Phil Hellmuth completed before Esther Taylor tossed out a raise. Hellmuth answered by putting Taylor in all in and the call was made.
Taylor had the hand locked up early, making an eight-six on fifth street. Hellmuth could not catch up, while Taylor improved to a wheel to score the double-up.
Event #55 of the 2025 World Series of Poker, the prestigious $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship is heading into its second day, This five-game limit poker mix is always one of the most popular mixed game Championship events, and this year is no different. On Day 1, 176 players entered the freezeout tournament, of which 91 have advanced to Day 2. Late registration at the Horseshoe and Paris is still open for one level of play, however, which will almost certainly ensure the field grows even larger.
Hall of Famer Todd Brunson bagged an above-average stack of 189,000 on Day 1, a healthy 24 big bets, as he searches for his first bracelet in 20 years. Brunson's Hall of Fame contemporary John Hennigan fared even better, however, as he captured the chiplead with 350,500 chips to his name. Huck Seed, meanwhile, joins his two colleagues with a bag of 190,000.
John Hennigan
Plenty of other 25K Fantasy picks secured a top stack on Day 1, with Christopher Vitch, Marco Johnson, and Mike Matusow, as well as ODB Bonus players Ryan Miller and Daniel Strelitz, finding themselves in the top 10 at the start of Day 2.
Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
John Hennigan
United States
350,500
44
2
Christopher Vitch
United States
342,500
43
3
Ryan Miller
United States
294,500
37
4
Daniel Strelitz
United States
288,000
36
5
Marco Johnson
United States
274,000
35
6
Dave Stann
United States
240,500
30
7
Walter Chambers
United States
233,500
29
8
Matt Grapenthien
United States
211,000
27
9
Justin Smith
United States
208,500
26
10
Mike Matusow
United States
208,000
26
Among all the experienced players, one name seems an outlier. Popular poker vlogger Brad Owen is venturing into mixed games for the first time this summer, and has yet to make a real splash. Grinding his way to a stack of 196,500 on Day 1, though, he has proven he can battle with the best and appears ready to prove himself in the mixed streets.
Brad Owen
The remaining list of notable players is too big to write in its entirety, but a small selection includes Scott Seiver (206,500), Brian Hastings (182,500), Shaun Deeb (140,500), Benny Glaser (138,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (116,000), John Monnette (110,000), and Brad Ruben (88,000), all of whom have already secured five or more bracelets in their career, but are always eager to add more.
The $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship will resume at 1 p.m. local time in Level 11, with limits of 4,000/8,000. This is also the final level of late registration. Day 2 will then play seven more levels, the first four of which will remain 60 minutes long before they increase to 90-minute levels. Four small breaks of 15 minutes are scattered throughout the day, with a 60-minute dinner break taking place after Level 15, around 6:30 p.m. local time. With the late registration still open, the prize pool and payouts have yet to be confirmed.
PokerNews will provide the payout information as soon as it has been announced, as well as plenty of other live updates straight from the tournament floor. Keep your eyes peeled on this page as the best of the best fixed-limit poker players battle it out in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship.
