Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Jesse Yaginuma
Jesse Yaginuma and James Carroll, alleged to have participated in a chip-dumping scheme, will receive their seven-figure payouts from the World Series of Poker (WSOP). But the winner won't take home the gold bracelet, per a tweet.
The poker pros with over $9 million in combined live tournament cashes were accused of colluding during heads-up play in the $1,500 buy-in Millionaire Maker event to allow Yaginuma, who stood to win an extra $1 million bonus, to win the bracelet. Poker players immediately cried foul on social media, pointing to numerous questionable hands that led many to believe chip dumping occurred.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Jesse Yaginuma
After five action-packed days and a staggering 11,996 entries, Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has crowned its newest champion. Jesse Yaginuma battled through one of the summer’s biggest fields to capture the $1,255,180 top prize and his first live WSOP gold bracelet, adding to his trio of online titles.
The Maryland native came into the final day second in chips and stayed composed throughout a high-pressure finale that featured the likes of Josh Reichard and Jonah Labranche. But it was James Carroll who proved to be Yaginuma’s biggest obstacle, both in experience and in chips, by the time they reached heads-up play.
Yaginuma began the final duel facing a daunting 9-to-1 chip deficit, which grew to 16-to-1 at one point. But he never panicked. A combination of well-timed aggression, sharp reads, and key double-ups helped him claw his way back into contention. What followed was one of the most memorable comebacks of the summer, as Yaginuma turned the tide and sealed the win in front of an energetic rail inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Already a three-time WSOP Online bracelet winner, Yaginuma now has his first piece of live WSOP hardware and the biggest share of the $15,924,690 prize pool. With another seven-figure score added to his poker resume, he joins the elite club of Millionaire Maker champions in unforgettable fashion.
Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Jesse Yaginuma
United States
$1,255,180
2
James Carroll
United States
$1,012,320
3
Josh Reichard
United States
$702,360
4
Jacques Ortega
Brazil
$534,590
5
Jeffrey Tanouye
United States
$409,870
6
Jonah Labranche
United States
$316,190
7
Alejandro Ganivet
Spain
$245,430
8
Bruno Fuentes
France
$191,690
9
Kaifan Wang
United States
$150,660
Winner’s Reaction
"Thrilled but tired," said Yaginuma when asked how he was feeling moments after the win. "It's a long tournament."
With three WSOP online bracelets already to his name, Yaginuma was proud to finally capture one on the live stage. "It feels great. I mean, everyone always calls my old bracelets fake bracelets. You know, that's to be argued. But it feels great to have a live one."
His journey through the massive field was anything but easy. "It was, it was long. I mean, like I said, the tournament was a week, and you gotta avoid a lot of minefields when you're going through 12,000 people. I actually got 22nd in the [Mystery] Millions. I had 19,000 people earlier in the series, so I didn't think I would get a chance to make a deep run in such a big field again. But I was extremely fortunate."
Starting the day second in chips, Yaginuma balanced both strategy and ambition. "You know, I mean, I think it's a mix. You know, you definitely want to ladder up, but I mean, I definitely want to get the bracelet, and it feels good to get it."
Jesse Yaginuma
He found himself in a massive hole during heads-up play against Carroll, trailing heavily in chips. "It kind of feels like a freeroll. Like, you don't really expect to win, but you hope for the best and do what you can, and sometimes it works out."
Looking ahead, Yaginuma plans to stay busy in Las Vegas. "I'm going to play. I might take a day or two off, but I'll play a lot of the rest of the tour events. Looking forward to the Main Event coming up. And yeah, it should be, it should be fun."
As for how he plans to celebrate the biggest win of his career? "We don't have anything specific, but I'm sure we should at least have a good time tonight, so I'll figure it out."
Yaginuma Claims Bracelet Number Four
Yaginuma stayed out of the way in the early goings while Reichard dispatched Alejandro Ganivet and Labranche in seventh and sixth places, respectively. Reichard continued his elimination rush by knocking out Jeffrey Tanouye in fifth and Jacques Ortega in fourth.
With the majority of the chips in Reichard’s possession, it seemed to be a battle for second, but Yaginuma finally started his charge to the title when he doubled through Carroll. Yaginuma had committed his stack with ace-four and was way behind the ace-nine of Carroll. However, Yaginuma flopped a flush draw and turned it to lock up the pot.
Joshua Reichard
As Carroll edged his way into the chip lead, Yaginuma, who was the shortest stack at the time, laddered up to second after the elimination of Reichard, who had a huge rail with him. Reichard opened with pocket threes and then four-bet shoved after Carroll three-bet with pocket jacks. A clean runout later and Reichard was out in third.
Overcoming the Deficit
After an unscheduled break of around 25 minutes for the players to prepare for heads-up play, the game got underway with Yaginuma at a nine-to-one chip deficit. Yaginuma was extremely cautious early on in the duel and even folded top pair to a single bet from Carroll with just eight big blinds behind.
James Carroll
It was a slow chip-up for Yaginuma, who appeared to have impeccable timing and had shoved his way back to a nine-figure stack without seeing many flops. Yaginuma then took the chip lead when he check-raised with just six-high and no draw, forcing a fold from Carroll.
From then on, it was all Yaginuma. The pressure never stopped and Carroll seemed like he had no answer. In the last hand of the night, Yaginuma got his queen-three in the middle against Carroll’s ace-ten, and a queen on the turn was enough for Yaginuma to win the pot and the tournament.
Jesse Yaginuma
Stay with PokerNews throughout the summer as the 2025 World Series of Poker continues to unfold. From bracelet winners to Main Event dreams, keep it right here for the latest hands, chip counts, and stories as they happen.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
James Carroll
Hand #59: Jesse Yaginuma shoved from the button, and James Carroll called off his stack of 41,400,000 from the big blind.
