Event #8: $1,500 Dealers Choice Day 1 | 2025 World Series of Poker

05-30-2025 20:33 UTC-8

Liedtke Scoops to Bust Kawaguchi

David Salituro

Level 11

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,000-2,000, 2,000-4,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 500 Bring-In, 2,000 Completion 2,000-4,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,000/1,500 Ante, 500-1,000 Blinds

Big O

Mark Liedtke and Tsubasa Kawaguchi were heads-up on a flop of 7♣6♣6♠ when Liedtke bet 15,000 from the hijack. Kawaguchi then moved all in for 25,000 in early position and Liedtke called.

Tsubasa Kawaguchi: A♣K♥Q♣10♦5♠ All in
Mark Liedtke: A♦8♣6♦5♦4♠

Liedtke was ahead with his trips, while Kawaguchi was on a flush draw. The turn was the 10♥, while the 3♥ river also gave Liedtke a low to scoop the pot and send Kawaguchi to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Liedtke	60,000 10,000	10,000
Tsubasa Kawaguchi	Busted

Tags: Mark Liedtke Tsubasa Kawaguchi

05-30-2025 20:48 UTC-8

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Liberto	110,000

Elie Nakache	110,000 1,000	1,000

Kevin Xu	110,000 19,000	19,000
Adam Greenlee	100,000 50,000	50,000
Andres Korn	85,000 60,000	60,000

Mike Leah	85,000 35,000	35,000
Brandon Shack-Harris	80,000 55,000	55,000

Andrew Brown	70,000 45,000	45,000

Viktor Blom	70,000 49,000	49,000
Dean Joe	70,000 45,000	45,000
Matthew Schreiber	60,000

Nacho Barbero	60,000 48,000	48,000

Phil Hellmuth	60,000

Jim Collopy	60,000

Todd Brunson	50,000 10,000	10,000

james Woods	50,000 10,000	10,000
Craig Chait	50,000
Adam Friedman	45,000 10,000	10,000

Terrance Reid	45,000 30,000	30,000
Shaun Deeb	45,000 20,000	20,000

David "Bakes" Baker	45,000 20,000	20,000

Ari Engel	40,000 27,000	27,000

Dylan Linde	40,000 26,000	26,000

Nick Guagenti	40,000 15,000	15,000
Norman Chad	40,000 15,000	15,000

Yeh Fires at Weiss

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 11

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,000-2,000, 2,000-4,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 500 Bring-In, 2,000 Completion 2,000-4,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,000/1,500 Ante, 500-1,000 Blinds

Limit Omaha

Heads-up on a flop of 5♥3♠J♠, Dennis Weiss led out from the big blind and Andrew Yeh called in the cutoff.

The turn was the 10♠ and Weiss checked over to Yeh who fired out a bet. Weiss called and the 9♣ fell on the river.

Yeh then bet again and Weiss called. Yeh showed A♥Q♠9♥6♠ for a flush and Weiss mucked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrew Yeh	45,000

Dennis Weiss	30,000

Tags: Andrew Yeh Dennis Weiss

05-30-2025 21:00 UTC-8

Player	Chips	Progress
Dario Alioto	Busted

Bouwe Claushuis	Busted
Bradley Jansen	Busted

Taylor Paur	Busted

Ben Yu	Busted

Ken Aldridge	Busted
George Alexander	Busted

Leonard August	Busted
Ian Pelz	Busted

Scott Abrams	Busted

Toby Lewis	Busted

Dekel Balas	Busted
Justin Saliba	Busted

Hal Rotholz	Busted

Tal Avivi	Busted
Matt Grapenthien	Busted
David "ODB" Baker	Busted

Scott Seiver	Busted

Scott Clements	Busted

Alan Keating ‘Got Outplayed’ in WSOP Heads-Up Event; Wants to Face Negreanu

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Connor Richards

Level 11

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,000-2,000, 2,000-4,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 500 Bring-In, 2,000 Completion 2,000-4,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,000/1,500 Ante, 500-1,000 Blinds

Alan Keating had an opportunity to prove to the high-stakes tournament grinders — notably, Daniel Negreanu — that he can hang in their arena. But the Hustler Casino Live fan favorite bowed out in the second round of Event #7: $25,000 Heads-Up Championship on Friday at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Keating, known primarily for his high-stakes cash game appearances, has over $200,000 in career WSOP earnings but hasn’t recorded a WSOP cash since 2013. Recently, he’s been publicly challenged by several high-stakes pros—including Negreanu — to step outside the comfort of the private cash game scene and compete against the game's elites.

