Antonio Galiana raised from under the gun to 200,000, and Gaetan Balleur called from the big blind. The flop was Q♥5♥2♣, and players are playing pretty cautiously due to the fact that they are on the live stream bubble. When the table gets to five players, the game will resume tomorrow and will be on live stream with PokerGO. Balleur checked to the raiser, who placed a continuation bet of 135,000. Balleur made the call.
On the turn J♥ Balleur checked again, and Galiana bet 460,000 and received a call.
The river brought a check from both players, and Balleur turned over the winning hand A♥J♠ with a pair of jacks. Galiana mucked.
Antonio Galiana limped from early position, and Christian Roberts checked in the big blind. The flop came 6♠6♦3♦, and both players checked.
The rest of the streets were also checked with the turn being the 4♦ and the river being the 9♠. Galiana turned over 6♣5♠ for trips, and Roberts showed the 7♦ and exclaimed, "Phew".
Uri Reichenstein moved all in effective 3,140,000 while in the small blind against Renji Mao, who was sitting on short stack. Renji contemplated and lamented that he had less than five big blinds but came around to make the call.
Renji Mao: A♠8♣
Uri Reichenstein: 5♣5♠
The board came down with 2♠K♥4♥A♥Q♥ and Mao hit the ace for a pair and the win.
Antonio Galiana limped from the small blind, but Christian Roberts in the big blind raised to 380,000. Galiana called.
Galiana checked on a flop of Q♣3♥4♦, and Roberts kept up the aggression with a bet of 210,000, Galiana called. The 7♠ turn card didn't slow the action down as Roberts fired another bet of 500,000 when checked to, Galiana called again.
Roberts bet the size of the pot when the 2♥ hit the river, Galiana went deep into the tank but eventually found the call and was shown A♥Q♦ for top pair. Galiana mucked and Roberts scooped a huge pot on the final table to take the lead.
Alan Keating had an opportunity to prove to the high-stakes tournament grinders — notably, Daniel Negreanu — that he can hang in their arena. But the Hustler Casino Live fan favorite bowed out in the second round of Event #7: $25,000 Heads-Up Championship on Friday at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Keating, known primarily for his high-stakes cash game appearances, has over $200,000 in career WSOP earnings but hasn’t recorded a WSOP cash since 2013. Recently, he’s been publicly challenged by several high-stakes pros—including Negreanu — to step outside the comfort of the private cash game scene and compete against the game's elites.
It seems Negreanu was on Keating’s mind when he registered for the event. When PokerNews caught up with him and asked about his motivation for playing, Keating said, “It’s a heads-up tournament, and I saw Negreanu was on the list,” adding that he thought to himself, “Alright, here’s my chance to find him in his streets.”
Uri Reichenstein raised from the hijack to 240,000, and Antonio Galiana made a smooth call from the big blind. The flop came out extremely draw-heavy with K♥10♠Q♠, and Uri Reichenstein placed the continuation bet of 180,000 after Galiana checked. Galiana called the bet.
The turn 8♦ saw another big bet from Reichenstein, preceded by a check by Galiana, who called again.
On the 4♣ river, Galiana checked again, which prompted a bet from Reichenstein for almost all of his chips minus 25,000 for 1,580,000. Galiana went into the think tank for a long time, and despite Reichenstein's unrelenting stare, he made the call, which turned out to be correct. Reichenstein flipped over J♦10♦ for a pair of tens with a missed straight draw, and Galiana held K♣9♦ for top pair for the win.
Uri Reichenstein was under the gun and put in his last 25,000 chip, Frederic Normand limped in the cutoff, Gaetan Balleur limped on the button and Christian Roberts made a joke pretending to raise but slipped in four greens for a blue chip and stated, 'Check", which prompted a laugh from all the players. Antonio Galiana and Renji Mao folded.
Uri Reichenstein: 10♣10♠
Frederic Normand: A♠10♥
Christian Roberts: 10♦8♦
Gaetan Balleur: Q♠J♥
All the players checked the board, which came out as Q♥8♣K♥4♥6♣, and in the end, Uri Reichenstein was eliminated and Gaetan Balleur scooped the pot with a pair of queens.
This concluded tonight's action as play was slated to end when five players remained, and the game will continue tomorrow. Stay tuned for the recap for all the details.
Day 3 of Event #3: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas concluded after ten hours of play, with the field narrowing from 25 to just five players. Each has secured at least $137,948 from the $3,720,960 prize pool and will now compete for the top prize of $582,008 and a WSOP bracelet.
Christian Roberts ended the day as the clear chip leader, bagging over 10,000,000 chips. Roberts has emerged as a formidable presence at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), accumulating more than $1,994,441 in live earnings across 60+ cashes and securing his first bracelet in 2023 by winning the $500 No-Limit Hold'em Summer Saver online event for $154,359. Roberts will be looking to earn his second WSOP bracelet, another huge score, and maximum points for Team Girl Dads.
The second largest stack at the end of the night belongs to Antonio Galiana, bagging 8,400,000. Galiana made a memorable mark at the 2024 World Series of Poker by capturing his first gold bracelet in the $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em. The Spanish native navigated a large field of 1,267 entries to claim the top prize of $439,395. Galiana accumulated his stack through solid play, aggression, and hero calls only the best in the world could make, and now he is looking for the biggest all-time live score and his second WSOP bracelet.
Third in chips is Renji Mao from Beijing, who has rapidly ascended the ranks of the WSOP circuit, amassing over $586,000 in WSOP earnings. His breakout moment came in 2023 when he clinched his first bracelet in the $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack event, securing a $402,588 payday. Since then, Mao has demonstrated remarkable consistency, recording 25 cashes in WSOP events across live and online. Mao's final table was far from smooth, coming in short-stacked, but he managed to win a few big flips to spin up his stack to nearly 8,000,000. Mao will also be seeking his second bracelet on Sunday.
Final Table Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Frederic Normand
Canada
4,675,000
39
2
Renji Mao
China
6,340,000
53
3
Antonio Galiana
Spain
8,430,000
70
4
Christian Roberts
Venezuela
10,075,000
84
5
Gaetan Balleur
France
5,160,000
43
The final table buzzed with hero calls, massive bluffs, and lively discussions on topics like who they considered the best players in the world, the earnings of ambassadors, and their shared passion for the game. The table showcased a global flair with 8 players representing eight different countries: France, Spain, China, Canada, Israel, Venezuela, USA, and Greece. Georgios Sotiropoulos (8th - $57,051), Justin Liberto (7th - $75,263), and Uri Reichenstein (6th - $101,028) not only secured impressive payouts but also earned valuable points for their 25K Fantasy Draft teams.
Uri Reichenstein
A few notable players that hit the rail early include Sam Soverel (22nd-$22,552), Ethan Yau (17th-$22,552), Justin Saliba (15th-$27,666), and Michael Moncek (9th-$44,018). Moncek was unfortunately the final table bubble boy, but collected $44,018 for his efforts.
Final Table Payouts/Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
$582,008
2
$387,979
3
$270,407
4
$191,550
5
$137,948
6
Uri Reichenstein
Israel
$101,028
7
Justin Liberto
United States
$75,263
8
Georgios Sotiropoulos
Greece
$57,051
The tournament will resume at 3 p.m. local time, with two minutes left in Level 28. Blinds will be 60,000/120,000, with a 120,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 60 minutes in length, with 15-minute breaks every two levels. PokerGO will stream the action on a two-hour delay, beginning at 5 p.m. PDT.
Be sure to follow PokerNews throughout the remainder of this event, as well as future coverage throughout the summer.
