Edward Jackson Spivack limped in the cutoff, as did Sean Troha on the button. Jeff Madsen raised to 135,000 in the big blind, with both Spivack and Troha making the call.
The dealer fanned out the 7♣9♣6♠ flop, where Madsen led out with a bet of 70,000 while leaving a single 5,000 chip behind. Spivack then moved all in, with Troha shoving his stack. Madsen made the quick call and the hands were turned up.
Jeff Madsen: A♠A♣Q♥5♣3♠
Sean Troha: A♥Q♣5♠5♥2♦
Edward Jackson Spivack: A♦6♥5♦4♦2♣
The K♦ turn left Madsen's pair of aces in front, but the 2♥ river gave Spivack two pair. Madsen made the nut low to survive with half of the main pot, while Spivack scooped Troha for the side pot the score the elimination.
Viktor Blom opened to 60,000 from the cutoff and Nick Schulman defended from the big blind.
The flop came K♠K♦10♥ and Shulman bet 40,000. Blom called.
On the 5♠ turn Shulman shoved for around 200,000 and Blom called with a covering stack to put him at risk.
Nick Schulman: K♥J♣7♥3♣2♠
Viktor Blom: A♦A♣K♣10♦6♦
Schulman had trips but Blom had him beat with kings full of tens. The 3♥ river improved gave Schulman an inferior boat and he exited the tournament area while Blom won the hand.
Matthew Woodward raised to 75,000 on the button and Arthur Morris three-bet to 350,000 in the small blind. Woodward then moved all in for 570,000 and Morris called.
Matthew Woodward: A♠J♣8♥6♣2♦
Arthur Morris: A♦A♣7♦5♠4♣
Woodward needed to improve against Morris' aces as the flop came K♦7♠5♦. The 9♥ turn improved him to a straight, while the J♠ river secured his double up.
Erik Seidel limped in early position and Jeff Madsen checked in the big blind. Madsen checked the 4♣5♠6♠ flop, with Seidel firing a bet of 50,000.
Madsen then check-raised to 125,000 and made the call when Seidel three-bet enough to put his opponent all in.
Jeff Madsen: 8♥5♦3♠3♣2♠
Erik Seidel: A♥10♠7♠6♣2♣
Seidel flopped the nut low, while Madsen had a straight. The 5♥ turn changed nothing, and the dealer flipped over the 8♠ river. That gave Seidel a flush, but Madsen improved to a full house to chop and stay alive.
Christopher Costa was in the cutoff and got his last 350,000 in the middle on a flop of 6♣2♦6♠ as Veerachai Vongxaiburana put him at risk under the gun.
Christopher Costa: A♠A♦7♦5♦3♦
Veerachai Vongxaiburana: A♥Q♦4♠3♠2♥
Costa was ahead with his aces as he stood up and began filming the action with his phone. The turn was the K♣, but the 2♣ river gave Vongxaiburana trips to send Costa to the rail.
"Are you kidding me? I couldn't ask for a better flop," Costa said.
"You did all you can do. You can't control the cards," tablemate Shawn Rice said, getting up to console Costa before Costa headed off to the payout desk.
The remaining 24 players are drawing for seats at the last three tables.
Phil Hui bet 75,000 from the big blind on a flop of 9♣10♦3♦ and David Williams called in the hijack.
The turn was the Q♥ and Hui bet another 200,000. Williams then moved all in for 400,000 and Hui snap-called.
Williams showed A♠J♥8♦6♠4♦ for a straight, but Hui had K♦Q♠J♦6♦4♠ for the nut straight. "That's it," Williams said as the 8♣ river sealed his elimination.
Another exciting day of five-card action is on tap at the 2025 World Series of Poker, as the remaining 26 contenders return to the felt in Event #44: $10,000 Big O Championship at 1 p.m. local time.
The event saw a total of 402 entries at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, where just four tables are left to decide a champion and distribute the largest portions of the $3,738,600 prize pool.
Leading the way after the first two days of action is Veerachai Vongxaiburana, who bagged a sizeable chip lead with 2,350,000. Vongxaiburana has secured his third cash of the series, and returns as the only player with more than 80 big blinds in his stack.
Sitting in second is Phil Hui, who has collected 1,970,000 chips through the first 20 levels. Rounding out the top three is Viktor Blom, who holds 1,570,000. The Swedish poker star has now registered six cashes this summer, and is chasing his first WSOP bracelet after a runner-up finish in Event #41: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Veerachai Vongxaiburana
United States
2,330,000
93
2
Phil Hui
United States
1,970,000
79
3
Viktor Blom
Sweden
1,570,000
63
4
Matthew Woodward
United States
1,535,000
61
5
Justin Liberto
United States
1,450,000
58
6
Tomasz Gluszko
Poland
1,330,000
53
7
Calvin Anderson
United States
1,110,000
44
8
Erik Seidel
United States
1,100,000
44
9
Dylan Wilkerson
United States
985,000
39
10
Brian Battistone
United States
980,000
39
Erik Seidel
Plenty of notable names and 25K Fantasy players sit among the final 26, including Calvin Anderson (1,110,000), Erik Seidel (1,100,000), Nick Shulman (615,000), and Dylan Weisman (585,000).
WSOP bracelet winners Jeff Madsen (295,000) and Ben Yu (255,000) enter play as the short stacks, returning with less than 15 big blinds on Day 3.
Each remaining contender has locked up at least $24,635, with the top prize of $784,353 and the gold bracelet awaiting Tuesday’s champion.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
$784,353
8
$73,950
2
$522,878
9
$57,008
3
$360,711
10–11
$44,825
4
$253,276
12–15
$35,963
5
$181,069
16–23
$29,454
6
$131,841
24–26
$24,635
7
$97,806
Action resumes at 1 p.m. in Las Vegas, where Level 21 begins with blinds of 10,000/25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante. Players will continue to navigate 60-minute levels, with 15-minute breaks after every two hours of play. The Day 3 schedule includes a 60-minute dinner break after Level 26, and cards will remain in the air until just five players remain.
Don’t miss any of the exciting Big O action, as the PokerNews live reporting team continues to bring you full coverage of the 2025 WSOP at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.
