Jarod Ludemann raised to 30,000 under the gun and Dong Chen called in the small blind. Taylor Paur then moved all in for 180,000 in the big blind, Ludemann reshoved, and Chen got out of the way.
Taylor Paur: 6♦6♠
Jarod Ludemann: A♦Q♣
Paur was racing for his tournament life but fell behind on the Q♥Q♠4♠ flop as Ludemann made trips. The rest of the board came 10♠9♣ and Paur was sent to the rail.
Dong Chen opened the button to 40,000 and Jarod Ludemann three-bet from the big blind to 110,000. Chen, who had around 450,000 to start the hand, just called.
On the J♦3♠J♠ flop, Ludemann continued with a bet of 105,000, which Chen called to see the 4♣ drop on the turn. Ludemann then bet 300,000, and Chen called off his stack of around 230,000.
Dong Chen: K♣K♠
Jarod Ludemann: A♦A♣
Chen's Cowboys were way behind the bullets of Ludemann and nothing changed when the 8♦ fell on the river, leaving Chen on the sidelines late on Day 2.
The action was fierce on Day 2 of Event #3: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed at the 2025 World Series of Poker, held at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Out of the 340 players who returned to the felt, only 25 managed to survive the day and earn a seat on Day 3.
Each returning player is now guaranteed at least $18,736, but all eyes are on the coveted gold bracelet and the $582,008 first-place prize.
Antonio Galiana bagged the chip lead, ending the day with a massive stack of 3,615,000. A pivotal moment in Galiana’s run came when he hit quads to eliminate Robert Smith. Galiana, who claimed his first bracelet in last year’s $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, is now in prime position to capture his second.
Right behind him are some big names, including four-time bracelet winner and 25K Fantasy Draft pick Georgios Sotiropoulos (3,045,000), bracelet winner Bradley Gafford (2,445,000), and fellow 25K pick Uri Reichenstein (2,095,000).
Uri Reichenstein
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Antonio Galiana
Spain
3,615,000
145
2
Georgios Sotiropoulos
Greece
3,045,000
122
3
Bradley Gafford
United States
2,445,000
98
4
Uri Reichenstein
Israel
2,095,000
84
5
Christian Roberts
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
2,065,000
83
6
Renji Mao
China
2,045,000
82
7
Michael Moncek
United States
1,805,000
72
8
Joshua Remitio
United States
1,755,000
70
9
Gaetan Balleur
France
1,700,000
68
10
Benjamin Palmer
United States
1,595,000
64
Remaining Payouts
Rank
Prize
1
$582,008
2
$387,979
3
$270,407
4
$191,550
5
$137,948
6
$101,028
7
$75,263
8
$57,051
9
$44,018
10-11
$34,578
11-15
$27,666
16-23
$22,552
24-25
$18,736
The other 25K draft picks who are still in contention and returning tomorrow are: Christian Roberts (2,065,000), Renji Mao (2,045,000), Michael Moncek (1,085,000), Sam Soverel (1,215,000), Justin Saliba (1,115,000), Blake Bohn (1,115,000), Ethan Yau (360,000), Justin Liberto (245.000), Francis Anderson (235,000).
Day 2 chip leader Jake Schwartz was eliminated before the dinner break. Phil Hellmuth made a deep run in his quest for bracelet number 18, but fell short, while Phil Ivey also went deep but missed the money.
Play resumes at 12 p.m. local time on Friday, May 30, in Level 21 with blinds at 10,000/25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante.
Stay locked in to PokerNews as our live reporting team brings you all the action until a new bracelet winner is crowned.
