Shaun Deeb is the WSOP Player of the Year – Here Is How He Got There

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The Player of the Year (POY) race is one of the most interesting storylines at the WSOP each year, and 2025 was no exception.

For the second time in his remarkable poker career, Shaun Deeb won the prestigious title, becoming only the second player to ever win twice, with Daniel Negreanu being the other one.

On his way to the POY title, Deeb won the $100k PLO High Roller for nearly $3,000,000, and made a total of five final tables, with three top-four finishes.

Yet, despite all these feats, Deeb would have to sweat it out until the very last tournament of the summer, as his closest contender, mixed-game specialist Benny Glaser, could still overtake him with a deep run in one of the final events.

Things aligned perfectly for Shaun in the end, and he was able to capture the title that he covets so much for the second time in his career.

A Look at Deeb’s WSOP Results

Shaun Deeb is one of the most successful players in the history of the WSOP, and one of the top contenders for the POY title almost every year.

In 2025, Deeb once again made his intentions to become the POY known, as he started racking up cashes very early in the World Series of Poker, and made two back-to-back final table appearances in June.

Yet, his name would only appear near the top of the POY rankings in early July, when he took down one of the biggest events of the summer, the $100k PLO High Roller, good for $2.9 million, his career-best score.

Just a few days later, Shaun almost won the $1,000 NLH event as well, as he came second in that one, allowing him to overtake the likes of Benny Glaser and Martin Kabrhel in the points race.

Deeb amassed a total of 24 cashes at the 2025 WSOP, six of which came in online events. However, it is worth noting that only the top 10 finishes from each player count towards the POY race, while only the best online result is taken into consideration.

This left Deeb at a considerable disadvantage over some of his contenders late in the Series, as they had a chance to catch up to him without even making final table appearances.

Here is a look at the top 10 results that secured Shaun Deeb his victory in the 2025 WSOP POY race:

Benny Glaser Falls Just Short

In the end, Shaun Deeb won the 2025 WSOP POY title with 4,194.1 points, ahead of Benny Glaser who had accumulated 4,153.66 points.

The difference of just over 40 points was enough to secure the victory for Deeb, but it was one he would have to sweat until the very end.

Glaser had been atop the POY charts for some time, ever since he won three WSOP bracelets in the first half of the Series. Glaser won his bracelets in events with lower buyins, however, which eventually ended up being the deciding factor.

Yet, going into the final few weeks of the Series, Glaser has several cashes that only counted for about 115 points each, which meant a deep run in any event could potentially get him to 40ish points he needed to overtake Deeb.

Benny event made a deep run in the $1,500 The Closer, but ended up busting a few dozen positions short of a place that would have allowed him to become the 2025 POY.

Despite winning three bracelets and being the biggest story of the WSOP in the early weeks, Glaser ended up short of glory and poker history this time around.

The Grinder’s Feats Were Not Enough

Winning the WSOP Main Event and the $50k Poker Players Championship in a single year is probably the biggest feat any player has ever managed in a single WSOP.

Yet, despite winning nearly 3,000 points for those two victories alone, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi would have to contend with the third place in the overall WSOP POY rankings.

While he did rack up a total of 12 cashes, many of those were only min-cashes worth just a few dozen POY points.

With no other final table appearances, or deep runs in the big field events, Michael eventually finished the Series with 3,804.94 points, almost 400 points short of Deeb.

Instead of the POY title, The Grinder was rewarded by his peers with a place in the Poker Hall of Fame, which was the first time a second player was inducted into the HOF since the rules were changed in 2020 to accommodate for only a single entry each year.

It may be Deeb’s second banner that will show up at the WSOP next year, but most poker fans will remember 2025 as the year of The Grinder for years to come.

Deep Accomplishes a Long-Time Poker Goal

Anyone who regularly follows the WSOP knows that Shaun Deeb is one of the most competitive guys in the game, and one who puts a lot of value on titles and trophies.

Deeb has been chasing his second POY title for years, ever since first winning it in 2018. This victory will mean he is now tied as one of only two players with two POY titles, allowing him to potentially overtake Daniel Negreanu in the future.

Starting next year, expect the POY race to become even more competitive, as each of these two poker legends looks to make history and become the only three-time WSOP Player of the Year.