The 2025 World Series of Poker is officially across the halfway line, having awarded over 50 of the total 100 bracelets up for grabs this summer.
Like every week, we had some interesting stories coming through, but one of Brian Rast claiming his seventh bracelet really stood out. Never the one to put himself out too much in the media, Rast has silently achieved almost all there is to achieve in poker, and his latest victory in the $10k Razz Championship indicates that he’s nowhere near done.
Those keeping up with poker gossip will be aware of a recent drama that was caused by a male player winning a ticket to the Ladies’ Championship via an online satellite at WSOP.com.
At this point, it’s hardly a surprise, but Benny Glaser captured yet another bracelet, bringing his count this summer to three and his overall total to eight. Although there is still a lot of play left, the smart money is definitely on Glaser winning the 2025 Player of the Year title.
Before we jump into some of these stories, here’s a quick overview of all bracelet winners since our last recap:
- Event #37 – $1,500 MONSTER STACK – Klemens Roiter ($1,204,457)
- Event #40 – $5,000 Seniors High Roller – David Baker ($646,845)
- Event #41 – $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship – Ian Johns ($282,455)
- Event #42 – $1,000 Pot Limit Omaha – Carlos Leiva ($237,852)
- Event #43 – $1,500 Razz – Allan Le ($126,363)
- Event #44 – $10,000 Big O Championship – Veerachai Vongxaiburana ($784,353)
- Event #45 – $500 SALUTE to Warriors – Joey Couden ($187,937)
- Event #46 – $250,000 Super High Roller – Seth Davies ($4,752,551)
- Event #47 – $2,500 Mixed Omaha 8 / Seven Card Stud 8 – Jason Daly ($244,674)
- Event #48 – $1,000 Senior’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship – Brett Lim ($653,839)
- Event #49 – $3,000 6-Handed NLHE – Tyler Patterson ($574,223)
- Event #50 – $10,000 Razz Championship – Brian Rast ($306,644)
- Event #51 – $25,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha Dennis Weiss ($2,292,155)
- Event #52 – $1,500 Freezeout No Limit Hold’em – Samuel Rosborough ($410,426)
- Event #54 – $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha – Matt Vengrin ($306,791)
- Event #55 – $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship – Kristopher Tong ($452,689)
- Event #56 – $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball – Benny Glaser ($208,552)
Event #53 – $1,500 Millionaire Maker is headed to its Day 2 after four initial flights, which saw a grand total of 11,996 entries. The 2,600-odd players who managed to find a bag will be battling out for a massive prize pool of over $16.5 million.
Brian Rast Cements His Poker Legacy
Rast is a player who needs no introduction. While he may not be the one to seek the media attention, his results make it impossible to stay in the shadows.
A Poker Hall of Fame member, three-time PPC winner, and the man who’s amassed over $28 million in tournament winnings, he is a pure definition of a professional poker player.
A few days ago, Rast added another WSOP bracelet to his impressive resume, bringing his lifetime total to seven. He did it by triumphing in a $10k Razz Championship, which was small in terms of the field size (only 134 entries) but featured some of the biggest names in poker.
To make this historic win even sweeter, Rast did it by clawing his way back into the tournament on several occasions, confirming that great players are truly never out of it as long as they have a chip and a chair.
It was an emotional moment for the experienced pro. Despite seeing it all countless times, his passion and motivation remain unchanged, which means we can expect much more from Brian Rast in weeks, months, and years to come.
A WSOP Ladies Championship Controversy (Again)
There is hardly a World Series of Poker without some sort of controversy surrounding the Ladies Championship, and it’s mostly caused by male players entering the event (paying a hefty premium for it). This time around, there is a slightly different story.
It is a story of a male player entering an online satellite at WSOP.com and winning a seat in the $1,000 WSOP Ladies Championship. This sparked a lot of debate, especially since it wasn’t perfectly clear if this person would also have to pay the additional $9,000 to play in the tournament.
When buying in directly, the event is priced at $10,000, but all female players get a 90% discount, so they can play for $1,000. For male participants, the discount doesn’t apply, so they have to pay the full $10,000.
The World Series of Poker quickly cleared the air, explaining that the qualifier would still have to pay the $9,000 difference if they wanted to play.
This still didn’t sit quite right with some players, who were wondering how a man was allowed to enter the satellite in the first place. WSOP Online has all the information about its players, and it seems like ensuring this doesn’t happen would be easy.
Was it just an oversight on the operator’s side, or the software, as it is now, simply doesn’t have this functionality, remains to be seen.
Benny Glaser Beasts On
No matter what happens from now on, Benny Glaser will definitely be one of the biggest stories of the 2025 World Series of Poker.
Having already secured two bracelets this summer, Glaser went on to win another win, triumphing in the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball event, picking up an additional $208k in the process.
Once more, he picked up a win in a mixed-game event, and once more, it wasn’t in one of the big buy-ins with small fields. To pick up this bracelet, Glaser had to top a 463-entry field, which is nothing to scoff at.
This brings his career bracelet total to eight and puts him in a very elite club of players who managed to win three bracelets during a single series. We’re talking about the likes of Phil Ivey, Scott Seiver, Phil Hellmuth, and Ted Forrest.
The important thing is that the 2025 WSOP is nowhere near over, and Glaser could potentially find another win or two before things wrap up in Las Vegas, which would be an achievement in its own category.
Catch Me If You Can (POY Update)
With his latest triumph, Benny Glaser managed to put quite a bit of distance between himself and other players in this year’s Player of the Year race.
While the official standings haven’t yet been updated at the time of writing this, Benny should be picking up 1,004 points for this win, bringing his total to 3,245 – almost 1,000 points ahead of both Scott Bohlman and Joao Filipe Vieira.
There are still many mixed-game events left on the schedule, and it’s safe to assume Glaser won’t be skipping any of them if he can help it. If his form continues, other players will certainly have their work cut out for them trying to catch up.
