Michael Mizrachi Leads Final Seven into Final Day of $50,000 Poker Players Championship
Stud Games: 30,000 Ante, 50,000 Bring-In, 150,000 Completion, 150,000-300,000 Limits
Pot-Limit & No-Limit: 80,000/120,000 Ante, 40,000-80,000 Blinds
The penultimate day of the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship has concluded here at the 2025 World Series of Poker. Seven years ago, Michael Mizrachi cemented his legacy with a victory in this same event, becoming the first player in history to win the PPC three times. Only one other player has accomplished this feat since then, with Brian Rast taking his third title in 2023.
The six-time bracelet winner, known as The Grinder, came into Day 4 with the second-largest stack and ended with an overwhelming lead over his seven remaining opponents with 10,440,000. Although Mizrachi is in great shape to win this event for an unprecedented fourth time with nearly a third of the total chips in play, a star-studded final table consisting of some of the best players in the world still stands between him and the victory.
Mizrachi has nearly double the chips of his nearest competitor, Andrew Yeh, who ended the night with 5,285,000. Yeh recently had a very close call at his second bracelet in the $10,000 Razz Championship and will be looking to top his runner-up finish to Rast in that event.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esther Taylor | United States | 3,170,000 | 32 | 8 |
| 2 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 3,640,000 | 36 | 9 |
| 3 | Andrew Yeh | United States | 5,285,000 | 53 | 13 |
| 4 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 10,440,000 | 104 | 26 |
| 5 | Bryn Kenney | United States | 5,045,000 | 50 | 13 |
| 6 | Ben Lamb | United States | 1,140,000 | 11 | 3 |
| 7 | Albert Daher | Lebanon | 3,360,000 | 34 | 9 |
Rounding out the top three just behind Yeh in the counts is all-time money leader Bryn Kenney. Also still in contention is Esther Taylor, who made history tonight by becoming the second-ever woman to both cash and final table this event, after Melissa Burr in 2014. Lebanese high roller Albert Daher ended the night in the middle of the pack after having a big stack for most of the day, while bracelet winners Joao Vieira and Ben Lamb made the end of the night.
Day 4 Action
The day began with 17 remaining players out of a starting field of 107. With the previous day having ended just after bursting the money bubble, all remaining players had locked up at least a $100,000 min-cash. 2013 PPC winner Matthew Ashton was first to fall in a hand of limit hold’em after failing to improve with a Broadway gutshot against Marco Johnson’s top pair. Others to fall early in the day include Ali Eslami, Justin Liberto and Christopher Vitch.
Mike Matusow had very little go his way from the start of Day 4 and found himself severely short-stacked after being forced to fold in triple draw against Johnson. Matusow managed to double up and keep the dream of a career-first PPC final table alive before Johnson left him short-stacked again, this time in Razz. Matusow got the rest of his chips in against Yeh shortly after and received a round of applause from the spectators on the rail following his elimination.
Two-time bracelet winner Erick Lindgren went out soon after in brutal fashion, making an ace-high flush only to run into the straight flush of Joao Vieira. Christian Roberts and Johnson were next to go, making way for the eight-handed final table.
Mizrachi came into the final table with the chip lead and wasted no time extending it, staying active throughout the final table and winning many pots without showdown. Meanwhile Ben Yu, who started the day extremely short-stacked, became the first final table casualty after getting his chips in with an inferior wrap to Vieira and failing to improve.
Yeh briefly took the lead after making two pair in Limit Hold'em to crack Kenney's aces, and shortly after doing so he called an all-in from Taylor in single draw. Yeh had a pat-nine and Taylor had a ten, but chose correctly to break it and draw to a wheel instead. A miraculous three came in, giving Taylor the wheel for a crucial double up. Soon after Taylor doubled again, this time without showdown in Stud Hi-Lo after making a full house and getting nearly max value from two opponents.
Lamb was short-stacked following Taylor doubling twice but he managed two doubles of his own to stay in contention, both through Daher who took his first big hit of the night after being near the top of the counts throughout Day 4. Soon after, Mizrachi was on the right side of a cooler against Taylor, waking up with pocket queens against Taylor's pocket tens in Limit Hold'em. Several bets and raises went in and a massive pot was pushed in Mizrachi's direction after Taylor paid off one more river bet, bringing Mizrachi's stack above ten million shortly before the end of the night.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,331,322 | ||
| 2 | $887,542 | ||
| 3 | $595,136 | ||
| 4 | $413,740 | ||
| 5 | $298,614 | ||
| 6 | $224,077 | ||
| 7 | $175,096 | ||
| 8 | Ben Yu | United States | $142,720 |
The seven remaining players are each guaranteed $175,096 while the winner will take home the bracelet and top prize of $1,331,322. The final day will begin at 3 p.m. local time and be streamed on PokerGO. The action will pick up on Level 24, with limits of 200,000/400,000 and blinds of 50,000/100,000. The plan is to play down to a winner.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates for the final day of this prestigious event.