Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship
Day 1b Started
2025 World Series of Poker
Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship
Day: 1b
Event Info
2025 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
Buy-in
$3,000
Prize Pool
$10,137,990
Entries
3,797
Level
38
Blinds
600,000 / 1,200,000
Ante
1,200,000
Entries
2,001
Players Left
667
Players Left 1 / 3,797
Filter
(1)
Welcome back to PokerNews, the official media partner of the 2025 World Series of Poker, bringing you live coverage from every bracelet event.
We're expecting a packed field today at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, as Day 1b of Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold’em kicks off at 2 p.m. local time with the second of two opening flights.
This four-day tournament gives players 40,000 in starting chips and features 60-minute levels throughout. Players are allowed one reentry per flight. Late registration is open until the start of Level 12, at around 2:15 p.m. on Day 2.
Entrants will play ten levels with 15-minute breaks every two levels. Surviving players will combine for Day 2 on Friday, July 11, at 1 p.m., where another ten levels are scheduled. Day 3 continues at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, with ten more levels. The final day will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 13, when the remaining players return to play down to a winner.
Please note: PokerNews traditional coverage of this event begins on Day 2.
On Day 1a, Michael Wilklow, winner of Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions No-Limit Hold'em at the start of the series, bagged up a tournament-leading 506,500 chips. Only 367 of the 1,215 entrants progressed to Day 2.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Wilklow | United States | 506,500 | 203 |
| 2 | Andrew Yee | United States | 465,000 | 186 |
| 3 | Robert Ashelm | Germany | 436,000 | 174 |
| 4 | Adrien Amorella | France | 416,000 | 166 |
| 5 | Michael Newman | United States | 397,000 | 159 |
| 6 | Eusebiu Jalba | Bulgaria | 387,000 | 155 |
| 7 | Jamie Walden | United Kingdom | 372,500 | 149 |
| 8 | Zdenek Zizka | Czech Republic | 352,000 | 141 |
| 9 | Alfonso Timoteo | Spain | 339,000 | 136 |
| 10 | Alex Keating | United States | 338,000 | 135 |
The aptly-named Clement Richez is the reigning champion after taking down 2024's 3,177 runner event for a massive first-place prize of $1,041,989. It marked Richez's first bracelet, although he had previously cashed in the WSOP-E Main Event.
"I'm shaking all over," Richez said afterward to French media as he described the emotion of his win, "I didn't think this would give me so many emotions. I was on the verge of crying during the winner's photo, and I'll probably cry after this because I need to release all the pressure."
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In the 906th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz are back at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to discuss the latest news and highlights from the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), including Daniel Negreanu suggesting that poker players shouldn't hesitate to call the clock on other slow-acting players.
Other stories include Will Kassouf being back in the poker spotlight, for better or worse, as well as how the PokerNews Podcast crew did in the 2025 WSOP Main Event. Hint: Kyna, who is now representing Tilted Compass, did an interview with Jeff Platt while Chad got pulled up on the PokerGO live stream. They also highlight Shaun Deeb capturing his seventh bracelet and setting himself up to win POY, Nick Ahmadi taking down the PokerNews Deepstack Championship, PokerGO founder Cary Katz claiming his first bracelet, and Chris Moneymaker winning another Moneymaker Tour title.
Finally, Maria Ho talks about releasing Pokerriculum (viewers/listeners have a chance to win a free copy of the game), and an update on the PokerNews Podcast Fantasy League between Mike, Chad/Kyna, Joey Ingram, and Christina Gollins.
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop twice a week during the 2025 WSOP every Thursday and Sunday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
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There’s no denying that Shaun Deeb is a future Poker Hall of Famer. Whether you know him from his online poker days, where he won more than a dozen COOP titles on PokerStars, or as the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year, Deeb has amassed nearly $13 million in live tournament earnings dating back to 2006 according to The Hendon Mob.
Deeb, who in February 2024 accepted a buyout in his $1 million body fat loss prop bet against Bill Perkins, is also a six-time WSOP gold bracelet winner, but did you know that just like Phil Hellmuth, he’s made a habit of gifting them to those close to him?
PokerNews recently chatted with Deeb about why he gives away his bracelets, which ones he’d keep if he were to win them, and why giving away No. 6 to honor his good friend, the late Thayer Rasmussen, meant so much to him.
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Andrew Neeme and Brad Owen, two of poker’s most influential vloggers and co-owners of The Lodge Card Club, saw their impressive 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event runs come to an end on Day 5.
The popular content creators were among the final 522 players still in contention for the $10 million top prize, but both were eliminated within a few spots of each other. Neeme exited in 382nd place, followed shortly by Owen in 373rd. Each earned a $40,000 payday for their efforts.
For Neeme, a WSOP Circuit ring winner, it marked his second Main Event cash following a deep run to 164th place ($58,500) in 2023. Owen, meanwhile, celebrated his first-ever WSOP Main Event cash.
What. Just. Happened?
That’s what everyone at the WSOP Main Event feature table must’ve been asking after witnessing the biggest pot of the tournament so far in what was an absolutely wild hand that’s destined for future WSOP highlight reels.
Jeremy Kottler, an American player with over $2.5 million in live earnings, pulled the trigger on an audacious king-high bluff on Day 5 of poker's World Championship. Unfortunately for him, Yuchen Chen was holding fives full of jacks and made the call for his tournament life after spending some time in the tank.
The 4.55 million chip pot (152 big blinds) shipped Chen’s way, leaving the table and everyone else stunned. This is one hand you’ll want to read again and again.
