2025 WSOP Day 15: Phil Ivey Among the Leaders in the $10K PLO8

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Jun 11, 2025 8 min read

The 15th day of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas will be best remembered for seeing five players capture bracelets. Six bracelets should have been won, but the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, scheduled to finish today, spilled over to a fourth day.

Courtenay Williams came out on top in Event #19: $500 COLOSSUS, outlasting 16,300 opponents and receiving a career-best $542,540 for his efforts. Williams told PokerNews that he's undecided on whether the bracelet or the money means more to him right now.

Event #27: $1,500 Big O crowned its champion, Igor Zektser. This event required an unscheduled fourth day when Day 3 ended at the heads-up stage. Zektser and Paul Sincere returned to the action at noon, and Zekster emerged victoriously after less than two levels of play.

Another bracelet and $496,826 went to Mark Darner, who took down Event #29: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em. Darner had previously reached three WSOP final tables but had always fallen short. He can now forever call himself a WSOP bracelet winner.

The fourth bracelet of the day went to Jonathan Stoeber, the champion of Event #31: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack. Stoeber finished fourth in an online bracelet event last year, but went three places better in this live event to scoop $352,610 and a coveted piece of WSOP hardware.

Last but not least, we have John Racener, who won Event #34: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty for $247,595 and their third bracelet. This event started at 10:00 a.m. local time and crowned its champion a little under 16 hours later, despite attracting a 2,232-strong field.

Phil Ivey Bags Top Ten Stack After Day 1 of the $10K PLO8 Championship

The 2025 WSOP is 35 events deep, yet Phil Ivey has yet to register his first cash of the series. The 11-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Fame inductee has a great chance of changing that unwanted fact after bagging up a top ten stack on Day 1 of Event #36: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

Ivey looked back to his brilliant best as he built a stack worth 284,000 chips over the course of ten levels. That stack, worth 114 big blinds, places the poker legend sixth in the overnight chip counts. PLO8 is an event that Ivey has never won, although he has a brace of PLO and an Omaha Hi-Lo/Stud Hi-Lo mixed victory at the WSOP.

Omaha specialist Bruno Furth continued his sun-run to lead this event with 372,500 chips. Furth won his second bracelet in the $5,000 buy-in version of this event for his second bracelet and $620,696. Last week, Furth triumphed in a $2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the Wynn for another $154,538.

Michael Korody (336,500) and Richard Green (310,500) are Furth's closest rivals, with Eric Wasserson (300,000), and Danny Chang (287,500) completing the top five.

As you would expect for a specialized championship event, the field is brimming with talent. Among the 142 players who progressed from a field of 304, are such luminaries as Christopher Vitch (239,500), Shaun Deeb (226,000), Tyler Brown (220,500), Justin Saliba (207,000), Brian Rast (185,500), James Obst (178,000), Allen Kessler (160,000), Adam Friedman (153,500), Brad Ruben (146,500), Josh Arieh (136,500), Daniel Negreanu (133,500), Robert Mizrachi (111,500), and Huck Seed (110,000).

Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time, with the plan to play another ten levels. Late registration remains open for the first two levels, closing at approximately 3:15 p.m. local time. Keep your browsers locked to PokerNews to see if Ivey can build on his impressive start and remain in the hunt for bracelet number 12.

Event #36: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Top Ten Chip Counts

$10,000 NL 2-7 Championship Requires a Fourth Day

Event #30: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship was expected to crown its worthy champion on Day 15 of the 2025 WSOP, but it wasn't meant to be. The star-studded event's third day ended with six players still in the running; those six return to their seats at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 11 to conclude the tournament.

As is often the case, all eyes were on Daniel Negreanu during this event's latter stages as he hunted his eighth bracelet. Unfortunately for "Dnegs" fans, he crashed out in seventh place.

Darren Elias (3,475,000) is the man to catch going into the fourth and final day of this event. Elias is yet to win a bracelet and will likely see this tournament as his best opportunity to rectify that fact.

Elias returns alongside Oscar Johansson (2,910,000), six-time bracelet winner Nick Schulman (2,670,000), three-time WSOP champion Chad Eveslage (1,905,000), four-time bracelet winner Ben Yu (1,870,000), and short-stack Dan Smith (905,000).

Event #30: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship Chip Counts

Jason Koon in Charge in the $50,000 High Roller

Only ten players remain in Event #32: $50,000 High Roller, and Jason Koon (14,575,000) finds himself in a commanding position going into the final day's play. Koon, who already has one bracelet to his name, has more than twice as many chips as any of his nine opponents. You may say that this event is Koon's to lose. Should Koon come out on top, he'll bank his 16th score of more than $1 million.

Andrew Lichtenberger (6,735,000) is tasked with leading the chasing pack back into battle as they attempt to reel Koon back in. Lichtenberger is joined at the top of the chip counts by Aliaksei Boika (6,285,000), Brock Wilson (6,240,000), plus the one and only Viktor Blom (5,005,000).

