2025 WSOP PokerNews Deepstack Challenge

The clock’s ticking, and your final chance to lock up a PokerNews Deepstack Championship seat is NOW! The PokerNews Daily Deepstack Challenge is down to its last week, running through June 30 — don’t miss your opportunity to climb the leaderboard and claim your seat at one of the hottest events of the summer.

Play any of the daily $200, $250, or $400 Deepstack tournaments at the WSOP and rack up those leaderboard points. The top 10 point earners this week will win a seat to the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship — your shot at a massive prize pool and bragging rights under the bright WSOP lights.

Need to know where you stand? Head over to our PokerNews Deepstack Leaderboard Hub to track your progress, follow the weekly winners, and stay in the loop as the final push heats up.

Plus, there are cool collectables on the line. Make a Deepstack final table and you’ll snag an exclusive PokerNews card protector. Win the whole thing? You’ll walk away with a champion’s edition card protector to mark your victory.

It’s the last week, the pressure’s on, and the leaderboard race is wide open — time to grind, rack up those points, and earn your seat to the PokerNews Deepstack Championship!

Final Leaderboard Week: June 24–30

10 Seats to the PokerNews Deepstack Championship Up for Grabs!

Calculate Your Points

The final week of the PokerNews Deepstack Challenge got underway in style on Tuesday, June 24, with three big fields generating over $450,000 in combined prize pools.

With leaderboard points and PokerNews Deepstack Championship seats still up for grabs, players came out in force for the first day of Week 5.

$250 Daily Deepstack

In the $250 Deepstack, Brazil’s Luis Cichoski came out on top of a massive 1,290-entry field to claim $34,802, the biggest score of his tournament career.

Cichoski had to navigate a tough final table that included Osvaldo Alvarez, who banked $24,818 for second, and Luis Rojas, who took home $17,960 for third. Cichoski now joins the long list of international winners to emerge victorious in the series’ most popular daily event.

Final Table Results

$400 Daily Deepstack

Over in the $400 Deepstack, it was Texas grinder Ryan Brown adding another trophy to his résumé. The 40-year-old poker pro from Argyle, Texas, claimed his fourth recorded tournament victory and $23,524 after defeating a field of 375 players.

Brown is no stranger to the winner’s circle after capturing the 2023 $1,700 Tampa Bay Classic title for nearly $150,000. With Tuesday’s win, Brown edges closer to the $1 million mark in career earnings.

Final Table Results

$200 Daily Deepstack

Rounding out the action was the $200 Deepstack, where Utah’s Zachary Bassett took down the title for $12,429. The 41-year-old tax firm owner from Morgan, Utah, overcame 440 other entries to secure the win, which marks one of the biggest results of his poker journey.

Alan Gomez finished runner-up for $8,542, while Donovan Dean completed the podium with $5,992.

Final Table Results

The final week of the PokerNews Daily Deep Stack Challenge is well underway, and there were three massive fields and three big winners on Wednesday, June 26.

This is the last week for players to earn a spot in Event #78: $600 PokerNewsDeep Stack Championship, as the top 10 players on the weekly leaderboard will earn a seat. Players showed up in force to fight for their place.

$250 Daily Deepstack

The first tournament of the day began at 1 p.m. with a $250 buy-in, drawing a total of 939 entries and creating a prize pool of $187,800, including a top prize of $27,725. That top prize went to Geary Hill, who outlasted the field to claim the massive payday, defeating Jake Brown heads-up. Brown, who made the final table of the 2024 WSOP Mystery Millions, finished 2nd for $19,524. In third was Moshe Bouskila, who earned $13,986.

$250 Daily Deepstack Final Table Results

$400 Daily Deepstack

The $400 4 p.m. Deep Stack attracted 305 entries, generating a $100,980 prize pool. Shayne Mogilski took home the lion’s share, earning $20,404 for the victory. Stephen Ray finished in second place for $14,122, while Daniel Sears claimed $9,958 for his third-place finish.

$400 Daily Deepstack Final Table Results

$200 Daily Deepstack

The $200 Deepstack—the final event of the day—kicked off at 8:00 p.m. local time, drawing 385 entries and generating a prize pool of $59,675. Quentin Landes of France captured the top prize of $11,299, while Thailand’s Maurice Jeevanji finished runner-up for $7,762. Rounding out the podium was John Morris, who earned $5,442 for third place.

Tags: Alberto Fonseca MasisAntoinette LeblancDaniel SearsGregory GiusHiroya IwamotoJake BrownJohn MorrisKenton TaylorMaurice JeevanjiMoshe BouskilaNissar QuraishiQuentin LandesRoberto SilberayShane RodriguezShayne MogilskiSrikar DonapatiStephen RayThibault PecheurVida WassellWilliam Hawk

It was another packed Saturday at the PokerNews Deepstack Challenge, with more than 1,800 entries and nearly half a million dollars awarded across three daily tournaments and three new names joined the growing list of PNDC champions.

