Here at the 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas,Day 1 of Event #1: $1,500 Big O saw 1,499 runners generate a $1,989,922 total prize pool. The field dwindled down to 207 after 15 levels of play. 225 players made the money, but with that milestone over, all eyes will be on the $297,285 first prize that comes with the coveted bracelet.
Justin Liberto was amongst the biggest stacks to end the evening and is seeking his second gold bracelet after a 10-year drought. He won his first bracelet in 6-max No-Limit Hold'em for a whopping $ 640,711. He seems to have joined in the trend of dedicated No-Limit Hold’em players extending their repertoire to include Omaha.
Leading the way after the opening day is Michael Rodgers, who bagged up 654,000 to pace the field heading into action on Sunday.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|
| 1 | Michael Rodgers | United States | 654,000 | 131 |
| 2 | Stephen Hubbard | United States | 575,000 | 115 |
| 3 | Joshua Thatcher | United States | 537,000 | 107 |
| 4 | Jason Stockfish | United States | 530,000 | 106 |
| 5 | Justin Liberto | United States | 495,000 | 99 |
| 6 | Yehuda Buchalter | United States | 491,000 | 98 |
| 7 | Kevin Dwyer | United States | 454,000 | 91 |
| 8 | Filippos Stavrakis | United States | 435,000 | 87 |
| 9 | Matthew Schulte | United States | 435,000 | 87 |
| 10 | James Chen (US) | United States | 434,000 | 87 |
Day 1 saw plenty of decorated players advance to Day 2 including the likes of Viktor Blom (237,000), Ari Engel (299,000), James Obst (107,000), and Sam Farha (182,000), who bagged the chip lead in this event in 2024.
Michael Christ (269,000) will be looking defend his title but will first have to battle through Day 2, which is slated to play down 10 levels.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
| 1 | $297,285 | 10-11 | $19,122 |
| 2 | $198,134 | 12-15 | $15,172 |
| 3 | $141,315 | 16-23 | $12,209 |
| 4 | $102,079 | 24-31 | $9,967 |
| 5 | $74,693 | 32-39 | $8,256 |
| 6 | $55,372 | 40-47 | $6,941 |
| 7 | $41,595 | 48-54 | $5,924 |
| 8 | $31,667 | 56-53 | $5,133 |
| 9 | $24,439 | 64-71 | $4,517 |
| | | 72-79 | $4,038 |
| | | 80-126 | $3,386 |
| | | 127-123 | $3,178 |
| | | 154-207 | $3,027 |
With only 15 minutes left on the clock, hand-for-hand play began and lasted exactly one hand with Poland’s, Tomasz Gluzko, being the last competitor to leave empty-handed.
The remaining players will return to Level 16 with blinds of 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. The field is slated to play 10 one-hour levels with a dinner break after level 21 at approx. 7:30 p.m. local time.
Be sure to check back with PokerNews for all your most up-to-date information on the 2025 World Series of Poker.
Tags:
Ari EngelFilippos StavrakisJames ChenJames ObstJason StockfishJoshua ThatcherJustin LibertoKevin DwyerMatthew SchulteMichael ChristMichael RodgersSam FarhaStephen HubbardTomasz GluzkoViktor BlomYehuda Buchalter
