Phil Ivey Among Players Eyeing Second PLO Final Table in $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
Just a few days ago, Phil Ivey made his first final table of the 2025 World Series of Poker in the $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha. Eventually busting out in sixth place, Ivey used some of his winnings to register this event, Event #57: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha, and he increased his 300,000 starting stack to 525,000 on Day 1, slightly below the average of 716,129, but still a very workable 35 big blinds.
The Hall of Famer is joined at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for Day 2 at 1 p.m. local time by 61 other four-card enthusiasts who remain from the 148 entries on Day 1. Najeem Ajez, who finished seventh in the $25,000 PLO, will return with a stack of 835,000, while recent $1,500 PLO runner-up Bryce Yockey bagged 365,000 in this event. Fabian Riebau-Schmithals came in second in the $5,000 PLO at the start of the summer, and has another shot at glory in this event with 352,000 in chips.
Meanwhile, the top of the counts is dominated by Ka Kwan Lau. The pot-limit Omaha specialist bagged an impressive 2,700,000 as he hunts the second bracelet of his career. In second place, at a respectable distance with 1,765,000, is 25K Fantasy pick Biao Ding, while online phenom Oliver "sk2ll_m0dr" Weis sits in third with 1,740,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ka Kwan Lau | United Kingdom | 2,700,000 | 180 |
| 2 | Biao Ding | China | 1,765,000 | 118 |
| 3 | Oliver Weis | Germany | 1,740,000 | 116 |
| 4 | Christopher Frank | Germany | 1,665,000 | 111 |
| 5 | Farid Jattin | Colombia | 1,564,000 | 104 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen | United States | 1,525,000 | 102 |
| 7 | Eelis Parssinen | Finland | 1,250,000 | 83 |
| 8 | Sean Winter | United States | 1,175,000 | 78 |
| 9 | Youness Barakat | Italy | 1,170,000 | 78 |
| 10 | Isaac Haxton | United States | 1,130,000 | 75 |
As expected from a buy-in of this size, many more household names made it through to Day 2. Shaun Deeb bagged big with 950,000 as he hunts bracelet number seven. Artur Martirosian (950,000), Lou Garza (830,000), and Nick Schulman (490,000) are all looking for their second victory of the summer, while Erik Seidel (365,000) is aiming for his eleventh bracelet, which would tie him with Ivey.
These legends of the game could be joined by many more as late registration and reentry will remain open throughout the first 60-minute level of the day, Level 13, blinds10,000/15,000/15,000. Registering at the last moment has proven popular during this series, so the $7,030,000 currently in the prize pool is expected to grow significantly.
The plan for Day 2 is to play down to only five remaining players. All levels will be an hour long, with a 15-minute break after every two levels. A dinner break of 60 minutes is planned after Level 19, around 6:10 p.m. local time.
An exciting, bubble-bursting day is ahead in the $50,000 High Roller PLO, so stay tuned to PokerNews for all the thrilling Omaha action.