2025 WSOP PokerNews Deepstack Challenge

PNDC Updates
Week: 2
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$250 WSOP Daily Deepstack 1 p.m. Info and Structure

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
pndc
pndc

Kick off your day with some poker excitement! The opening Daily Deepstack of the day starts at 1 p.m. and promises a thrilling single-day event. With a $250 buy-in, you'll get a solid 25,000 starting stack to work with.

For the latecomers, late registration is open until the start of Level 9, and you can jump back in with unlimited reentries. Each level runs for 30 minutes, with 15-minute breaks sprinkled throughout the day, and a longer 30-minute break after Level 12 to recharge.

Blinds start at 100/100, with the big blind ante in play right from the start. Get ready to shuffle up and deal!

LevelBB AnteBlindsBreaks
1100100-100 
2200100-200 
3300200-300 
4400200-40015 Minute Break
5600300-600 
6800400-800 
71,000500-1,000 
81,200600-1,200Remove 100 Chips (20 Minute Break)
91,5001,000-1,500 
102,0001,000-2,000 
113,0001,500-3,000 
124,0002,000-4,000Remove 500 Chips (30 Minute Break)
136,0003,000-6,000 
148,0004,000-8,000 
1510,0005,000-10,000 
1616,0008,000-16,000Remove 1,000 Chips (15 Minute Break)
1720,00010,000-20,000 
1830,00015,000-30,000 
1940,00020,000-40,000 
2060,00030,000-60,000Break (15 Minute Break)
2180,00040,000-80,000 
22100,00050,000-100,000 
23150,000100,000-150,000 
24200,000100,000-200,000Break (15 Minute Break)
25300,000150,000-300,000 
26400,000200,000-400,000 
27600,000300,000-600,000 
28800,000400,000-800,000Break (15 Minute Break)
291,000,000500,000-1,000,000 
301,500,0001,000,000-1,500,000 
312,000,0001,000,000-2,000,000 
323,000,0001,500,000-3,000,000 

PNDC Week 2 Winners So Far

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
DateBuy-inEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrize
Tue, June 3$250961$192,200Atsushi Mineki$28,124
Tue, June 3$400265$87,450Ryan Flesch$18,385
Tue, June 3$200298$46,190Eric Tibuni$9,402
Wed, June 4$250540$116,100Kevin Iacofano$18,629
Wed, June 4$400126$44,226Kyle Sullivan$10,800
Wed, June 4$200219$43,800George Vigelette$7,542
Thu, June 5$250512$102,400Hunter Cole$17,921
Thu, June 5$400170$56,100Mark Lacoste$13,327
Thu, June 5$200260$40,300Yen-Tuan Chen$8,542
Fri, June 6$250548$109,600Michael Meza$18,789
Fri, June 6$400149$49,170John Howe$12,105
Fri, June 6$200284$44,020Christopher Dixon$9,073

Friday Delivers Big Results for Meza, Howe and Dixon at PNDC

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
PokerNews Deepstack Coins
PokerNews Deepstack Coins

Three more events played out on Friday, June 6, at the 2025 PokerNews Deepstack Challenge, as Week 2 continued at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The $200, $250, and $400 Daily Deepstacks drew a combined 981 entries, generating over $202,000 in prize pools.

The day produced three new winners: Michael Meza, John Howe, and Christopher Dixon, each securing their first PNDC victories.

$250 Daily Deepstack

Michael Meza, a 35-year-old truck driver from Beaumont, California, topped a field of 548 entries to claim $18,789, his largest live tournament cash to date. The $250 event generated a $109,600 prize pool, with 83 players finishing in the money.

Meza defeated Randall Paguio heads-up for the title, while Michael Holmes rounded out the top three.

Final Table Results – $250 Deepstack

PlacePlayerPrize
1Michael Meza$18,789
2Randall Paguio$12,962
3Michael Holmes$9,130
4David Brown$6,548
5Christopher Garner$4,782
6Vu Do$3,558
7Krishna Kalidas$2,698
8Hector Galvan$2,086
9Sebastian Stosch$1,645

$400 Daily Deepstack

Kelly Andrews
Kelly Andrews

In the $400 event, John Howe, a 38-year-old general manager from Danville, California, overcame a field of 149 entries to earn $12,105. The prize pool totaled $49,170, with 23 players making the money.

Kelly Andrews finished second for $7,835, and Gerald David took third for $5,255.

Final Table Results – $400 Deepstack

PlacePlayerPrize
1John Howe$12,105
2Kelly Andrews$7,835
3Gerald David$5,255
4Antal Roth$3,652
5Andrew Nemeth$2,632
6Rodrigo Gurgel$1,971
7Jeffrey Klimala$1,536
8Rian Valenti$1,247
9Spencer Sanchez$1,057

$200 Daily Deepstack

Christopher Dixon, a 52-year-old American player, took down the $200 event for $9,073, topping a field of 284 entries. The prize pool reached $44,020, with 45 players paid.

PlacePlayerPrize
1Christopher Dixon$9,073
2Michael Hong$6,112
3Mychajlo Semianczuk$4,221
4Stacey Diederich$2,985
5Nicholas Carmichael$2,163
6Andre Tassinari$1,606
7Elias Correa$1,223
8Orlando Romero$957
9Steve Coulombe$768

Meet the PokerNews Deepstack Grinders Who Turned a Seat Into a Score

Calum Grant
Calum Grant

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

Raymond Chiu
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

William Plitz
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

Georgios Skarparis
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

Kenny Hsiung
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

Michael Lin
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

Artur Stepanyan
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

Michael Beattie
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.
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