Team Heinz Leads the Way Heading into Day 3 of $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em
It was a mad dash to the money as Day 2 has officially concluded in Event #65: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em at the 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, and just 31 teams remain in contention for the $184,780 first-place prize and the coveted gold bracelet.
Day 1 began with 1,373 registered teams, resulting in a bountiful prize pool of $1,208,240. Only 276 teams returned for the second day, and the money bubble burst during level 14, the second level of the day. A min-cash was worth $2,008, and with only 31 teams returning for Day 3, each team is now guaranteed a payday of $5,376.
Team Heinz, from Germany, consisting of Quirin Heinz and Felix Rabas, ended the day with the chip lead, bagging a substantial 2,175,000. One of the hands that aided in their chip lead at the end of the night was against Team Lopez when they hit a full house. Following them is Team Ke from Taiwan, consisting of Yijhen Ke and Kuanhan Lee, with 1,760,000 in chips. The third-place chip holders were Team Lambrecht, representing the United States, made up of Matthew Lambrecht and Jack Nathan, with 1,690,000 in chips.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Team | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quirin Heinz - Felix Rabas | Germany | 2,175,000 | 72 |
| 2 | Yijhen Ke - Kuanhan Lee | Taiwan | 1,760,000 | 58 |
| 3 | Matthew Lambrecht - Jack Nathan | United States | 1,690,000 | 56 |
| 4 | Kelvin Kerber - Peter Patricio | Brazil | 1,570,000 | 52 |
| 5 | Samy Boujmala - Hicham Mahmouki | France | 1,560,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Kristy Moreno - Andrew Moreno | United States | 1,455,000 | 48 |
| 7 | Steven McCartney - Dominic Coombe | United States | 1,370,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Louis Seguin - Hugo Blacher | France | 1,285,000 | 42 |
| 9 | Feng Qian - Zhou Lin | China | 1,250,000 | 41 |
| 10 | Angela Jordison - Maxwell Young | United States | 1,240,000 | 41 |
An inspirational Team Daniel, is made up of Cody Daniels, whose story made headlines last year when he was granted the wish to play in the main event, despite suffering from a terminal illness. He is back and playing with Alan Keating. Daniels's love of poker is evident when he plays, and he always has a playful attitude. Team Daniels bagged 315,000.
Team Jordison, consisting of Angela Jordison and Maxwell Young are a power team to watch out for bagging 1,240,000 at the end of the night, Young has over three million in poker earnings. Jordison's breakout score came in June 2022 at the World Series of Poker when she finished third for $151,544 in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout.
Another team to watch is Team Kerstetter, consisting of Jamie Kerstetter and Corey Paggeot. They previously finished second in this event in 2022 and bagged 510,000 chips to close out the night.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $184,780 | 10-11 | $12,202 |
| 2 | $123,102 | 12-13 | $9,726 |
| 3 | $88,015 | 14-17 | $7,865 |
| 4 | $63,750 | 18-26 | $6,454 |
| 5 | $46,784 | 27-31 | $5,376 |
| 6 | $34,793 | ||
| 7 | $26,227 | ||
| 8 | $20,042 | ||
| 9 | $15,529 |
Some notable teams saw early exits from the Tag Team event:
Team Reard, comprised of French power couple Aurélie Reard and Alexandre Reard, bowed out in 76th place, earning $2,716. With over $7 million in combined poker earnings, the Reards have been together for 22 years and married for nine. They chose this event as a unique and meaningful way to celebrate their anniversary.
Action was fast-paced from the start, and chips were flying as several well-known teams were eliminated early. Among those who made it into the money but received the minimum cash of $2,008 were Team Wheeler: Jason Wheeler and Michael Hunsucker, Team Ciccarelli: John Ciccarelli and Hunter Cole, Team Chan: Johnny Chan and Timothy Tenpas, Team Gavin: Lexy Gavin-Mather and Robert Mather all receiving the minimum cash for $2,008.
Day 3 starts at 11 a.m. local time in the Horseshoe Event Center and will play down to a winner, so stay tuned. There will be no breaks. Action will start in Level 23, which will be 15,000/30,000/30,000.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to report on the tournament action.