Pingfeng Wu raised to 2,400 under the gun and Jeff Platt three-bet jammed in the big blind for 33,100 to put himself at risk. Wu took some time to think through his decision before flicking in the call.
Jeff Platt: A♠Q♥
Pingfeng Wu: 9♣9♥
The flop came J♦10♣8♦ with Wu still in the lead but Platt picked up a double-gutter. The J♣ landed on the turn, giving Platt even more outs with a ten.
The 7♥ river was a brick for Platt and he was sent to the rail. He elected to rebuy and will receive a fresh 40,000 starting stack.
Spencer Champlin raised to 2,500 in early position and Christopher Kelley three-bet to 6,500 in late position. Bin Weng called for 2,300 in the hijack to put himself at risk, and Champlin continued, creating a side pot.
The flop came 6♣A♣Q♣ and Champlin check-folded when Kelley fired out a bet of 25,000.
Bin Weng: 8♦6♦
Christopher Kelley: QxQx
The turn landed the 4♣, giving Weng outs to a chop but the 10♠ river ended his tournament hopes.
Action picked up on the river with Gianluca Cedolia deep in the tank facing an all in for his tournament life.
With about 85,000 in the middle and the board reading 6♠8♦3♦9♣10♦, Renat Bohdanov had moved all in from the small blind for 38,000, covering Cedolia in the hijack who had 37,000 behind.
After a couple minutes, Julien Sitbon called the clock and the tournament director began the countdown.
Eventually, Cedolia tossed his cards into the muck and the pot was pushed Bohdanov's way.
After an under-the-gun raise and a middle position flat, Bradley Gafford three-bet to 11,000 on the button. Daniel Sindelar then cold four-bet to 26,000 in the big blind, and only Gafford called.
The flop came Q♣2♠3♦ and Sindelar continued with a bet of 35,000. Gafford moved all in for 42,000 total to put himself at risk and Sindelar quickly called.
Bradley Gafford: A♦A♥
Daniel Sindelar: K♣K♥
The board ran out 2♣, 4♠ and Gafford's pair of aces held to earn him the big double-up.
Niall Duffy raised to 3,000 from middle position. Jason Hickey then three-bet to 8,500 from the next seat over. Jamie Gold called on the button, and Duffy called as well.
The flop came 6♥4♦K♦. Action checked to Gold, who bet 17,500. Duffy called, and Hickey folded.
Both players checked the 3♦ turn.
The river was the K♠. Duffy bet enough to put Gold all in. After some time, Gold reluctantly folded.
After ten levels of play, Day 1 action has come to a close here in Event #68: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em at the 2025 World Series of Poker, hosted by the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
Of the 1,882 runners who started the day, only 641 players will return for Day 2 on Thursday. Late registration will be open through the end of Level 12 on Day 2 and will close before the start of Level 13 at approximately 2:15 p.m. local time. One reentry is permitted, so there may be some familiar faces that return with a fresh 40,000 starting stack.
Petre Ionescu climbed steadily throughout the day and sits atop the leaderboard with 702,000. Sitting in second, not far behind Ionescu is Rehman Kassam, who ended the day with 691,500, and rounding out the podium is Valentyn Shabelnyk with 570,000.
Dan Sepiol stands out as the biggest name left in the field to reach the top-ten list at the end of Day 1. He bagged an impressive 360,000 which puts him in tenth on the leaderboard. Sepiol is a 25K Fantasy player that won his maiden bracelet last year at the 2024 WSOP in the $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold'em. He will look to leverage his experience and big stack on Day 2 to set himself up for another deep run.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Petre Ionescu
Romania
702,000
281
2
Rehman Kassam
United Kingdom
691,500
277
3
Valentyn Shabelnyk
Ukraine
570,000
228
4
Neng Zhao
Australia
448,000
179
5
Fabian Niederreiter
Germany
433,000
173
6
Armin Rezaei
Austria
432,000
173
7
Paawan Bansal
India
388,000
155
8
Kunal Patni
India
382,500
153
9
Rachid Amamou
Switzerland
366,000
146
10
Daniel Sepiol
United States
360,000
144
Players to Keep an Eye On
Many big names will be returning for Day 2 action looking for a shot at WSOP glory. Those who bagged big include Steven Jones (240,500), Dylan Linde (239,000), Jason Wheeler (223,000), Scott Blumstein (175,000), Faraz Jaka (162,500), Jeff Platt (162,000), Chance Kornuth (159,500), and Alec Torelli (155,000).
Others to keep a lookout for are Noah Schwartz (147,500), Nick Schulman (143,000), Brock Wilson (139,000), John Juanda (128,500), Andy Tsai (125,500), Christian Harder (114,000), Kristen Foxen (107,500), Jessica Vierling (106,500), and Aram Oganyan (101,000).
Alec Torelli
Notable Eliminations
A lot of familiar faces were out and about in the field with several firing the two allotted bullets that the tournament's structure sheet allowed. Those who chose to reenter but couldn't find a bag for Day 2 include David Jackson, Punnat Punsri, Rania Nasreddine, Bin Weng, Jeremiah Williams, [Removed:548], Clemen Deng, Brian Hastings, Kahle Burns, Ryan Leng, Santhosh Suvarna, Barak Wisbrod, Frank Brannan, Michael Acevedo, Josh Arieh and Jamie Gold.
Jamie Gold
Day 2 will start at 12 p.m. local time on Thursday, June 26, where ten 60-minute levels are on the agenda. The tournament will resume in Level 11 with blinds at 1,000/2,500/2,500 and there will be a 15-minute break every two levels. A one-hour dinner break will take place after the completion of Level 16, at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Given that late registration is still open through the first two levels on Day 2, the prize pool and payouts will be announced later in the day once the information is made available.
Be sure to follow PokerNews for the remainder of this event, as well as future coverage throughout the summer.
