Brek Schutten had more to contend with than just the competition on the felt in the 2025 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond main event. He ended up winning for $185,594, the gold ring, and WSOP Paradise prize package for the Bahamas. Schutten nearly missed out on all of that, though, as a family health scare put his ability to continue playing in jeopardy.
Schutten almost didn’t return for Day 2 as his wife had been checked into a hospital with a medical issue. However, she started to recover by then, so he pressed onward. “I’m just excited to get back home to her. God has blessed me with the ability to play poker and provide for my family, so I’m glad to come down here and take one down,” said Schutten to Poker.Org reporters on the scene after the win.
Schutten has worked as an ICU nurse while accumulating numerous poker titles, including two WSOP gold bracelets and a World Poker Tour title.
Adjusting To The Stakes
This latest win helped grow his lifetime tournament earnings to nearly $6.6 million. He usually plays higher stakes than are found on the WSOP Circuit, but with the tournament just about two hours away from his home in Michigan, he adapted his game for the win.
“It’s just coming back to the basics and understanding the player tendencies at this level. It’s important to be able to profile people quickly and understand the mistakes they’re making, and then exploit those. Aggression is great in poker. If you lose a big pot, you need to stay aggressive because if you win a few more, you’re right back where you were. There was a couple hiccups along the way where I would double somebody up, but I never lost my aggression. I try not to get tilted, but there are plenty in this player pool that will, so that is an advantage for me.”
He finished the winner’s interview with these thoughts about real life from poker life, “Thanks to my mom, my dad, and my father-in-law for taking care of my wife in the hospital and taking care of my kids. I couldn’t do any of this without the family support.”
Closing Out The Win
The $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em poker tournament had three starting flights, and 622 entries joined the fray. The top 62 finishers earned a share of the $1,000,00 guaranteed prize pool.
Schutten held twice as many chips as the next closest competitor when cards got into the air between the final six, but Brian Craig doubled through him in the first major hand. Andrew Brinkley fell in sixth place after that, and Schutten took back a commanding lead when he busted Natan Lidukhover in fifth place.
He was still on top at the first break for the final table, and then wasted no time by sending Brian London home in fourth place after their return. Craig was able to take out Merritt Kuhn in third place, but that still gave him a 2:1 chip disadvantage of a hill to climb before the start of heads-up play.
The first all-in confrontation settled things between the final two. Craig got his last 6.3 million in preflop holding pocket fives, but Schutten had him covered with pocket tens from the button. The final board read K♣10♦2♦3♣5♦, and that was it for Craig after set-over-set ran out. It was the largest score of Craig’s career, with a payout worth $123,721.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Brek Schutten | $185,594 | 840 |
| 2 | Brian Craig | $123,721 | 700 |
| 3 | Merritt Kuhn | $84,264 | 560 |
| 4 | Brian Landon | $58,628 | 420 |
| 5 | Natan Lidukhover | $41,691 | 350 |
| 6 | Andrew Brinkley | $30,315 | 280 |
| 7 | Arnestas Armonas | $22,551 | 210 |
| 8 | Sung Kim | $17,172 | 140 |
| 9 | Jorge Galarza | $12,391 | 70 |
Photo Credit: WSOP and Poker.Org
