Kevin Nee has added his name to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, joining countless legends of the game with World Poker Tour main event victories. Nee overcame a sizable field of 1,224 entries in the 2025 WPT Seminole Hard Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open $3,500 no-limit hold’em championship, earning his first major title and $605,100.
Nee’s top prize includes a $10,400 seat in the season-ending WPT World Championship, which kicks off on Dec. 13 at Wynn Las Vegas.
“It feels amazing, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Nee told WPT reporters after his win. “Kind of just adrenaline for the past four or five days, so I’m sure at some point it will hit me and I will be very excited. ”
Prior to this breakout victory, Nee’s top score was the $15,500 he earned with a 58th-place finish in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open main event this August. Now, the Pennsylvania resident has more than $646,000 in total cashes to his name.
This triumph also came with 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year points, enough to move Nee within reach of the top 400 in the overall standings presented by CoinPoker.
Setting The Stage
The strong turnout for this event saw the $3 million guarantee easily surpassed, with $3,916,800 paid out across the top 153 finishers. Bracelet winner and WPT champion Nenad Medic (7th), Rob Wazwaz (8th), Frank Lagodich (11th), 2020 WSOP Online main event champion Stoyan Madanzhiev (14th), two-time bracelet winner Shannon Shorr (19th), and Natasha Mercier (20th) were among the big names who ran deep.
The final day began with six players remaining and Joel Gola out in front. The first knockout of the day came after a few orbits. Hyndi Khomutetsky got the last of her stack in preflop with A♦Q♥ leading the A♣J♦ of Gola, who had already added to his stack since play had resumed. The A♠5♣2♥6♣J♣ run out saw Gola spike two pair on the river to win the pot, ending Khomutetsky’s run in sixth place ($127,000). This was a new top score for the Florida resident.
Gola had more than 3.5 times as many chips as the next-largest stack after dragging that pot, with Aram Zobian as the nearest contender.
Chad Eveslage
Anthony Merlo ran pocket eights into the pocket tens of fellow short stack Chad Eveslage during five-handed play. He was left with just a few big blinds after that, and despite winning a pair of three-way all-ins, he was soon sent packing in fifth place ($166,000). This payday pushed his career tournament earnings to just shy of $500,000.
Eveslage was the clear short stack heading into four-handed action. The two-time WPT champion and four-time bracelet winner had just five big blinds by the time he shoved with Q♣7♦ from the small blind. Zobian called with 9♠8♦ and made two pair on a K♦9♣4♥6♣8♠ runout. Eveslage secured $220,000 for his efforts, growing his lifetime haul to more than $11.2 million in the process.
Nee Hero Calls For Lead, Sprints To Victory From There
On the tenth hand of three-handed play, Gola went for a big multi-street bluff only to be picked off by Nee. Gola min-raised to 800,000 from the small blind with 10♣6♣ and Nee defended his big blind with 9♦4♦. The flop came down Q♦9♠4♣ and Gola led out for 900,000. Nee called with bottom two pair and the 5♥ rolled off on the turn. Gola fired 3,500,000 and Nee came along yet again. The 5♠ paired the board on the end. Gola now went for a hefty bet of 9,000,000 into the pot of 10,800,000. Nee had 16,125,000 remaining. He went into the tank for a while, but after using a few time extensions, found the big call to overtake the chip lead.
A handful of deals later, Zobian got the last of his stack in with top pair against a flush draw for Nee on a 10♦4♣3♠ flop. Zobian’s 10♥9♣ was best at the time, but 7♦4♦ made a flush on the A♦ turn. The 3♥ made Zobian’s elimination official. The bracelet winner and 2018 World Series of Poker main event sixth-place finisher secured $295,000 for his podium finish. He now boasts career earnings of nearly $8.8 million.
That gave Nee just better than a 2:1 chip lead over Gola going into heads-up play. It took him just a single hand to convert that lead into the title. He raised to 1,200,000 on the button with A♠2♠ and Gola three-bet shoved for 19,100,000 with K♣J♣. Nee called and flopped the nuts with Q♠7♠5♠. The 4♣ turn and Q♥ were mere formalities. Gola earned $395,000 as the runner-up, a new personal best for the Philadelphia resident.
In the VERY FIRST HAND of heads-up play, the chips are all in the middle with the $3,500 @WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship on the line 🫣 pic.twitter.com/uuxMpEaxNW
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 3, 2025
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Kevin Nee | $605,100 | 1440 |
| 2 | Joel Gola | $395,000 | 1200 |
| 3 | Aram Zobian | $295,000 | 960 |
| 4 | Chad Eveslage | $220,000 | 720 |
| 5 | Anthony Merlo | $166,000 | 600 |
| 6 | Hyndi Khomutetsky | $127,000 | 480 |
| 7 | Nenad Medic | $98,000 | 360 |
| 8 | Rob Wazwaz | $76,000 | 240 |
| 9 | Shane Santacroce | $59,000 | 120 |
Photo credits: WPT.
