Despite coming to the World Series of Poker for 25 years, accruing nearly nine million in tournament cashes throughout his long career, and making an appearance at a staggering 16 WSOP final tables, including a runner-up finish in 2005, Matt Glantz remains on the list of "best without a bracelet".
That might change at the 2025 World Series of Poker, as today, at 11 a.m. local time, Glantz will be one of 103 players returning to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for Day 3 of Event #19: $500 COLOSSUS, the final day of the massive event. The 25K Fantasy pick and Team Lucky member's bag is filled with 9,150,000 chips, an above-average stack, as the survivors of the 16,301-entrant field will divide the biggest prizes of the $6,664,102 prize pool, including the eye-watering $542,540 first-place prize and accompanying WSOP bracelet.
Glantz has his work cut out for him, however, as chipleader Carlos Caldas will start Day 3 with 31,375,000, more than three times Glantz's stack Tom Verbruggen also crossed the 30-million mark on Day 2, coming back with 30,345,000, while Day 1a chipleader Lok Chan remained near the top of the counts, sitting in fifth place with 19,500,000 as he hunts his second bracelet in four years.
Start of Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Caldas | Portugal | 31,375,000 | 78 |
| 2 | Tom Verbruggen | Netherlands | 30,345,000 | 76 |
| 3 | Mark Tornai | United States | 24,750,000 | 62 |
| 4 | Zachary Hudson | United States | 22,000,000 | 55 |
| 5 | Lok Chan | Hong Kong | 19,500,000 | 49 |
| 6 | Bobby Poe | United States | 15,875,000 | 40 |
| 7 | Juan Capobianco | United States | 15,450,000 | 39 |
| 8 | Sergio Giha | United States | 15,400,000 | 39 |
| 9 | Courtenay Williams | United States | 14,800,000 | 37 |
| 10 | Sergei Petrushevskii | Russian Federation | 14,200,000 | 36 |
Aside from Glantz, Ryan Leng is the only other 25K Fantasy draftee to make the final day of the COLOSSUS, looking to add a fourth bracelet to his collection and starting the day with 6,525,000 in chips. Other notable players who have bagged on Day 2 include Day 1b chipleader Theo Rebour, who sits just outside of the top ten with a stack of 14,000,000, UK regular Brandon Sheils (5,950,000), and three-time bracelet winner David Pham (4,000,000).
The 103 returning players have all locked up nine buy-ins for their efforts, with $4,520 guaranteed to land in their pockets. Five-figure payouts will start from 62nd place, while the top six will walk away with at least $122,330. Meanwhile, the top prize of over half a million dollars will only be awarded to the winner.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $542,540 | 14-17 | $29,118 | |
| 2 | $361,690 | 18-26 | $23,440 | |
| 3 | $273,260 | 27-35 | $19,000 | |
| 4 | $207,740 | 36-44 | $15,510 | |
| 5 | $158,910 | 45-53 | $12,740 | |
| 6 | $122,330 | 54-62 | $10,540 | |
| 7 | $94,760 | 63-71 | $8,770 | |
| 8 | $73,880 | 72-80 | $7,360 | |
| 9 | $57,970 | 81-89 | $6,210 | |
| 10-11 | $45,770 | 90-98 | $5,280 | |
| 12-13 | $36,380 | 99-103 | $4,520 |
The players will return to blinds of 200,000/400,000 (400,000). With an average stack of just under 20 big blinds, the early proceedings are promising to be fast and furious. Those lucky enough to reach the deepest part of the colossal tournament may be in for a long night, as the plan is to play enough 40-minute levels to crown a new COLOSSUS champion. A 15-minute break will take place after every three levels, while details regarding a dinner break have yet to be confirmed.
PokerNews will be on the floor from start to finish for the marathon final day of this event, so stay tuned to this page to find out who will conquer one of the biggest fields of the 2025 WSOP and take home the bracelet.
