Diego Ponce raised to 1,000,000 under the gun and Richard Freitas called in middle position. Pedro Padilha then moved all in for 10,250,000 in the hijack and Ponce folded, but Freitas snap-called to put his countryman at risk.
Pedro Padilha: A♥K♣
Richard Freitas: A♠A♦
Padilha had shoved right into Freitas' aces as the flop came K♦8♥4♣, giving him a glimmer of hope with top pair. The 4♦ turn was no help and Padilha was looking for one of the last two kings in the deck to stay alive, but he missed the 9♣ river and was eliminated in 26th place.
Adam Hendrix opened to 1,000,000 in early position and Lautaro Guerra three-bet to 2,500,000 on the button. Hendrix four-bet shoved all in as the bigger stack and Guerra quickly called off his stack of 10,350,000.
Lautaro Guerra: A♠A♣
Adam Hendrix: J♠J♦
Guerra was looking sharp for a double up and the flop of A♦4♦3♦ put him way out front with a set of aces. The 8♥ on the turn sealed the deal and the 2♣ on the river was just a formality.
Leo Margets raised to 1,000,000 in the hijack with A♦Q♦ and Ruben Correia three-bet to 2,600,000 on the button. Margets then moved all in for 15,700,000.
Correia waited for the dealer to confirm the amount and then went deep into the tank. "It's difficult with all these lights. No, you're used to it. It's a big spot. You're not stacking off with jacks. Tens, maybe. Ace-queen? Nines?" Correia said, trying to interrogate Margets who remained silent staring straight ahead.
"I hate to play poker with girls. I can't read them. Not in poker or in life," Correia added before tossing A♠Q♣ into the muck.
Ruben Correia raised to 1,000,000 in early position and Joey Padron moved all in for 5,600,000 in middle position. The table folded back to Correia who called to put Padron at risk.
Joey Padron: A♠A♦
Ruben Correia: J♦10♦
Padron had woken up with aces and was a big favorite to double up. The 7♥3♥3♣ flop removed almost any hope for Correia, but the J♥ turn gave him two outs going to the river. No miracles arrived on the K♠ and Padron doubled up.
The next hand, Padron picked up A♥A♦ again and raised to 1,000,000. Leo Margets three-bet to 3,000,000 in the small blind, Padron shoved for 12,450,000, and Margets folded A♠J♣.
On the last hand of the night, Joey Padron raised to 1,000,000 in the hijack and Kohei Arai three-bet to 3,500,000 in the small blind. Padron then moved all in, and Arai called for 14,350,000.
Kohei Arai: A♣K♠
Joey Padron: K♥K♣
Arai found himself at risk for the second straight hand, but this time he was in need of help against Padron's kings. The Q♣8♣3♣ flop gave him a flush draw, but he missed the 4♦ turn and 9♦ river and was sent to the rail right before the players bagged up for the night.
Just 24 of the game's finest players have bagged up chips after Day 7 of the 2025 World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship in the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas. Another five levels have been knocked off the schedule, with just one day to go before the lights shine on the final table. Once again, it was Kenny Hallaert who led the day from start to finish, bagging up a stack of 63,600,000 chips.
For someone who has been in the game for decades and claims to have seen "Everything," Day 7 certainly brought back some good and forgettable memories for Hallaert, who made a deep run to sixth place in 2016 for a payday of over $1.4 million.
"In 2016, nine years ago, I think Will [Kassouf] hasn't changed much. I think I've changed a little bit since then, so it was easy for me to block out the noise. The experience from then definitely made me feel more comfortable," Hallaert reflected after another grueling day at the felt.
The good memories for the Belgian tournament director go back to the feeling of being grateful to once again be in this spot out of the 9,735 hopefuls that registered for this year's WSOP Main Event. "I'm enjoying the experience, grateful that I'm able to play this event. Luckily, I was one of them to get to this stage of the final twenty-four. I still love the game, whether it's the World Series Main Event or the PokerStars Open event."
Not many players can say they've been in this situation once, let alone twice, within a decade. As for Hallaert, he believes that his second go around in the late stages of this event will turn out even better than the first with the experience that he gained. "I think it's definitely an advantage. Having played this event for the nineteenth time, it just helps. You have an idea of how people play, especially if they're here for the first time."
Speaking of players making another deep run, Michael Mizrachi has the best finish in the WSOP Main Event of all the remaining players. "The Grinder" climbed all the way to fifth place back in 2010 and the four-time Poker Players Champion will be looking to top that performance with plenty of support from his rail in this year's rendition as he heads into Day 8 with a stack of 11,400,000.
Adam Hendrix
Also joining those at the top of the leaderboard is Alaskan-born poker pro Adam Hendrix who finished the day fourth on the leaderboard with a stack of 39,500,000. Despite having over $8 million in career poker earnings, Hendrix will be looking to notch his career-best score if he can make it through to the final table when tomorrow is all said and done.
