Michael Mizrachi Dominating Final Four In 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event

Photo credit: PokerGO / Enrique Malfavon.

With $10 million and the most prestigious title in poker on the line, it was easy to imagine the action would start slowly at the final table of the 2025 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event as players got comfortable.

In reality, the opposite was true. There were two eliminations in the first seven hands, wild bluffs, and river cards that shifted fates by millions of dollars. Within two hours, the field was reduced from 9 to 5, and within just four hours, the final four were set for Wednesday’s finale.

With the dust settled, Michael Mizrachi stands on the precipice of arguably the most remarkable double in poker history. A few weeks after capturing his fourth career WSOP Poker Players Championship title, Mizrachi holds 445.5 million, 76 percent of the chips in play, with a chance to win the two most prestigious titles in poker in a single year.

Day 9 of the 2025 WSOP main event started with the focus squarely on Leo Margets’ historic run to the final table. When the cards went into the air, though, it was all Mizrachi.

His incredible run almost didn’t happen. Mizrachi was a single card away from elimination in seventh place, only for him to spike a miraculous ace on the river. And from there, Mizrachi was a menace who simply could not lose a big pot.

All the way back on day 3 of this tournament, Mizrachi told Card Player, “When I’m deep in these two-hour levels, they’re in big trouble… After that PPC win, I’m looking for my next cash. Hopefully, it’s a main event win.”

That seems prescient, given where things stand heading into the final day of the 2025 WSOP.

Grinder Ready To Lock Down History

Michael Mizrachi wins fourth PPC title.

Mizrachi, a seven-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time World Poker Tour champion, has seen a lot of poker, and played in a lot of big spots. But living through this sun run for the ages left even an experienced and accomplished player of his caliber at a loss for words.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Mizrachi. “I couldn’t fathom [a day like this]. Unreal. Just surreal. I can’t believe it. Being in this situation is amazing.”

“That was definitely the biggest card of my career,” he said of the aforementioned ace on the river.

Standing in his way are three players hoping to pull off an all-time comeback on Wednesday. John Wasnock, the 50-year-old investment consultant and married father of four from North Bend, Washington, who Mizrachi beat when he hit that ace on the river, rebuilt his stack nicely after that bad beat.

“Obviously, the big hand with The Grinder, with the [pocket] king’s versus ace-king, was a bit of a blow there, to say the least,” said Wasnock. “But I was still deep enough to not get too worried, yet.”

Short Stacks Looking For A Comeback

Braxton Dunaway saw his once mighty stack dwindle amidst the day 9 chaos, but by making it to four-handed play he’s already locked up at least $3 million.

“There were some crazy hands,” said Dunaway, the winner of the 2023 Monster Stack event. “Personally, I’m just happy to be where I’m at. I’m so happy to be here still. But yeah, the pace of play was absolutely insane.”

Kenny Hallart credit PokerGO / Miguel Cortes

Kenny Hallaert had an inside track to be one of Mizrachi’s toughest roadblocks. But amidst Mizrachi’s dizzying aggression, he too was left with a short stack heading into the finale. As long as he has a single chip left, the 43-year-old Belgian poker player and tournament director believes there is a window for a comeback.

“I’m still one of the four people that’s currently fighting for that main event title,” said Hallaert. “I mean, I might not be the favorite, but I’m never gonna doubt myself. I’ve always believed that it is possible. I’ve been in a situation multiple times where a short stack four-handed, or somebody down to almost nothing still managed to come out on top.”

Hallaert is indeed quite experienced in the main event, having had one of the more impressive three-year runs ever in the tournament: in 2015, he finished 123rd out of 6,420 entries. In 2016, he made the final table from a field of 6,737, finishing sixth. To complete the streak, Hallaert finished 64th out of 7,221 in 2017.

Let The Bustouts Begin

The final nine took their seats at 2 PM local time at Horseshoe Las Vegas. It didn’t take long at all for the action to heat up. On the very first hand of the day, Daehyung Lee min-raised to 3,200,000 from the UTG+1 with A♠Q♣. Wasnock called from the big blind with 5♠5♣ and the flop came down Q♦J♦5♥.

Wasnock checked with his set, and Lee bet 3,000,000. Wasnock check-raised to 6,500,000 and Lee moved all-in for 31,700,000. Wasnock snap-called and held through a 10♥ turn and J♥ river to eliminate Lee in ninth place. The software engineer from South Korea earned $1,000,000 for the very first final-table appearance of his poker career.

