Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
Day 3 Completed
Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
Day 3 Completed
An early end was called to Day 3 of Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship as the clock crept past midnight and still four players alive with a chance to win the World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
Qinghai Pan ended the day in the same place he started it, atop the leaderboard with 5,265,000. The California native already has two WSOP bracelets, both online, and will be looking for a live title to add to his resume when play resumes tomorrow at noon local time. With WSOP cashes dating back to 2009, he’s already matched his best-ever finish in a live WSOP event.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qinghai Pan | United States | 5,265,000 | 26 |
| 2 | David Lin | United States | 3,135,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Luke Schwartz | United Kingdom | 1,965,000 | 10 |
| 4 | Andrey Zhigalov | Russia | 795,000 | 4 |
David Lin, no stranger to Stud Hi-Lo final tables, sits in second with 3,135,000. Lin already made the final table of the $1,500 version of this event earlier this series, where he finished in seventh place, but he's the only one of the four remaining players without WSOP gold already on their career record.
Luke Schwartz was once one of the rising young stars of the game, a fixture on television during the poker boom. While the UK pro has stepped back from the game in recent years, he’s come back triumphant so far in 2025. This event marked his first WSOP cash since 2019, when he won his lone bracelet in the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Championship. He aims for bracelet No. 2 and enters the extra Day 4 in third place with 1,965,000.
Andrey Zhigalov ended up as the short stack with 795,000. Zhigaov is looking for his second bracelet this summer after taking down the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., his second career victory in that same tournament.
Day 3 began at 1 p.m. local time with 15 players remaining out of a starting field of 186. Phil Hellmuth was in fourth place to begin the day and firmly in the hunt for bracelet No. 18 as he got off to a fast start, making a straight against Jordan Siegel’s rolled up queens to briefly take the chip lead. But it was all downhill for Hellmuth from there, accompanied by his usual profanity-laced rants. Pan was his favorite target throughout the day. “This f**king guy is running like God. He’s going to blow all those chips to somebody else later,” Hellmuth said while knocking over a chair after losing one pot to Pan.
Hellmuth was down to his last 160,000 and blamed it on his headphones, looking for a trash can to throw them in before depositing them onto a nearby table. Viktor Blom then ended up with trip fives and Hellmuth left in 13th place, his headphones still lying unclaimed on the table.
Jose Paz-Gutierrez (15th), Sachin Bhargava (14th), Siegel (12th), and Christopher Claassen (11th) also fell short of the final table. Blom then got in his last chips against Zhigalov, who ended up with a pair of nines. Blom couldn’t beat it and tossed his cards into the muck on his way to the rail in 10th place.
Zhigalov had taken the chip lead with 3,070,000 at the start of the nine-handed final table, with Pan in second with 2,760,000, followed by Lin at 2,190,000. Paul Zappulla was eliminated on one of the first hands by Lin’s trip kings. Jared Rubin, who spent most of the day hanging by a thread with a short stack, finally succumbed in eighth place when Tomasz Gluszko spiked a straight to beat his jacks. “You played awesome. You could not hold your head low on that,” tablemate Tim Frazin consoled him afterward.
Schwartz had fallen to the short stack before scooping a pot off Lin to double up. He then spiked a flush and got paid on seventh street by Zhigalov to take down a big pot and move up close to 2,000,000. Alex Livingston had dropped down to just 150,000 at one point, and while he managed to double up a few times, he eventually ran into Lin’s aces up to bust in seventh place.
Frazin livened up the final table with his one-liners and quick quips as he tried to battle back from a short stack, lamenting his inability to scoop a pot. He finally got his last chips in and was called by four players. Pan, Lin, Zhigalov, and Gluszko built a massive side pot that ended with Pan making a flush and low to scoop the entire pot, sending Frazin to the rail in sixth place. “That was an insane pot. You don’t see that ever,” Schwartz, the lone bystander at the table, said.
Pan moved up over 5,000,000 and into a massive chip lead over the remaining five players. Gluszko was eliminated in fifth place when Lin had tens and deuces to beat Gluszko’s pair of aces. The final four battled on through the rest of the level before tournament officials ordered an end to the day. The players protested, with Schwartz arguing to at least play one more level so he could jump into the $10,000 8-Game tomorrow, but to no avail.
| Place | Player | Country | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $411,051 | ||
| 2 | $274,023 | ||
| 3 | $188,105 | ||
| 4 | $132,423 | ||
| 5 | Tomasz Gluszko | Poland | $95,665 |
| 6 | Tim Frazin | United States | $70,970 |
| 7 | Alex Livingston | Canada | $54,105 |
| 8 | Jared Rubin | United States | $42,421 |
The action on Day 4 picks up on Level 25 with limits of 100,000/200,000. The players have locked up $132,423, with tomorrow's chamouin $411,051.
