2025 WSOP PokerNews Deepstack Challenge

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2025 WSOP PokerNews Deepstack Challenge
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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.

$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 

Tuesday Launches Week 3 as Fowler, Petro & Maerten Score Deepstack Wins

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
Morgan Petro
Morgan Petro

The third week of the 2025 PokerNews Deepstack Challenge got off to a strong start with another trio of champions joining the series winner’s circle.

DateBuy-inEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrizePlaces Paid
Tue, June 10$2501004$200,800Simon Fowler$29,081151
Tue, June 10$400271$59,400John Petro$13,95627
Tue, June 10$200401$55,490David Maerten$10,72954

A total of 1,676 entries across the $250, $400, and $200 buy-in tiers added $315,690 to the overall prize pool, with Simon Fowler, John "Morgan" Petro, and David Maerten each earning five-figure scores to begin their week in style.

$250 Daily Deepstack

Tuesday’s $250 Daily Deepstack drew one of the largest fields of the PNDC so far, as 1,004 entries pushed the prize pool to $200,800. United Kingdom’s Simon Fowler, a 50-year-old mechanic, navigated the 151 paid places to take down the tournament for $29,081.

The final table featured 2024 PNDC leaderboard champ Duy Ho (5th – $7,880) and $250 deepstack specialist Adel Jo (7th – $4,482). Fowler’s victory marks the largest single-day cash of his career.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerPrize
1Simon Fowler$29,081
2Ilya Tulchinsky$20,495
3Sean Turow$14,691
4Patrick Williams$10,682
5Duy Ho$7,880
6X Jin$5,899
7Adel Jo$4,482
8Michael Russo$3,458
9Justin Duhameau$2,708

$400 Daily Deepstack

WSOP Circuit regular John "Morgan" Petro added another title to his résumé with a $13,956 victory in the $400 tier. The 38-year-old American, who won the 2023 WSOPC Pompano Beach Main Event for over $218K, bested 271 players for the top share of a $59,400 prize pool.

Petro, a five-time WSOPC ring winner, topped a final table that included Ryan Haas (2nd – $9,184) and Pasquale Vinci (3rd – $6,233), locking up his first PNDC score of the series in the process.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerPrize
1John Petro$13,956
2Ryan Haas$9,184
3Pasquale Vinci$6,233
4Ginold Rendel$4,363
5Briahn Smith$3,152
6Scott Sherwood$2,353
7Jim Shin$1,817
8Bart Young$1,454
9William Boone$1,206

$200 Daily Deepstack

France’s David Maerten claimed the $200 Deepstack title on Tuesday after defeating a 401-entry field for $10,729. The 29-year-old truck driver, who had just $4,477 in prior earnings, more than doubled his total with this result — a new personal best.

Isaias Rodriguezmontano (2nd – $7,304) and Sanjeev Datta (3rd – $5,088) rounded out the podium, as 54 players made the money in the $55,490 prize pool.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerPrize
1David Maerten$10,729
2Isaias Rodriguezmontano$7,304
3Sanjeev Datta$5,088
4Daniel Jesus$3,620
5Viktor Kambov$2,631
6Robert Johnson$1,954
7Jesus Trevino Medina$1,484
8Jason Lipiner$1,154
9Tyler Spaugh$918

Get Ready for the 4 p.m. $400 Daily Deepstack

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
Daily Deepstacks
Daily Deepstacks

Get ready for some poker action! The second Daily Deepstack of the day shuffles up and deals at 4 p.m. This single-day extravaganza comes with a $400 buy-in, giving you a hefty 30,000 starting stack to play with.

Feeling adventurous? Late registration is open until the start of Level 9, around 7:35 p.m., and you can reenter as many times as you like. Each level is a quick 20 minutes, with plenty of 15- and 20-minute breaks to catch your breath and strategize.

Blinds kick off at 100/100, and the big blind ante is in play from the get-go.

LevelBB AnteBlindsBreaks & Notes
1100100-100 
2200100-200 
3300200-300 
4400200-400 
5600300-600 
6800400-800Remove 100 Chips (20-Minute Break)
71,000500-1,000 
81,5001,000-1,500 
92,0001,000-2,000Remove 500 Chips (15-Minute Break) (Reg. ends)
103,0002,000-3,000 
114,0002,000-4,000 
126,0003,000-6,000 
138,0004,000-8,000 
1410,0005,000-10,000 
1516,0008,000-16,000 
1620,00010,000-20,000Remove 1,000 Chips (15-Minute Break)
1730,00015,000-30,000 
1840,00020,000-40,000 
1960,00030,000-60,000 
2080,00040,000-80,000 
21100,00050,000-100,000 
22150,000100,000-150,000Break (15-Minute Break)
23200,000100,000-200,000 
24300,000150,000-300,000 
25400,000200,000-400,000 
26600,000300,000-600,000 
27800,000400,000-800,000 
281,000,000500,000-1,000,000Break (15-Minute Break)
291,500,0001,000,000-1,500,000 
302,000,0001,000,000-2,000,000 
313,000,0001,500,000-3,000,000 
325,000,0002,000,000-5,000,000 

Join the Fun: PokerNews Daily Deepstack Challenge Leaderboard

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
Daily Deepstacks PN
Daily Deepstacks PN

Ready to show off your skills and compete for amazing prizes? The PokerNews Daily Deepstack Challenge is here from May 28 to June 24, and it’s your time to shine! Play in daily WSOP deep stack tournaments, earn points, and score fantastic rewards—including seats to the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship and some cool memorabilia.

Want to see how you’re doing? Track your progress, check out the latest standings, and get all the updates on our leaderboard page. Click the link below to dive into the action!

Check Out the Leaderboard Now!

PokerNews Deepstack Championship FAQs

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
Daily Deepstacks
Daily Deepstacks
What is the buy-in for the PokerNews Deepstack Championship?

The buy-in for the PokerNews Deepstack Championship event at the 2025 WSOP is $600 - among one of the lowest buy-ins in the Series. We looked to give low-stakes grinders an opportunity to win their way to a coveted WSOP bracelet, and the $600 entry fee is both affordable and offers the chance to win big money from an expected large prize pool.

When is the PokerNews Deepstack Championship?

The PokerNews Deepstack Championship event will be held between July 1-4, 2025. It's the 78th event in the 2025 WSOP.

Where is the PokerNews Deepstack Championship?

The PokerNews Deepstack Championship will be held in a new, vibrant venue near the Horseshoe poker room, Las Vegas.

How Can I Play the PokerNews Deepstack Championship?

Like any other event at the Series, to play the PokerNews Deepstack Championship, simply register from one of the multiple registration desks at the venue.

What is the PokerNews Deepstack Challenge?

The PokerNews Daily Deepstack Challenge is a leaderboard promotion running from May 27 to June 30. Players participating in the daily $200, $250, or $400 deep stack tournaments at the WSOP will earn points. The top 10 point earners each week will receive complimentary seats for the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship.

What is the leaderboard system?

The leaderboard system will follow the same formula used for the WSOP Player of the Year
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