2025 World Series of Poker
One win (so far). One second-place finish. Three final table appearances, all within the past three years ... in the same event.
Let us introduce Japanese poker player Shiina Okamoto, the defending champion in the $1,000 Ladies Championship at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), who will enter Sunday's final table with the chip lead.
Michael Mizrachi made history on Saturday by winning his fourth Poker Players Championship bracelet. He not only became the first player ever to win the same major poker tournament four times, but he did so in what many consider to be the second most prestigious event in the world. Okamoto, regardless of what position she finishes at the final table, is making history of her own.
All summer long, PokerNews will be offering updates from both the 25K Fantasy and ODB Fantasy leagues, which you can read in our dedicated hub here.
But did you know that you're also able to follow all the players from both leagues in our live updates? Every player drafted in the 25K Fantasy, as well as all the ODB Bonus players, have been tagged with special badges that allow you to visit out chip count page and filter by said badges. So, if all you want to see are players from those leagues and how they're doing, it's as simple as clicking the badges and then filtering.
What's more, each tournament has a "$25K Fantasy" tab at the top of the updates. Click that and all you'll see are hands played by players in the 25K Fantasy league.
PokerNews understands that when it comes to fantasy, some readers only care about their team, so we've made it simple to follow all your rostered players with a few simple clicks.
Check out this video to see the filtering options in action:
In the 903rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by special fill-in cohosts Team PokerStars Pro Jennifer Shahade and Josh Abady of Play Live Melbourne to discuss the latest in the poker industry, including the latest on the alleged chip-dumping incident from the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Millionaire Maker event. Winner Jesse Yaginuma did get paid the $1,000,000 bonus, but he and runner-up James Carroll are still awaiting a decision by WSOP officials on the regular prize money.
Another big story was Golden Nugget cancelling their $1 million guaranteed tournament, much to the dismay of several players, including Kyna England. The hosts discuss the decision and examine the larger concept of guarantees within the poker world. You'll then get highlights from a pair of Meet-Up Games (MUGs), including the PokerNews one at Planet Hollywood and the PokerStars one at Resorts World, where the first $5,300 Main Event seat to November's NAPT was awarded. See who the lucky winner was!
Next, get a sneak peek at the new show Hellmuth's Home Game presented by Poker Night in America (PNIA), a discussion on the state of poker in Australia, and a look ahead to the 2025 WSOP Main Event, which will kick off this week!
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop twice a week during the 2025 WSOP every Thursday and Sunday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
LFG!