A tradition unlike any other — a player busting early in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Day 1.
The first of four starting flights kicked off at noon PT on Wednesday from Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas in the $10,000 world championship event.
Poker Hall of Famer Billy Baxter announced "shuffle up and deal" just 45 minutes before the first elimination from the most prestigious tournament in poker.
Level: 45
Blinds: 3,000,000/6,000,000
Ante: 6,000,000
Alexander Yen opened with a raise on the button and John Ishak three-bet jammed in the small blind for 62,000,000. Yen quickly called with the covering stack.
John Ishak: K♦Q♠ 
Alexander Yen: A♠10♠
Ishak pulled ahead on the K♣3♦4♣ flop, pairing his king. The turn landed the J♥ and the river brought the 6♣, earning him the double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
178,000,000
62,000,000
|
62,000,000 |
|
||
|
144,000,000
82,000,000
|
82,000,000 |
Martin Kabrhel raised to 10,000,000 on the button and John Ishak defended in the big blind.
The flop came 7♣7♥8♦ and Ishak checked-called a bet of 5,500,000 from Kabrhel.
On the 3♠ turn, Ishak checked and Kabrhel fired out a bet of 17,000,000. Ishak thought for a moment before giving up his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
240,000,000
18,000,000
|
18,000,000 |
|
|
||
|
180,000,000
42,000,000
|
42,000,000 |
|
||
|
160,000,000
22,000,000
|
22,000,000 |
|
|
62,000,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
On the first hand, Vadzim Lipauka raised to 10,000 and received calls from Martin Kabrhel and Alexander Yen.
The flop came 5♠J♦10♥ and it checked to Lipauka who continued for 10,000,000. Only Yen stayed interested and called.
Both checked on the 10♦ turn and A♥ river and Yen tabled A♠K♣ to claim the pot, as Lipauka mucked his cards.
The hand after, Kabrhel and Yen went to see a flop 5♠2♣8♠ and Kabrhel check-called Yen for 5,000,000. Both checked on the 6♠ turn. On the 10♣ river, Kabrhel check-folded after Yen bet 14,000,000.
The following hand saw Yen complete his small blind and John Ishak checked his option.
The flop appeared Q♣K♠5♥ and both checked to see a 3♣ on the turn. Yen fired 20,000,000 into the pot and Ishak let it go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
258,000,000
68,500,000
|
68,500,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
182,000,000
14,000,000
|
14,000,000 |
|
|
138,000,000
28,500,000
|
28,500,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
63,000,000
22,000,000
|
22,000,000 |
Action folded around to Vadzim Lipauka in the small blind who moved all in. Bartlomiej Swieboda thought for a moment before calling off his stack of about 45,000,000 to put himself at risk.
Bartlomiej Swieboda: K♥6♦
Vadzim Lipauka: K♣9♣
The flop came 2♠Q♥3♦ with Lipauka's king-nine still out in the lead. The 8♥ turn and 7♥ river offered no help to Swieboda and he was eliminated just a few hands into the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
196,000,000
40,000,000
|
40,000,000 |
|
Busted |
The five remaining players are now in their seats, and cards are in the air for the final day with 21 minutes left at level 44.
Level: 44
Blinds: 2,500,000/5,000,000
Ante: 5,000,000
Action continues at the 2025 World Series of Poker with Day 3 of Event #75: $1,000 Mini Main kicking off at 1:00 p.m. local time inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Only five players are returning from a massive field that started with 10,794 entries, all of whom have their eyes set on the first-place prize of $843,140, as well as the coveted gold bracelet. The event generated a prize pool of $7,937,277, with all remaining competitors already having locked up a cash of at least $246,900.
Alexander Yen is the lone American of the final five players and enters Day 3 atop the leaderboard with 189,500,000. He will look to leverage his chip lead as the tournament reaches the homestretch to put himself in position to win his first WSOP bracelet.
Right on his heels is three-time bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel, sitting in second with a respectable 166,500,000. The polarizing Czech high roller has now tallied eight cashes this summer totaling over $1,000,000. This is his fourth final table of the series, with his third taking place just a few days ago in Event #72: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty, where he finished fifth for $212,926. As the most decorated player left in the field, Kabrhel will look to use his experience and continue his momentum to close this one out for his fourth piece of WSOP gold.
Vadzim Lipauka enters the final day in the middle of the pack with 156,000,000, while John Ishak (85,000,000) and Bartlomiej Swieboda (50,500,000) are the short stacks.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bartlomiej Swieboda | Poland | 50,500,000 | 10 |
| 2 | Martin Kabrhel | Czechia | 166,500,000 | 33 |
| 3 | Alexander Yen | United States | 189,500,000 | 38 |
| 4 | John Ishak | Hungary | 85,000,000 | 17 |
| 5 | Vadzim Lipauka | Belarus | 156,000,000 | 31 |
| Place | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $843,140 |
| 2 | $566,170 |
| 3 | $426,550 |
| 4 | $323,460 |
| 5 | $246,900 |
There's no question that a large rail will form inside the Horseshoe Event Center as cards get in the air at 1:00 p.m. where the event is scheduled to play down to a winner.
The tournament will resume in Level 44 with blinds at 2,500,000/5,000,000 with a 5,000,000 big blind ante and players will get a 15-minute break every four levels.
Be sure to follow PokerNews for the remainder of this event, as well as future coverage throughout the summer.
Event #75: $1,000 Mini Main Event
Day 3 Started
