Joshua Ladines Leads the Field After Day 1 of $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Handed
After ten hours of play, Day 1 of Event #96: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Handed at the 2025 World Series of Poker has wrapped up with 198 players bagging chips for Day 2 here at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
Late registration closed at the end of Level 10, with the tournament drawing a total of 1,088 entries and generating a prize pool of $2,904,960. The eventual champion, who will be crowned on Tuesday, July 15, is set to take home a massive $471,170 payday along with the coveted gold bracelet.
Sitting atop the chip counts is Joshua Ladines of the United States, who bagged an impressive 855,000. Just behind him is Pierre Nasr with 843,000, followed by Pei Li, who rounds out the top three with 810,000. These three players were the only ones to cross the 800,000-chip mark and have put themselves in great positions to apply maximum pressure as the money bubble approaches.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Ladines | United States | 855,000 | 214 |
| 2 | Pierre Nasr | Canada | 843,000 | 211 |
| 3 | Pei Li | China | 810,000 | 203 |
| 4 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 758,000 | 190 |
| 5 | Fernando Gutierrez | Mexico | 571,000 | 143 |
| 6 | Chino Rheem | United States | 571,000 | 143 |
| 7 | Zurvan Tumboli | India | 552,000 | 138 |
| 8 | Elior Sion | United Kingdom | 545,000 | 136 |
| 9 | Jonathan Ingalls | United States | 539,000 | 135 |
| 10 | Richard Gryko | United Kingdom | 516,000 | 129 |
Another player sitting comfortably inside the top ten is Chino Rheem, who bagged a healthy stack of 571,000. In the final level of the night, Rheem spiked an unlikely straight on the river during a three-way all in to eliminate both James Mendoza and Jie Xu. The massive pot vaulted him up the leaderboard and secured his place as one of the biggest stacks heading into Day 2.
With many of the Pot-Limit Omaha fields breaking records in attendance this WSOP, it’s no surprise to see this one filled with notable names. Among those returning for Day 2 are Richard Gryko (516,000), mixed game specialist Xixiang Luo (377,000), Jeremy Ausmus (304,000), Poker Hall of Famer Brian Rast (178,000), and 2013 Main Event champion Ryan Riess (169,000).
Also bagging chips was seven-time bracelet winner and 2024 Player of the Year Scott Seiver (151,000). David "ODB" Baker (143,000), David Williams (128,000), and 2023 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Max Neugebauer (103,000) also advanced to Day 2. Scraping through near the bottom of the pack is 1988 Main Event champion and 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who will return with 69,000 and plenty of work ahead if he wants to chase bracelet number eighteen.
Day 2 kicks off at 1 p.m. local time on Monday, July 14. Players will return to blinds of 2,000/4,000 with a big blind ante of 4,000, and levels will remain 60 minutes in length. With 164 players making the money and a min-cash worth $6,005, the first goal for everyone will be to survive the money bubble. After that, the focus can shift to building a big stack heading into the penultimate day of the tournament.
That finishes PokerNews coverage from Day 1 of this event, but be sure to tune back in for Day 2 as we bring you all the latest updates, chip counts, and drama from this exciting tournament.