Justin Zaki raised to 575,000 from late position, leaving one 5,000 chip behind, Jaehoon Baek called from the hijack, and Michel Molenaar moved all in for 1,500,000 from the small blind. Zaki called for his last chip, and Baek folded.
Justin Zaki: K♣10♦
Michel Molenaar: A♣J♠
The board came out with 3♠5♠2♣7♥2♦, and ace high with a pair of twos would be enough to win and eliminate Zaki.
Ran Ilani raised from the hijack to 160,000, and Pawel Brzeski three-bet from the small blind to 560,000. Ilani called. The flop was K♠2♦9♥, and Brzeski bet 350,000, and Ilani called.
On the turn 6♦, Brzeski bet again for 725,000 and Ilani called.
The river 2♥ brought out an all-in bet from Brzeski for 1,125,000 effective, and Ilani went into a long think tank, with the Director following closely as the other tables were complaining about stalling. Ultimately, Ilani made the call and showed K♣Q♣ for two pair, Breski showed J♥10♥ for jack high.
Simon Lindell raised to 160,000 on the button. Vitor Dzivielevski three-bet all in for around 1,000,000 from the big blind and Lindell made the call.
Vitor Dzivielevski: A♠K♣
Simon Lindell: A♥J♣
The flop came 10♥7♥3♠ and the turn K♥ improved Dzivielevski to top pair. However, it gave Lindell a flush draw and he made a flush on the J♥ river to send Dzivielevski to the rail.
"That's like one of those online runouts," said tablemate Cary Katz.
Razvan Belea opened to 160,000 from the cutoff and faced an all-in from Filipp Khavin from the big blind. Razvan Belea wasted little time getting his chips in to send them to a showdown.
Filipp Khavin: A♠5♥
Razvan Belea: Q♥Q♣
Khavin needed some help and found at least a pair on the 10♦5♣K♥ flop.
The 5♥ turn was gold for Khavin as he hit trips to overtake Belea.
The lead did not last long as Belea spiked the river when the Q♠ hit to give Belea a full house.
Ahmed Nimer raised to 210,000 from the hijack position, and Preston McEwen three-bet to 700,000, which would put Nimer all-in. Nimer took some time to think, and the clock was called. At the last second, Nimer called, and it was off to the board.
Ahmed Nimer: A♠8♠
Preston McEwen: A♣K♥
The board was 4♦3♠10♦9♠A♦, and McEwen's kicker played with his pair of aces for the win and the knockout.
[Removed:548] shoved from the middle position for around 470,000 and Razvan Belea three-bet from the cutoff for the rest of the table to fold and the cards to go on their backs.
[Removed:548]: A♦5♦
Razvan Belea: J♠J♣
The board ran out 5♥9♣7♣2♦6♠ for [Removed:549] to flop a pair of fives but not get enough help on the turn nor river to keep him in the tournament as Belea held with the pocket pair of jacks.
Jefferson Guerrero jammed for his final 145,000 from early position. Stefan Lehner chose to raise it to 230,000 from early position, and was called in one spot by Michel Molenaar from the small blind.
Molenaar checked the A♣6♦5♥ flop and faced a bet of 180,000 from Lehner. Molenaar folded to send Guerrero and Lehner to a showdown.
Jefferson Guerrero: J♣8♦
Stefan Lehner: A♦10♣
Guerrero needed help after the flop. However, the K♠ turn was not the texture he was looking for to keep him alive.
Guerrero was already packing up as the 2♦ hit the river.
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.
Pawel Brzeski
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 [Removed:548] 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.
Cary Katz
The remaining 25K Fantasy Draft picks are Katz (2,495,000), Nicholas Verderamo (1,645,000), Justin Zaki (945,000), and [Removed:549] (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.
![Profile photo of [Removed:548]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
