Chad Holloway limped from middle position and called a raise of 12,000 from Roi Sabag in the small blind.
The flop came 10♥Q♣3♣ and Sabag continued for 35,000. Holloway thought a bit and then announced he was all in. Sabag snap-called for his entire 136,000 and hands were revealed.
Roi Sabag: A♦A♣
Chad Holloway: K♥K♠
Holloway had been trapping with kings, but found himself in trouble against Sabag's aces.
The 10♣ turn nor 9♦ river changed anything and Sabag doubled through Holloway, who was left with just 12,000 following the clash.
Holloway was seen exiting the tournament area shortly after, having been eliminated.
Ugganbayar Erdenekhuu in early position and Marte Sandberg on the button had arrived on a turn of 2♥9♦3♦K♦, which they both checked. The J♦ river prompted Erdenekhuu to bet 16,000 into the pot of 45,000.
Sandberg quickly called, and she won the pot without showdown when Erdenekhuu refused to reveal his holding, forfeiting the pot instead.
Omid Nikzad raised to 4,500 in middle position, Scott Lazar three-bet to 12,000 in the hijack, and Nikzad called.
Both players checked the 2♠J♠2♥ flop. Nikzad then bet 13,000 on the 4♣ turn and Lazar called.
Nikzad bet another 19,000 on the 5♣ river and Lazar snap-called with K♥K♦. Nikzad mucked 7♠7♣ and Lazar, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his Main Event final table run, took the pot.
Action folded to Robert Grossglauser on the button, who put in a standard raise, but as quick as a flash, he and Hyung Sun Jung, the big blind, had their full stacks in the middle.
Grossglauser had the bigger of the two stacks, but barely. Sun Jung was all in for 41,000, and Grossglauser had a stack of 50,000.
Hyung Sun Jung: A♦A♥
Robert Grossglauser: A♠K♦
An ice-cold cooler in the last level of the day, and it was Grossglauser on the unenviable end of it.
The board ran out a very safe 5♦5♥8♥8♦Q♠, giving Sun Jung a late-night double-up.
Steffen Schroeter bet 3,500 from the hijack on a flop of 6♦Q♥J♣ and Pedro Marques raised to 13,000 in the small blind. Surminder Singh called in the big blind, while Schroeter got out of the way.
Marques checked the 8♥ turn and Singh bet 25,000. Marques then moved all in for 55,000 and Singh snap-called.
Marques showed A♥Q♦ for top pair, but Singh had 10♦9♠ for the turned nut straight. Marques was already drawing dead and heading for the exit before the 9♥ sealed his elimination.
"Always nice when you don't have to sweat," a tablemate said to Singh after the hand.
Manzil Adeem was under the gun with a raise of 35,000 in front of him before Peter Green moved all in for 130,000 on the button.
"Do you really have aces, sir? Holy moly, I can't fold kings in a tournament," Adeem said as he called.
Peter Green: A♠A♥
Manzil Adeem: K♠K♦
"Please hold, please," Green pleaded, clasping his hands in prayer and looking up to the heavens as the board ran out 8♦3♣4♥4♠J♥ to earn him a late-night double-up.
"I get coolered like no other, every single day," Adeem said as he paid off Green, telling the table he also lost with kings versus aces at the end of Day 1 as well.
Greg Merson had opened to 4,000 from the hijack. Button Jon Kyte made it 10,000 to go on the button, to which Merson responded with a four-bet to 35,000.
Kyte spent some time in the tank, but eventually let go of his A♠, as well as another card, which he returned face down.
The excitement of entering the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship had worn off for many of the players, thus it was a much more business-like approach for the 2,681 hopefuls returning to their seats for Day 2abc of the competition. They were joined by 265 late entries who took advantage of the late registration period in the first two levels of the day, bringing the total number of entries at the 2025 WSOP Main Event to 8,959.
On Day 2d, there will be another two levels of registration available for anyone looking to squeak in at the deadline with around 60 big blinds. Last year, when a record field of 10,112 entries was established, the lineup was out the door when registration was about to close, and that is expected to be the case this year as well. However, the total number of entries is expected to fall short of the record-breaking 2024 attendance despite the large turnout.
End of Day 2abc Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Oleksii Kravchuk
Ukraine
937,500
375
2
Randall Lack
United States
762,500
305
3
Nicholas Bond
United States
724,500
290
4
David Polop
Spain
704,000
282
5
Ryuta Nakai
Japan
648,000
259
6
Thomas Eychenne
France
644,000
258
7
Eric Bunch
United States
632,500
253
8
Juliet Hegedus
United States
627,000
251
9
Kajetan Renke
Poland
600,000
240
10
Kohei Arai
Japan
597,000
239
Another large payday will still await the winner, likely in the eight-figure range once again, with a prize pool of nearly $87 million already generated thus far. Only a few players can relate to that feeling of hoisting the WSOP Main Event bracelet over a large stack of American bills, and for some of them, that dream of doing it once again is still alive.
