Image courtesy of WSOP
The 2025 WSOP Paradise has, once again, met and exceeded all the expectations of poker players and fans of the game alike. Over the course of two weeks, the festival awarded 15 bracelets, dished out over $200 million in prize money, and hosted the largest-guarantee live event in poker history.
The $25,000 Super Main Event boasted a massive guarantee of $60,000,000, which seemed like a rather ambitious number to aim for. However, by the time it was all said and done, the event blew the original promise out of the water, with the final prize pool going over $72,000,000
The winner, Austria’s Bernhard Binder, took home a lion’s share, picking up $10,000,000 after a masterful final table performance. The other seven players who made the final table became instant millionaires as well, and quite a few of them, Binder included, were guaranteed the biggest payday of their poker careers right from the start.
A Colorful Final Table
When the 2025 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event table got underway, one man was well ahead of the pack. Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel, or JNT, as fans came to call him, started the day with 140 big blinds, nearly three times as much as Binder in second place.
Natasha Mercier was the only woman to make it all the way through. She held a decent stack to start with, and many in the poker world were rooting for her.
There were only two really short stacks, held by Argentina’s Franco Spitale and Canada’s Peter Chien. The other three players, De Souza, Wasserson, and Reid, were quite close in chips, promising an interesting battle.
As mentioned, all remaining players were guaranteed to pick up at least $1.1 million, but every pay jump was significant, as only Wasserson, JNT, Mercier, and Spitale (who won the WSOP Millionaire Maker back in 2024) had seven figures in total career cashes.
JNT, the chip leader, was the “richest” of the lot, with over $20,000,000 in live winnings heading into the final table. Used to high-pressure situations and with a significant chip lead, he looked good to run away with the title, but Binder had other plans.
Austrian Puts on the Clinic
Nobody was in a rush to leave their seat at the final table, but shorter stacks did not have the luxury to sit around and wait. They had to try to make something happen.
Spitale, who started the day with under 10 big blinds, was the first to go when his pocket jacks fell victim to the pocket queens of Wasserson.
There wasn’t much drama about Spitale’s exit, but the next one was quite exciting. Peter Chien got his money in good with AK against Binder’s AQ. However, the Austrian managed to catch a runner-runner flush to send another opponent packing and add some more chips to his arsenal – ammunition that he’d put to good use down the line.
Mercier fought well, but she didn’t really get many good spots to chip up. She decided to take a stand against a cutoff open with A8 but ran into AJ, losing a majority of her chips. A few big blinds she had left were picked up by JNT soon after.
Binder was easily one of the most active players at the table, showing no fear, and it worked for him, as he managed to amass quite a stack. Eventually, he put an end to Wasserson’s appearance when his KQ came out ahead of AJ of Wasserson.
By this point, the Austrian managed to seize a commanding chip lead. He was also responsible for the elimination of Terrance Reid, who tried to make something happen with his short stack, but happened to run into a flopped flush of Binder, and it was the end of the road for Reid.
Brazilian De Souza entered the unofficial final table of nine with just four big blinds, so there is no doubt he was thrilled to make it so deep. However, the magic had to end at some point, and the last of his chips went to JNT in a rather stunning hand, which saw De Souza’s boat fall to JNT’s runner-runner quads.
The final skirmish between JNT and Binder saw chips move back and forth, and it lasted for well over three hours. Once more, Binder showed no fear, despite the four-million-dollar difference in prize money, and this fearless approach allowed him to pick up some pots that did not belong to him.
The final hand saw JNT’s KQ fall to Austrian’s A8, and it was all over. Bernhard Binder became the 2025 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event champion, banking $10,000,000 for his efforts. Prior to that, Binder’s live earnings were at just $328,000.
2026 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event Standings
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Bernhard Binder | Austria | $10,000,000 |
| 2nd | Jean-Noel Thore | France | $6,000,000 |
| 3rd | Belarmino De Souza | Brazil | $4,000,000 |
| 4th | Terrance Reid | USA | $3,000,000 |
| 5th | Eric Wasserson | USA | $2,350,000 |
| 6th | Natasha Mercier | USA | $1,800,000 |
| 7th | Peter Chien | Canada | $1,400,000 |
| 8th | Franco Spitale | Argentina | $1,100,000 |
It’s a Wrap, But Only for a Moment
The 2025 WSOP Paradise series was the perfect way to wrap the year, especially with the Super Main Event smashing attendance and prize numbers, and the final table featuring several great stories that poker dreams are made of.
These may have been the final opportunities to win bracelets in 2025, but series officials have already confirmed dates for the next year, and we know that the World Series of Poker action will be back in no time, with the WSOP Europe festival in Prague.
The European leg of the series takes place in March and April, and with all events now counting toward the Player of the Year race, and the festival moving to the Czech capital, we can expect significantly bigger attendance than in the years prior.
The summer series will take place in Las Vegas during its usual time slot (June – July), while the WSOP Paradise was also confirmed for December 2026.
For now, though, players can take a bit of a rest, and many of them will probably take that opportunity after the high-octane series in the Bahamas. But we all know the grind never ends.
