Shaun Deeb opened from the cutoff and Jack Roser defended his big blind.
On the J♠6♣3♣ flop, Roser led all-in for 750,000, more than a 2.5x overbet, and Deeb called after a small tank.
Jack Roser: 5♦5♣
Shaun Deeb: J♣7♥
Roser decided to go with his fives but he ran into the top pair of Deeb who made the correct call. Nothing changed on the 10♥9♠ runout as Roser fell the hands of Deeb.
Christopher Ngyuen raised to 100,000 from under the gun and Alex Kulev three-bet to 350,000 in the cutoff which saw only Nguyen call.
The flop rolled out 4♣2♦9♥ and Nguyen check-called a bet of 270,000 from Kulev.
On the turn 6♥, Nguyen checked over to Kulev who sized up to 540,000 and Nguyen called.
Both players checked the 4♦ river and Nguyen turned over A♥Q♥ for ace-high. Kulev nodded and tossed his hand into the muck while Nguyen neared four million chips.
Dan Smith open-shoved for 80,000 under the gun. Shaun Deeb on his direct left raised to 185,000, and Punnat Punsri defended his big blind. Deeb continued for 105,000 on a flop of 6♦K♠A♥ and Punsri folded.
Dan Smith: Q♥8♦
Shaun Deeb: A♣5♣
Deeb scooped both the main and side pots on the 10♥4♦ runout.
Leonard Maue opened to 100,000 in the hijack and Sam Soverel called in the small blind. In the big blind, Galen Hall raised to 500,000 and Maue folded while Soverel went all in for 1,200,000 effective which Hall called.
Galen Hall: K♥K♦
Sam Soverel: 10♣10♠
The board ran out 4♠4♦9♠10♦3♥ and the tens full was good for the pot to eliminate Hall just a few shy of the money.
One moment you're chip leader in the biggest poker tournament on Earth. The next, you're out the door, shell-shocked and wondering how it all went wrong.
That’s the brutal reality Michael Hawker faced on Day 5 of the 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event. After going into the dinner break with a field-leading stack of 6,090,000 (152 big blinds), Hawker was eliminated within twenty minutes of returning, watching his dream unravel in sickening fashion.
This all occurred on the first hand of the hand for hand process.
After losing most of his stack, [Removed:554] moved all in from the hijack for 5,000 which saw Fahredin Mustafov raise to 125,000 and Ryan Feldman on the button, Michael Macchia in the small blind, and Vladimir Minko in the big blind all called.
Everyone checked the flop of 4♣10♣6♦ over to the 7♠ turn where Macchia bet 250,000 and only Minko called.
On the river A♣ Macchia bet 500,000 and Minko tossed his hand into the muck.
[Removed:554]: A♥K♣
Michael Macchia: 4♠4♦
Macchia's set of fours was good for the pot to eliminate [Removed:555] from the tournament.
At another table during the same hand, Tom Fuchs moved all in from the small blind and Jovan Kenjic called in the big blind.
Tom Fuchs: A♦J♠
Jovan Kenjic: K♦K♣
The board ran out Q♣7♥3♥6♣10♥ and the kings held up for Kenjic to take down the pot while Fuchs became the official bubble boy along with Staver.
All of the remaining 38 players are guaranteed a minimum cash for their efforts.
Sam Soverel opened from middle position before Alex Foxen jammed for 220,000 from the cutoff. Christopher Nguyen flatted on the button before David Chen rejammed for a little over 700,000 from the big blind. Soverel folded and Nguyen called to put two players at risk.
Alex Foxen: A♠9♠
David Chen: J♥J♦
Christopher Nguyen: K♥K♦
Nguyen woke up with the goods at the perfect time as the 10♥4♥3♥ flop improved him to the best flush draw. Nothing changed on the 6♣ turn before the 7♥ river improved Nguyen to a flush, and both Foxen and Chen were sent to the rail.
Action was picked up on the turn, with 650,000 chips in the middle, and a board reading 9♣6♠3♥9♥ Matthew Wantman had checked his option over to the only other player still with hole cards, Punnat Punsri. Punsri bet out for 360,000. Wantman took his time before putting in the call.
The dealer put out the 4♠ on the river, and action checked through. Wantman's A♣6♣ was best, as Punsri continued his recent downswing.
Tzai Wei Phua opened the hijack to 100,000 before Jun Obara clicked it to 240,000 from the small blind. Phua would then quickly jam for 735,000 and Obara snap-called as the covering stack.
Tzai Wei Phua: A♠K♠
Jun Obara: J♥J♦
It was a classic flip until the K♥10♣5♣ flop vaulted Phua into the lead as he paired his king. The 5♦ turn offered no additional equity to Obara until the J♣ landed on the river, giving him a set to bust Phua in brutal fashion.
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