The World Series of Poker Main Event offers different special memories and history-making moments every year. There are stories to be told, each more exciting than the last, as a few fortunate players are picked out of a sea of thousands to become household names in the poker world for years to come.
But in 2025, there isn’t just one story going to the Main Event final table. In any other year, a woman actually breaking poker’s glass ceiling on the game’s biggest stage would be the overarching headline. But then along came Michael Mizrachi.
Mizrachi continued to tear up the WSOP record books, in a year that already included his unprecedented fourth PPC title, by making it to the Main Event final table for a second time, repeating the historic double he first pulled off 15 years ago. Mizrachi heads into the final table in second chip position with 93,000,000 as he was cheered on by a rabid fan base throughout the day.
2025 WSOP Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Margets | Spain | 53,400,000 | 33 |
| 2 | Kenny Hallaert | Belgium | 80,500,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Braxton Dunaway | United States | 91,900,000 | 57 |
| 4 | John Wasnock | United States | 108,100,000 | 68 |
| 5 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 93,000,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Daehyung Lee | South Korea | 34,900,000 | 22 |
| 7 | Luka Bojovic | Serbia | 51,000,000 | 32 |
| 8 | Adam Hendrix | United States | 48,000,000 | 30 |
| 9 | Jarod Minghini | United States | 23,600,000 | 15 |
Mizrachi is no longer a full-time tournament player. He only came back for this WSOP, but for the man known as “The Grinder” there was no reacclimation period. He just picked up right where he left off.
“I don’t need preparation. It’s like riding a bike. I haven’t played a tournament in a year. I just came back on the scene,” Mizrachi said after the final table was set. “The last tournament I played was the last World Series event I won. I played a charity event one night, then I came back for this. And then I went crazy over here.”
“Crazy” would hardly describe Mizrachi’s night. He doubled up John Wasnock on one of the first hands of the day and fell to less than 2,000,000, putting a serious dent in his chances at making another run. But he then doubled with ace-king against Daniel Iachan’s ace-ten, and came from behind with a flush on the river to double off Braxton Dunaway. He was all in against Dunaway again with king-jack against two fives as the board gave him another flush on the river. He was finally all in for 17,800,000 with two queens against Tony Gregg’s nines.
Mizrachi could barely stand to look, lying down on the floor as the board ran out safe to earn him yet one more double up. “The Grinder” was back in business.
Chants of “Grinder, Grinder,” and “Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame,” rang throughout the Horseshoe Event Center throughout the day. With another PPC title and a repeat performance at the Main Event, Mizrachi should already be preparing his acceptance speech for next year.
“I already felt that was locked in when I won the fourth PPC. This is just another level. If it doesn’t happen, that just motivates me more. Don’t give it to me. I might do something crazy next year,” he said.
Mizrachi ended up in fifth place in 2010, but compares his situation entering the final table this year favorably to 15 years ago.
“Last time, in 2010, I was seven out of nine. Now I’m second out of nine. So I’m in a good spot and I have position on the big stack, so I like my situation right now.”
Leo Margets Ends a 30-Year Drought For Women
In 1978, Barbara Freer became the first woman to play in the Main Event. It wasn’t until 1986 that Wendeen Eolis became the first to cash. But it was in 1995 that Hall of Famer Barbara Enright made a historic run all the way to fifth place.
In the 30 years since, several women have knocked on the door but couldn’t quite push it open. Gaelle Baumann finished in 10th in 2012. Kristen Foxen, the most decorated female poker player in history, made it to 13th last year. If Foxen couldn’t do it then, who could? In a tournament where women are vastly outnumbered, the glass ceiling was still firmly in place.
A lucky club on the river changed that. Leo Margets, who burst onto the poker scene when she finished in 27th place in 2009 and remains the last woman to win an open-field WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas when she won the $1,500 Closer in 2021, had almost all of her chips in the middle against Sergio Veloso with two jacks against ace-king in a nearly 70,000,000-chip pot. The flop gave Veloso top pair and the lead, and it seemed like the dream was buried for the 30th year in a row. But the poker gods had other ideas, and Margets made a running flush to win the pot and bust Veloso in 16th place.
Margets rode that momentum all the way to bagging up 53,400,000 and fifth chip position at the final table as she joins Enright in the poker history books. “It’s amazing. I’m living the dream that any poker player wants to live. I’m super celebrating, but since we made it so far, you know, let’s keep focus,” she said.
Underdog Wasnock Seizes the Chip Lead
Mizrachi and Margets are looking up at a man writing a fairy tale story in this Main Event. John Wasnock would’ve been easy to overlook amidst the throng of grinders and homegame heroes that make up the Main Event field. The 50-year-old Seattle native had just $143,000 in live career earnings before the Main Event. His best score came earlier this year when he won a tournament at a casino in Pendleton, Oregon, population 17,000. Even today on Day 8, Wasnock found himself in last place with 17 players remaining at the dinner break.
But then came the run of a lifetime. Wasnock took out Ruben Correia in 15th place with ace-king against ace-queen as Joey Padron folded two jacks that would’ve won the pot and taken Wasnock out. He also eliminated Joseph Ozimok in 12th. Wasnock finally ended the night with a bang, showing down two eights against Padron’s ace-king to set the final table as he took the chip lead with 108,100,000.
“It sounds pretty amazing. Yeah, never would have expected it,” Wasnock said. “I’ve had a pretty good run the last year. I live in Seattle. There’s not a lot of big action, you know, tournaments. So I play tournaments when I come down. I’ve been playing some of the smaller events in the World Series the last ten years or so. I played in the Main Event once, ten years ago. That was kind of a bucket list.”
Wasnock lacks the experience that Mizrachi, Margets, and most of the other finalists have, but he’s not counting himself out.
“I’ve definitely had a little bit more success, kind of crossing the finish line. I had three wins this year in smaller events and, you know, I feel like it’s given me some good experience playing shorthanded and playing it out. So, you know, I feel pretty confident,” he said.
Hallaert Back For Another Run at the Title
Mizrachi isn’t the only player making another appearance at the Main Event final table. Start-of-day chip leader and PokerStars Team Pro Kenny Hallaert rode the rollercoaster all the way from the top to the middle of the pack, back up near the chip lead, before finally settling in fourth place with 80,500,000. Hallaert finished in sixth place in 2016 and says this event has always had special meaning for him since he first played it.
“The first time that I played was in 2008. I love this tournament so much that I said to myself, if I can, I’m never going to miss this tournament anymore. Since then, I had the privilege of playing it. Now, of course, making the final table in 2016 was a dream that I thought would never come true. To now make it for a second time feels surreal in a way. You’re battling with 10,000 roughly other players. One in a 1,000 only will make it. It’s so amazing,” he said.
Texas Oil Man Proving a Big-Field Master
Dunaway rounds out the top five with 91,900,000. The 42-year-old Midland, Texas native works in the oil industry and only plays poker as a hobby, but that hasn’t stopped him from achieving incredible success before. In 2023, Dunaway outlasted a field of 8,317 players to win the Monster Stack event for his first WSOP bracelet and $1,162,681. He’s now on the verge of conquering another massive 9,735-player field at the Main Event final table.
“I’m feeling pretty good. Amazing is the word,” Dunaway said at the conclusion of play. “I just think I fare well in deep stack poker and deep structures, and just fortunate, lucky.”
Dunaway is expecting a rowdy atmosphere when play resumes on Tuesday. “I have a lot of friends coming out. It’s going to be a crazy rail. I think with Grinder, there’s such a lot of good guys with a big following. All these guys have buddies. I just think it’s going to be a wild final table. Everyone is in for a good show, regardless.”
As for his plans and preparation heading to the final table, Dunaway is keeping it simple as he’s already locked up another seven-figure score. “Rest, all I can. That’s the main thing,” he said. “The money is great, obviously. The money helps and does things. But this is like life-changing money. [The Monster Stack] was really good money, don’t get me wrong. I’m just looking forward to seeing how all this pans out Tuesday."
Bojovic, Hendrix Among the Other Finalists
At the bottom half of the leaderboard sit Luka Bojovic (51,000,000), Adam Hendrix (48,000,000), Daehyung Lee (34,900,000), and Jarod Minghini (23,600,000). Bojovic already has a Main Event final table appearance on his resume, just not here in Las Vegas; he finished in eighth place in the WSOP Europe last year in Rozvadov. Hendrix, the Anchorage-born pro, has more than $8 million in live tournament earnings and 11 WSOP final tables but is looking to make his first career bracelet the biggest one of all.
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 |
The remaining nine players will have a well-deserved day off tomorrow after battling for the past eight days. They’ll return on Tuesday, July 15, at 1 p.m. local time for the first day of the final table. The action picks up with 66:41 remaining in Level 39 with blinds of 800,000/1,600,000 and a 1,600,000 big blind ante. All nine finalists are guaranteed a $1 million payday, with the eventual world champion earning $10,000,000, the diamond-encrusted bracelet, and a banner that will hang among poker’s other immortals for all time.
This is the moment every poker player dreams of. For these nine, it’s become a reality. They’ve outlasted more than 9,000 opponents, and the World Championship is finally within reach. PokerNews will be back on July 15 to provide hand-for-hand coverage of the historic 2025 Main Event final table.
