Defending Champion Shiina Okamoto Bags the Chip Lead in Day 2 of $1,000 Ladies Championship
Day 2 of Event #70: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship saw 317 ladies return to the felt to battle it out in the 2025 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
With a $1,203,840 prize pool generated from the total 1,368 entries, only 206 players made the money. The bubble burst just a few levels into the day, with Geraldine Spears leaving empty-handed after getting in with ace-king against Alisa Baumann's pocket eights. The eliminations came thick and fast after the bubble burst with many notables making the money. A few never made it to Day 3 such as Kerryjane Craigie and Jennifer Shahade.
There are also many familiar faces that bagged and will return for Day 3, such as defending champion Shiina Okamoto. Okamoto had a great day and came into the day third in chips but improved to bagging a monster 1,495,000 stack, putting her in the chip lead. Towards the end of the day, she and her heads-up competitor and 2023 champion Tamar Abraham were on the same table and got into a couple of battles for chips.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shiina Okamoto | Japan | 1,495,000 | 75 |
| 2 | Juliet Hegedus | United States | 1,450,000 | 73 |
| 3 | Una Kelly | United States | 1,260,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Krista Gifford | United States | 1,155,000 | 58 |
| 5 | Elisa Nakagawa | United States | 910,000 | 46 |
| 6 | Julie Huynh | United States | 890,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Jessica Cai | United States | 855,000 | 43 |
| 8 | Susan Faber | United States | 850,000 | 43 |
| 9 | JJ Liu | Taiwan | 845,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Tanith Rothman | South Africa | 709,000 | 35 |
Juliet Hegedus is close on Okamoto’s heels, returning second in chips. Hegedus played plenty of pots throughout the day and although she doubled up her opponent later in the day, she regrouped and chipped away late into the evening, picking up a number of small pots.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $184,094 | 9 | $15,472 |
| 2 | $122,654 | 10-11 | $12,158 |
| 3 | $87,695 | 12-13 | $9,691 |
| 4 | $63,517 | 14-17 | $7,836 |
| 5 | $46,614 | 18-26 | $6,431 |
| 6 | $34,667 | 27-35 | $5,356 |
| 7 | $26,131 | 36-44 | $4,529 |
| 8 | $19,969 | 45-50 | $3,889 |
Three-time WSOP bracelet winner and Hall of Famer Barbara Enright (565,000) also returned to Day 2 and outlasted most of the field, bagging a respectable stack to take into Day 3. Late in the day she forced a fold from Farah Galfond, which added to her stack. There are also a number of other previous WSOP bracelet winners set to return tomorrow including Susan Faber (850,000), Allyn Shulman (295,000) and Jessica Marks (217,000).
The remaining 50 players will return to the felt at 12.p.m on Saturday, June 28, to Level 21 with 10,000/20,000 blinds and a 20,000 big blind ante. Levels are 60-minutes long and there will be 15-minute breaks every two levels. There is a scheduled dinner break after Level 26 at approximately 6:30pm. Players are due to play down to the final five before bagging for Day 4.
Stick with PokerNews as we follow all the action until a winner is crowned.