Kasparas Klezys Claims His First WSOP Gold Bracelet

After six and a half hours of play on Day 3 at theHorseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, Event #91: $1,500 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha at the 2025 World Series of Poker wrapped up with Kasparas Klezys claiming victory. Klezys defeatedJonathan Hanner ($186,732) in a heads-up battle to secure the top prize of $280,214 and earn his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Klezys, a Lithuanian poker pro who now specializes in Pot-Limit Omaha after years of playing mostly Hold’em on the international circuit, boosted his career tournament earnings past $1.4 million with the win.

This result adds to an impressive résumé that already includes a fourth-place finish in the 2023 WSOP Europe Main Event and a final table appearance in the Millionaire Maker at the inaugural WSOP Paradise.

“You get lucky, you do everything right, so it always feels good to win first place," Klezys said after the victory. "No matter what the prize money is, either $1,000 or $200,000, and to win the bracelet too, I cannot describe it, it just feels good, as the money comes in a few days anyway.”

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize (USD)
1	Kasparas Klezys	Lithuania	$280,214
2	Jonathan Hanner	United States	$186,732
3	Jose Nadal	Mexico	$130,264
4	Jonathan Bomba	Argentina	$92,234
5	Paul Gunness	United States	$66,300
6	Darryll Fish	United States	$48,395

From School to the Felt

Klezys picked up poker in school, and right away, he knew it was the game for him. When he was of age, he opened his first account online and never looked back.

“I went to university, but I never stopped playing. I've never had a normal job except for two weeks,” he shared.

Klezys considers himself a master of all trades of gambling, not just poker. “I play everything, sometimes slots, sometimes table games, including blackjack, but poker is my main profession."

PLO Specialist at Heart

Klezys found success in 2023 with a huge score of €464,000 from the WSOP Europe Main Event, but now considers PLO to be his main game.

“My goal coming into Day 3 as chip leader was just to make the top three, and I would be happy,” he said, “but I avoided coolers, and I kept busting people, so that led me to first place.”

Asked about his strategy, he explained: “I just kept pushing opponents, seeing what they do. A lot of people were waiting for good spots, but not adjusting well. In PLO, I know the math, I’ll call three-bets, and a lot of the time I have 40%. I don’t need perfect hands."

“My plan was to lean on ICM, my opponents would need to get good cards to play against me, which meant I could play more hands."

Future Plans: Back to Lithuania but Maybe a Concert Before

As for what’s next, Klezys is heading home. “I’m going back to Lithuania in a few days. Maybe I’ll catch the Backstreet Boys at the Sphere, just for the experience.” On the poker front, his plans remain flexible. “I don’t know what’s next. Maybe Barcelona, maybe something else. I take it one stop at a time.”

He also credited the support of fellow Lithuanian and friend Paulius Vaitiekunas: “We went to school together, we’re from the same hometown. We’re just good friends, and we both play poker. It’s great to have that kind of support.”

Day 3 Action

The day began with ten players returning to the felt at noon, but action got off to a measured start as stacks were still fairly deep. Interestingly, Klezys entered the day as the chip leader with approximately 112 big blinds and managed to keep his big stack all the way to victory.

The first elimination came about when short-stacked George Abdallah got his chips in against Nacho Barbero and lost to a flush. Klezys eliminated Andrew Ostapchenko shortly after. After Hanner eliminated Barbero, Klezys went on an elimination spree, sending the following players to the rail: Tony Sinishtaj, Darryll Fish, Paul Gunness, Jonathan Bomba, and Jose Nadal. Klezys entered heads-up against Hanner with a 6:1 chip lead.

The heads-up battle was not smooth for Klezys, as Hanner was not giving up easily. Hanner managed to get his stack up to 6,700,000 chips at its peak, but the experience and big stack of Klezys kept grinding him down. Hanner found a couple of double-ups, winning a few flips, but the pivotal moment came when he check-raised the flop and ended up losing to Klezys’s two-pair. A few hands later, Hanner was all in for his tournament life, but was confirmed as the runner-up after the runout.