Ryan Hoenig Leads the Final 14 into Day 3 of the $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship
Stud Games: 5,000 Ante, 5,000 Bring-In, 20,000 Completion 20,000-40,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 10,000/15,000 Ante, 5,000-10,000 Blinds
It was moving day in the Horseshoe Event Center for Day 2 of Event 18: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship as the starting field of 152 was reduced to its final 14.
Only 62 players returned for Day 2, joined by 30 new entrants during the first hour of the day. However, just 23 would be in the money and guaranteed a minimum cash of $20,680.
This prestigious event always brings out the finest that the mixed game world has to offer with mastery of 21 different poker formats being required.
Leading the pack into the final day is Ryan Hoenig with a commanding lead at 2,050,000. Some may remember Hoenig from last year when he got heads-up in five consecutive mixed tournaments at Seminole Hard Rock, winning the final three. He has taken his talents to the high stakes this summer as his $52 price tag in the 25K Fantasy Draft seems to be good value.
Sitting behind Hoenig is Italy’s Dario Alioto with 1,228,000. Rounding out the podium in third is Daniel Zack with 813,000 as he searches for his third bracelet after a hot start to the summer.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Hoenig | United States | 2,050,000 |
| 2 | Dario Alioto | Italy | 1,228,000 |
| 3 | Daniel Zack | United States | 813,000 |
| 4 | Bariscan Betil | United States | 770,000 |
| 5 | Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | 663,000 |
| 6 | Jon Turner | United States | 655,000 |
| 7 | Dylan Smith | United States | 511,000 |
| 8 | Allan Le | United States | 510,000 |
| 9 | Adam Friedman | United States | 504,000 |
| 10 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 393,000 |
| 11 | Matthew Vengrin | United States | 354,000 |
| 12 | Brandon Cantu | United States | 348,000 |
| 13 | Andrew Kelsall | United States | 282,000 |
| 14 | Gus Hansen | Denmark | 91,000 |
Many of the most famous mixed game players in the world played today but fell short of the money, including Chad Eveslage, Josh Arieh, Yuri Dzivielevski, Brian Rast, John Monnette, Scott Seiver, Phil Ivey, Shaun Deeb, Jeremy Ausmus, and Daniel Negreanu.
Hand-for-hand play began two players from the money as it was ultimately a battle between Andrew Kelsall and Jonathan Krela at the bottom. Kelsall was forced all in from the big blind playing Limit Omaha Hi. He had a dominated hand but was able to win with a lone pair of threes.
The next hand, Krela anted his last 1,000 in a hand of Razz and was live on seventh street. Unfortunately for him, he paired after a live squeeze as he exited the room just short of the money.
Play continued for a couple hours after the bubble with notable eliminations including Eric Wasserson (22nd - $20,680), Alex Livingston (19th - $20,680), and Phil Hellmuth (15th - $22,088), who had some choice words at several points throughout the night.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $354,444 |
| 2 | $230,374 |
| 3 | $154,460 |
| 4 | $106,935 |
| 5 | $76,525 |
| 6 | $56,671 |
| 7 | $43,483 |
| 8-9 | $34,613 |
| 10-11 | $28,624 |
| 12-14 | $24,630 |
Play resumes Thursday, June 5, at 1 p.m. local time in the Horseshoe Event Center for the final 14 players. Play resumes in Level 19 with big bet blinds at 6,000/12,000 and limits of 25,000/50,000 with an average stack of 651,000. Levels are 90 minutes in length through to the conclusion of the event.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we provide coverage through to the end of this event and all events here at the 2025 World Series of Poker.