PokerNews will be back following all the action as the final table resumes tomorrow and a new champion is crowned.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,265,000
465,000
|
465,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,135,000
335,000
|
335,000 |
|
|
1,965,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
|
795,000
255,000
|
255,000 |
|
|
||
With four players remaining, tournament officials have called an early end to Day 3. The final four will come back at noon tomorrow to play down to a champion.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
David Lin: XxXx/5♠J♦5♦Q♠/Xx
Luke Schwartz: XxXx/6♥6♠2♦Q♣/Xx
David Lin completed and Luke Schwartz called.
Schwartz bet on fourth and fifth streets as Lin called. Schwartz bet again on sixth and Lin called.
Both players checked on seventh and Lin showed the J♣ for two pair. Schwartz mucked the 2♥ as Lin took the pot.
Qinghai Pan: XxXx/7♠J♠8♦A♥
David Lin: XxXx/5♠6♦9♣Q♥ - folded on sixth street
The next hand, Lin bet on fourth street and Qinghai Pan called.
Pan then bet on fifth and Lin called. Pan bet again on sixth, and Lin folded this time.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,800,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,800,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
|
2,000,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
Qinghai Pan: A♥10♣4♥/8♠6♠J♣9♥
David Lin: Q♣10♥6♣/10♠7♣9♣3♥
Qinghai Pan completed, David Lin raised, and Pan called. Fourth street checked through to fifth street, where Pan check-called a bet from Lin. The same occurred on sixth street, after which seventh street was checked down.
Pan had missed his draws, leaving Lin victorious with a pair of tens.
Andrey Zhigalov: A♠7♥6♥/4♣Q♦8♥3♣
Qinghai Pan: XxXx/Q♥2♥10♣5♣ - folded on sixth street
David Lin: A♥A♦2♦/7♦9♦5♦8♣
Andrey Zhigalov brought in, Pan completed, and Lin and Zhigalov called. Pan continued betting on fourth street, seeing both opponents call. Pan slowed down on fifth street and checked. Lin tossed in a bet, and both Zhigalov and Pan called.
Lin made four to a straight on sixth, and he bet again. Zhigalov stuck around with a call, but Pan decided to get out of the way. On seventh street, Zhigalov check-called a final bet from Lin.
Lin tabled aces and an eight-low, and Zhigalov took half the pot with his seven-low.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,450,000
1,150,000
|
1,150,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,925,000
925,000
|
925,000 |
|
|
1,050,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
Andrey Zhigalov: XxXx/4♥6♦8♥
David Lin: XxXx/2♠K♥5♥ - folded on fifth street
Andrey Zhigalov completed and David Lin raised. Zhigalov called and they went to fourth street.
Zhigalov then bet and Lin called. Zhigalov bet again on fifth, leaving himself just one big bet behind, and Lin spent some time making sure the bets already in the pot were correct before giving up his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,000,000
205,000
|
205,000 |
|
|
950,000 | |
|
|
||
Day 1a of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event featured some wild eliminations, one being that of popular poker pro Faraz Jaka.
The Jaka Coaching founder had a memorable exit from poker's most prestigious tournament Wednesday evening when he turned aggressive play with seven-deuce into a cooler. PokerNews was, as always, there to capture the crazy hand on video.
Andrey Zhigalov: XxXx/5♣6♥6♣10♦/Xx
David Lin: XxXx/A♠ - folded on third street
Luke Schwartz: Q♥7♦7♣/Q♦7♠4♣10♣
Andrey Zhigalov brought in, David Lin completed, and Luke Schwartz two-bet. Zhigalov called, while Lin decided to fold. Schwartz bet on fourth street, and Zhigalov called. Zhigalov made an open pair on fifth street and led out, seeing Schwartz call.
Sixth street then checked through to seventh street, where Zhigalov bet again. Schwartz raised, and Zhigalov quickly called.
Schwartz showed sevens full of queens, and Zhigalov mucked what he claimed was a lower full house.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,500,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
|
2,205,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
|
|
950,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
|
||
Qinghai Pan: XxXx/K♥4♣6♥
David Lin: XxXx/3♣K♣10♦ - folded on fifth street
Qinghai Pan completed, David Lin raised, and Pan called.
Lin bet on fourth street and Pan called. Pan then bet on fifth and Lin gave up his hand.
Andrey Zhigalov: XxXx/2♣A♦8♦
David Lin: XxXx/K♦Q♣7♠ - folded on fifth street
The next hand, Lin completed and Andrey Zhigalov raised. Lin called and Zhigalov continued betting on fourth.
Lin again called before facing another bet on fifth. He once more folded and Zhigalov took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,600,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,000,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
|
1,500,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
|
||