelli (1,725,000), who won his seat in this event via the PokerNews Daily Deepstacks promotion. Martinelli holds one of the shorter stacks of the returning 55 hopefuls, but he is by no means out of contention.

Play resumes at 11:00 a.m. local time, and the plan is to whittle the field to the point where only five players remain. Exciting times are ahead.

Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship Top Ten Chip Counts

Isaac Haxton Leads the $100,000 PLO High Roller Going Into Day 3

Some of the best poker players on the planet were on display on Day 2 of Event #79: $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller. Thirty-six Day 1 survivors were joined by 33 late entrants, taking the total attendance for this event to 121.

When play resumes on July 3, only seven players will return to fight it out for the massive $2,957,229 top prize and the all-important WSOP bracelet. Isaac Haxton (15,725,000) leads the final seven into battle on Day 3, with Shaun Deeb (13,625,000), and Spanish PLO specialist Lautaro Guerra (11,100,000) hot on his heels.

$25K Fantasy Draft picks Arthur Morris (9,900,000), Alex Foxen (9,875,000), and 11-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey (8,700,000) will also return, as will Sean Rafael (3,675,000), albeit from the position of the shortest stack.

This all-star cast returns to the action from 1:00 p.m. local time on July 3. Play will continue until a champion is crowned, with that champion taking home the best part of $3 million.

Event #79: $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller Day 3 Chip Counts

More Than 3,000 Players Turn Out for the Summer Celebration's First Flight

A field of 3,054 players turned out in force on Day 1a of Event #80: Summer Celebration, although only 168 of them progressed to Day 2 from this flight. It was a great day to be from the Netherlands because four Dutch players finished in the top ten chip counts after the completion of 22 levels.

Roelof Pepping (2,775,000) is the Dutchman at the top of the chip counts on Day 1a. Fellow countryman Johannes Deusing (2,060,000) occupies fourth place, with Thijs Hilberts (1,835,000) in fifth, and David Peer (1,765,000) in eighth.

Hilberts has almost $870,000 in live tournament winnings, with his largest scores stemming from events in Asia and Australia. He's now looking for a big score in the United States, and it would take a brave person to bet against him achieving that goal after this impressive start.

In addition to the talented Dutch quartet, seven bracelet winners navigated their way through the 22 Day 1a levels. Pei Li (1,360,000), Tom Fuchs (1,005,000), Arkadiy Tsinis (610,000), Jonathan Stoeber (480,000), Jason James (360,000), David Simon (335,000), and David Diaz (210,000) are just a handful of names to look out for on Day 2 on July 4.

Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 10 a.m. local time on July 3, with those entrants hoping to still have chips after 22 levels. Our traditional coverage of this event starts on Day 2, so join us then to see who comes out on top in the $800 Summer Special.

Event #80: $800 Summer Celebration Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

Qiang Xu Leads the $10,000 Eight Game Championship

Event #82: $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship saw 166 players buy in on Day 1, but only 75 of them progressed to Day 2 after ten levels of mixed game action. China's Qiang Xu finished the night with 311,000 chips, enough for the title of chipleader going into Day 2 on July 3.

Xu, owner of one bracelet, has seven cashes this summer, including a third-place finish in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. The Chinese grinder holds the narrowest of leads over Jon Turner (305,000) at the start of Day 2, with Nate Silver (277,500), Aaron Kupin (271,500), and five-time bracelet winner Brian Yoon (265,500) completing the top five.

As you would expect from a high-stakes, specialized event, some elite-level players are still in the hunt for this event's bracelet. Mike Gorodinsky (246,000), Eric Wasserson (240,000), Dario Sammartino (212,000), Paul Volpe (202,000), Todd Brunson (163,500), Alex Livingston (162,000), Chad Eveslage (152,000), David "ODB" Baker (132,000), Anson Tsang (132,000), Jeremy Ausmus (55,500)m and Benny Glaser (50,500) are among the Day 1 survivors.

_{Check out the star-studded chip counts here}

Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 3, with late registration open until the start of Level 12, which is around 2:15 p.m. local time.

Event #82: $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship Top Ten Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 38 of the 2025 WSOP

Day 38 of the 2025 WSOP will be, rightly, dominated by Day 1b of Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship, which begins at noon. It's the poker tournament everyone wants to win. Will this year's champion come from the second of four flights?

While the Main Event players are navigating their way to Day 2abc, Day 1b of Event #80: $800 Summer Celebration will have been running for two hours, as cards are in the air from 10:00 a.m. local time. Day 3 of Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship has been in play since 11:00 a.m. local time. The plan there is to reduce the field to only five hopefuls.

At 1:00 p.m. local time, the final four players in Event 77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship will return and continue battling away until a champion is crowned. At the same time, the star-laden Event #79: $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller resumes with seven players returning to fight it out for a near $3 million top prize.

Also at 1:00 p.m. local time, Event #82: $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship Day 2 begins, with late registration still open.

Last, but not least, is Day 1 of Event #83: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em from 2:00 p.m. local time. Antonio Galiana is the event's reigning champion. The Spaniard outlasted 1,266 opponents in 2024, winning $439,395 and his first 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.

Follow on

• Tags WSOP25 $25K Fantasy Adrian Mateos Alex Foxen Alexandros Kolonias Chad Eveslage Dario Sammartino Isaac Haxton Jon Turner Luke Schwartz Martin Kabrhel Phil Ivey Roman Hrabec Roelof Pepping Scott Blumstein Shaun Deeb Thijs Hilberts
• Related Players Phil IveyShaun DeebJon TurnerIsaac HaxtonLuke SchwartzDario Sammartino