Darren Elias looked to be cruising to another big win on the circuit when he entered the final day of event no. 4 at the 2025 Poker Masters as the chip leader. He then made it down to heads-up in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament with a sizable advantage over his lone remaining opponent. That is when his road to victory took a wild detour. Less than an hour after seeming to have David Chen on the ropes, Elias was the one who was all-in, at risk, and in need of help.
The World Series of Poker bracelet winner and four-time World Poker Tour champion was able to find some key cards when his tournament life depended on them, though, and eventually surged back in front and closed out the victory. Elias earned $280,000 for the win, bringing his lifetime haul to nearly $15.1 million in the process.
Elias also earned 600 Card Player Player of the Year points for this triumph. With two titles and seven final-table finishes on the year, he now sits within reach of the top 100 in the 2025 POY standings presented by CoinPoker.
The 280 PokerGO Tour points that came with the trophy moved Elias inside the top 50 on the PGT’s season-long leaderboard, and also catapulted him into second place in the series-long standings.
Big Names Bounced Early
This event drew 112 entries, creating a prize pool of $1,120,000 that was paid out across the top 16 spots. The final day began with seven still in contention and Elias out in front.
The first knockout marked the end of Mitchell Halverson’s run in this event. The bracelet winner was already leading the series-long points race before this event thanks to runner-up finishes in both of the $5,000 buy-in events that kicked off this series. His final stand was a battle of the blinds, with his K♠7♣ shoved for seven big blinds from the small blind. Stephen Song called with A♠6♥ and held to narrow the field to six. Halverson has now cashed for $329,800 through the first four events of this series after adding $44,800 with this seventh-place showing. His 330 PGT points are good for the lead in the race for the Purple Jacket.
Victoria Livschitz lost a hefty one with a flush draw against the pocket jacks of Elias in a battle of the blinds. Not long after that, she got all-in with 4♠4♦ facing the Q♠Q♦ of Chen. Livschitz was unable to come from behind and was sent packing in sixth place ($56,200). She now has more than $2.5 million in recorded scores to her name.
2025 WSOP main event sixth-place finisher Adam Hendrix rounded out the first trio of eliminations. The Alaskan poker pro also lost a battle of the blinds, with his Q♥J♠ unable to come from behind against the K♦9♠ that Chen shoved when it folded to him in the small blind. Hendrix turned a pair of queens to briefly take the lead, but a king on the river saw him fall in fifth place ($72,500).
Stephen Song lost the majority of his stack with A♦J♥ against the Q♠Q♦ of Chen. The bracelet winner and European Poker Tour champion’s final couple of blinds were soon captured by Elias and Song settled for $100,500. This score saw him surpass $11.3 million in lifetime cashes.
Warren Bows Out, Head-Up Battle Begins
The next big clash began with Chen min-raising to 250,000 from the button with 9♥9♦. Neil Warren looked down at A♦Q♣ in the small blind and ripped for 1,900,000 total. Elias then found J♠J♦ in the big blind and four-bet jammed. Chen went into the tank before electing to fold. The flop came down K♦10♥7♣ to give Warren a gutshot to go with his overcards. The 8♠ turn and 10♠ river kept Elias ahead, though, and Warren busted in third place ($129,000). This was the fourth-largest tournament payday yet for Warren.
That set up a big lead for Elias going into heads-up play, with his 12,150,000 against the 1,850,000 of Chen. The gap was narrowed a bit in the early going, and then Chen doubled with A♦10♣ besting K♦10♦ for Elias. Not long after that, a few more pots pushed in Chen’s direction left the stacks at roughly 4:3 in Elias’ favor. He soon edged into the lead when he forced Elias off of a flush draw with top pair.
Chen then began to pull away. Roughly 45 minutes after being down 6:1, Chen had nearly the same lead himself. Elias was soon all-in with K♦3♣ from the button for his last 15 big blinds. Chen called with a dominating K♠J♠ and was the favorite to close out the win. The board brought four clubs, though, and Elias got the double up to cut Chen’s lead to 2:1.
.@DarrenElias will not go quietly!
The Poker Masters is streaming live and on demand on https://t.co/2RQh5RNM18. pic.twitter.com/faVxRnBAdR
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) September 26, 2025
Elias Spikes Multiple Rivers On His Way To Victory
Elias had slid back a bit before the next all-in confrontation arose. He limped with Q♣7♣ for 150,000 from the button and Chen checked with 9♠5♦. The flop came down 10♥9♥5♣ and Chen checked with his nines up. Elias checked behind and the Q♠ gave him top pair. Chen checked and Elias bet 325,000. That was met with a check-shove from Chen and Elias called off his remaining 2,325,000. The 7♦ on the end gave Elias queens up and another tournament-saving double up.
The very next hand, Chen picked up 7♥7♣ on the button and raised to 450,000. Elias three-bet shoved for 5,750,000 with 10♦8♦, which amounted to nearly 29 big blinds after the levels had gone up to 100,000-200,000 between hands. Chen called and the flop came down J♥10♥7♠ to give Chen a set. Elias had middle pair and a gutshot. The 5♣ left Elias in need of yet another lucky river card. One came in the form of the 9♣, giving him a jack-high straight and a big lead once again.
David Chen with one hand on the trophy!
Watch the Poker Masters on https://t.co/2RQh5RNM18. pic.twitter.com/iC6dLxHsrS
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) September 26, 2025
Not long after that, the chips went in with Elias’ Q♥J♣ up against A♠2♣ for Chen. The 10♠9♣7♦3♥8♦ saw Elias make another straight, this time to close out the win. Chen, who made history as the youngest PGT title winner with a victory as a 21-year-old at last year’s Poker Masters, took home $185,000.
Chen now has more than $2.3 million in career cashes to his name. Four of his top five scores have been recorded in 2025. Chief among was a second-place showing in a $25,000 event at the Wynn Summer Classic for $260,000.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Darren Elias | $280,000 | 600 | 280 |
| 2 | David Chen | $185,000 | 500 | 185 |
| 3 | Neil Warren | $129,000 | 400 | 129 |
| 4 | Stephen Song | $100,500 | 300 | 101 |
| 5 | Adam Hendrix | $72,500 | 250 | 73 |
| 6 | Victoria Livschitz | $56,200 | 200 | 56 |
| 7 | Mitchell Halverson | $44,800 | 150 | 45 |
Photo credit: PokerGO Tour / Antonio Abrego.
