Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship
Day 4 Completed
2025 World Series of Poker
Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2025 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$600
Prize Pool
$2,856,168
Entries
5,667
Level
40
Blinds
800,000 / 1,600,000
Ante
1,600,000
Entries
6
Players Left
1
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
On a day when the United States celebrates its independence with fireworks, barbecues, and red, white, and blue, there was one more reason to celebrate inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Nick Ahmadi gave the home crowd something extra to cheer about by winning Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship, a uniquely special bracelet event on the 2025 World Series of Poker schedule.
With a record-setting 5,667 entries and a $302,165 top prize on the line, Ahmadi came out on top after defeating Israel’s Ran Kadur heads-up to claim his first WSOP bracelet and a 24-karat gold PokerNews Deepstack Championship winner’s coin.
It’s a fitting moment of glory for a tournament that proudly carries the PokerNews name, a brand heavily relied on for live coverage, stories from the felt, and the global poker scene. And this year, on America’s biggest holiday, it was an American who claimed the crown and the biggest share of the $2,856,168 prize pool.
The final table was a truly global affair, with players from eight different countries battling for the bracelet. Representing the United States, Israel, France, Argentina, Canada, Spain, Mexico and India, the diverse lineup showcased the worldwide reach of the PokerNews Deepstack Championship. Only the host nation had more than one finalist, with Ahmadi and Daniel Schill both flying the American flag on July 4th.
PokerNews Deepstack Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Ahmadi | United States | $302,165 |
| 2 | Ran Kadur | Israel | $201,233 |
| 3 | Nicolas Godard | France | $149,601 |
| 4 | Jorge Dominguez | Argentina | $112,101 |
| 5 | Daniel Schill | United States | $84,676 |
| 6 | Jason Li | Canada | $64,477 |
| 7 | Mario Diaz Quilez | Spain | $49,497 |
| 8 | Pablo Valdes | Mexico | $38,310 |
| 9 | Aditya Sushant | India | $29,897 |
Ahmadi's Reaction to Winning the Bracelet
“Surreal,”. That’s how Ahmadi described the feeling moments after winning his first WSOP bracelet in the PokerNews Deepstack Championship. “It’s a pretty awesome experience. I don't know, kind of numb right now, so I'm sure it'll kick in pretty soon, but yeah, it feels awesome,” he said. “It’s every poker player’s dream, so super happy and fortunate to be in this spot.”
Ahmadi admitted the belief in winning this event began well before the final table. “I felt it yesterday as soon as we were down to like two or three tables,” he said. “I felt like I could win the thing honestly, so just tried to keep that mindset and hold in big spots.”
The bracelet meant more than just the title. “I guess it’s just like validation for the years and hours that I put into the game,” he said. “It hasn't been easy, but just pushing through the downswings and the tough times, it all just makes it worth it. It means a lot to me.”
In addition to the bracelet, Ahmadi was awarded the 24-karat gold PokerNews Deepstack Championship winner’s coin by Shirley Ang, Senior Global Live Events Manager of PokerNews. “I'll find a place for it to go,” he laughed. “I don’t really have a big trophy collection or anything, so maybe we’ll start something small and then hopefully grow it.”
Ahmadi, who comes to the WSOP every summer, had the PokerNews Deepstack Championship circled on his schedule. “I don't really play any huge buy-ins other than the Main. I try to stay under the $2,000 buy-ins, and pretty much this PokerNews event is the best $600 structure tournament, I think, of the year. Big fields, good structure, it's a bad one to miss.”
He also shared that he’s a regular PokerNews reader. “I use it often just to keep up with basic poker news, just to kind of stay informed with what’s going on,” he said. “Mostly for World Series updates is what I’ve been using it for over the last month, but yeah, I dabble with PokerNews quite a bit.”
As for what comes next, Ahmadi plans to keep the celebrations low-key for now. “I'll probably just take my friends out for a good dinner tonight and celebrate and just see where the night goes. I got to play the Main so I can't get too crazy,” he said. “I’ll be here until like July 14th, so whatever’s on the schedule, I’ll be playing poker. I’m just back to the grind tomorrow or whatever.”
Path to the PokerNews Deepstack Championship
Anyone could have bought in directly to the bracelet event, but there was also a way to qualify for free. During the first five weeks of the 2025 WSOP, ten seats were awarded each week through the Daily Deepstacks.
Players earned points by participating and cashing in the $250, $400, or $200 daily tournaments, with the top ten performers on each weekly leaderboard earning a free entry into the bracelet event.
Tanner Martinelli was the highest-finishing qualifier, turning his free $600 seat into a 47th-place result worth $6,680.
Final Day Action
Only six players returned for Day 4, and it was Jason Li was first to depart before Ahmadi dispatched the start-of-day chip leader Schill in fifth, when his pocket tens held against king-jack.
Ahmadi then picked up pocket kings and sent crowd favorite Jorge Dominguez out in fourth, who held ace-jack. The chips had flown in preflop and when Ahmadi turned a set, Dominguez also picked up a Royal Flush draw. The river bricked out for the Argentinian player, which left him out just shy of the podium places.
The eventual champion probably wished it was a bounty tournament as he picked up the Cowboys once again and called the shove of Nicolas Godard, who held king-queen. Godard did flop a queen, but he couldn't catch up, which left him out in third.
Heads Up
Ahmadi started heads-up with an over five-to-one chip advantage, but Kadur chipped away at that lead by taking down a lot of the early pots to reduce the deficit to around three-to-one.
