2025 WSOP Day 42: San Kim Tops Monster-Sized Main Event Day 2d Field
Day 2d of Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship started with 3,776 players returning to their seats, but hundreds more took advantage of late registration. By the time the cashier's desk was taking no more buy-ins, the Day 2d field topped 4,553, taking the total attendance for this year's Main Event to 9,735. Only two other Main Events have seen larger crowds.
Upon completing five more 120-minute levels, the Day 2d field was reduced to 2,133, with more than half of the field eliminated. These surviving players will join the 1,320 players from Day 2abc on Day 3 on July 8.
Bookmark this page! All you need to know about the 2025 WSOP is here.
San Kim (799,000) bagged up 799,000 chips at the close of play, enough for the Day 2d chip lead and second-place overall. There is still a long way to go before this event crowns its champion, but you would not blame Kim for going to bed tonight dreaming of helping himself to the $10 million top prize in a week's time.
Fernando Rodriguez (749,000), and Romain Locquet (673,500) round off the podium places, while Day 1d leader, Riva Arthur (607,000) again bagged up a top ten stack.
Seven Main Event champions were in the mix on Day 2, but only one progressed to Day 3. Joe McKeehen, Hossein Ensan, Huck Seed, Stoyan Madanzhiev, and Ryan Riess fell by the wayside, but reigning champion Jonathan Tamayo (158,500) did punch his Day 3 ticket.
Some of the poker Goliaths who made it through included, Josh Arieh (448,500), Joseph Cheong (426,500), Brad Owen (397,000), Darren Elias (357,500), Isaac Haxton (317,500), Anthony Zinno (315,000), Brian Yoon (276,000), Dylan Linde (260,500), Chad Eveslage (252,500), Daniel Cates (231,500), Patrick Leonard (209,000), Brian Hastings (180,500), Kathy Liebert (175,000), David Oppenheim (149,500), Shannon Shorr (121,000), Dario Sammartino (119,000), Brian Rast (112,500), and Jennifer Harman (56,000).
Day 3 kicks off at noon local time on July 8, with the 3,453 returning players filling the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Blinds are 1,000/2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante when play resumes. The schedule states that five more 120-minute levels will be played, with 20-minute breaks after each level and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 13 (around 6:40 p.m. local time).
Stay locked into PokerNews as we bring you all of the 2025 WSOP Main Event action. There's a chance the bubble will burst on Day 3, as 1,461 spots are paid, with a min-cash worth $15,000.
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship Day 2d Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Kim | United States | 799,000 | 320 |
| 2 | Fernando Rodriguez | United States | 749,000 | 300 |
| 3 | Romain Locquet | France | 673,500 | 269 |
| 4 | Nazar Buhaiov | Ukraine | 633,500 | 253 |
| 6 | Ibrahim Senoussi | France | 625,000 | 250 |
| 5 | Daniyal Gheba | United States | 625,000 | 250 |
| 7 | Kevin Javier | Canada | 620,000 | 248 |
| 8 | Kotaro Shoda | Japan | 619,500 | 248 |
| 9 | Kyle Grupp | United States | 618,000 | 247 |
| 10 | Riva Arthur | United States | 607,000 | 243 |
Tom Hall Bags a Big Stack on Day 1b of the $600 Ultra Stack
Day 1b of Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack saw 4,339 players pile into the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, each hoping to survive 22 levels. Only 382 of those starters managed to achieve that feat, including the United Kingdom's Tom Hall (1,985,000).
Hall became a bracelet winner in 2023, taking down the $500 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack for $176,920. Hall won his bracelet a couple of weeks after finishing third in the $500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Max, another online event. The popular Brit bagged enough chips on Day 1b to occupy fourth place, and will enter Day 2 seventh in chips from a returning field of 595.
Only Justin Bassett (2,785,000), Roei Simantov (2,340,000), and Daniel Vandyke (2,010,000) ended this flight with more chips than Hall.
Others who progressed included South Africa Sean Bloom (1,590,000), Johnnie Moreno (1,385,000), Bradley Gafford (1,160,000), Gregory Kolo (1,160,000), 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson (945,000), Owais Ahmed (850,000), Kevin Martin 9745,000), Barry Shulman (700,000), Maria Konnikova (665,000), Ian Steinman (610,000), Joe Cada (530,000), and Alex Livingston (385,000).
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 1 p.m. local time on July 8 in the yellow section of the Paris Las Vegas tournament area. Some 595 players will return to their seats, with the plan to complete another 17 levels or play down to five players, whichever comes first. PokerNews' traditional coverage of this event starts on Day 2, so keep your browsers locked to our live reporting pages.
Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Bassett | United States | 2,785,000 | 70 |
| 2 | Roei Simantov | Israel | 2,340,000 | 59 |
| 3 | Daniel Vandyke | United States | 2,010,000 | 50 |
| 4 | Tom Hall | United Kingdom | 1,985,000 | 50 |
| 5 | Luis Vazquez | United States | 1,925,000 | 48 |
| 6 | William Zaiss | United States | 1,800,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Amir Atabaki | United States | 1,750,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Andrew Mousmoules | United States | 1,650,000 | 41 |
| 9 | Sean Bloom | South Africa | 1,590,000 | 40 |
| 10 | Sung Choi | United States | 1,570,000 | 39 |
What to Expect on Day 43 of the 2025 WSOP
Main Event fever continues to tighten its grip on the poker community, and rightly so because it's the tournament everyone dreams of winning. The Big Dance has now reached its third day of action, and 3,453 players remain in the hunt for the gargantuan $10 million top prize.
Those surviving players, led by Oleksii Kravchuk, return to their seats from noon local time and will play five 120-minute levels. There is a 20-minute break after every level, and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 13 at around 6:40 p.m. local time.
Before Day 3 of the Main Event kicks off, Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time. This event features two flights, with Day 1b scheduled for the same time on July 9. Our traditional coverage of this event starts on Day 2 on July 10.
Day 2 of Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack begins at 1:00 p.m. local time, with 595 players returning to the action. The plan is to complete 17 levels or whittle the field down to only five players, whichever comes first.
Last but not least is Event #87: $5,000 Super Turbo Bounty, which starts at 2:00 p.m. local time and is set to crown its champion on the same day! Levels only last 20 minutes, so expect all-ins, bad beats, and plenty of drama from the get-go; we cannot wait!
