Can Nick Schulman Defend $25,000 High Roller Title?
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If you are following the 25K Fantasy action, Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) is likely to have a field that is jam-packed with those fantasy entrants. This three-day event commences at 12 p.m. local time at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, and the action will be intense from the pitching of the first cards.
Each entrant, and there will probably be about 300 of them, starts their quest for WSOP glory with a 150,000 starting stack. Should they somehow dust off those chips, they can reenter once before the end of late registration. Late registration closes at the end of the ninth level, which should be around 1:15 p.m. local time on Day 2 (Sunday, June 8).
Eight levels are scheduled on Day 1, with 15-minute breaks every two levels. Blinds increase every 60 minutes from start to finish.
Surviving players return to their seats from 12 p.m. local time on Sunday with 10 levels planned. A 60-minute dinner break is pencilled in after Level 14 (~6:30 p.m.), in addition to 15-minute breaks every two levels.
Day 3 is set for June 9, starting at a yet-to-be determined time.
This marks the fifth year this event has run, and it has grown annually. Only 139 players bought into the inaugural event in 2021, but 318 superstars turned out in force for the 2024 edition. Nick Schulman was the player who came out on top in 2024; he walked away with $1,667,842 and his fifth piece of WSOP hardware.
Schulman won a crucial coin flip early in the final table's proceedings before eliminating five of his seven opponents.
"It felt incredible," Schulman told PokerNews about the pivotal hand. "Everybody who's played poker tournaments has a lot of residual trauma ... and holding there was amazing. And then that set up where there was one big chip leader ... It's pretty rare, and a very special setup to find yourself in.
"I was fortunate enough to have the kind of golden lane, where they can't really do anything. Even if they know you're messing around, they still kind of can't do anything. And that's the best place to be in at a final table."
| Year | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 318 | Nick Schulman | United States | $1,667,842 |
| 2023 | 301 | Isaac Haxton | United States | $1,698,215 |
| 2022 | 251 | Chad Eveslage | United States | $1,415,610 |
| 2021 | 139 | Tyler Cornell | United States | $833,289 |
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