2025 WSOP Day 50: Phil Ivey Close to Reeling in His 12th Bracelet

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Jul 16, 2025 7 min read

World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event fever gripped the poker community on Day 50 of the series, and rightly so. The day started with nine finalists battling it out to a backdrop of a boisterous rail, and ended with only four players hunting the bracelet and $10 million top prize.

Everything points to a Michael Mizrachi victory, not least because he has three times as many chips as his three opponents combined! Click here if you want to read a detailed recap of the action from Day 9 of Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship.

While Mizrachi was busy building one of the most ridiculous Main Event final table chip advantages, Florida's Sam Soverel was helping himself to his third bracelet and yet another six-figure prize. Soverel came out on top in Event #94: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship, defeating Daniel Vicente to take home $986,337 and bracelet number three.

Phil Ivey Fourth From 14 in the $25K H.O.R.S.E.

Only 14 players remain in the hunt for the Event #98: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. title, its bracelet, and $883,841 top prize, and what a 14 they are. All the remaining players have either captured WSOP gold, are a $25K Fantasy Draft pick, or are a member of the Poker Hall of Fame (PHOF).

Phil Ivey (2,100,000) ticks all three boxes. The 11-time bracelet winner is often one of the first names selected in the $25K Fantasy Draft and was immortalized in the PHOF in 2017. He now has the chance to reach a dozen bracelets because he is fourth in chips with only 14 players remaining in this event.

Ivey has five cashes at the 2025 WSOP, including two final table appearances. Most recently, he finished fifth in the $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, earning $715,614.

Only three players return for the final day's action with a larger stack than Ivey's. Toby Lewis (3,455,000), coming off the back of a runner-up finish in the $3,000 T.O.R.S.E., leads the all-star cast back into battle. Nacho Barbero (2,215,000) and Ryan Miller (2,200,000) complete the podium positions.

As mentioned, the rest of the field read like a who's who of the poker world. Tomasz Gluszko (2,015,000), John Hennigan (1,935,000), David Oppenheim (1,875,000), Robert Wells (1,470,000), Chris Hunichen (1,455,000), and Brian Rast (1,165,000) round out the top ten.

Still in the hunt but with a little more work to do if they want to become this tournament's champion are Nick Guagenti (1,000,000), Ben Yu (895,000), Chad Eveslage (460,000), and John Monnette (340,000).

The final 14 will return to their seats at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 16 and will continue battling until a champion is crowned.

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

Richard Gryko Leads as $3K PLO Enters Unscheduled Fourth Day

Event #96: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha was meant to crown its champion on Day 50 of the WSOP, but it wasn't meant to be. Four players were still fighting it out for the $471,170 top prize as the clock ticked around to 1:00 a.m. local time, so the decision was made to pause the tournament and have the players return on July 16 to conclude the event.

When that quartet heads back to their table, Richard Gryko (15,625,000) will be the man to catch. The British grinder won his bracelet in 2015, taking down the €3,250 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the WSOP Europe Berlin festival. You may recall that Gryko finished third in the $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for $1,000,423 earlier at the 2025 WSOP.

Three-time bracelet winner Daniel Zack (13,250,000) sits down in second place, with Day 1 chip leader Joshua Ladines (7,825,000) occupying third place. Zachary Schwartz (6,825,000) brings up the rear.

The unscheduled Day 4 shuffles up and deals at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 16.

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

Dozens of Stars Progress from Day 1b of The Closer

Day 1b of Event #97: $1,500 The Closer saw 2,504 players buy in at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, but only 189 of them punched their Day 2 tickets and remain in contention for one of the last bracelets to be awarded at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP). France's Robert Nemeskerikiss (3,125,000) is the name at the chip counts' summit, but all eyes will likely be on the 28 bracelet winners and/or $25K Fantasy Draft picks who progressed from this flight.

Serial Main Event casher Ronnie Bardah (805,000) was one of those WSOP champions who sailed through the choppy Day 1b waters. Bardah has four cashes this summer, including an 11th-place finish in the $777 Lucky 7's event that earned him $45,989. Bardah's stack placed him in the top third on the Day 1b leaderboard.