However, the mountain was just too big to climb as Ahmadi flopped trips with jack-deuce on a paired board and got maximum value, with Kadur calling off his stack on the river holding just a pair of fives.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for more bracelet winners, exclusive interviews, and all the action from the 2025 WSOP. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more upcoming PokerNews tournaments.
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Nick Ahmadi completed on the button and Ran Kadur checked his option in the big blind.
Kadur bet 1,600,000 on the flop of J♦J♣4♠ and Ahmadi called. Kadur then bet 2,500,000 on the 5♠ turn and Ahmadi raised to 8,700,000. Kadur called.
Kadur checked on the 9♦ river and Ahmadi moved all in. Kadur gave it some thought and called with his remaining stack of around 30,000,000.
Ahmadi tabled J♠2♣ for trip jacks and it was good to win the pot and tournament as Kadur was forced to show K♦5♣.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
170,000,000
43,000,000
|
43,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
A lot of the first heads-up pots went Ran Kadur's way, with the biggest two highlighted below.
First, Nick Ahmadi limped from the button and Kadur checked his option from the big blind.
On the 5♥J♥Q♦ flop, Kadur check-called a bet of 2,000,000 from Ahmadi and the 7♠ turn checked through.
When the J♠ paired the board on the river, Kadur bet 3,500,000, and Ahmadi called.
Kadur showed Q♦3♥ for a pair of queens to take the pot.
Not long after, Ahmadi made it 3,600,000 on the button and Kadur called in the big blind.
The flop came 5♣6♥4♥ and both checked to the 4♣ turn, where Kadur fired 4,500,000. Ahmadi called.
A J♦ landed on the river and Kadur shoved for around 20,000,000, and Ahmadi quickly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
127,000,000
18,000,000
|
18,000,000 |
|
|
43,000,000
18,000,000
|
18,000,000 |
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Nick Ahmadi opened to 3,800,000 on the button and Nicolas Godard three-bet jammed a stack of around 37,000,000 in the small blind. Ahmadi quickly called.
Nicolas Godard: K♦Q♠ 
Nick Ahmadi: K♠K♣
Godard had run right into it, but got some help from the Q♣3♠8♣ flop before the board finished out J♦3♣ to mark the Frenchman's elimination in third place for $149,601.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
145,000,000
40,000,000
|
40,000,000 |
|
|
25,000,000
5,000,000
|
5,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Nick Ahmadi opened the button to 3,700,000 and Jorge Dominguez shoved from the small blind for around 26,000,000. Once it got back to Ahmadi, he quickly rechecked his cards and then put a stack of chips into the pot to make the call.
Jorge Dominguez: A♣J♣
Nick Ahmadi: K♠K♥
Ahmadi had Dominguez on the ropes with his cowboys, but the J♥Q♣2♦ flop did give the Argentinian player a few extra outs. A K♣ on the turn gave Ahmadi a set, but also improved Dominguez to an elusive Royal Flush draw.
However, it wasn't to be for Dominguez as the 8♦ hit the river, leaving him on the rail in fourth.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
105,000,000
45,000,000
|
45,000,000 |
|
|
35,000,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
|
|
30,000,000
10,000,000
|
10,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Ran Kadur raised to 3,700,000 on the button and Nicolas Godard defended in the big blind.
Godard checked on the flop of 5♣8♦9♣ and Kadur continued for 3,500,000. Godard called. Godard checked again on the 10♠ turn and Kadur sized up to 7,000,000. Godard again called.
Godard checked once more on the 5♦ river and Kadur checked back. Godard showed a pair of eights with 8♣7♦, but it was no good against the top pair of Kadur with 10♥4♥.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
40,000,000
6,000,000
|
6,000,000 |
|
|
36,000,000
10,000,000
|
10,000,000 |
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
A few shoves were made in the past couple of orbits, but all went uncalled.
First, Ran Kadur made it 3,200,000 from under the gun and Nick Ahmadi called on the button. Jorge Dominguez then shoved around 23,000,000 from the small blind, and everybody folded.
Nicolas Godard then made it 4,000,000 from the small blind and Kadur shoved from the big blind for around 26,000,000. Godard snap-folded.
There was a flop seen when Dominguez made it 3,600,000 from the button and Kadur called in the big blind.
Both checked the 2♣7♥10♠ flop and Kadur took it down with a bet of 3,600,000 on the 4♥ turn.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
60,000,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
|
|
46,000,000
9,000,000
|
9,000,000 |
|
|
34,000,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
29,000,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Nicolas Godard raised to 3,200,000 in the cutoff and Jorge Dominguez defended his big blind.
Dominguez checked on the flop of 9♥6♥10♦ and Godard checked back. Dominguez checked again on the 4♣ turn and Godard bet 3,000,000. Godard carved out a stack of chips that looked like a raise but then tossed his cards to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
55,000,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
|
|
26,000,000
3,600,000
|
3,600,000 |
Level 40
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Thomas Henshaw couldn't get away from his pocket kings just minutes after taking his seat Friday on Day 1c of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, and it cost him his entire 60,000-chip starting stack.
The field, at the time of publishing, had over 1,300 players registered. Henshaw was the first player out the door, just moments after Jack Effel announced "shuffle up and deal." He ran into a preflop cooler against poker pro Yueqi Zhu and was unable to avoid busting with a hand that didn't improve with the five community cards.