Daehyung Lee eliminated in 9th place at the @WSOP Main Event final table.

Taking home $1,000,000 for his incredible run! 👏

🔗 https://t.co/KhVXHGFzPP pic.twitter.com/DtMC0MpbEo

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 15, 2025

Before the end of the first orbit, there was another all-in and call. Jarod Minghini min-raised from the button and Hallaert three-bet shoved from the big blind with 4♦4♣. Minghini called all-in with his A♦Q♦ for his 23,600,000 stack. The board came out 6♦3♣2♥8♥10♦ and the small pair remained best to end Minghini’s run in eighth place.

Minghini is a five-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner based out of Lake Tahoe, California. He helped found the Bobby Minghini Foundation in honor of his late brother. Bobby was on the U.S. Snowboarding Team, and the organization helps lower-income aspiring snowboarders with the expenses of chasing their dream. 

“It’s been amazing the whole, obviously ups and downs… grateful to be here,” said Minghini in his post-bustout interview with PokerGO’s Natalie Bodie. “The real sweat was making the final table, that’s everyone’s goal in poker. I came in short-stacked today, so I knew I would be all in quickly. I wasn’t scared to get the chips in. I’m playing to win, I’m not playing to ladder.” 

Minghini now has more than $2 million in career earnings after adding $1,250,000 with this impressive showing.

Mizrachi Spikes The River To Claim Top Spot

The next big clash saw Dunaway open for a min-raise to 4,000,000 from the cutoff with Q♦9♣. Wasnock picked up K♠K♣ on the button and three-bet to 10,000,000. Mizrachi looked down at A♠K♦ in the small blind and cold four-bet to 30,000,000 total. Dunaway got away and Wasnock shoved. Mizrachi called all-in for 41,700,000 more to set up a 151,400,000 showdown.

The J♠9♥7♦ flop was safe for Wasnock, but the Q♣ turn gave Mizrachi a gutshot to go with his overcard outs. The PokerGO broadcast revealed that three of the tens and one ace were already folded, though, which meant that Mizrachi had just three cards to hit. The A♦ was one of them, and it rolled off on the river. Mizrachi jumped up and threw his hands in the air, and his stack shot up into the chip lead.

Wasnock slipped to 110,300,000 after the hand, which was still good for second.

The BIGGEST POT of the @WSOP Main Event! 🔥@TheGrinder44 ALL-IN at RISK against John Wasnock.

Watch LIVE on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG pic.twitter.com/uYmBU5SiUD

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 15, 2025

Leo Margets’ Historic Run Ends In Seventh Place

Margets made history as the first woman to make the WSOP main event final table since 1995, when Barbara Enright finished fifth. The last woman to win a live WSOP bracelet event in Las Vegas, back in 2021, made a tremendous run into day 9 of this tournament, and garnered considerable support both on her rail and from those watching at home.

There was a moment in which it seemed as though Margets would pull herself directly into contention for $10 million and the title. But a battle of the blinds brought about Margets’ elimination.

On the 28th hand of the day, she limped in from the small blind with A♥10♥ and Hallaert looked down at another small pocket pair. He jammed with 6♠6♥, an effective wager of 39,600,000. Margets called.

The flop came down J♥7♠5♠. Hallaert’s sixes were still best, but the turn brought the A♠ to dial up the drama. Margets was now sitting with the best hand with a pair of aces, but Hallaert had outs to a flush or a set. The 9♠ river completed the former draw, growing Hallaert’s stack to 140,000,000, while Margets was knocked out in seventh place.

The last woman standing bows out after a HISTORIC RUN. 👏@LeoMargets eliminated from the @WSOP Main Event in 7th place ($1,500,000)

Watch LIVE on https://t.co/2RQh5RNM18 pic.twitter.com/915d9e1b32

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 16, 2025

First Female Final Tablist In 30 Years Reacts

Leo Margets. Credit PokerGO / Miguel Cortes

The $1,500,000 payout was by far the largest score yet for the 42-year-old Spanish poker pro from Barcelona. She now boasts nearly $3.4 million in career cashes, putting her just outside the top ten on Spain’s all-time money list.

“Amazing experience, obviously one of the best experiences of my life, for sure.”

Margets gave a lot of love to her large contingent of friends and supporters, who were on the rail for much of her historic run in this tournament.

“All the difference… I felt ultra-supported. They helped make this experience so special,” said Margets. “I’m so lucky to have lived this, and with them.”

