Images courtesy of PokerGO
As we are heading into the final stretch of the 2025 World Series of Poker, things are not slowing down. Last week was marked by the beginning of the $10,000 Main Event, and the entire poker world had its eyes set on the big one.
After breaking the attendance record two years in a row, the question was could the WSOP do it again. As it turned out, the answer was no, but Event #81 (the 2025 Main Event) still saw one of the biggest turnouts in its decades-long history – and the number will still grow with late registration open for the first two levels of both Day 2 flights.
It was an interesting week for the Player of the Year race as well, with a couple of players coming from behind to take over the lead in a surprising fashion. With these developments, our predictions that things would likely come down to the wire this year came true.
Before we move on to some of the biggest stories of the last week, here’s a quick overview of all bracelet winners since our last recap:
- Event #67 – $300 Gladiators of Poker – Ian Pelz ($420,680)
- Event #73 – $1,500 Eight Game Mix – Narcis Nedelcu ($184,682)
- Event #74 – $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship – Michael Wang ($1,394,579)
- Event #75 – $1,000 Mini Main Event – Martin Kabrhel ($843,140)
- Event #76 – $2,500 Mixed Big Bet – Aaron Kupin ($206,982)
- Event #77 – $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship – Qinghai Pan ($411,051)
- Event #78 – $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship – Narimaan Ahmadi ($302,165)
- Event #79 – $100,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller – Shaun Deeb ($2,957,229)
- Event #80 – $800 Summer Celebration – Giuseppe Zarbo ($504,180)
- Event #82 – $10,000 Eight Game Mixed Championship – Mike Gorodinsky ($422,421)
At the time of writing this article, events #83 is down to the final four players, while event #84 is down to three, with none other than Shaun Deeb returning with a massive chip lead to potentially win another bracelet and put a lock on the PoY race.
The 2025 WSOP Main Event Delivers
With all four starting flights now done and dusted, the total number of registered players for the 2025 WSOP Main Event stands at 8,797 (according to the WSOP+ app at the time of writing).
This number already makes it the third largest Main Event in history, and the late registration remains open for the first two levels of both Day 2s.
While it is unlikely that the tournament will break the 10,000 mark, the total number of participants will go over 9,000, which is huge. While breaking the record three years in a row would have been nice, this is a massive turnout that the organizers will most certainly be very happy about.
The Main Event delivered in other aspects, too, including another memorable entrance by Phil Hellmuth. His “Highway to Hellmuth” choreography added some spice to Day 1C proceedings.
Quite a few big names made it through to Day 2, including the aforementioned Phil Hellmuth, the poker superstar Daniel Negreanu, Huck Seed, the former PokerStars owner Isai Scheinberg, and Vanessa Selbst, to just mention a few.
The action continues today (July 6), with players from the first three Day 1 flights coming together for Day 2 action. Those who played on Day 1D will, as always, play on a separate Day 2, before all survivors finally come together for the Day 3 play.
Ian Pelz Wins Huge in Gladiators of Poker
The $300 Gladiators of Poker event saw a huge turnout of 24,692 entries, making it the second-largest field in poker tournament history. This resulted in a massive prize pool of almost $6.5 million, with the winner set to pick up $420,680.
It was an insane amount for a live tournament with a buy-in of just $300, but someone was bound to end up with all the chips and claim that incredible payday.
That someone turned out to be Ian Pelz, a US player with a fair bit of experience in low and mid buy-in events. This was the largest win of his career, just enough to push him over the $1,000,000 mark in terms of lifetime tournament winnings.
To add some flare to this story, Pelz had no plans to play in the Gladiators of Poker. He went out for drinks with friends a night prior, and as he came back to the Horseshoe to pick up his car, he decided to hop in for one bullet. That one bullet was all it took, as he was able to ride it all the way to the victory!
Kabrhel & Deeb Taking Over Player of the Year
Entering the final stretch of the 2025 WSOP, things are getting quite complicated in the Player of the Year race.
First, it was Martin Kabrhel creating an upset, when his victory in the massive Mini Main Event scored him enough points to propel him to the first place in the rankings.
Then, Shaun Deeb took down the $100k PLO High Roller, overtaking Kabrhel and claiming the coveted top spot. Plus, as mentioned earlier, Deeb is now three-handed in Event #84 – $1,000 No Limit Hold’em, coming into the final day as a massive chip leader.
Deeb is guaranteed to add another 479 points to his tally here, and if he wins, he’ll pick up 1,064.
Right now, there are four players in serious contention for the PoY, with very little between them: Deeb, Kabrhel, Glaser, and Bohlman. However, if Shaun Deeb goes on to turn his chip lead into a win in Event #84, he’ll create a difference of almost 1,100 points.
We are headed for an exciting finish to the Series, with some 15 events still left, and, of course, the Main Event. Deeb is currently looking good for the PoY title, but with everyone grinding hard day in and day out, we fully expect a few more twists and turns before the end.
