Event #97: $1,500 The Closer
Day 1a Completed
2025 World Series of Poker
Event #97: $1,500 The Closer
Day: 1a
Event Info
2025 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$4,687,273
Total Entries
4,297
Level
43
Blinds
1,500,000 / 3,000,000
Ante
3,000,000
Entries
1,793
Players Left
128
Players Left 1 / 4,297
Filter
The 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is almost over, and many players have returned home, yet that did not prevent Day 1a of Event #97: $1,500 The Closer from attracting 1,793 entrants. Of those starters, only 128 survived the fast-paced opening flight's structure. As is always the case in poker tournaments, some fared better than others.
Frenchman Julien Vanpelt (2,765,000) bagged up the largest stack. He was one of four players who turned their 50,000 starting stack into more than two million chips. Leo Lombardozzi (2,545,000), Zhen Cai (2,300,000), and Najeeb Elkamand (2,165,000) were the others.
Jakob Miegel (1,655,000) progressed in fifth place. Miegel busted from the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed championship in 13th place and decided to almost immediately hop into this event. The German's dedication to the grind could reap the rewards because he has put himself in a decent position for another deep run and his 12th cash of an impressive summer.
Event #97: $1,500 The Closer Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Vanpelt | France | 2,765,000 | 92 |
| 2 | Leo Lombardozzi | France | 2,545,000 | 85 |
| 3 | Zhen Cai | United States | 2,300,000 | 77 |
| 4 | Najeeb Elkamand | United Kingdom | 2,165,000 | 72 |
| 5 | Jakob Miegel | Germany | 1,655,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Chad Lipton | United States | 1,420,000 | 47 |
| 7 | Frank Stepuchin | United States | 1,350,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Lukas Zaskodny | Czech Republic | 1,335,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Dylan Lambe | United States | 1,330,000 | 44 |
| 10 | Nicholas Funaro | United States | 1,240,000 | 41 |
Big blinds based on players returning on Day 2 on Level 23
A dozen bracelet-winners navigated their way through the choppy Day 1a waters and will take their seats on Day 2. Czech star Lukas Zaskodny (1,335,000) is the best-placed of them; he finished the night in eighth place.
Safiya Umerova (1,145,000), Kyle Julius (1,115,000), and Upeshka De Silva (1,045,000) will return with seven-figure stacks while Anthony Zinno (840,000), Jason Wheeler (600,000), Howard Mash (575,000), Dimitar Danchev (410,000), Brett Shaffer (395,000), Aram Zobian (362,000), Kenneth Kim (305,000), and Axel Bayout (249,000) will add some star quality to Day 2's proceedings.
Before we can see these heroes in action again, Day 1b needs to take place. Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 10 a.m. local time on July 15, with a crowd of more than 2,000 grinders expected to take their seats. Although PokerNews' traditional coverage of this event starts on Day 2, we will have a recap of the action for you shortly after the close of play.
Planning on playing Day 1b of this event? PokerNews activates MyStack for every WSOP event, regardless of that tournament's buy-in, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting.
MyStack is a free poker tool that puts you in control of your chip counts on our live reporting pages. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!
Here are the chip counts of the 128 surviving players, according to the WSOP+ App.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,765,000
2,765,000
|
2,765,000 |
|
||
|
2,545,000
2,545,000
|
2,545,000 |
|
2,300,000
2,300,000
|
2,300,000 |
|
2,165,000
2,165,000
|
2,165,000 |
|
1,655,000
1,655,000
|
1,655,000 |
|
1,420,000
1,420,000
|
1,420,000 |
|
1,350,000
1,350,000
|
1,350,000 |
|
1,335,000
1,335,000
|
1,335,000 |
|
||
|
1,330,000
1,330,000
|
1,330,000 |
|
1,240,000
1,240,000
|
1,240,000 |
|
1,225,000
1,225,000
|
1,225,000 |
|
1,200,000
1,200,000
|
1,200,000 |
|
1,190,000
1,190,000
|
1,190,000 |
|
1,170,000
1,170,000
|
1,170,000 |
|
1,145,000
1,145,000
|
1,145,000 |
|
||
|
1,115,000
1,115,000
|
1,115,000 |
|
|
||
|
1,100,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
|
1,045,000
1,045,000
|
1,045,000 |
|
||
|
1,045,000
1,045,000
|
1,045,000 |
|
1,035,000
1,035,000
|
1,035,000 |
|
|
1,035,000
1,035,000
|
1,035,000 |
|
1,035,000
1,035,000
|
1,035,000 |
|
1,030,000
1,030,000
|
1,030,000 |
|
970,000
970,000
|
970,000 |
|
945,000
945,000
|
945,000 |
In poker, like in life, they say records are meant to be broken.
But sometimes, someone sets a milestone that just feels impossible to top. Whether it’s because of insane skill, perfect timing, a bit of luck, or a mix of all three, the World Series of Poker has seen some feats over the years that seem like they’ll never be matched.
However, while all records may eventually fall, these achievements are currently some of the most jaw-dropping in WSOP history. Will any of them ever be broken? Only time will tell. For now, though, here are the most incredible WSOP records that will (probably) never be broken.
All summer long, PokerNews is offering updates from both the 25K Fantasy and ODB Fantasy leagues, which you can read in our dedicated hub here.
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Life Outside Poker is a podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.
In the 29th episode, Connor talks with actress and high-stakes poker player Jennifer Tilly about the 20th anniversary of her World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet win, high-stakes cash games, the recent cancellation of Chucky, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, voicing Bonnie Swanson on Family Guy, dating poker pro Phil Laak, and her goal of getting into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Tilly also revealed that she tried to stop her ex-husband, Sam Simon, from creating The Simpsons and told the story of how she was nearly the voice of Marge Simpson.
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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.
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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.