Cole Ferraro (1,155,000), champion of the $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack in 2021, is the best-placed of the slew of bracelet winners who navigated to Day 2 from this flight. Others include Barry Hutter (950,000), Jeff Madsen (610,000), Sean Troha (555,000), Josh Arieh (500,000), Jim Collopy (440,000), Martin Kabrhel (228,000), and the legendary Benny Glaser (50,000).

Day 2 kicks off at 11 a.m. local time on July 16 with 317 players returning to their seats. The plan is to play down to a champion, with 15-minute breaks every four levels, and a dinner break prior to the start of the final table. Players return to Level 23, meaning the blinds are 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 big blind ante.

Payouts for this event should be announced shortly before or after the cards are in the air. Stay tuned to PokerNews to see what The Closer players can win, and who gets their hands on their lion's share of the pot.

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

Cherish Andrews Among the Leaders on Day 1 of the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em

An action-packed Day 1 in Event #99: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em saw the 735 entrants whittled to only 68 survivors after 20 levels. Cherish Andrews (1,000,000) bagged up enough chips for seventh-place on the overnight leaderboard.

Andrews has more than $3.5 million in live poker tournament earnings, but the $25K Fantasy Draft pick is yet to capture a WSOP bracelet. Andrews has come close on numerous occasions, most recently in an online event in 2024 where she finished as the runner-up. Andrews must fancy her chances of racking up another WSOP final table appearance and finally getting her hands on a deserved bracelet.

Vamerdino Magsakay of the Philippines (1,340,000) is the chip leader when Day 2 kicks off. He holds a narrow lead over Joseph Beasy (1,300,000), Daniyal Gheba (1,270,000), and Connor Rash (1,240,000). Only Andrews, Yuzhu Wang (1,115,000), and Santiago Plante (1,040,000) sit back down with seven-figure stacks.

Others still in contention for this event's title and $606,849 top prize include Justin Liberto (950,000), Ali Eslami (865,000), Xixiang Luo (695,000), Joao Simao (520,000), Joe McKeehen (450,000), Stoyan Madanzhiev (435,000), David Peters (400,000), Chris Moorman (375,000), Anthony Zinno (360,000), and Dan Shak (330,000).

A champion will be crowned in this event on July 16, with cards back in the air from 1:00 p.m. local time.

Event #99: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Top Ten Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 51 of the 2025 WSOP

Understandably, the poker world's attention will be fixated on Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship where only four players have the chance to become poker's world champion and pad their bankroll with a $10 million score.

Michael Mizrachi (445,500,000) has a seemingly unassailable lead, holding more than four times as many chips as John Wasnock (94,500,000) in second place, and way, way more than Braxton Dunaway (25,500,000) and PokerStars' Kenny Hallaert (19,000,000). However, poker has a funny way of not going as planned, so anything could happen.

The Main Event resumes at 2:00 p.m. local time on July 16, continuing until a champion is crowned.

Before the excitement of the Main Event grips the poker community, Day 2 of Event #97: $1,500 The Closer begins at 11:00 a.m. local time. This event is scheduled to crown its champion despite 317 players returning for the second and final day's action.

Three events resume at 1:00 p.m. local time, starting with Event 96: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, where only four players remain. The final day of Event #98: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. also starts at 1:00 p.m. local time, as does the final day of Event #99: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

Day 51 also sees the 100th and last bracelet-awarding live event, Event #100: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em kick off. This one-day tournament attracted 1,544 players in 2024, and Lithuania's Aneris Adomkevicius left them all in his wake as he banked $201,355 and his first piece of WSOP hardware.

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 Brian Rast Cherish Andrews Chris Hunichen Chris Moorman David Peters Jeff Madsen Joao Simao Michael Mizrachi Martin Kabrhel Josh Arieh John Hennigan Nacho Barbero Nick Guagenti Phil Ivey Richard Gryko Ronnie Bardah Sean Tr
• Related Players Phil IveyJeff MadsenChris MoormanMichael MizrachiJohn HenniganJosh Arieh