It seems Negreanu was on Keating’s mind when he registered for the event. When PokerNews caught up with him and asked about his motivation for playing, Keating said, “It’s a heads-up tournament, and I saw Negreanu was on the list,” adding that he thought to himself, “Alright, here’s my chance to find him in his streets.”

Sammartino Makes the Nuts to Bust Wong

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 11

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,000-2,000, 2,000-4,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 500 Bring-In, 2,000 Completion 2,000-4,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,000/1,500 Ante, 500-1,000 Blinds

Badeucy

Around 20,000 was in the middle as Dario Sammartino and Timothy Wong went to the second draw. Wong then put in his last 10,000 from under the gun and Sammartino called in the hijack.

Both players stood pat and Sammartino turned over 7♦5♠4♥3♣2♣ for the nuts with a Badugi to scoop the pot and send Wong to the rail.

Jeremy Ausmus and David "Bakes" Baker were also among the recent eliminations.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dario Sammartino	45,000 10,000	10,000
Timothy Wong	Busted
Jeremy Ausmus	Busted

Michael Rodrigues	Busted

Yueqi Zhu	Busted

David "Bakes" Baker	Busted

Tags: Dario Sammartino Timothy Wong

Level: 12

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,500-2,500, 2,500-5,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 1,000 Bring-In, 2,500 Completion 2,500-5,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,500/2,000 Ante, 500-1,500 Blinds

05-30-2025 21:34 UTC-8

Obst, Brannan Chop a Five-Way Pot as Two Players Hit the Rail

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 12

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,500-2,500, 2,500-5,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 1,000 Bring-In, 2,500 Completion 2,500-5,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,500/2,000 Ante, 500-1,500 Blinds

Badacey

Richard Mirin put in his last 7,500 from under the gun as Paul Holder called in the cutoff, as did Michael Spegal on the button and James Obst in the small blind. Frank Brannan then reraised in the big blind and Holder, Spegal, and Obst all called.

Obst, Mirin, and Holder drew two, while Spegal and Brannan took one. Brannan then bet and all three opponents called.

Brannan stood pat on the second draw, Obst, Mirin, and Holder took two, and Spegal took one. Brannan bet all in and Holder committed his last chips. Spegal called, but Obst raised and Spegal called.

Brannan and Spegal stood pat on the last draw, while the other three each took one. Spegal and Obst then checked.

Obst showed J♣7♣6♠3♥2♦ for a 7-6-3-2 Badugi, while Brannan had 8♥7♦6♣4♥2♠ for an 8-7-6. Spegal mucked A♠9♥6♦5♣4♣, while Mirin and Holder also mucked as they headed to the rail.

"I pulled this on the second card," Brannan said, pointing out his eight. "Is it bad to just pat? I figure all my outs are dead. I'm just learning these games," he added.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Obst	95,000 45,000	45,000

Michael Spegal	90,000 62,000	62,000

Frank Brannan	35,000

Paul Holder	Busted
Richard Mirin	Busted

Tags: Frank Brannan James Obst Michael Spegal Paul Holder Richard Mirin

05-30-2025 21:42 UTC-8

Smith Scoops Frazin While Gerhart Catches Some Strays

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 12

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,500-2,500, 2,500-5,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 1,000 Bring-In, 2,500 Completion 2,500-5,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,500/2,000 Ante, 500-1,500 Blinds

Badacey

Tim Frazin raised in the hijack, Dylan Smith reraised in the small blind, and Frazin called.

"Two kings, I'm going to break it," Frazin said as he drew two. Smith also drew two and bet as Frazin called.

"Two kings again. I'm going to break it, even though he called with two kings," Frazin said, pointing across at tablemate Kevin Gerhart.

"But look at his stack. When's the last time he won a bracelet?" Nitesh Rawtani added.

"It's been a while," Gerhart admitted.

Both players drew one and Smith bet again. Frazin called and drew one, while Smith stood pat and bet. Frazin called again.

Smith showed 6♥5♠4♣3♦2♥ for a 6-5 with a Badugi and Frazin mucked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dylan Smith	80,000 53,000	53,000
Nitesh Rawtani	40,000
Kevin Gerhart	35,000 13,000	13,000

Tim Frazin	30,000 30,000	30,000

Tags: Dylan Smith Kevin Gerhart Nitesh Rawtani Tim Frazin

05-30-2025 21:45 UTC-8

Can Phil Ivey Survive? - $25,000 Heads Up Championship

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Milko van Winden

Level 12

Limit Flop/Draw: 1,500-2,500, 2,500-5,000 Limits
Stud Games: 500 Ante, 1,000 Bring-In, 2,500 Completion 2,500-5,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 1,500/2,000 Ante, 500-1,500 Blinds