Last night, Hendrix posted on his social media that over the next couple of days, he has a chance to realize a life dream of his. "Clear mind, full heart, can't lose," is the motto he will be going by every time he takes a peek at his cards.
When asked if the expectations had changed throughout the Main Event journey so far, Hendrix said the following. "I mean the expectation is ... always win the whole thing. Do I think it is possible? It was hard to think that with so many people in the field. Now I am feeling very confident."
Hendrix had been switching to four-card poker for several years, but racked up several big scores in no-limit hold'em over the last few years, which has certainly brought back more confidence to his game with only two cards. "I have always been a no-limit player and picked up PLO because I was getting bored just travelling the circuit and busting in no-limit tournaments, and the cash games were more interesting. So yeah, it makes no-limit a lot more fun in this tournament."
Top Ten Chip Counts After Day 7 of WSOP Main Event
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Kenny Hallaert
Belgium
63,600,000
127
2
Braxton Dunaway
United States
51,100,000
102
3
Muhamet Perati
Italy
50,100,000
100
4
Adam Hendrix
United States
39,500,000
79
5
Luka Bojovic
Serbia
33,900,000
68
6
Richard Freitas
Brazil
32,500,000
65
7
Joey Padron
United States
29,900,000
60
8
Daniel Iachan
United States
28,100,000
56
9
Ruben Correia
Portugal
26,700,000
53
10
Daehyung Lee
Korea, Republic of
25,600,000
51
The Kassouf Effect
It was nine years ago when tournament staff, media, and players dealt with the difficult task of handling the erratic Will Kassouf when he made it all the way to 17th place. When they say some things never change, that is certainly the case for the man screaming, "Show time, baby!" throughout the Horseshoe Event Center while being escorted out on multiple occasions.
Kassouf was given a one-round penalty early in the day for calling a table-mate a "prick" and then returned from dinner break to be given another orbit penalty for calling his entire table "little bitches." Throughout all of the drama, he continued to stall his way through pay jumps until Hallaert finally laid a beating on him — a poker one of course — ending Kassouf's run in 33rd place.
"I knew the king was coming," Hallaert said with a smirk in an interview with PokerNews at the end of the day.
Kassouf was dragged away from the table, screaming like a little child, and after his interviews were done, Caesar's security escorted him to payouts. From there, he was asked to leave the property and will not be allowed back for the rest of the series. The players at his table were relieved of his screeching voice and were able to remove their earplugs, ones that Adam Hendrix bought for the entire table on the dinner break.
William Kassouf
The Mighty Have Fallen on Day 7
There were plenty of big names and familiar faces still in the mix when the day began, but many of them saw their Main Event final table dreams crushed. One early elimination was 2012 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Merson, who was hoping to add his name to the history books as a repeat champion.
He was followed to the payout desk by the likes of Leon Sturm, Thomas Eychenne, Johan Schumacher, Nick Pupillo, and one of the big stacks to start the day, Eric Afriat. After taking a couple of big losses throughout the day, the three-time WPT champion dwindled down to just a couple of big blinds before he saw the last of his chips evaporate.
The final 27 players were redrawn to three tables and it was Joshua Beckenstein who missed out on the most recent pay jump, bowing out in 27th place for $300,000. Pedro Padilha was one of many players to hit the rail holding the dreaded ace-king today when he ran square into the pocket aces of Richard Freitas. The last elimination occurred in one of the last hands of the day, just moments after Kohei Arai doubled his short stack. On the very next hand, Arai also ran his ace-king into a premium pocket pair and was unable to find any help on the runout.
Heading into the final day before the players get a breather with a day off (between reaching the final table and playing for millions of dollars), Leo Margets is still trying to make some history of her own. Although she wasn't ready to speak after bagging up tonight, Margets has already bested her previous performance of a 27th-place finish back in 2009. She is hoping to become the first woman to reach the Main Event final table in 30 years, since Barbara Enright did it back in 1995.
Leo Margets
Other notables to keep an eye as the action unfolds include 2023 Monster Stack champion Braxton Dunaway, former professional snowboarder Jarod Minghini, long-time legend Tony Gregg, pot-limit Omaha specialist Lautaro Guerra, and Tomas Szwarcberg, who has already improved on last year's 30th-place finish.
The remaining 24 players will return to their same seats tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time with their sights set on reaching the final table. The blinds will resume on Level 35 at 300,000/600,000 and a 600,000 big blind ante. Each player has locked up at least $360,000 thus far, but making it to the official final table will secure the last nine players a seven-figure pay day. The jackpot at the end of the rainbow comes in the form of $10,000,000 and the WSOP Main Event bracelet.
2025 WSOP Main Event Remaining 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
10-11
$750,000
12-13
$560,250
14-17
$450,000
18-24
$360,000
That wraps up the coverage from Day 7 of the Main Event at the 2025 World Series of Poker, but keep it locked on PokerNews for all of the live updates throughout Day 8 Sunday to find out who will reach the final table.