$250 Deepstack

The day kicked off with the $250 Daily Deepstack, which saw 571 entries generate a $114,200 prize pool. Taiwan’s Tefan Liu came out on top, banking $19,371 for his first known PNDC victory.

The 31-year-old overcame a tough final table that featured Bryan Macker (2nd - $13,408) and Frank Cerjak (3rd - $9,465), with 86 players making the money. Liu’s win marks the first PNDC title for Taiwan this summer.

Final Table Resuts

$400 Deepstack

Las Vegas’ Waheed Feda made the short trip from home to the Horseshoe worth it, conquering a 718-entry field in the $400 event for $37,640, the biggest payout of the day. The 56-year-old business owner has already posted WSOP cashes in both the Seniors Championship and Battle of the Ages, but Saturday’s result is his largest of the summer.

Feda is no stranger to deepstack success, having won an $800 event at the 2024 Aria Poker Classic for a career-best $78,490. Japan’s Yujiro Fukushima (2nd - $26,493) and Brandon Metcalf (3rd - $18,946) rounded out the podium in Saturday’s event.

Final Table Resuts

$200 Deepstack

The $200 Deepstack wrapped up the night, drawing 533 entries and generating an $82,615 prize pool. Los Angeles’ Eli Frenkel emerged victorious, collecting $14,309 and securing his first win of the 2025 summer.

Frenkel, 47, has nearly $160,000 in live tournament earnings and adds another solid result to his resume. Douglas Hickey finished runner-up for $9,867, with Radu Roscot (3rd - $6,947) and 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Marcel Vonk (4th - $4,980) also making the final table.

Final Table Resuts

The penultimate day of Week 5 of the PokerNews Deepstack Challenge has arrived, and with 9,518 entries already recorded, the race for leaderboard glory is as tight as it’s been all summer. More than $2,109,140 has been paid out in prize pools this week, with $351,213 going directly to event winners, but for those grinding the daily deepstacks, the focus remains squarely on locking up a seat to the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship.

After five full days of tournaments, it’s Geary Hill who clings to the top spot on the Week 5 leaderboard with 893 points. Hill picked up a win in Wednesday’s $250 Deepstack and added a second cash to keep himself in front, but with just 50 points separating the top five, the leaderboard remains wide open.

Luis Cichoski is hot on his heels with 844 points, thanks to his victory in Tuesday’s 1,290-entry $250 event — the largest tournament of Week 5 to date. Not far behind is Las Vegas business owner Waheed Feda on 840 points. Feda, who already found success at this year’s WSOP, claimed the $400 Deepstack title on Saturday for $37,640 to vault himself into contention.

Champions Stack Up in Crowded Leaderboard Chase

Ricardo Andino Claudio (816 points) and Donald Rosenberg (810) sit fourth and fifth, respectively, following their wins earlier in the week. Kevin Frame, fresh off his $31,007 victory in Friday’s $400 event, remains in striking distance with 808 points, followed by Ryan Brown (770), Tefan Liu (762), Shayne Mogilski (751), and Japan’s Shota Utsunomiya (747), who complete the current top ten.

Every player in the top ten has captured at least one PNDC title this week, but only Hill has managed multiple cashes to help boost his points tally.

With Sunday’s tournaments now underway and one final day of deepstack action set for Monday, players still have ample opportunity to climb the leaderboard. Given how volatile the standings have proven throughout the summer, one more deep run or outright win could prove decisive in punching a ticket to the upcoming $600 Championship.

The final week of the 2025 PokerNews Deepstack Challenge has come to a close, and with it, our last group of qualifiers for the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship has been locked in. After five weeks of daily grind, thousands of entries, and countless memorable moments, we’re proud to officially congratulate the final ten players to earn their Championship seats.

Week 5 Qualifiers

A huge congratulations to all ten Week 5 qualifiers—your hard work and consistency across the Daily Deepstacks have paid off, and your seat in the Championship is secured!

Thank You to Everyone Who Played

We can’t sign off without expressing how grateful we are to every player who made this year’s PokerNews Deepstack Challenge such a success. Over the past month, we’ve seen thousands of players battle it out inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, creating unforgettable stories, thrilling final tables, and, of course, plenty of leaderboard drama.

From our Week 1 trailblazers like James Derosa and Jacob Baumgartner, to Week 3 standouts Amanda Soscia and Dominique Terzian, all the way to our latest qualifiers—this has been one of the most exciting and competitive years yet.

To every player who bought in, bagged chips, or just took a shot—thank you for making the Deepstack Challenge what it is. We’ve awarded over 50 Championship seats through the leaderboard alone, and now the stage is set for the biggest Deepstack event of the summer.

Good Luck in the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship

The final battle begins with the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship, where all of our qualifiers will have the chance to turn their leaderboard success into a life-changing payday.

Best of luck to everyone still in the hunt, and from the entire PokerNews team—thank you for being part of the 2025 PokerNews Deepstack Challenge.

We’ll see you at the tables!

Week 4 Qualifiers

Week 3 Qualifiers

Week 2 Qualifiers

Week 1 Qualifiers