Event #97: $1,500 The Closer
Day 1a Started
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
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
(1)
Welcome back to PokerNews, the official media partner of the 2025 World Series of Poker, bringing you live updates from every bracelet event.
Today marks the start of Day 1a of Event #97: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em, a two-day tournament that allows unlimited reentries. Day 1a starts at 10 a.m. local time on July 14. Players sit down armed with 50,000 chips and play 30-minute levels throughout. Twenty-minute breaks are scheduled every four levels and a 75-minute dinner break is pencilled in after the 12th level (around 4:40 p.m. local time). Late registration remains open until the end of the dinner break. Day 1b follows the same format, starting at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, July 15.
Payouts begin on each Day 1 when they get down to about 15 percent of the field, so all players returning for Day 2 will be in the money.
Day 2 gets going at 11 a.m. local time on July 16, and continues until only one player remains. Breaks will be every two hours and they'll take a dinner break before the final table begins.
Ching Da Wu, a software engineer, outlasted 3,214 opponents in the 2024 edition of this fast-paced event. The Taiwanese grinder banked $525,500 and his first WSOP bracelet.
2024 $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | County | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ching Da Wu | Taiwan | $525,500 |
| 2 | Mario Colavita | Italy | $350,370 |
| 3 | Bogdan Munteanu | Romania | $261,170 |
| 4 | John Racener | United States | $196,170 |
| 5 | Stanislav Zegal | Germany | $148,480 |
| 6 | Michael Baltierra | United States | $113,270 |
| 7 | David Cabrera Polop | Andorra | $87,080 |
| 8 | Chad Lipton | United States | $67,480 |
| 9 | Luis Yepez | Venezuela | $52,705 |
| 10 | Mike Matusow | United States | $41,500 |
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In the 907th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz are joined by PokerNews Pennsylvania Ambassador Keith Becker at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to discuss the latest news and highlights from the World Series of Poker (WSOP), including how a gold bracelet from 2011 found its way onto eBay, where it sold to an unknown buyer. As it happens, Chad knows the original owner of the bracelet, so he reached out and got the full scoop. It's an intriguing story you don't want to miss.
Plus, Chad talks to Nick Schulman, who was this year's inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame, and the crew discusses the 2025 WSOP Main Event bubble along with Josh Reichard's impressive call on it. Other stories include why a player went off-the-rails tilt crazy, the return of the WSOP Paradise from Dec. 4-18, and a huge $330K pot from the recent Venetian Poker Live $100/$200 NLH cash game.
Finally, Chad did a joint interview from the floor of the WSOP with the WSOP Free-to-Play App Marketing Director Nimrod Avron & Ambassador Samantha Abernathy, the latter of whom recently had her avatar debut on the app! Get a look at what it looks like, along with all the latest from the WSOP Free-to-Play app!
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!
The Simpsons is widely regarded as one of the most successful and beloved television shows of all time. But actress and high-stakes poker player Jennifer Tilly, who was married to Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon, tried to stop her ex-husband from making the iconic show.
Tilly, the star of the Chucky franchise and a recent guest on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, revealed her skepticism about Simon pursuing the cartoon in a new episode of the PokerNews Life Outside Poker podcast.
"I remember us trying to keep Sam from doing it because he had been offered his own deal, multi-million-dollar deal, at Hollywood Pictures, which was at the time very trendy," Tilly told PokerNews. "And I said, 'Sam, don't you want to be your own person and do your own shows?'"
Translated from Japanese by Grok:
The WSOP is nearing its end, and today I’m entering Event #97: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em - The Closer - Flight A
There are hardly any Japanese players, so it feels a bit lonely
I’ll probably have some regrets when I head back, won’t I? ☺️
Alright, let’s enjoy poker and give it our all
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has released its updated tournament rules for 2025, and whether you're a seasoned pro or a first-time entrant, it's essential to understand the key changes.
While most of the rules remain consistent with past editions, several noteworthy updates have been made to improve game integrity, pace, and player behavior. There are six important rule changes and clarifications you need to know before taking your seat.
