Christopher Leach Bags Day 1c and Overall Monster Stack Chip Lead
The third flight of Event #37: $1,500 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold'em was, as expected, the busiest so far. By the time late registration ended at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, some 2,681 players had bought in, 671 more than the busy Day 1b. Fast-forward to the conclusion of the 11th level, and only 886 of those starters had chips requiring bagging and tagging.
Christopher Leach (965,000) finished Day 1c of this 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet-awarding event not only on top of the flight's chip counts but the tournament overall. According to The Hendon Mob database, Leach has just shy of $210,000 in live earnings, the bulk of which stems from Maryland-based tournaments. He last cashed at the WSOP in 2023, finishing in the money in the $500 No-Limit Hold'em Salute to Warriors and the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Seniors.
Iason Filippidis and Max Havlish rounded off the podium places with 759,000 and 735,000 chips, respectively, and will be hopeful of building on their impressive starts when Day 2 starts on Sunday, June 15.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Leach | United States | 965,000 | 322 |
| 2 | Iason Filippidis | Greece | 759,000 | 253 |
| 3 | Max Havlish | United States | 735,000 | 245 |
| 4 | Matias Ruzzi | Argentina | 525,500 | 175 |
| 5 | Sebastian Medina | Colombia | 520,500 | 174 |
| 6 | Matthew Langone | United States | 493,000 | 164 |
| 7 | Mariano Molino | Argentina | 479,500 | 160 |
| 8 | Thomas Choi | United States | 465,500 | 155 |
| 9 | Alon Journo | Israel | 460,500 | 154 |
| 10 | Marcos Skerl | United States | 433,000 | 144 |
Although they didn't finish with enough chips for a place in the top ten, dozens of established grinders and familiar faces kept themselves in contention for this event's bracelet. Such luminaries as Martin Zamani (310,500), Bin Weng (285,500), Neel Joshi (282,500), Keven Stammen (256,500), Shai Zurr (241,500), Andrew Hulme (238,500), Jason Wheeler (230,000), Taylor Paur (187,500), and Angela Jordison (179,000).
Day 1d, the fourth and final starting flight of the Monster Stack, kicks off at 10 a.m. local time on Saturday, June 14, and everything points to it being, well, monster-sized. Expect 3,000 or more players to exchange their $1,500 for 50,000 chips and the chance to call themselves a WSOP bracelet winner. Oh, and probably a seven-figure first-place prize, too.
PokerNews traditional coverage of this event starts on Day 2. If you're playing Day 1d, why not use MyStack, the free tool that enables you to update your chip count and keep your folks at home up-to-date with your progress?