Event #23: $1,500 Badugi
Day 2 Completed
Event #23: $1,500 Badugi
Day 2 Completed
The largest-ever Badugi tournament is nearing its conclusion, as an action packed Day 2 of Event #23: $1,500 Badugi of the 2025 World Series of Poker whittled the 98 survivors of the 534-entrant field down to just one table of seven players. Aloisio Dourado walked out of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas tonight as the chip leader of the survivors, having bagged 2,980,000 chips, good for 25 big bets at the start of Day 3.
Dourado is the sole Brazilian on an otherwise US-dominated table, which is going to divide the biggest prizes of the $708,885 prize pool. Dourado only had two WSOP cashes to his name before this event, but notably, they were both six-figure ones. With a runner-up finish in an eight-game and a deep run in last year's Main Event, Dourado will be aiming to close this one out to capture his first ever bracelet and keep this remarkable statistic going, as only the champion will walk away with the six figure prize of $138,144.
Meanwhile, WSOP regulars Dominick Sarle and Matthew Schreiber sit in second and third on the leaderboard with 2,525,000 and 2,095,000, respectively . Both already have mixed game bracelets, and are looking to capture their second piece of WSOP jewelry. Schreiber will be especially hungry for success after getting second in the $1,500 Dealer's Choice event a few days ago.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Schreiber | United States | 2,095,000 | 17 |
| 2 | David Margolis | United States | 1,275,000 | 11 |
| 3 | James Newberry | United States | 1,935,000 | 16 |
| 4 | Anthony Arvidson | United States | 1,290,000 | 11 |
| 5 | Jonathan Glendinning | United States | 1,270,000 | 11 |
| 6 | Dominick Sarle | United States | 2,525,000 | 21 |
| 7 | Aloisio Dourado | Brazil | 2,980,000 | 25 |
Day 2 started 17 spots away from the money, and a little over an hour into the day, Andy Jeh became the official bubble boy, after Jason Gola, Esther Taylor, Yuri Dzivielevski, and Hollywood star James Woods had already said their goodbyes.
Many poker powerhouses made the money. Among those who departed before the final three tables were Brian Yoon (78th - $3,000), Phillip Hui (57th - $3,000), Ben Yu (42nd - $3,317), and 2022 Player of the Year Daniel Zack (32nd - $4,054).
John Monnette (18th - $5,602) and David "ODB" Baker (17th - $6,879) made it to the redraw but did not add a badugi bracelet to their impressive collections. Day 1 chip leader Ray Fishman had a strong start of the day, but hit a wall at the final three tables and was eventually eliminated in 13th ($6,879) as the last player to miss out on the final two tables.
Arthur Morris and Andrew Brown were the last 25K Fantasy picks remaining when the final twelve were reached. After a strong start, Morris was busted by eventual chip leader Dourado in tenth ($8,688). Brown claimed the title of most valuable Fantasy pick for this tournament, but became the final elimination of the night when he bubbled the unofficial final table, getting paid $11,276 for eighth place.
The final seven have locked up ten buy-ins, with the first bust-out of Day 3 receiving $15,030. However, all players will be dreaming of the six-figure first-place prize that comes with becoming only the third-ever WSOP Badugi bracelet winner.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $138,114 |
| 2 | $92,058 |
| 3 | $61,061 |
| 4 | $41,462 |
| 5 | $28,838 |
| 6 | $20,558 |
| 7 | $15,030 |
The last table will resume play Saturday, June 7, at 1 p.m. local time. The blinds will be 30,000/60,000 with limits of 60,000/120,000. All levels will remain 60 minutes long, and a break will take place after every two levels. Day 3 is the final day of the tournament, ensuring a winner will be crowned.
Who will be crowned champion in the biggest badugi tournament ever held? Tune back in to PokerNews tomorrow to find out and not miss any of the WSOP action.
Ten levels have been played, which means Day 2 of the $1,500 Badugi has reached its end.
