Matt Vengrin recorded his first cash in a World Series of Poker bracelet event all the way back in 2007, finishing ninth in a $1,500 no-limit hold’em event at his first WSOP final table.
The Red Hook, New York native would go on to record more than a hundred in-the-money performances at the series between that first run and this year’s festival Along the way, he came painstakingly close to winning his first bracelet several times, including three runner-up finishes and one third-place showing.
Finally, more than 18 years after that first cash, a now 40-year-old Vengrin finally broke through and secured his first bracelet. He defeated a field of 1,564 entries in the 2025 WSOP $1,500 pot-limit Omaha eight-max event, earning $306,791 for the win. This was the largest tournament payday of his career. He now boasts lifetime earnings of more than $3.6 million.
It feels as good as I thought it would.
— Vengmoney (@MattVengrin) June 21, 2025
This victory also came with 1,080 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his second title and sixth final-table finish of 2025. He now sits in 133rd place in the POY standings presented by Coin Poker.
Setting The Stage
The sizable turnout for this event built a prize pool of $2,076,210. The bubble burst late on day 1, with the top 236 finishers earning a share. By the end of day 2, just 11 contenders remained, with Vengrin out in front heading into the final day inside Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Plenty of notables were bounced inside the money, including two-time bracelet winner Bruno Furth (75th), three-time bracelets winner Rep Porter (35th) and Sean Troha (29th), and bracelet winners Amnon Filippi (16th), Scott Dulaney (14th), and Vadim Shlez (13th).
Bracelet winner Giuseppe Pantaleo (10th) hit the rail early on day 3, setting the unofficial final table of nine. Thai high-stakes star Punnat Punsri then busted Jason Stockfish (9th – $25,541) to make it official.
Vengrin’s stack grew to represent more than half the chips in play after he eliminated Tomer Daniel in eighth place ($33,082). Two-time bracelet winner Bryce Yockey scored the next couple of knockouts, sending Antti Marttinen (7th – $43,413) and Matthew Beck (6th – $57,711) packing to narrow the field to five.
The next big clash pitted the double-suited pocket kings of Jacob Snider against the unsuited pocket aces of Vengrin. The larger pair held up and Snider was eliminated in fifth place ($77,703).
Converting Chips Into Gold
Yockey landed the next bustout blow. He and Qiaonan Liu both flopped trip nines. Yockey held both the highest kicker and a flush draw to go with his three of a kind when the chips went in. The flush came in on the end to send Liu to the rail in fourth place ($105,947).
Punsri got his last chips in with jacks and eights leading the jacks and fives of Vengrin after a flop of J♥8♦5♦. Punsri’s J♦10♠10♣8♣ remained ahead of Vengrin’s A♦J♣5♥3♣ after the Q♣ fell on the turn, but the 5♣ river saw Vengrin make fives full to win the pot. Punsri settled for $146,266 as the third-place finisher. His lifetime tournament haul now sits at just shy of $25 million.
With that, Vengrin took more than a 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play against Yockey. The gap was narrowed and then erased during the early action, but Yockey’s time on top was short. Vengrin soon regained the advantage, then expanded it by taking down a massive pot without showdown. Yockey check-raised the pot after the river paired the board, only to have Vengrin move all-in. Yockey folded after committing the majority of his stack, leaving himself with 22 big blinds to work with.
The next big hand was the last. Yockey limped from the button with K♣10♥8♥2♥ and Vengrin checked with Q♠Q♣6♠6♥. The flop came down 10♠6♣5♥ and Vengrin checked. Yockey bet 350,000 and Vengrin check-raised to 1,000,000 with his set. Yockey called and the turn brought the 10♣, giving Vengrin sixes full. He checked and Yockey bet 1,000,000 with his newfound trip tens. Vengrin called and the A♠ completed the board. He checked again and Yockey shoved for his last 3,350,000. Vengrin made the call with his full house to lock up the title, sending Yockey home with $204,425. Yockey’s career earnings now sit at nearly $6.7 million.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Matthew Vengrin | $306,791 | 1080 |
| 2 | Bryce Yockey | $204,425 | 900 |
| 3 | Punnat Punsri | $146,266 | 720 |
| 4 | Qiaonan Liu | $105,947 | 540 |
| 5 | Jacob Snider | $77,703 | 450 |
| 6 | Matthew Beck | $57,711 | 360 |
| 7 | Antti Marttinen | $43,413 | 270 |
| 8 | Tomer Daniel | $33,082 | 180 |
Photo credit: WSOP / Eloy Cabacas.
