Mariano Balfagon Hits The Big Time Winning First WSOP Bracelet in $800 Deepstack for $252,386
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Event #95: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has concluded here at The Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. The event attracted a field of 2,851 runners, generating a total prize pool of $1,995,700, with $252,386 being awarded to the champion.
162 players bagged up from Day 1 of the tournament to fight it out on Day 2 for the title and take home the coveted World Series of Poker bracelet along with the first-place prize.
Mariano Balfagon navigated his way through the day to capture the majority of the $1,995,700 prize pool and his first World Series of Poker bracelet along with a prize of over 20 times his previous best-ever live cash result according to The Hendon Mob. After entering heads-up play with a more than three-to-one chip lead, Balfagon was able to close out the victory against Andrew Ahn under the lights of the Horseshoe Las Vegas.
$800 NLHE Deepstack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariano Balfagon | Argentina | $252,386 |
| 2 | Andrew Ahn | United States | $168,122 |
| 3 | Nan Chen | United States | $122,705 |
| 4 | Alon Eldar | Israel | $90,413 |
| 5 | Jon Turner | United States | $67,262 |
| 6 | Wesley Fei | China | $50,526 |
| 7 | Kevin Choi | United Kingdom | $38,328 |
| 8 | Lei Yu | China | $29,364 |
| 9 | Gustavo Andolhe | Brazil | $22,722 |
Winner's Reaction
Balfagon has been playing poker for approximately 20 years and competing at the World Series for seven years. His largest previous score was $11,431, but today's win will be more than twenty times that amount.
"I’m feeling really good and really happy. It was a dream of mine to end up with a bracelet, and now I have fulfilled that dream."
“Now I will look at buying into some slightly higher buy-in events and the main event next year. I will now just enjoy the money and do some travelling, enjoy life, and keep on playing poker!”
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Balfagon didn’t have a set strategy for the final table, but is aware that a major hand against Alon Eldar set him up for the win, and he realised that it was within his grasp after winning this hand.
Balfagon would like to thank his best friend who was on the rail today for him to give him support and advice, and said, “I would not have been able to do this without him there on the rail for me.”
Day Two Play
Balfagon cruised through the day, gradually building his stack, and started to push on when fewer than 20 players were remaining. He got a huge boost to his stack by busting Mariyan Stoychev when his queen-nine cracked Stoychev’s jacks. He then eliminated Yang Li when his ace-seven held against Li’s king-seven.
Final Table Action
Balfagon started the final table in second spot and pushed on right from the off.
He took the chip lead in a massive pot against Jon Turner and never really looked back from this point. Balfagon busted Gustavo Andolhe in ninth spot when his king-ten outdrew Andolhe’s ace-six. He continued to build his stack at the final table and got an added bonus when he sniffed out Alon Eldar’s bluff.
With one of the top contenders at the final table in Jon Turner taken out in fifth spot, Balfagon continued to pile on the pressure and took a massive chip lead when he eliminated Eldar in fourth place.
This chip lead grew when he then took out Nan Chen in third place to take the tournament heads up with Andrew Ahn.
Heads-Up Play
Heads-up play was brief, with Balfagon entering the match at a more than three-to-one advantage. Ahn never got any momentum, and the final hand saw Balfagon’s five-two crack Ahn’s queens.
This concludes coverage of Event #95: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack. Stay tuned to PokerNews for more from the 2025 World Series of Poker.
