Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship
Day 1b Started
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship
Day 1b Started
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.
| 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.
| 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.
The Main Event begins on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 at 12 pm.
Each year, the buy-in for the WSOP Main Event is $10,000.
Anyone who can come up with $10,000 is eligible to compete.
You can watch the 2025 WSOP Main Event on PokerGO daily and through PokerNews live reporting.
Jonathan Tamayo won in 2024 and is the defending world champion.
The Main Event is hosted at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Last year's champion, Jonathan Tamayo, was paid $10,000,000. The 2025 winner will likely take home an amount within that ballpark.
Johnny Moss was the first ever world champion in 1970.
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
From railbirds to backers, MyPlayers is the smarter way to stay connected to the game.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
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60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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|
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
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|
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60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
So far, 637 players have taken their seats for Day 1b of the Main Event.
The tournament director has advised the dealers to "Shuffle up and deal!" and cards are in the air.
Day 1b of the 2025 WSOP Main Event is officially underway!
Niklas Astedt went heads-up to a flop of 10♣7♦7♥ where he bet 400 from the cutoff. Christopher Roat called in the big blind.
Both players checked the 6♥ turn and Roat led out for 1,100 on the A♦ river. Astedt called and Roat showed A♠10♠ for two pair.
"Bad river. Had the best hand the whole way," last year's third-place finisher said as he mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
62,000 | |
|
|
58,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
Govert Metaal opened up the action with a raise to 600 in the small blind, before Douglas Dossett three-bet to 1,200. Metaal put in the call, and the two went off to a flop.
Dossett took the pot with a continuation-bet of 1,200 on the 7♥6♠8♣.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
61,700
61,700
|
61,700 |
|
|
58,800
58,800
|
58,800 |
There were roughly 5,500 chips in the pot on a flop of 4♣5♥10♦, Paul Otto, who was under the gun, bet 2,000 and Andrea Cobbe called in the big blind.
Otto did not slow down on the 10♥ turn and bet 4,000. Cobbe took a moment before he decided to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
63,000
63,000
|
63,000 |
|
|
57,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
Joseph Fortin three-bet to 1,800 in the cutoff and Thomas Couture called in the hijack.
The flop came 8♠6♥5♦ and Fortin bet 2,500. Couture called and the 3♥ fell on the turn.
Fortin then bet 2,400 and Couture raised to 12,000. Fortin called to see the 5♣ river, where Couture bet another 16,000. Fortin quickly folded this time.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
75,000 | |
|
|
47,000 |