Reflecting on her exit, and the totality of her run, Margets understandably felt the weight of everything that had happened, all at once.

“Of course, I was super sad. I cried for a few minutes in the room, but to be honest, I am okay now. It is what it is. I am very proud of how I handled the whole thing.”

Iceman Shattered By Surging Grinder

Just a couple of hands after Margets bowed out, another preflop coin flip played out with Adam Hendrix’s tournament life hanging in the balance. Mizrachi opened to 4,300,000 from under the gun with A♥K♦. Hendrix three-bet to 12,000,000 out of the cutoff with J♦J♣ and Mizrachi four-bet ripped when it got back around to him. Hendrix called all-in for 56,600,000 total, and the two were off to the races with the chip lead on the line.

Adam Hendrix. Credit PokerGO / Miguel Cortes

What started as a fair fight turned into a healthy equity advantage for Hendrix after a safe Q♥Q♣4♦ flop. The turn was another story, though, as the K♠ gave Mizrachi the superior pair and a stranglehold on the hand. Hendrix was down to needing one of the two remaining jacks in the deck on the end, but the 3♣ appeared instead to send him packing in sixth place. 

The $1,900,000 payout was roughly three times larger than any previous score for the Alaskan-born poker pro. This windfall increased his career haul to more than $10.3 million.

Hendrix offered some deeper insight into a few of the reasons why the pace of play

“Mizrachi always bloats the pots a little bit,” said Hendrix. “Also, we were [stuck at] 17 left for, like, three or so hours two days ago. That really lowers the average in the main, so if you look at the stack depths, it’s really sort of top heavy, and the low stacks sort of have to get in there to give themselves a chance to win.”

Mizrachi Starts To Run Away With It

Mizrachi won a healthy pot with air early in five-handed play, availing himself of the first-mover advantage with his missed straight draw to fire into two opponents with eight high. His bluff got through, as both of his opponents also missed draws, sending a hefty one to ‘The Grinder’ without showdown.

No pair, no problem! 🔥@TheGrinder44 pulls the trigger on the river!

Watch LIVE on https://t.co/v5qF0qsSw4 pic.twitter.com/kjXQuk5R2p

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 16, 2025

Mizrachi only pulled further ahead thanks to a big showdown with Hallaert. He min-raised to 4,000,000 from the cutoff with Q♠10♥ and got called by Hallaert’s K♠J♠ from the small blind and Dunaway’s 9♠7♣ out of the big blind. The flop came down K♦10♣3♥ and it checked to Mizrachi, who bet 5,500,000. Only Hallaert called and the Q♣ turn gave Mizrachi queens up and the lead. Hallaert check-called 21,500,000.

The 4♠ completed the board and Hallaert checked again, with 84,000,000 in his stack and 68,000,000 already in the pot. Mizrachi bet 60,000,000 with his two pair, sending Hallaert into the tank. After plenty of thought, Hallaert removed his sunglasses as he contemplated his options. Ultimately, he chose to call, and was shown the bad news, slipping to just 12 big blinds while Mizrachi celebrated with his raucous rail.

Mizrachi chipped up to over 421,000,000 after the hand, which amounted to roughly 72 percent of the total chips in play.

Bojovic Bows Out In Fifth

Luka Bojovic

Luka Bojovic is a medical doctor from Serbia, as well as an accomplished poker player. The CoinPoker Ambassador came into this final table with more than $620,000 in prior cashes, including an eighth-place result in last year’s WSOP Europe main event. 

His run in this year’s big dance came to a close in fifth place. He had largely stayed out of the way throughout the day while the rest of the table squared off in monster pots. As a result, he locked up $2,400,000 by outlasting several players who began the day with larger stacks.

Bojovic’s final hand saw him get his last eight big blinds in from the cutoff with A♥K♠ leading the A♣J♠ of Wasnock, who called from the big blind. The 4♣3♣2♣J♥6♠ runout saw Wasnock flop the nut flush draw and turn a pair of jacks to win.

Bojovic received plenty of support from his rail and kept a smile on his face as he gathered his things and headed to collect his multi-million-dollar payout.

Awaiting The Finale

Four-handed play resumes at 2 PM on Wednesday, with blinds of 1,200,000/2,500,000 and a big blind ante of 2,500,000 for the start of Level 41. The PokerGO broadcast begins at 3 PM PST, utilizing an hour delay for game security.

Play will continue as long as is needed to crown the 2025 WSOP main event champion.

Remaining Payouts and Final Table Results Thus Far: