The time has come to crown the next champion at the 2025 World Series of Poker, as five contenders will return to Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas today to chase the coveted gold bracelet.
From a field of 402 entries, just the final five remain on Day 4 of Event #44: $10,000 Big O Championship, ready to resume their battle at 1 p.m. local time to determine a winner.
For chip leader Marco Johnson and 2019 PPC champion Phil Hui, it represents a chance to add to their bracelet collections. The duo continue to add 25K Fantasy points for their team owners, and are also the only remaining players who have tasted WSOP glory in the past.
Johnson holds a slight lead, sitting with 60 big blinds when play restarts. Hui is the short stack, but still holds a healthy 34 big blinds as he looks to spin it up on the final day.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veerachai Vongxaiburana | United States | 4,910,000 | 49 |
| 2 | Shawn Rice | United States | 4,865,000 | 49 |
| 3 | Marco Johnson | United States | 5,950,000 | 60 |
| 4 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | 5,095,000 | 51 |
| 5 | Phil Hui | United States | 3,400,000 | 34 |
Many eyes in the poker world will be on Viktor Blom, who is battling at his fourth final table of the series. The online poker legend has yet to add a WSOP bracelet to his career accolades, but that could finally come today as he returns to action second in chips. Blom has earned finishes of second, fourth and sixth among his five cashes this summer, looking to cross the finish line in Las Vegas for the first time.
Day 2 chip leader Veerachai Vongxaiburana holds a slim lead over Shawn Rice for third position on the leaderboard, with both players also searching for their first bracelet.
All five players have locked up $181,069, while today's winner will take home the top prize of $784,353.
Final Table Results/Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $784,353 | ||
| 2 | $522,878 | ||
| 3 | $360,711 | ||
| 4 | $253,276 | ||
| 5 | $181,069 | ||
| 6 | Christopher Demaci | United States | $131,841 |
| 7 | Noah Kelley | United States | $97,806 |
| 8 | Brian Battistone | United States | $73,950 |
Day 4 begins up at 1 p.m. local time, with 10 minutes remaining in Level 27. Blinds will resume at 50,000/100,000, with a 100,000 big blind ante. Action will continue with 60-minute levels until a winner is determined, with breaks after every two hours of play.
Be sure to stay tuned, as PokerNews is the only place to find live updates of the final five chasing the next gold bracelet at the 2025 WSOP inside the Horseshoe Event Center.
