For those priced out of higher buy-ins but hungry for deepstack glory, Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship loomed large on the 2025 poker calendar. This year’s edition ignited a stampede of 5,667 entries, forging a massive $2,856,168 prize pool. On Day 2, 635 hopefuls returned to the felt at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. Just 55 remain, each chasing a $302,165 first-place prize and the prestige of a WSOP gold bracelet.
This event carries added significance for PokerNews, as the second-ever sponsored bracelet event, and beyond the coveted gold bracelet, the champion will also receive a unique 24-karat gold PokerNews Deepstack Championship winner's coin as a testament to their accomplishment.
PokerNews Deepstack Coins
Ivan Ruban returns to Day 3 with 7,410,000, good for third in chips. No stranger to the late stages of massive fields, he’s looking to better his fourth-place finish in this year’s Monster Stack. Standing in his way are Daniel Schill, towering at the top with 12,475,000, and Jason Li, close behind with 9,170,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Daniel Schill
United States
12,475,000
124
2
Jason Li
Canada
9,170,000
91
3
Ivan Ruban
United States
7,410,000
74
4
Xizhe Yuan
United Kingdom
6,305,000
63
5
Aditya Sushant
India
5,555,000
55
6
Martijn Kiers
Austria
4,885,000
48
7
Karl Pineault
Canada
4,815,000
48
8
Assaf Zeharia
Israel
4,795,000
47
9
Thomas Henager
United States
4,560,000
45
10
Josias Santos
United States
4,500,000
45
Players in the top ten chip counts looking to secure their biggest cash to date include: Xizhe Yuan (6,305,000), Aditya Sushant (5,555,000), Martijn Kiers (4,885,000), Karl Pineault (4,795,000), Assaf Zeharia (4,795,000), Thomas Henager (4,560,000), and Josias Santos (4,500,000).
Over the past five weeks, players have been flocking to participate in the PokerNews Daily Deepstack Challenge in the Horseshoe Las Vegas to try and get a top ten spot on the weekly leaderboard. Tanner Martinelli (1,725,000) is the last remaining leaderboard qualifier and hopes to represent the group with pride as he chases his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Cards will be in the air at 11 a.m. local time, with plans to play down to five players. Each level will last 60 minutes, with a 15-minute break every two levels and a 60-minute dinner break scheduled after Level 33 at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live and exclusive coverage of the 2025 World Series of Poker!
Antonio Saez raised to 200,000 from early position, and Ryan Pringle then moved all in for 2,385,000, putting himself at risk. The rest of the table folded, and Saez went into the tank. After some time, he slid a stack of red chips into the middle, signifying a call. Saez grimaced as the hands were tabled.
Ryan Pringle: J♦J♣
Antonio Saez: 9♥9♦
The dealer ran out a board of Q♣A♣2♦7♠2♣, securing a timely double-up for Pringle.
After the hand, he commented, "I did the same thing yesterday, the third hand of the day." He was dealt jacks, went all in, and doubled up, and hopes to follow a similar path to success on Day 3 as he did on Day 2.
Jason Li opened to 220,000 on the button and got an all-in shove reply from small blind Jeremy Felicetti for around 2,000,000. Li called taking them to showdown early in the day.
Jeremy Felicetti: A♣9♣
Jason Li: A♦K♥
The flop came 6♣2♦9♥ pushing Felicetti ahead, despite being dominated at the start, hoping his lead holds until the end. The turn 6♦ improved his hand to two pair. Li only had to have one of his overcards to change the tides.
Change it did when the river K♦ fell, shifting the lead to his favor with kings-up and sending Felicetti to the rail early in the day.
After a check from his heads-up opponent, Zhan Guo, in hijack, fired 120,000 on a flop of 9♦K♣2♣. Assaf Zeharia raised to 425,000 sending Guo to the tank.
Guo took a few seconds and finally decided on pushing 1,000,000 in the middle of the table. Zeharia went into deep thought, complaining slightly that it was so early in the day. He asked how much Guo had behind and went back to thinking over his options.
In the end, he decided to fold and conceded the pot to Guo.
