Shaun Deeb Wins Seventh WSOP Bracelet, Overtakes POY Lead
Shaun Deeb beat Isaac Haxton heads-up to win his seventh World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in Event #79: $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, and moved up to first place in the Player of the Year (POY) standings.
The New Yorker conquered the field, beating out 121 entrants for $2,957,229, more than double his previous largest live tournament cash. Haxton, who has over $53 million in live cashes according to The Hendon Mob, collected $1,972,860 for his runner-up finish.
It continues a trend of high-profile winners during the 2025 WSOP, and Deeb jumped to his rail in celebration after he rivered a flush in a short but very intense heads-up duel which lasted about half an hour.
Prior to that, it may have seemed unlikely that Deeb would capture the largest live poker score of his poker career to date as he was twice the far-shortest stack on the final day. However, the resilience of Deeb paid off and the captain of "Team Lucky" was full of emotions when the final river card hit.
Final Table Result
| Rank | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | $2,957,229 |
| 2 | Isaac Haxton | United States | $1,972,860 |
| 3 | Arthur Morris | United States | $1,368,994 |
| 4 | Lautaro Guerra | Spain | $976,082 |
| 5 | Phil Ivey | United States | $715,614 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen | United States | $539,917 |
| 7 | Sean Rafael | United States | $419,563 |
| 8 | Ben Lamb | United States | $336,110 |
Winner's Reaction
When asked how he came back into contention after being short, Deeb was very adamant to point out that he ran very well when it mattered the most. He also adjusted his strategy in heads-up play, which brought a very rapid shift in momentum towards the title.
"Yeah, I mean, anyone could have won that tournament with the run of cards I had on all ends, you know. I ran so above chip EV in every all-in. I really just won, so, there wasn't much skill. I played really well preflop , I got outplayed postflop I am sure, but that's kind of I knew what was going to happen. I know how to reduce better players' edge. Versus Ike, you know, I was ready to go wild preflop and that's why I think he limp-called the kings because he just kind of knew that I'm willing to do that.”
Deeb had several close calls during the summer already including two runner-up finishes and a third place but the seventh bracelet had eluded him. However, the victory then came in such a high-profile event with nearly $3 million on the line.
"It's everything you hope for coming out here. God, this is the best one, I am probably going to play all summer to win. I appreciate all the staff here, I know everyone here there's a lot of difficulty with so many players. So the World Series does a great job, as much shit as they get publicly. People got to realize just how hard it is to do what they do, and I appreciate all the staff."
Going into the final day of this event, Deeb was also clearly aware of his chances to take the lead in the Player of the Year race, which is "always a topic" for the now seven-time champion.
"I already did the math last night, I knew it was 1,360 to win. You know, the POY doesn't update with online, so I have a second place for about 500 points online. Benny also has a seventh place for about 300 online. So it's going to be me and Benny balloting. He's a favorite though, because I think he only has six or seven scores so any score he gets is just points on his total. So I really got to get, you know that 200 points or another final table."
The latest victory may be bad news for everyone else, because his mind is now more than ever focused on taking down the POY title for the second time.
"I'm going to multi-table the shit out of the series. I got the money to do it. And yeah, I just want another banner, join my friends and tie Daniel [Negreanu]."
During the final table when Deeb was involved in a hand with Alex Foxen, the POY points leader (at the time), Martin Kabrhel, visited, asking him to knock out Foxen. In the winner interview, Deeb said that he "really didn't like that kid" ten years ago when they met the first time at the Rio in Las Vegas, but got to know him better during the WSOP Europe at King's Resort in Rozvadov.
"We went to dinner a couple of times, like we just always chat. I am a very talkative guy, so is he. I love all the attention he is getting."
Deeb even pointed out that Kabrhel had asked him for advice for the Eight Game Mixed Championship as he didn't know some of the games. The coaching session never happened since Deeb was busy with the preparations for the final table, but he certainly doesn't mind talking with other players and giving them advice.
"I don't want to hide some secrets of my ideas. I want it to be as skill-based and as volume-based as possible, and it's just crazy," Deeb admitted, shortly before checking if any other WSOP gold bracelet events were still open for registration in the evening.
One thing is for certain - it will be a fun last two weeks of the WSOP in Las Vegas and Deeb will be gunning for more glory.
Deeb's Player of the Year Chances
When the WSOP website updates its POY leaderboard, Deeb will move into the top spot ahead of Benny Glaser, Martin Kabrhel, and Scott Bohlman. The 2018 winner is committed to winning his second Player of the Year award, so much so that he might skip the Main Event.
"The Main Event is the worst tournament for Player of the Year," Deeb told PokerNews.
Kabrhel overtook first place in the POY race on Wednesday when he won the Mini Main Event. Glaser, who has won three bracelets this summer, still has a seventh-place WSOP online finish to be added to his point total. That will bring him into second place. Deeb also has an online final table appearance - second place - to be added.
Deeb doesn't consider the POY race his to lose, and he acknowledges that Glaser, who only has six cashes, will have an easier time increasing his point total. That is due to the current scoring system that only counts a player's top ten scores, and only one online cash can be included. Deeb already has more than 10 cashes, and many of his scores were small.
He can only add to his total if he earns enough points to wipe out one of his other cashes. Glaser, on the other hand, will increase his score with any additional cash. Still, Deeb leads the way and has as strong of a chance to win WSOP Player of the Year as anyone.
Action of the Final Day
Haxton started the day in the driver's seat and the first two hours brought various chip changes as the top spot changed multiple times. Sean Rafael started with the shortest stack and never got much running before he ended up second-best to the turned wheel of Haxton.
Likewise, Phil Ivey tumbled towards the bottom of the leaderboard and got two flop jams through to preserve his precarious stack size. However, he was not the next to bow out as that unfortunate fate was reserved for Alex Foxen. On an ace-high board, he called it off on the river when Haxton made aces and nines to quickly exit the live-stream table in the Horseshoe Event Center.
Haxton then made it three knockouts in a row when his aces held against a short-stacked Ivey and he pulled into a commanding lead in four-handed play. Deeb came back from a very short stack to stay in contention and had to do so again when Arthur Morris flopped top set to turn the tides once more.
Spanish four-card specialist Lautaro Guerra was very active throughout the final day and at times threatened the lead of Haxton, but once he dropped down in the pecking order, his pocket aces and backdoor flush draw was cracked when an ace on the river gave Haxton Broadway.
During three-handed play, the surge of Deeb came at the expense of Morris, who was left on fumes after getting it in with a slightly worse ace and he was eliminated soon after. During the 2023 WSOP, Morris finished runner-up in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship for $809,167 and surpassed that figure with his first seven-figure score.
Once the heads-up action resumed after the dinner break, Deeb quickly turned a minor chip disadvantage into a commanding lead and one double for Haxton was only a short-lived setback. They got the chips in soon after on a jack-high board with both holding overpairs. Deeb had the spades to go with it and rivered the winning flush for his rail to explode in celebration.
This concludes the PokerNews live updates for Event #79: $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, but stay tuned as plenty of other gold bracelets are still up for grabs during the 2025 WSOP in Las Vegas, which runs through July 16.