The $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2025 World Series of Poker drew the third-largest Main Event field in WSOP history, creating a massive prize pool of $90,535,500. After the bubble burst early on Day 4, only 522 of the 9,735 players bagged up for Day 5, which starts today at noon local time.
Super high roller regulars Stephen Chidwick and Isaac Haxton are among the aspiring World Champions returning to the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, today, looking to add the $10,000,000 top prize that comes with what would be a career-defining WSOP Main Event victory to their already impressive resumes.
Fireworks are sure to ensue on Day 5, as Chidwick, who is second on the all-time money list, and Haxton, who sits in eighth place on the all-time rankings, have been drawn to sit at the same table. With 1,940,000 in chips for Chidwick and 1,915,000 for Haxton, both have just over 95 big blinds to start with today, ensuring some deep-stacked battles between two of the best in the game.
While Chidwick and Haxton return with just under double the average stack, they still only have half of what chip leader Harold Lam bagged on Day 4. Lam leads the field with a stack of 4,195,000, being followed by WSOP Circuit ring winner Jeremy Kottler, who amassed 3,725,000 on Day 4, and Frenchman Julien Mariani, who will bring 3,600,000 chips into Day 5. Meanwhile, Japan's Kohei Arai, Russia's Arsenii Karmatckii, Brazil's Ramon Pessoa, and Mounir Tajiou from Sweden also battled their way into the international top ten.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harold Lam | United States | 4,195,000 | 210 |
| 2 | Jeremy Kottler | United States | 3,725,000 | 186 |
| 3 | Julien Mariani | France | 3,600,000 | 180 |
| 4 | Kohei Arai | Japan | 3,585,000 | 179 |
| 5 | Benjamin Williams | United States | 3,550,000 | 178 |
| 6 | Arsenii Karmatckii | Russian Federation | 3,445,000 | 172 |
| 7 | Ramon Pessoa | Brazil | 3,400,000 | 170 |
| 8 | Michael Hawker | United States | 3,400,000 | 170 |
| 9 | Mounir Tajiou | Sweden | 3,250,000 | 163 |
| 10 | Luke Chung | United States | 3,180,000 | 159 |
Many other notables are still in contention, including Josh Reichard, whose ace-high hero-call on Day 4 bubble kickstarted his journey to a stack of 3,025,000; 2016 Main Event finalist Kenny Hallaert (2,805,000); four-time PPC champion Michael Mizrachi (2,270,000); original online phenom Viktor "Isildur1" Blom (1,455,000); 2023 WSOP Europe champion Max Neugebauer (955,000); and WSOP Main Event winners Greg Merson (1,495,000), and Damian Salas (450,000).
While all returning players have guaranteed themselves $32,500 for making it to Day 5, 522 dreams of making the final table of the WSOP Main Event and securing a seven-figure payout are still alive. Another landmark will occur when 89 players remain, at which point each player will be guaranteed to take home at least $100,000.
2025 WSOP Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | $6,000,000 |
| 3 | $4,000,000 |
| 4 | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | $2,400,000 |
| 6 | $1,900,000 |
| 7 | $1,500,000 |
| 8 | $1,250,000 |
| 9 | $1,000,000 |
Day 5 of the 2025 WSOP Main Event will resume with an hour remaining in Level 20: 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. Every following level will be two hours in length, with a break scheduled after each. Day 5 was originally scheduled to play five levels, with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 23, but with Day 4 being cut short due to the lengthy bubble, that is subject to change.
No matter what today's plan turns out to be, PokerNews will be on the floor in the Horseshoe Event Center to provide extensive live coverage of the 2025 WSOP Main Event. Keep your eyes glued to this page for hand histories, chip updates, and other storylines brought to you live from Las Vegas.
