Victoria Livschitz Bags a Big Stack in Event #3: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed
The first day of Event #3: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed here at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas has come to an end. The 2025 World Series of Poker is hosting this event for the second time, after its debut in 2024.
A total of 558 players joined the field today, with 205 advancing to Day 2. The prize pool currently sits at $2,633,760, but that total is sure to grow, as late registration will be open for a further two levels on Day 2.
Jake Schwartz came out on top today, bagging a stack of 538,000. That will be a whopping 215 big blinds at the start of play tomorrow. Completing the Day 1 podium are Nicholas Go and WSOP bracelet winner Thomas Cazayous.
Frenchman Cazayous won his maiden bracelet at the 2019 World Series of Poker in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Schwartz | United States | 538,000 | 215 |
| 2 | Nicholas Go | Hong Kong | 492,500 | 197 |
| 3 | Thomas Cazayous | France | 462,000 | 185 |
| 4 | Pavlin Karakikov | Bulgaria | 421,500 | 169 |
| 5 | Shawn Daniels | United States | 402,000 | 161 |
| 6 | Frank Lagodich | United States | 368,500 | 147 |
| 7 | Victoria Livschitz | United States | 346,000 | 138 |
| 8 | Joseph Frei | United States | 325,000 | 130 |
| 9 | Leonardo Rizzo | Brazil | 300,000 | 120 |
| 10 | Antonio Galiana | Spain | 298,500 | 119 |
Also among the chipleaders is Victoria Livschitz. She is in a great position with 346,000, in search of her first bracelet, and looking to add to an already impressive résumé which boasts over $2,300,000 in lifetime cashes.
A notable mention goes to Joseph Frei, who, at blind levels 300/600/600 had a mammoth 400,000 stack and spent the whole day among the chipleaders.
Other accomplished players who found a Day 1 bag include Patrick Leonard (145,000), Jeremy Ausmus (110,000), Adam Friedman (101,500), John Juanda (77,000), Shaun Deeb (50,000) and Nick Schulman (45,000).
The 2024 champion, Brent Hart, wasn't in the field today, and unless we see him join tomorrow, we will be guaranteed a new champion.
Play will continue at noon Thursday, May 29, in the Horseshoe Event Center. Players will resume play at Level 11 with blinds of 1,500/2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante.
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