Level 45
: Blinds 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
Elliott Kampen
Michael Wilklow raised to 12,000,000 from early position, Michael Acevedo then three bet from the cutoff to 32,000,000. Elliott Kampen then shoved all in for 82,000,000 from the button. Wilklow folded, and Acevedo made the call.
Elliott Kampen: 10♥10♣
Michael Acevedo: A♦Q♠
The dealer ran out a board of K♣4♣7♦5♥Q♥ board to send Kampen to the payout desk in fifth place.
Level 45
: Blinds 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
Yu Huang
Michael Acevedo raised to 12,000,000 from the button. Yu Hsiang Huang then went all in for 48,000,000 from the small blind. Acevedo made the call and the players tabled their hands.
Yu Hsiang Huang: A♥K♦
Michael Acevedo: Q♦J♠
The board ran out 8♦4♠A♠J♦6♦ giving Huang a much needed double up.
Level 46
: Blinds 4,000,000/8,000,000, 8,000,000 ante
Yu Huang
Michael Wilklow raised to 16,000,000 from the button. Yu Hsiang Huang then went all in for 84,000,000 from the small blind, Wilklow made the call, and the hands were tabled.
Yu Hsiang Huang: 5♠5♣
Michael Wilklow: A♦J♠
The dealer ran out a board of 6♦A♥10♥4♥8♠, sending Huang to the payout desk in fourth place.
Level 47
: Blinds 5,000,000/10,000,000, 10,000,000 ante
Daniel Strelitz
Daniel Strelitz shoved from the small blind for 96,500,000 and Michael Wilklow liked what he saw in the big blind and called.
Daniel Strelitz: A♠2♦
Michael Wilklow: A♣6♣
Strelitz was looking for a way back into the tournament, but after the 3♦5♥6♥ flop, it didn't seem too likely as Wilklow paired his six. A four would have given Strelitz a straight, but the 8♦ on the turn wasn't what he was looking for.
Nothing changed when the K♦ hit the river, meaning Strelitz was out in third.
Level 47
: Blinds 5,000,000/10,000,000, 10,000,000 ante
Michael Wilklow
Michael Wilklow limped in from the button with J♦6♥ and Michael Acevedo checked K♠7♥ in the big blind to see a flop of Q♦6♣9♠, where both checked.
An 8♣ hit the turn and Acevedo led out for 20,000,000 with an open-ended straight draw, and Wilklow called with his pair of sixes.
When the 3♥ landed on the river, Acevedo reached for chips and put together a bet of 100,000,0000 before he pushed it into the pot. Wilklow rechecked his cards and after some time in the tank, made a big call to scoop the pot.
Level 47
: Blinds 5,000,000/10,000,000, 10,000,000 ante
Michael Acevedo
Michael Acevedo limped in from the button with Q♦8♦ and Michael Wilklow checked the big blind with J♦8♠.
On the 4♦J♥3♦, both checked to the A♦ turn, where Wilklow again checked with his pair of jacks. Acevedo thought now was the right time to start betting his flush and threw out 15,000,000, which Wilklow called.
A K♥ completed the board and after Wilklow checked, Acevedo bet 30,000,000. Wilklow didn't need to think for too long before he paid it off, and Acevedo took it down with his flush.
Level 47
: Blinds 5,000,000/10,000,000, 10,000,000 ante
Michael Acevedo
Michael Wilklow limped from the button with Q♦J♥ and Michael Acevedo raised to 40,000,000 from the big blind with A♠K♠, Wilklow called.
The flop came Q♠Q♣A♣ and both players checked.
The turn saw the J♣ fall to make Wilklow a full house. Acevedo now decided to lead out for 35,000,000. Wilklow flat called.
The river brought the 10♦, which made Acevedo Broadway, and he decided to check. Wilklow announced all in which sent Acevedo into the tank for two to three minutes before he stood up and made the call, which left him out in second place.
Level 47
: Blinds 5,000,000/10,000,000, 10,000,000 ante
Michael Wilklow Wins EV1 Mystery Millions for $1,000,000
After more than eight hours of play on Day 3, Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions at the 2025 World Series of Poker concluded, with Michael Wilklow emerging as the winner. Navigating through a field of 19,654 players and generating a total prize pool of $17,295,520, the champion defeated Michael Acevedo in a heads-up battle to claim the gold bracelet and a hefty $1,000,000 prize at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
The Mystery Millions event at the WSOP is always an extravaganza, and this year was no exception, with two mega $1,000,000 bounties up for grabs. Tyler Montoya secured the first of the top prizes on Day 2. After claiming his million-dollar prize, Montoya famously proclaimed, “If you’re a stripper at a strip club, you should be working tonight.” The second jackpot bounty was also claimed on Day 2, going to Thomas Zanot. Zanot may now be known as the luckiest gambler alive; his massive win came just a couple of years after he hit an even larger jackpot. In January 2023, Zanot won a $6.4 million Pai Gow progressive jackpot at the Flamingo, a Caesars Entertainment property on the Las Vegas Strip.
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Michael Wilklow
United States
$1,000,000
2
Michael Acevedo
Costa Rica
$563,350
3
Daniel Strelitz
United States
$429,950
4
Yu Hsiang Huang
Taiwan
$329,940
5
Elliott Kampen
United States
$254,590
6
Wesley Fei
China
$197,550
7
Linda Ngo
United States
$154,140
8
Jeffrey Hong
United States
$120,950
9
Michael Marks
United States
$95,551
Winners Reaction
Wilklow has played poker his whole life, but started taking the game more seriously over the last couple of years. He believes his mental toughness helped propel him to victory. “I’ve never felt more focused than today. In the past, when I’ve played the Main Event, I remember feeling very tired on Day 3; today was different.” Wilklow quit drinking last year, which he believes was a massive help with both his endurance and mental toughness.
Wilklow didn’t enter Day 3 with any set strategies but made sure to do some last-minute studying in preparation for a long day. “Before the day started and during the breaks, I was reviewing my heads-up notes just in case, and I was glad that I did.”
As for who Wilklow viewed as a threat: “I was most wary of Wesley because he was the most loose-cannony, although I know the player I played heads-up is quite studied.”
Day 3 Action
The lion’s share of big bounties had been claimed on Day 2. As a result, the players on Day 3 were more focused on securing additional pay jumps.
Eliminations came fast and furious. Demarco Howard was the first to go, finishing in 20th place when his pocket sevens couldn’t improve against Daniel Westphal’s pocket kings. Players then started to drop like flies as stacks got shallow and play became more aggressive.
After just three hours, the 20 returning players had been whittled down to an unofficial final table of 10, as George Tatalovich’s pocket sixes couldn’t hold up against Yu Hsiang Huang’s king-queen.
Final Table Action
The final table featured some seasoned veterans. Acevedo is a well-known poker author, and Daniel Strelitz is a two-time bracelet winner, but both players fell victim to Wilklow, who was gaining momentum as the final table progressed.
With five players remaining, Wilklow secured a crucial double-up when his ace-ten outdrew Acevedo’s ace-king. He then caught fire, going on to eliminate three of his final four opponents
Once play got heads-up, the players traded jabs before Wilklow was put to the test with fourth pair by Acevedo, but he sniffed out the bluff and made an impressive call.
The final hand occurred when Wilklow turned a full house and Acevedo rivered a straight. Wilklow’s rail erupted as his million-dollar score was 20 times larger than his previous biggest cash.
Michael Wilklow Wins EV1 Mystery Millions for $1,000,000
This concludes coverage of Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions. Stay tuned to PokerNews for more from the 2025 World Series of Poker.
