Takahiro Murai opened to 1,600 from early position and was called by two players, including Jimmy Dudley on the button. Phil Hellmuth reraised to 8,000 in the small blind and Murai shoved all in for 66,100. The action folded back to Hellmuth who went into the tank for over three minutes before the clock was called.
"Who called the clock?" Hellmuth questioned right away. Collin Ball put up his hand, only to have Hellmuth question how long he had been thinking for. The Poker Brat eventually made the call and the cards were face up.
Takahiro Murai: A♣K♣
Phil Hellmuth: Q♠Q♥
The board ran out 10♥9♥2♦J♥J♣ and Dudley exclaimed that he folded pocket jacks which would have made quads. However, Hellmuth was the winner of the pot and he took a quick video with Murai before he sent him on his way.
The words that have defined the 2025 World Series of Poker aren’t “Shuffle Up and Deal,” call, raise, or fold. It’s the phrase “Not Like That!”
When those words are heard ringing throughout the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, it can only mean one thing: Martin Kabrhel is there, and he’s in fine form. The Czech high roller already has one bracelet this summer, in the Mini Main Event, and has his sights set on another deep run when he and thousands of others combine for Day 2abc of EVENT #81: $10,000 WSOP MAIN EVENT No-Limit Hold’em World Championship at noon local time.
Kabhrel begins the day with an above-average stack of 168,700 after an opening flight in which he was up to his usual tricks. It was a good start, but he’s still far behind the chip leader, two-time bracelet winner Andriy Lyubovetskiy (392,400). Victor Vo (352,000), Justin Yaker (348,000), Bin Weng (336,000), and Marc Spitaleri (309,500) round out the top five at the start.
Day 2abc Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Andriy Lyubovetskiy
Ukraine
392,400
491
2
Victor Vo
United States
352,000
440
3
Justin Yaker
United States
348,000
435
4
Bin Weng
United States
336,000
420
5
Marc Spitaleri
United States
309,500
387
6
Eric Bunch
United States
309,300
387
7
Michael Mizrachi
United States
297,000
371
8
Jeremy Dan
United States
282,000
353
9
Dakota Baggett
United States
270,400
338
10
Raoul Kanme
Netherlands
270,000
338
Day 1 is about the atmosphere, of homegame heroes achieving a lifetime dream and enjoying the moment while the seasoned pros try to navigate the minefields. Beginning on Day 2, it starts to dawn on players just how much of a grind and marathon the Main Event is. More than 2,500 begin the day, but thousands of others have already fallen, victims of the pitfalls that await on any given hand.
Among those who survived their opening flight and return today include Michael Mizrachi (297,000), inaugural WSOP Paradise champion Stanislav Zegal (256,400), Calvin Anderson (230,200), last year’s sixth-place finisher Andres Gonzalez (219,500), 2019 finalist Nick Marchington (217,300), and 2017 finalist Alex Lynskey (216,600). Further down the leaderboard are WSOP Europe champion Max Neugebauer (193,300), James Obst (178,300), Roman Hrabec (162,500), Yuri Dzivielevski (161,300), Michael Addamo (92,600), and last year’s fifth-place finisher Boris Angelov (82,500).
Michael Mizrachi begins with a top-ten stack
Phil Hellmuth, after making his usual flamboyant entrance a few days ago after months of claiming he wasn’t going to play the Main Event for the first time in nearly 40 years, has 85,000, but that is eclipsed by his son Phillip Hellmuth III (87,200), who is making his Main Event debut. Mike Matusow (158,200), Daniel Negreanu (122,500), and Johnny Chan (57,800) also headline the field today.
The four starting flights built up a field of 8,694. A total of 2,680 advanced from the first three days. Late registration remains open for the first two levels of today’s Day 2abc and tomorrow’s Day 2d, so there is a chance the field passes the 10,000-mark for a third straight year. The action picks up on Level 6 with blinds of 400/800 and an 800 big blind ante. Levels remain 120 minutes, with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 8.
The diamond-encrusted bracelet, the one thing every player dreams of having around their wrist, was unveiled yesterday. It is a tangible sign of just what is at stake in the biggest poker tournament in the world. The road to poker immortality continues today, and PokerNews will be following all the action and providing live updates.