Most notably, Phil Hellmuth will be moving on to Day 3 on the heels of a huge coin flip that occurred on the very first hand of the day. The Poker Brat will be returning to the felt with 187,000 chips on July 8 when the entire field will gather for the first time.
Phil Hellmuth
Over half of the Day 2abc field was eliminated after what started out as a packed Horseshoe Events Center, along with some overflow into the Paris ballroom. Tables were breaking at a rapid pace throughout the day as an unofficial number of 1,320 players advanced to Day 3.
Among the many casualties was the largest personality of the summer, whether you love him or hate him, as Martin Kabrhel received multiple ovations, some by his own doing, and the final one when Franklin Machado claimed the last of his chips.
The Czech Joker wasn't the only player to attract a standing rail throughout the day, as many fans gathered around Daniel Negreanu's table up against the ropes in the Horseshoe red section. Sometimes two to three rows deep, the crowd witnessed Negreanu stave off elimination on multiple occasions to bag up a stack of 71,000 chips.
Vanessa Selbst
It was a stellar day for many of the ladies in the field as one or more are looking to break through and finally make it all the way to the final table, and perhaps be the last player standing in just over a week. Vanessa Selbst was up to her usual tricks on Day 2abc - playing many hands, staying aggressive, and winning a lot of pots. The three-time bracelet winner bagged up a stack of 160,500 chips and will be joined by the likes of Juliet Hegedus (627,000) Marte Sandberg (403,000), former Ladies Event champion Lara Eisenberg (214,000), Katie Lindsay (170,000), and Susan Faber (435,000), who lead the charge of women looking to make WSOP history.
WSOP Main Event
2024 Entries
2025 Entries
2025 Advancing
Day 1a
915
923
634
Day 1b
831
1,096
798
Day 1c
2,528
1,678
1,249
Day 1d
5,014
4,997
3,776
Day 2abc
206
265
1,320
Day 2d
618
TBA
TBA
Total
10,112
8,959
It was a massive day for the overall chip leader Oleksii Kravchuk, who was the only player to get within arm's reach of a seven-figure stack. The Ukrainian bagged up a whopping stack of 937,500 chips after a late-night surge that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard. Some other big stacks and notables advancing to Day 3 belong to Randall Lack (762,000), David Cabrera Polop (704,000), Thomas Eychenne (647,000), Bin Weng (500,500), and the always jovial Canadian Jon Pardy (382,500).
Among the former champions in this Day 2abc flight, three of them were done and dusted early on in the day. Qui Nguyen, Scott Blumstein, and Robert Varkonyi were all forced to the rail in their attempt at becoming a champion a second time around. However, multiple champions saw their stack blossom over the course of another five levels. Hellmuth will be joined by the likes of Johnny Chan (95,500), Greg Raymer (226,000), Greg Merson (123,000), and Damian Salas (129,000) who all had success at the felt today.
Hundreds of other hopefuls had their Main Event dreams dashed today, without even getting a sniff at the money bubble, which is likely to take place late on Day 3 or early on Day 4. Some of those include high-rollers Christoph Vogelsang, Michael Addamo, Wesley Fei, former final tablist and recent bracelet winner Joshua Remitio, and PokerNews' own Chad Holloway who saw his run come to an end on the last level of the night when he ran pocket kings into the pocket aces of Roi Sabag.
Johnny Chan
As previously mentioned, the total tally for the 2025 WSOP Main Event has not been confirmed, with an additional two levels of late registration available for Day 2d. At the time of bagging for Day 2abc, nearly 200 players have already registered for the final flight, and unless a surprising number of players join the field in the last moments, a five-figure tally will likely not be reached for the third year in a row. It is guaranteed to be another packed room with at least 3,776 players returning to their seats at noon local time for another five levels of poker.
The action will resume on Level 6 with blinds of 400/800 and a big blind ante of 800. Each level will consist of 120 minutes and a 15-minute break following it. With the start of Level 8 on Day 2d, registration will officially close for this event. The most anticipated tournament of the summer is set to conclude on July 16 in Las Vegas.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the tournament floor to bring you all of the live updates throughout the Main Event en route to crowning another champion in just over a week. There will also be many other events taking place over the coming days, so keep it locked here for all of the latest poker news.
