Event #45: $500 SALUTE to Warriors
Day 3 Started
2025 World Series of Poker
Event #45: $500 SALUTE to Warriors
Day: 3
Event Info
2025 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
Buy-in
$500
Prize Pool
$1,614,170
Entries
3,937
Level
41
Blinds
1,500,000 / 3,000,000
Ante
3,000,000
Entries
32
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 3,937
Filter
(1)
Action continues at the 2025 World Series of Poker with the third and final day of Event #45: $500 SALUTE to Warriors No-Limit Hold'em kicking off at 11 a.m. local time inside the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
Only 32 players are returning from a field that started with 3,937 entries, all of whom have their eyes set on the first-place prize of $187,937, as well as the coveted gold bracelet.
The event generated a prize pool of $1,614,170 with $40 of each entry being donated to the United Service Organizations and other veteran organizations.
Joey Couden is the one leading the pack with 14,375,000 as Day 3 gets underway. He is the only player with over 30 big blinds, and will be looking to continue his momentum as he searches for bracelet number two.
Right on his heels is Sebastian Medina of Columbia, sitting in second with a respectable 11,650,000. Medina final tabled Event #68: $1,111 Little One for One Drop at the 2021 WSOP for a career-best score of $143,399. Already having locked up his third cash of the series, he will look to use his prior final table experience to make another deep run towards his first bracelet.
Rounding out the top three is Luciano Melo of Brazil with 10,800,000. He cashed the Salute to Warriors event in 2023 and has another shot at WSOP glory here today.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Couden | United States | 14,375,000 | 36 |
| 2 | Sebastian Medina | Colombia | 11,650,000 | 29 |
| 3 | Luciano Melo | Brazil | 10,800,000 | 27 |
| 4 | Richard Buckingham | United States | 10,150,000 | 25 |
| 5 | Joseph Hernon | United States | 10,150,000 | 25 |
| 6 | Yu Hsiang Huang | Taiwan | 9,600,000 | 24 |
| 7 | Kimon Fountoukidis | Poland | 9,400,000 | 24 |
| 8 | Alexander Savchenko | Cyprus | 8,350,000 | 21 |
| 9 | Abraham Barbarian | United States | 8,150,000 | 20 |
| 10 | Jaehyun Park | Korea, Republic of | 7,775,000 | 19 |
Veteran Robert Gingher, who served in the U.S. Navy, is also still in contention, and enters the final day just outside the top ten with 5,750,000.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (USD) | Place | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $187,937 | 8 | $22,998 |
| 2 | $125,034 | 9 | $17,901 |
| 3 | $92,221 | 10-11 | $14,063 |
| 4 | $68,619 | 12-13 | $11,152 |
| 5 | $51,511 | 14-17 | $8,927 |
| 6 | $39,015 | 18-26 | $7,214 |
| 7 | $29,818 | 27-32 | $5,887 |
Cards will be in the air at 11 a.m. local time at the Horseshoe, where the event will play down to a winner. The tournament will resume in Level 33 with blinds at 200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 40-minutes in length and there will be a 15-minute break every three levels.
Be sure to follow PokerNews for the remainder of this event, as well as future coverage throughout the summer.
Level: 33
Blinds: 200,000/400,000
Ante: 400,000
Level 33
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Day 3 of the $500 Salute to Warriors has begun.
Of the 32 players that have returned, one will emerge victorious today.
A reminder that the winner will collect the $187,937 first-place prize and a WSOP gold bracelet.
Level 33
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Randy Youngblood's Day 3 journey was a brief one, as he was eliminated on the first hand of the day.
The hand began when Youngblood shoved for 4,200,000 from late position and was called by Roger Hendren in the small blind, who had him covered with 4,600,0000.
Randy Youngblood: A♣Q♠
Roger Hendren: A♥K♥
Youngblood found no solace on the 6♥5♥10♣7♦8♠ board to send him out of the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
8,800,000
3,800,000
|
3,800,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 33
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Charlemagne Benjamin moved all in from the hijack for 2,425,000 and Giovanni Spataro reshoved in the small.
Charlemagne Benjamin: A♦9♣
Giovanni Spataro: 8♦5♦
The board ran out 2♥Q♣K♦2♠7♣ and Benjamin earned the much needed double up.
Spataro mentioned that he didn't see that Benjamin had shoved.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,650,000
3,250,000
|
3,250,000 |
|
1,425,000
2,925,000
|
2,925,000 |
|
||
Level 33
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Action folded around to Sean Hansen in the small blind, who moved all in to put Timothy Shifflet at risk in the big blind. Shifflet made the call for 1,375,000 total.
