2025 WSOP PokerNews Deepstack Challenge

This summer at the WSOP, the PokerNews Deepstack Challenge gives everyday grinders a chance to shine. Play well in the daily $200, $250, $400 Deepstack events, rack up leaderboard points, and you could win a free seat to the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship.

Last year, eight leaderboard qualifiers made it count, not only earning their way into the Championship, but cashing in it too.

From first-timers to bracelet winners, here’s a look at the players who turned a daily grind into a WSOP payday.

Raymond Chiu

• Finished 254th for $1,743
• Topped the Week 1 leaderboard

Chiu came out swinging, winning back-to-back daily Deepstacks and rode that momentum into the Championship. He was the first qualifier to lock up a seat and one of the first to cash.

William Plitz

• Finished 142nd for $2,458
• Week 1 – 2nd place on the leaderboard

Plitz’s run started with a win in the May 30 daily, which also happened to be his biggest live score ever ($6,475). He backed it up with another deep run in the Championship. Safe to say he made the most of the PNDC.

Georgios Skarparis

• Finished 468th for $1,261
• Week 1 – 9th on the leaderboard

With $1.45 million in live earnings and a WSOP Mini Main title to his name, Skarparis is no stranger to success. Even with all that experience, he still came out for the daily Deepstacks and cashed again in the Championship.

Kenny Hsiung

• Finished 71st for $4,432
• Week 3 – 6th place

Hsiung, who won a WSOP bracelet in 2012, proved he’s still got the chops. He was the highest-finishing leaderboard qualifier in the Championship.

Michael Lin

• Finished 673rd for $1,201
• Week 3 – 10th on the leaderboard

Lin made the final table of the 2022 Deepstack Championship, and while this year’s run didn’t go quite as far, he still bagged another cash. A quiet, consistent presence on the felt.

Artur Stepanyan

• Finished 289th for $1,743
• Week 4 – 8th place

A breakout moment for Stepanyan, who turned a top-10 finish in Week 4 into a solid run in the Championship. It was only his second ever WSOP cash, not bad for someone still early in their WSOP journey.

Michael Beattie

• Finished 224th for $1,936
• Week 4 – 9th place

Beattie has over $300K in live earnings and knows how to find a payday. He added another cash prize to the pile from the PokerNews Deepstack Championship.

Hsing-Hsiung Tai

• Finished 464th for $1,261
• Week 4 – 10th place

No big headlines or flashy scores, just a solid grind from Tai, who turned his final qualifying spot into a Championship cash.

In the $250 Daily Deepstack held on Wednesday, May 28, a total of 370 entries have built a $79,550 prize pool, with $14,550 reserved for the winner. Seven players remain, each of them are guaranteed at least $2,030.

Meanwhile, the $200 Daily Deepstack drew 146 runners, creating a $24,601 prize pool and a top prize of $5,643. Eighteen players are still in contention.

WSOP Dealer James Derosa claimed victory in the May 28 $250 Daily Deepstack, outlasting a 370-player field to secure the $14,550 top prize. The tournament built a healthy $79,550 prize pool and featured a stacked final table packed with international talent.

"Zionim" finished in second place for $9,761, while American grinder Anthony Flanagan rounded out the podium. Also making deep runs were Mikhail Prokopchuk, Joakim Brochard, and David Garcia Araque, all of whom walked away with four-figure scores.

Final Table Payouts

Out of a 146-player field in Event #115: $200 Daily Deepstack, it was Lewis Christensen who emerged victorious, securing the $5,643 first-place prize after navigating a compact but competitive field at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.

Christensen, an engineer, bested fellow American Dustin Bryan heads-up, who took home $3,600 for his runner-up finish. Rounding out the podium was Dhananjay Bhor, who added $2,390 to his live earnings total.

"MortonKoopa" managed a fourth-place finish, while Oscar Quezada, Titus Balliett, and Teppei Ishizaki all cashed, but couldn’t climb past the middle of the pack.

Final Table Payouts