The action was picked up when Deividas Kvaselis went all in for 93,000 on the button. Manuel Safian called in the big blind and Dohyeok Kim called as well.
Deividas Kvaselis: A♦K♥
Manuel Safian: A♥K♣
Dohyeok Kim: Q♥Q♣
The dealer revealed the board Q♠2♦Q♦5♣7♦. Kim was already ahead, and the board didn't help Kvaselis or Safian. This resulted in a massive hit for Safian and the rails for Kvaselis.
On the flop of Q♣7♣K♦ Paul Tedeschi bet out for 22,000 after Tamao Kobayashi checked in the big blind.
The turn brought the 7♦, and Kobayashi checked again, enticing Tedeschi to push out a bet of 30,000. Kobayashi announced that she was all in, and Tedeschi snap called.
Paul Tedeschi: KxJx
Tamao Kobayashi: J♥7♥
No help for Tedeschi on the 6♥ river, and he was sent to the rail.
Kevin Kent raised from early position to 11,000, and Dohyeok Kim called from the big blind. The flop came out with 4♠K♥10♥, and Kim checked, while Kent put out 7,000. Kim made the call.
Both players checked the turn Q♦.
On the river 2♦, Kim took the lead and put out a healthy bet of 44,000. Kent went into a long think tank and slammed in the call. Once he saw Kim's hand A♥9♥, he flipped his cards A♣10♦, quickly, and started to pull in the pot.
In one of the final hands, Gregory Schoenick decided to go all in with his remaining stack of 54,000. He got a call from Leo Lombardozzi.
Gregory Schoenick: Q♥10♠
Leo Lombardozzi: 9♣9♠
The dealer showed the board: 5♠K♠K♥8♠3♥. Lombardozzi was already ahead, and the board didn't improve for Schoenick; unfortunately, the end of the day and the tournament for him.
Day 1 of Event #83: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em wrapped up after 15 levels of intense action at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas during the 2025 World Series of Poker.
One of the chip leaders is bracelet winner Vitor Dzivielevski, from Brazil, who is a force to be reckoned with on the felt. A hand that earned him some chips near the end of the night was versus Romain Locquet, where he held the better two pair.
Noel Rodriguez is also listed at the top of the chip leaders, with over $3 million in career poker earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. Rodriguez is undoubtedly one of the top contenders to watch as the event continues, and he earns more points in the 25K Fantasy Draft. PokerNews.
Yu Zhang from China was listed as third in chips and will be looking to break the one-million-dollar mark in his poker earnings with a deep finish.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Noel Rodriguez
United States
840,000
140
2
Vitor Dzivielevski
Brazil
568,000
95
3
Yu Zhang
China
558,000
93
4
Bijan Shapouri
United States
535,000
89
5
Graeme Newman
United Kingdom
481,000
80
6
Tamao Kobayashi
Japan
480,000
80
7
Ben Fan
China
470,000
78
8
Filipp Khavin
United States
467,000
78
9
Dohyeok Kim
South Korea
464,000
77
10
Congya Zhang
China
449,000
75
This year’s event attracted 1,299 entries, surpassing last year’s total of 1,267, and created a generous prize pool of $2,890,275. The winner will take home $449,245 and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. A total of 195 players will make the money, with a minimum payout of $5,010. The remaining 247 players will return to battle Friday, July 4, at 1 p.m. until the bubble bursts and beyond. The final 195 players will be in the money.
The tournament attracted a star-studded field packed with big names and WSOP bracelet winners. Among them are two-time bracelet champions Boris Kolev, who ended the day with 289,000 chips, and Dong Meng, who bagged 254,000, both well-positioned for a deep run. Also in the mix is 2020 Main Event Champion Stoyan Madanzhiev, who matched Meng's stack with 254,000 and will return to Day 2 with plenty of big blinds to maneuver.
Plenty of names from the 25K Fantasy Draft are still in the running, including Phillip Hui (370,000), Cary Katz (134,000), Danny Wong (120,000), Renan Bruschi (109,000), [Removed:548] (109,000), and PokerNews podcaster Mike Holtz (59,000).
Boris Kolev
Day 2 is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the Horseshoe Ballroom Blue section. They will play ten 60-minute levels with a 15-minute break after every two levels. A one-hour dinner break is scheduled after Level 21, at approximately 7:30 p.m. The blinds will start at Level 16, at 3,000/6,000/6,000.
The PokerNews team will be on site, providing live updates and chip counts as the field continues to be whittled down on Day 2.