Timothy Shifflet: K♦8♠
Sean Hansen: A♠6♥
Hansen was in good shape to chip up, but the board ran out 10♣10♦7♠9♠K♥, with Shifflet hitting a king on the river to remain in contention.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,150,000
1,450,000
|
1,450,000 |
|
950,000
2,275,000
|
2,275,000 |
|
|
||
Level 33
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Charlemagne Benjamin is on a rush to start Day 3 as he knocked out two players back-to-back in the first level of the day.
The first hand occurred after Giovanni Spataro jammed with his dwindling stack after losing an all-in earlier from early position, and Benjamin called from the small blind.
Giovanni Spataro: J♦9♠
Charlemagne Benjamin: A♥7♦
The 8♠K♦8♦2♥3♥ board was no help to Spataro as Benjamin eliminated him from the tournament with ace high.
The very next hand, Benjamin opened the action with a jam from the button into two smaller stacks in the blinds. Stanislav Kriventsov called to put himself at risk.
Stanislav Kriventsov: Q♣10♠
Charlemagne Benjamin: A♦6♥
Benjamin hit his ace immediately when the flop came A♠9♣K♠. The 7♠ turn drummed up some drama as it gave Kriventsov a flush draw, but the 10♥ was a blank to send him out of the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,500,000
4,850,000
|
4,850,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 33
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 648 | 1 | Jaehyun Park | South Korea | 8,700,000 | 22 |
| 648 | 2 | Mike Gao | United States | 1,800,000 | 5 |
| 648 | 3 | Ofer Saha | United States | 5,900,000 | 15 |
| 648 | 4 | Tyler Green | United States | 2,350,000 | 6 |
| 648 | 5 | Clark Reynolds | United States | 6,200,000 | 16 |
| 648 | 6 | Joey Couden | United States | 7,100,000 | 18 |
| 648 | 7 | Samuel Choae | United States | 3,100,000 | 8 |
| 648 | 8 | Sean Hansen | United States | 2,400,000 | 6 |
| 648 | 9 | Richard Buckingham | United States | 21,000,000 | 53 |
| 649 | 1 | Yu Hsiang Huang | Taiwan | 8,200,000 | 21 |
| 649 | 2 | Keith Romer | United States | 4,425,000 | 11 |
| 649 | 2 | Joseph Hernon | United States | 12,000,000 | 30 |
| 649 | 4 | Charlemagne Benjamin | United States | 9,200,000 | 23 |
| 649 | 5 | Roger Hendren | United States | 8,000,000 | 20 |
| 649 | 6 | Luciano Melo | Brazil | 11,775,000 | 29 |
| 649 | 7 | Sebastian Medina | Columbia | 6,775,000 | 17 |
| 649 | 8 | Abraham Barbarian | United States | 9,075,000 | 23 |
| 649 | 9 | James Reed | United States | 7,275,000 | 18 |
| 651 | 1 | Oliver Heidel | Germany | 7,075,000 | 18 |
| 651 | 2 | Brandon Sowers | United States | 5,900,000 | 15 |
| 651 | 2 | Steven Glasscock | United States | 4,900,000 | 12 |
| 651 | 4 | Kimon Fountoukidis | Poland | 9,200,000 | 23 |
| 651 | 5 | Timothy Shifflet | United States | 2,700,000 | 7 |
| 651 | 6 | Tim Caziarc | United States | 7,000,000 | 18 |
| 651 | 7 | Anthony Desai | United States | 5,625,000 | 14 |
| 651 | 8 | Alexander Savchenko | Russian Federation | 6,500,000 | 16 |
| 651 | 9 | Robert Gingher | United States | 4,700,000 | 12 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
21,000,000
10,850,000
|
10,850,000 |
|
12,000,000
1,850,000
|
1,850,000 |
|
11,775,000
975,000
|
975,000 |
|
|
9,200,000
1,300,000
|
1,300,000 |
|
9,200,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
9,075,000
925,000
|
925,000 |
|
8,700,000
925,000
|
925,000 |
|
8,200,000
1,400,000
|
1,400,000 |
|
|
8,000,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
7,275,000
1,125,000
|
1,125,000 |
|
7,100,000
7,275,000
|
7,275,000 |
|
||
|
7,075,000
5,165,000
|
5,165,000 |
|
7,000,000
3,075,000
|
3,075,000 |
|
6,775,000
4,875,000
|
4,875,000 |
|
6,500,000
1,850,000
|
1,850,000 |
|
6,200,000
1,485,000
|
1,485,000 |
|
5,900,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
||
|
5,900,000
2,500,000
|
2,500,000 |
|
5,625,000 | |
|
4,900,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
4,700,000
1,050,000
|
1,050,000 |
|
4,425,000
2,185,000
|
2,185,000 |
|
3,100,000
1,475,000
|
1,475,000 |
|
|
2,700,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
|
|
2,400,000
1,450,000
|
1,450,000 |
|
|
||