Although better known for his Pot-Limit Omaha prowess, Ben Tollerene (4,805,000) is in with a shout of capturing his first bracelet in this tournament.

Sergey Lebedev (3,295,000), Dominykas Mikolaitis (1,950,000), Reagan Silber (1,275,000), and Chongxian Yang (1,150,000) make up the rest of the field, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they're not only there to make up the numbers.

Play resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 11, with PokerGO streaming the action when only six players remain. Will Koon become king again?

Event #32: $50,000 High Roller Chip Counts

Only Seven Remain in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em; Adam Tyburski Leads

None of the seven players through to the final day of Event #33: $1,500 Limit Hold'em have previously won a WSOP bracelet, meaning we'll get a freshly minted champion on June 11. Play concluded on Day 2 shortly after Chris "Big Huni" Hunichen bowed out in eighth place.

Adam Tyburski (2,985,000) leads from the front when play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time, followed by Bobbi Harrell (2,130,000) and Nicholas Tsoukalas (2,195,000), the only players with more than two million chips.

Lawrence Robinson (1,630,000), David Rogers (1,480,000), Andrew Beversdorf (1,170,000), and Jason Duong (700,000) complete the seven-handed final table.

Which one of them will get their hands on this event's $130,061 top prize and its gold bracelet? Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out.

Event #33: $1,500 Limit Hold'em Chip Counts

Matt Affleck Starts Incredibly Well in the $3K Freezeout

Event #35: $3,000 Freezout No-Limit Hold'em drew in 1,027 entrants who built a $2,742,090 prize pool, but only 156 of them have the chance to become this tournament's champion and claim its bracelet and $451,600 top prize.

Many still remember Matt Affleck for enduring a cruel bad beat during the 2010 WSOP Main Event some 15 years ago, but he could be remembered as a WSOP champion if he continues his impressive start to this tournament. Affleck ended his day with 690,000 chips, enough for a top-ten place in the overnight chip counts.

China's Hongru Zhang bagged the most chips, 992,000, after the conclusion of the 17th level. Zhang has several WSOP cashes, including a 223rd-place finish in last year's $10,000 Main Event that earned him a career-best $60,000.

Several top-tier grinders progressed to Day 2 of this freezeout event. They include Nick Marchington (680,000), John Hennigan (677,000), Kristen Foxen (511,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (393,000), Michael Mizrachi (304,000), Scott Bohlman (292,000), Brian Yoon (239,000), Simone Andrian (234,000), Patrick Leonard (154,000), Chris Moorman (148,000), Chance Kornuth (117,000), and Brian Hastings (74,000).

The returning players sit down in their Day 2 seats at noon on the stone bubble because 156 players remain and 155 spots are paid. Fire up PokerNews nice and early so you don't miss the bubble bursting.

Event #35: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em Top Ten Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 16 of the 2025 WSOP

June 11 marks the 16th day of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), and it's shaping up to be another spectacular poker session. Three players will be crowned champions.

Event #30: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship will award its bracelet and $497,356 top prize, while two seven-figure prizes are available in Event #32: $50,000 High Roller, which will also wrap up on Day 16.

One of the seven players in Event #33: $1,500 Limit Hold'em will become a WSOP bracelet winner for the first time.

Two events won't award their bracelets, but will whittle their fields down toward their respective final tables. Event #35: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em is one, Event #36: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship is the other.

Three new tournaments enter the mix on Day 16, starting with Event #37: $1,500 Monster Stack at 10:00 a.m. local time. Pedro Neves left 8,702 opponents in his wake in this event in 2024; his victory earned him $1,089,220. PokerNews' traditional coverage for this event commences on Day 2 on June 15.

The Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas will roll out the red carpet for the entrants of Event #38: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. Chris Hunichen is the reigning champion of this nosebleed-stakes tournament. Hunichen came out on top of a 112-strong field to win his first gold bracelet and $2,838,389. Cards are in the air in this event from 12:00 p.m. local time.

Event #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed) is the first H.O.R.S.E. event of the summer, so expect a bumper crowd to jump into the action from 2:00 p.m. Phillip Hui won his fourth bracelet and $193,545 in this event last year. Expect him to buy in and attempt a title defense.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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• Tags WSOP25 Adam Friedman Adam Tyburski Andrew Lichtenberger Chad Eveslage Chance Kornuth Chris Hunichen Chris Moorman Courtenay Williams Daniel Negreanu Darren Elias Huck Seed John Hennigan John Racener Josh Arieh Matt Affleck Kristen Foxen Nick Schulman Mich
• Related Players Daniel NegreanuChris MoormanNick SchulmanJohn HenniganAndrew LichtenbergerHuck Seed