Pawel Brzeski Crushing it Heading into Day 3 of $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout
A total of 25 players will return for Day 3 of Event #83: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout at the 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas
Online crusher Pawel Brzeski leads the pack with a formidable stack of 5,555,000 chips. Brzeski surged ahead midway through the day and never looked back, maintaining his position at the top. Trailing him in second place is Brazil’s Breno Drumond with 3,955,000. In contrast, bracelet winner Vitor Dzivielevski rounds out the top three with 2,820,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pawel Brzeski | Poland | 5,555,000 | 93 |
| 2 | Breno Drumond | Brazil | 3,955,000 | 66 |
| 3 | Vitor Dzivielevski | Brazil | 2,820,000 | 47 |
| 4 | Cary Katz | United States | 2,495,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Simon Lindell | Sweden | 2,445,000 | 41 |
| 6 | Michael Jozoff | United States | 2,420,000 | 40 |
| 7 | Razvan Belea | Romania | 2,175,000 | 36 |
| 8 | Preston McEwen | United States | 2,055,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Jaehoon Baek | Korea, Republic of | 1,975,000 | 33 |
| 10 | Gary Hasson | Belgium | 1,965,000 | 33 |
A total of 1,299 players entered the field, creating a prize pool of $2,997,442, with payouts awarded to the top 195 finishers. Two players, Anthony Ruberto and Siegfried Kapeller, shared the unfortunate distinction of bubbling, both being eliminated on the same hand. Once the bubble burst, eliminations came quickly and relentlessly. Fortunately, the rail had some comic relief during the chaos, thanks to Duncan Horst, who kept spirits high with his impromptu singing and dancing.
The remaining 25 players are packed with star power, boasting almost $50 million in combined tournament earnings. Among them is PokerGO founder Cary Katz, a regular presence at high-stakes events, who has the highest percentage of the above tournament totals. Austria’s Stefan Lehner is also still in contention, known for his victory in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2022 World Series of Poker. Fellow Austrian Klemens Roiter joins him after recently claiming his first bracelet in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack event. Romania’s Razvan Belea, who made history by winning the 2023 EPT Paris Main Event, the first Romanian to do so, is also still in the hunt.
The remaining 25K Fantasy Draft picks are Katz (2,495,000), Nicholas Verderamo (1,645,000), Justin Zaki (945,000), and Roiter (265,000).
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $449,245 | 8 | $48,860 |
| 2 | $298,690 | 9 | $37,860 |
| 3 | $213,800 | 10-11 | $29,750 |
| 4 | $155,010 | 12-13 | $23,710 |
| 5 | $113,860 | 14-17 | $19,170 |
| 6 | $84,730 | 18-25 | $15,720 |
| 7 | $63,910 |
The final 25 players are scheduled to restart at 1 p.m. local time in Level 28 with blinds of 30,000/60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante. The participants are set to play 60-minute levels, with a 15-minute break every two levels, until a winner is crowned.
Stay tuned toPokerNews for coverage of this event.