The first level of the 2025 WSOP Main Event has concluded, and players are now on a 20-minute break. The field currently stands at 890 entries with 880 players remaining.
After seeing a raise to 500 and a call ahead of him, Niklas Astedt raised to 2,700. Ryan Hoenig, directly on his left, made the call, prompting the original raiser and caller to call as well.
Astedt continued with a bet of 2,500 on the 7♦10♦K♣ flop, and only Hoenig made the call.
There was no slowing down on the 8♦ turn, as Astedt put out another bet, this time for 5,100. Undeterred, Hoenig made the call again.
Both players checked the 2♥ river, and when Astedt showed his K♦Q♠, Hoenig flicked his cards back to the dealer face down.
Mike Matusow and Daniel Negreanu are sitting back-to-back at adjacent tables in the Horseshoe Gold section, but it was the two players on either side of Matusow, Jeremiah Williams and Tal Avitan, who tangled in a big pot.
Williams and Avitan built a pot of around 15,000 as they both checked the 8♥6♠10♦ flop. Williams then bet 4,300 from the big blind on the 8♦ turn and Avitan called on the button.
The river was the 7♣ and Williams bet 15,000, sending Avitan deep into the tank. "It doesn't make sense, that river," Avitan said as he took several minutes, picking up the chips to call and shuffling them around in his hand.
Avitan eventually folded and Williams took the pot without showing.
"It's okay, buddy. You can breathe now. Here, let me feel your pulse," Matusow joked with Williams after the hand.
Four players went to a flop of J♣9♠3♣ when Timothy Lilly bet 2,200 from early position. Only David Frutchey called under the gun.
Lilly bet another 4,700 on the 10♦ turn and Frutchey again called. Frutchey checked to Lilly on the A♥ river, and this time Lilly checked back.
Frutchey turned over A♣10♣ for rivered two pair and Lilly mucked J♥10♥ for a smaller two pair.
Lilly's friend was watching the action by the table before going up to him after the hand. "You are the unluckiest motherf**ker around. And I say that in the nicest way possible," Lilly said with a laugh.
Juan Cantu raised to 400 in middle position. 2023 WSOP Europe champion Max Neugebauer then three-bet to 1,300. Sonny Lee cold-called in the small blind, prompting Cantu to bump it up to 3,400.
Neugebauer reraised again, putting in 9,000 chips. Lee quickly moved out of the way, and Cantu eventually followed suit, shipping the pot to Neugebauer without the need for a flop.
As Shane Martin was heading out of the tournament area, having been eliminated, his vanquisher, Eben Kurtzman, recalled the action that led to his demise.
Martin raised to 600, and Kurtzman called from the big blind.
On a flop of 9♦10♣Q♣, Kurtzman checked and Martin continued for a bet of 1,000. Kurtzman then check-raised to 2,000, but that didn't put an end to the raising. Martin responded with another raise to 7,000, to which Kurtzman responded by moving all in for 59,300.
Martin was the covered player by a couple of thousand and made the call.
Shane Martin: K♣J♥
Eben Kurtzman: 10♥9♥
Kurtzman was in trouble, with his opponent having flopped a straight versus his two pair. He was unable to find any help on the 6♠ turn, but the river 10♠ came to his rescue, improving him to a full house and sending Martin to the exit.
Robert Zeidman and Fernando Romano went heads-up to a flop of 6♥6♦3♦ with around 5,000 in the pot. Romano then bet 4,000 from the button and Zeidman called in the cutoff.
The turn was the A♥ and Romano bet another 7,500. Zeidman again called and the 8♦ fell on the river.
Zeidman then led out for 5,000 and Romano quickly moved all in.
"Did you get that?" Zeidman asked the gathering media, before he snap-called for 41,700, turning over 6♣6♠ for quads. Romano tossed 10♣10♦ into the muck and Zeidman earned an early double up.
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship, the flagship event of the 2025 World Series of Poker, has kicked off with a bang. Yesterday, 923 players descended upon the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, for Day 1a of the biggest poker tournament in the world, an increase over last year's first flight turnout of 915.
A night has come and gone since the end of Day 1a, which means that today, at noon local time, Day 1b of poker's marquee event will shuffle up and deal. All players who start their Main Event journey today will be chasing Victor Vo, who set the bar for the chip lead at 352,000 on Day 1a.
2023 WSOP Paradise's Main Event winner Stanislav Zegal also bagged a top ten stack with 256,400, while high-stakes regulars Martin Kabrhel (168,700), Roman Hrabec (162,500), and Leon Sturm (157,600) ended Day 1a in the top 100. Hall of Famer Billy Baxter, who announced "Shuffle up and deal!" on Day 1a, also made his way to the end of the night, albeit with 39,900 chips, less than a starting stack.
Martin Kabrhel
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Victor Vo
United States
352,000
587
2
Justin Yaker
United States
348,000
580
3
Miguel Coussement
Belgium
320,200
534
4
Marc Spitaleri
United States
309,500
516
5
Jeremy Dan
United States
282,000
470
6
Stanislav Zegal
Germany
256,400
427
7
Benjamin Gold
United States
249,300
416
8
Wesley Fei
China
246,300
411
9
Chad Power
United States
243,900
407
10
Yamamoto Toshiyuki
Japan
243,200
405
Every player who registers on Day 1b will sit down with the starting stack of 60,000 chips. Blinds will start at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante, meaning the Main Event begins a whopping 300 big blinds deep. Befitting of poker's Main Event, all levels throughout the tournament will be two hours long.
Day 1b will play five levels, after which the survivors will bag up to return on July 6 for Day 2abc. A 20-minute break will take place after every level, with a 75-minute dinner break scheduled after Level 3, around 6:40 p.m. local time. The chance for late registration will remain open throughout the day, as well as two more levels on Day 2, but the Main Event's freezeout format allows only one entry per player.
Day 1b Schedule
Level
Start
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Big Blind Ante
1
12:00 p.m.
120 minutes
100
200
200
2:00 p.m.
20-minute break
2
2:20 p.m.
120 minutes
200
300
300
4:20 p.m.
20-minute break
3
4:40 p.m.
120 minutes
200
400
400
6:40 p.m.
75-minute break
4
7:55 p.m.
120 minutes
300
500
500
9:55 p.m.
20-minute break
5
10:15 p.m.
120 minutes
300
600
600
PokerNews will be on the floor every day to provide extensive live coverage, so be sure to keep checking in to not miss anything from this year's WSOP Main Event.
2025 WSOP Main Event FAQs
When does the 2025 WSOP Main Event begin?
The Main Event begins on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 at 12 pm.
How much does it cost to enter the WSOP Main Event?
Each year, the buy-in for the WSOP Main Event is $10,000.
Who can enter the WSOP Main Event?
Anyone who can come up with $10,000 is eligible to compete.
How can I follow the Main Event?
You can watch the 2025 WSOP Main Event on PokerGO daily and through PokerNews live reporting.
Who won the WSOP Main Event in 2024?
Jonathan Tamayo won in 2024 and is the defending world champion.
Where does the WSOP Main Event take place?
The Main Event is hosted at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
How much money does the Main Event winner receive?
Last year's champion, Jonathan Tamayo, was paid $10,000,000. The 2025 winner will likely take home an amount within that ballpark.
Who won the first World Series of Poker Main Event?
Johnny Moss was the first ever world champion in 1970.
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