The chip counts of the remaining seven players can be found below, a recap of the day will follow shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,980,000
270,000
|
270,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,525,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,095,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,935,000
170,000
|
170,000 |
|
|
1,290,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
1,275,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
1,270,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
Aloisio Dourado raised under the gun and was called in three spots. David Margolis in the hijack, Anthony Arvidson in the cutoff, and James Newberry on the button all flat-called.
Dourado, Margolis, and Newberry drew one card each, with Arvidson taking two. Dourado fired a bet after the drawing round, which Margolis called. Newberry then raised, Arvidson called, and Dourado put in a three-bet.
Margolis had seen enough and mucked his cards, while Newberry and Arvidson flicked in calls. Dourado stood pat on the second draw, Newberry and Arvidson drew one card each.
Dourado saw his two remaining opponents call one more time before they drew one card on the final draw, after which the hand was checked to showdown.
Dourado tabled 8♥7♣6♠3♦ for an eight-badugi, taking down one of the last pots of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,250,000
1,060,000
|
1,060,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,105,000
395,000
|
395,000 |
|
|
1,350,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
|
|
1,285,000
185,000
|
185,000 |
Aloisio Dourado raised in the cutoff, seeing James Newberry call in the small blind. Newberry needed one fresh card, while Dourado took two. Newberry then led out and three-bet when Dourado raised.
Dourado called, drawing one card after the pat of Newberry. He called Newberry's bet before drawing one more card on the final draw, but folded when Newberry did not relent, firing after the last drawing round.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,190,000
285,000
|
285,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,575,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
James Newberry raised in the cutoff and on the button, Anthony Arvidson three-bet and Newberry called.
Newberry drew on the first draw and Arvidson stood pat. Newberry faced a bet after checking over to Arvidson and he responded by raising which Arvidson called.
On the second draw Newberry stood pat and Arvidson drew one, then folded when Newberry bet.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,450,000
910,000
|
910,000 |
|
|
1,300,000
960,000
|
960,000 |
Aloisio Dourado flicked in a raise under the gun, and was called by Anthony Arvidson on the button and Dominick Sarle in the big blind. Dourado stood pat on the first draw, while Sarle and Arvidson took one card each.
Sarle checked to Dourado after the draw, who bet. Arvidson then raised, Sarle called, Dourado three-bet, and both Sarle and Arvidson put in calls.
Dourado remained pat throughout the next two draws, while Sarle and Arvidson drew one card twice. He bet and got called by both opponents after the second draw, but they folded to Dourado's final bet after the third draw.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,475,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
2,075,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
1,540,000 | |
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Schreiber | United States | 2,040,000 | 20 |
| 2 | David Margolis | United States | 1,470,000 | 14 |
| 3 | James Newberry | United States | 2,260,000 | 22 |
| 4 | Anthony Arvidson | United States | 2,050,000 | 20 |
| 5 | Jonathan Glendinning | United States | 1,720,000 | 17 |
| 6 | Dominick Sarle | United States | 1,960,000 | 19 |
| 7 | Aloisio Dourado | Brazil | 1,650,000 | 16 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,260,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
2,050,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
|
2,040,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,960,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
1,720,000 | |
|
|
1,650,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,470,000
670,000
|
670,000 |
Andrew Brown raised all in on the button and both Dominick Sarle in the small blind and Jonathan Glendinning in the big blind called.
Sarle drew one, Glendinning drew two, while Brown stood pat with action checking through.
The second draw saw both Sarle and Glendinning draw one which saw Sarle bet and Glendinning folded.
Both players stood pat on the end and the cards were tabled.
Andrew Brown: K♥J♣7♦3♠
Dominick Sarle: K♣10♦8♥2♠
Brown held a king-jack which was second best against Sarle's king-ten and the WSOP bracelet winner was eliminated from the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,960,000
315,000
|
315,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,720,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Brian Tate was down to just a few big bets when he committed his final chips before the third draw in a pot against Aloisio Dourado. Dourado was first to draw and stood pat, prompting Tate to draw two.
Brian Tate: 3♣2♦
Aloisio Dourado: 8♦4♣2♥A♠
Tate was drawing dead after he opened the 7♣ first, and his last card disappeared into the muck as he took his exit from the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,825,000
435,000
|
435,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |