With two players seeing a board of 5♥4♥6♦K♠7♠ and around 35,000 in the middle Benjamin Chalot bet 30,000 from the small blind and Govert Metaal called from the big blind.
Chalot turned over an eight high straight with A♣8♠ and Metaal mucked his hand.
Day 1 of the 2025 World Series of PokerEvent #94 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship is in the books after 10 levels of play at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. A total of 450 players took their shot so far during the first day in the freezeout format, with a collection of 179 players bagging up to come back for Day 2.
New prospective entrants are entitled to register through Level 13, meaning the total could still grow as more participants throw their hat in the ring to try and chase WSOP glory.
Topping the chip lead counts were Benjamin Chalot (552,000), Mike Matusow (430,500), and Fahredin Mustafov (382,000).
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Benjamin Chalot
Ireland
552000
221
2
Mike Matusow
United States
430500
172
3
Fahredin Mustafov
Bulgaria
382000
153
4
Mike Watson
Canada
380500
152
5
Blaz Zerjav
Slovenia
364000
146
6
Zdenek Zizka
Czechia
360500
144
7
Adrien Delmas
France
351500
141
8
Aleks Dimitrov
Bulgaria
344000
138
9
Brian Luo
United States
337500
135
10
Nicholas Seward
United States
315000
126
Chalot had already put together a strong Day 1, but he rocketed to the very top near the end of the day when he put together a run that vaulted him from a top-five stack to the top stack. Chalot is still pursuing his first WSOP bracelet of his career, and has an opportunity to build on his success from Day 1. He has 15 recorded cashes at the WSOP, as he looks to add to his resume.
Fahredin Mustafov
Mustafov finished the day third in the chip counts and is also aiming to capture his first WSOP bracelet of his career. Mustafov boasts a career earnings of over seven and a half million according to The Hendon Mob, but the gold bracelet has eluded the Bulgarian thus far in his career. His highest recorded finish at a WSOP event was back in October of 2024 at WSOP Europe, where he notched a third-place finish in Event #12 Diamond High Roller.
Stephen Chidwick
The star-studded field was packed with bracelet winners. Notables still in the field include Stephen Chidwick (156,500, Artur Martirosian (216,500), Andrew Lichtenberger (181,000), John Juanda (116,000), Adrian Mateos (130,500), and Daniel Negreanu (130,000) still in the mix as they head into the second day of play.
Several notables were unable to bag and make it to Day 2, including Shaun Deeb, who is currently in the hunt for the 2025 WSOP Player of the Year, and last year’s champion, Michael Rocco.
Shaun Deeb
Other select notables that did not bag include: Alex Foxen, Erik Seidel, Scott Seiver, Viktor Blom, Chris Moorman, and Kristen Foxen.
Play will resume at 1 p.m. local time with the blinds at the 1,000/2,500 level. Play is scheduled for 10 levels on Day 2.
Don't miss any of the action, as the PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand for all of the exciting action on Day 2.