Laszlo Balogh went all in and was called by chip leader, Manuel Reyes, a few seats to his left.
Laszlo Balogh: 5♥5♠ 
Manuel Reyes: 9♠9♣
The board ran out Q♥7♦8♥Q♦2♣ and Balogh's fives were thwarted by the nines of Reyes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
130,000,000
21,000,000
|
21,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Timothy Thorp opened to 4,000,000 from under the gun. All the other players folded to Sanjeev Kapoor in the big blind who was forced all-in.
Sanjeev Kapoor: A♥8♠
Timothy Thorp: A♠9♠
Kapoor and Thorp could have split on A♣4♠5♥Q♠, but the 5♠ river completed Thorp's flush, sending Kapoor to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
54,000,000
1,700,000
|
1,700,000 |
|
Busted |
2024 saw 14 competitors advance to Day 2, it appears the 2025 field is at a similar pace.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $420,680 | 7 | $77,580 |
| 2 | $300,160 | 8 | $60,700 |
| 3 | $219,410 | 9 | $47,770 |
| 4 | $167,730 | 10-11 | $37,820 |
| 5 | $128,970 | 12-13 | $30,120 |
| 6 | $100,120 | 14-15 | $24,130 |
Daniel Clemente jammed for 7,000,000 from the cutoff and was called by Timothy Thorp in the big blind.
Daniel Clemente: K♠4♣
Timothy Thorp: K♣3♦
The board of 10♦8♣7♥2♣5♥ didn't change anything so they split the pot with king-high.
On the next hand, Clemente moved all-in once again for 8,500,000. Thorp in the small blind three-bet to 15,000,000 and the big blind folded.
Daniel Clemente: 10♥9♣
Timothy Thorp: A♥9♦
This time, Clemente couldn't do much on A♠10♠2♣6♣5♥ and was eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
61,300,000
7,300,000
|
7,300,000 |
|
Busted |
Jesus Rodriguez shoved for 12,500,000 from the hijack. Albert Felarca on the button called, then Ramond Takhsh in the big blind went deep into the tank before moving all-in for 30,000,000. Felarca snap-called.
Jesus Rodriguez: 10♣10♦
Ramond Takhsh: Q♦Q♠
Albert Felarca: A♥K♦
Rodriguez couldn’t believe his eyes when he flopped quads to triple up. The 2♥4♥ runout completed the board, and Takhsh took down the side pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
42,000,000
7,800,000
|
7,800,000 |
|
36,500,000
13,200,000
|
13,200,000 |
|
34,000,000
14,200,000
|
14,200,000 |
Yuanzhi Cao opened up the action with a raise to 4,400,000 from middle position. Action folded to Hiroki Nawa in the big blind, who called with a short stack.
On the 5♦A♣9♠ flop, Nawa checked over to Cao, who opted for a continuation-bet of 3,500,000. After a small pause, Nawa shoved his remaining 14,800,000. Cao went deep into the tank, and eventually called it off.
