Stud Games: 20,000-50,000, 50,000-100,000 Limits, 10,000 Ante
Over the course of ten hours of limit poker, the record-breaking field of 867 has been whittled down to just 18 contenders on Day 2 of the Event #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. of the 2025 World Series of Poker. At the end of the night, Russian native Andrey Zhigalov had the most chips in his possession, 2,455,000 of them to be exact, good for 20 big bets at the start of Day 3.
Zhigalov has long proven himself to be a formidable mixed game player, both online under the moniker "Gigaloff" and in live tournaments. Zhigalov won his only bracelet in this very event back in 2018, and is making another deep run seven years later. This time, the potential win will come with $197,923, the largest share of the $1,150,943 prize pool.
Many other hard-hitting contenders can be found in the upper half of the chip counts, with 25K Fantasy picks Thomas Taylor, Nicolas Milgrom, and Ari Engel all bagging a top ten stack when play ended late in the night at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrey Zhigalov | Russian Federation | 2,455,000 | 20 |
| 2 | Joe Jeffery | United States | 2,320,000 | 19 |
| 3 | Dzmitry Malets | Belarus | 2,200,000 | 18 |
| 4 | Sachin Bhargava | United States | 1,805,000 | 15 |
| 5 | Thomas Taylor | Canada | 1,730,000 | 14 |
| 6 | Nicolas Milgrom | France | 1,455,000 | 12 |
| 7 | Ryan Parsa | United States | 1,350,000 | 11 |
| 8 | Ari Engel | Canada | 1,340,000 | 11 |
| 9 | Joseph Villella | United States | 1,170,000 | 10 |
| 10 | Joseph Santagata | United States | 1,095,000 | 9 |
Hall of Famer Linda Johnson is the last lady standing in the field. Johnson won her bracelet in 1997, and with 785,000 in chips, she has a decent shot at obtaining her second one 28 years later. Meanwhile, two-time bracelet winner Alex Livingston and recently crowned $25,000 6-Handed High Roller champion Blaz Zerjav are at the bottom of the leaderboard, with stacks of 340,000 and 115,000 respectively.
Day 2 Action
The day started with 195 players returning, and with only 131 spots paid, some big names would have to say goodbye before cash could be distributed. Esther Taylor, Jon Turner, Ted Forrest, Brian Yoon, and Todd Brunson all booked a quick exit at the start of the day. The rapid pace of eliminations during the early phase of Day 2 saw half a dozen players being busted just before the money would be reached, eliminating the need for hand-for-hand.
Eugene Katchalov was among the players picking up the min-cash of $3,017, while start-of-day chipleader Michael Solheim finished in what must have felt as a disappointing 70th place for $3,453. 2009 Player of the Year Jeffrey Lisandro also made an appearance in this event, adding $4,118 to his WSOP resume for his 51st place.
Eventually, mixed game legend Calvin Anderson went from chipleading to finishing in 25th place for $6,229, and Tony Ma was eliminated in 22nd for $7,562, just after the three-table redraw. Clarence Judkins received the same amount for his 19th-place finish, ending up as the final elimination of the night.
The 18 survivors have locked up the same payout of $7,562, with five-figure payouts starting from 11th place onward. The eventual heads-up opponents will each walk away with six figures, with the lion's share of $197,932 being reserved for the champion.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $197,923 | 10-11 | $11,561 | |
| 2 | $131,916 | 12-15 | $9,260 | |
| 3 | $91,545 | 16-18 | $7,562 | |
| 4 | $64,607 | |||
| 5 | $46,384 | |||
| 6 | $33,885 | |||
| 7 | $25,198 | |||
| 8 | $19,078 | |||
| 9 | $14,713 |
The tournament will resume Friday, June 13, at 1 p.m. local time. The blind will start at 30,000/60,000, with 60,000/120,000 limits. All levels will remain 60 minutes long, with a break after every two levels. Another long day may be in the cards for Day 3, as the tournament will play down to a winner. Details regarding a dinner break have yet to be determined.
PokerNews will be back on the floor for Day 3, so tune back in Friday to not miss any of the WSOP H.O.R.S.E. action.