James Carroll: A♣10♣
Jesse Yaginuma: Q♠3♦
Carroll was ahead and was looking at a potential double-up and a possible comeback. Things were looking good when the dealer flopped 4♦J♠4♥, maintaining Carroll's lead. The turn Q♥ fell, however, pushing Yaginuma to the front. Carroll still had outs with his ace, but the river 5♥ fell, ending his tournament life with a runner-up finish.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #56: James Carroll picked up the 8♠8♦ on the button and shoved for 48,400,000 for Jesse Yaginuma to fold his 6♠5♦.
Hand #57: Yaginuma found the K♠5♥ on the button and limped in. Carroll raised to 13,000,000 with the Q♠8♣. Yaginuma took some time and then shoved for Carroll to give up.
Hand #58: Carroll picked up the A♥A♦ and shoved for 38,400,000 for Yaginuma to fold his 8♣7♠.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Jesse Yaginuma
Hand #51: Jesse Yaginuma limped in holding 4♥2♣ and James Carroll made it 13,000,000 to go with 7♦4♦. Yaginuma folded.
Hand #52; Carroll raised 7♣3♣ to 9,000,000 and Yaginuma three-bet to 28,000,000 with K♠5♠. Carroll folded.
Hand #53: Yaginuma made it 7,500,000 with 8♠7♣ and Carroll three-bet to 23,000,000 holding 8♣3♦. Yaginuma then four-bet to 42,000,000, and Carroll folded.
Hand #54: Carroll raised to 9,000,000 holding 6♠5♣ and Yaginuma called holding Q♠7♠. The flop came A♦4♠J♦, where Yaginuma checked and Carroll fired 15,000,000. Yaginuma put in a raise, and Carroll let his hand go after thinking about it for a bit.
Hand #55: Yaginuma limped with J♣8♠ and Carroll raised to 13,000,000 holding 6♣3♦. Yaginuma called. On the J♠10♣5♣ flop, Carroll bet 17,000,000, and Yaginuma called to see the 7♣ hit the turn. Both checked, and when the Q♠ landed on the river, Carroll fired 57,000,000. Yaginuma called with his pair of jacks and took down the pot.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #46: James Carroll made it 13,000,000 with 4♠2♦ and Jesse Yaginuma folded the 9♣2♣.
Hand #47: Yaginuma limped in with 10♣8♠ and Carroll raised 8♦7♥ to 15,000,000. Yaginuma then came back over the top with a shove for 83,500,000, and Carroll folded.
Hand #48: Carroll raised to 9,000,000 with K♦6♣, and Yaginuma released his J♦4♠.
Hand #49: Yaginuma limped in with 9♣8♥ and Carroll raised to 13,000,000 with the Q♥6♣. Yaginuma then three-bet to 32,000,000, and Carroll folded after the dealer counted out the raise.
Hand #50: Carroll made it 8,000,000 with A♦5♦ and Yaginuma folded 8♠4♦.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #41: Jesse Yaginuma limped with 5♦2♠ and James Carroll raised 8♠6♦ to 9,000,000. Yaginuma folded.
Hand #42: Carroll made it 9,000,000 with J♣5♣ and Yaginuma shoved K♥9♠ for 59,500,000. Carroll folded.
Hand #43: Yaginuma limped in with K♥4♠ and Carroll raised to 9,000,000 holding J♦10♣. Yaginuma then put in a three-bet to 22,000,000, and Carroll let his hand go.
Hand #44: Carroll raised to 9,000,000 holding 9♦5♦ and Yaginuma shoved K♠Q♦ for 80,500,000. Carroll folded.
Hand #45: Yaginuma limped in with 7♠6♦ and Carroll made it 15,000,000 holding J♦2♠. Yaginuma folded.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #36: Carroll made it 9,000,000 to go with 8♣3♠ and Yaginuma let go of 10♦4♣.
Hand #37: Yaginuma limped with 2♠2♥ and Carroll tapped the table holding J♣9♥. They went to a flop of K♠6♥3♠, where Carroll bet 5,000,000 and Yaginuma raised to 14,000,000. Carroll folded.
Hand #38: Carroll made it 9,000,000 to go with Q♦7♥, and Yaginuma folded 10♣3♦.
Hand #39: With 8♥2♣, Yaginuma limped in and Carroll made it 9,000,000 holding K♥4♦. Yaginuma folded.
Hand #40: Carroll raised to 7,000,000 with J♥8♦ and Yaginuma shoved J♣8♠ for 55,500,000. Carroll folded.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #31: Jesse Yaginuma limped in with J♦2♠ and James Carroll shoved K♦Q♣. Yaginuma folded.
Hand #32: Carroll limped holding 10♣5♠ and Yaginuma checked his option holding 8♣4♠. Both checked to the river on the 2♣K♣5♦A♥J♣ board, where Yaginuma fired 6,000,000 and Carroll folded his pair of fives after tanking for a bit.
Hand #33: Yaginuma looked down at A♠K♣ and shoved for 38,500,000, which earned him the pot as Carroll folded 7♠4♠.
Hand #34: Carroll limped in with J♦2♠ and Yaginuma shoved K♦Q♣ for 44,500,000. Carroll folded.
Hand #35: Yaginuma limped with K♠9♦ and Carroll checked Q♠10♦. The flop came down 9♠6♦2♠, where Carroll checked and Yaginuma fired 3,500,000. Carroll responded with a check-raise to 9,000,000, then Yaginuma shoved all in for 44,500,000. Carroll folded.
