PokerGO founder Cary Katz has been a regular on the high roller scene for more than a decade, so it may have surprised some to see his name among the entries in Event #83: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout.
After three long days of action at the 2025 World Series of Poker, Katz was among the final four players who bagged up for an unscheduled day at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Looking back on his decision, Katz told PokerNews that he had a feeling about this particular event.
“I wasn't even supposed to play it. I didn't even have it on my schedule. I was going to rest this weekend and just get ready for the Main [Event]. But you know, I said I had a feeling I kind of want to play this.
“I like freezeouts. I'll go over to late register the freezeout and see what happens. And it was a good decision. I'm glad I took my shot.”
With the WSOP Main Event going on around them, Katz overcame an early chip deficit and a loud Brazilian rail to defeat Breno Drumond in heads-up play.
Despite boasting over $40 million in earnings and numerous victories, Katz had yet to get his hands on a WSOP gold bracelet. That career-first came in a field of 1,299 entries, taking home the largest share of the $2,890,275 prize pool.
“It feels amazing. I just wanted to enjoy every moment. I had a feeling the whole event that, sometimes you just know when you're going to run well.”
Event #83: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary Katz | United States | $449,245 |
| 2 | Breno Drumond | Brazil | $298,690 |
| 3 | Jaehoon Baek | South Korea | $213,800 |
| 4 | Preston McEwen | United States | $155,010 |
| 5 | Gary Hasson | Belgium | $113,860 |
| 6 | Michel Molenaar | Netherlands | $84,730 |
| 7 | Pawel Brzeski | Poland | $63,910 |
| 8 | Razvan Belea | Romania | $48,860 |
| 9 | Mihai Manole | Romania | $37,860 |
Family Affair
Katz claimed his first WSOP bracelet after several close calls over the years, including a trio of runner-up finishes. The first came back at the 2013 World Series of Poker, when his kings were cracked by jacks in Event #19: $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em.
The second was in 2017, as Katz came up short in Event #52: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. The most recent chance came in 2023, where Event #29: $100,000 High Roller resulted in more heartbreak.
This time, Katz would not be denied. He took the chip lead early in the extra day and finished the job in front of his family and the PokerGO production team.
“It means everything to me to have my family there. I had my wife there, I had my son there, my daughter was there. My other daughter was there last night, my son-in-law was there, so it was quite an experience.”
The Katz family was cheering on against a loud crew of Brazilians, who tried to propel Drumond to victory.
“I was almost rooting for them to win hands just so I could hear the cheering, because I was feeding off it. It was beautiful. That was just special, the Brazilians bring so much.”
”Fortunate” Extra Day
Drumond held the chip lead as play concluded a night earlier, while Katz was happy to bag up for the unscheduled day.
“I thought he was playing very well and very aggressively, and I was getting really tired at the end of Day 3. So it was fortunate for me that the time ended and I could come back, get a decent night's sleep, and start back up on Day 4.”
The timing worked out nicely for Katz, who found an early double to start the day and watched Drumond earn a pair of eliminations. Preston McEwen and Jaehoon Baek fell on the opening level, leaving him at a chip disadvantage to start heads-up play.
After taking command and having fun with the opposing rail, Katz sealed the victory when his pocket threes won a flip to send Drumond out in second place.
“I'm just I was just thankful that he didn't have a pair when he called me.” As Katz celebrated, Drumond had more work to do as his stack was waiting in the WSOP Main Event. The extra day of action cost him a third of his chips, but the second-place prize of $298,690 offered a bit of consolation.
Katz earned $449,245 for his efforts, and can now focus on taking his own shot in the Main Event.
“I decided this year to shake it up a little bit, decided to skip day one, just kind of like conserve my energy. Coming with 75 bigs on Day 2, it seemed like the right move for me. I won't be that emotionally invested in it, so I can just kind of, I want to just play it loose and just have at it.”
The scheduling worked out well, as Katz can now enter the largest event of the series as a WSOP bracelet winner.
That concludes our coverage of the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, but the PokerNews team remains busy with full coverage of the rest of the WSOP in Las Vegas.