Hiroki Nawa: A♠8♣
Yuanzhi Cao: 6♣6♠
Nawa had a commanding lead, which he kept on the Q♣ turn. The 6♥ river bust him out right before a $6,000 pay jump, as the night heads to a close.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
106,000,000
44,500,000
|
44,500,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Play has drawn to a close for the night, as the remaining 13 players have bagged up their chips in anticipation for the final day of play on Monday.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's events.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
106,300,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
101,500,000
28,500,000
|
28,500,000 |
|
97,000,000
9,000,000
|
9,000,000 |
|
||
|
91,000,000
9,200,000
|
9,200,000 |
|
62,000,000
17,000,000
|
17,000,000 |
|
|
61,000,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
42,200,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
36,000,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
34,000,000
5,500,000
|
5,500,000 |
|
||
|
28,500,000
3,500,000
|
3,500,000 |
|
|
27,500,000
6,500,000
|
6,500,000 |
|
25,500,000
25,500,000
|
25,500,000 |
|
|
||
|
24,000,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
| Casino | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event Center | Gold 626 | 1 | Ian Pelz | United States | 25,500,000 | 11 |
| Event Center | Gold 626 | 2 | Bradley Moore | United Kingdom | 24,000,000 | 10 |
| Event Center | Gold 626 | 4 | Yuanzhi Cao | United States | 106,300,000 | 44 |
| Event Center | Gold 626 | 5 | Sang Sim | United States | 91,000,000 | 38 |
| Event Center | Gold 626 | 6 | Manuel Reyes | United States | 101,500,000 | 42 |
| Event Center | Gold 626 | 7 | Ken Takayama | Japan | 28,500,000 | 12 |
| Event Center | Gold 626 | 8 | Santiago Moises | Argentina | 62,000,000 | 26 |
| Event Center | Gold 634 | 2 | Timothy Thorp | United States | 61,000,000 | 25 |
| Event Center | Gold 634 | 3 | Albert Felarca | United States | 42,200,000 | 18 |
| Event Center | Gold 634 | 4 | Joseph Butler | United States | 97,000,000 | 40 |
| Event Center | Gold 634 | 5 | Ramond Takhsh | United States | 27,500,000 | 11 |
| Event Center | Gold 634 | 8 | Roland Israelashvili | United States | 34,000,000 | 14 |
| Event Center | Gold 634 | 9 | Jesus Rodriguez | Mexico | 36,000,000 | 15 |
After 17 levels of play, the 812 Gladiators who entered the arena on Day 2 fought their way down to only 13. All those who remain are guaranteed $30,120, but competitors will be fighting for the $420,680 first-place prize. Four starting flights allowed two reentries per day, which tallied a massive 24,629 entries, generating a total prize pool of $6,058,734.
Yuanzhi Cao (106,300,000) bagged the chip lead and is closely followed by Manuel Reyes (101,500,000) and Joseph Butler (97,000,000), who bagged the chip lead on his Day 1 flight. The only bracelet winner remaining is Roland Israelashvilli (34,000,000) while the rest of the field will be seeking their first taste of the gold.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuanzhi Cao | United States | 106,300,000 | 44 |
| 2 | Manuel Reyes | United States | 101,500,000 | 42 |
| 3 | Joseph Butler | United States | 97,000,000 | 40 |
| 4 | Sang Sim | United States | 91,000,000 | 38 |
| 5 | Santiago Moises | Argentina | 62,000,000 | 26 |
| 6 | Timothy Thorp | United States | 61,000,000 | 25 |
| 7 | Albert Felarca | United States | 42,200,000 | 18 |
| 8 | Jesus Rodriguez | United States | 36,000,000 | 15 |
| 9 | Roland Israelashvili | United States | 34,000,000 | 14 |
| 10 | Ken Takayama | Japan | 28,500,000 | 12 |
With only 40-minute levels on the schedule, the field quickly thinned and consolidated before play slowed in the final hundred. With pay jumps occurring more frequently and for increasingly larger stakes, the clock was called all around the room, and the eliminations slowed.
Action did pick up at the end of the night as Jesus Rodriguez (36,000,000) found a more than triple when he flopped quads with his pocket tens. Popular Japanese player, Hiroki Nawa, was on the precipice of bagging for Day 3 before he was two-outed on the river to abruptly end his run and miss the pay jump.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $420,680 | 7 | $77,580 |
| 2 | $300,160 | 8 | $60,700 |
| 3 | $219,410 | 9 | $47,770 |
| 4 | $167,730 | 10-11 | $37,820 |
| 5 | $128,970 | 12-13 | $30,120 |
| 6 | $100,120 |
The remaining Gladiators will return to battle at 1 p.m. local time on Monday, June 30 at the 2025 World Series of Poker hosted by Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. Once the field is narrowed to seven hopefuls, stream coverage will be available on PokerGO.
That concludes coverage of Day 2, but be sure to check back with PokerNews to catch all the action from this and other WSOP bracelet events.
