Shaun Deeb is quickly ascending the World Series of Poker title leaderboard, adding his second bracelet of 2025 with a win at WSOP Europe to bring his career total to eight.
Deeb now sits alongside Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi and Benny Glaser in a three-way tie for the fifth most bracelets in poker history. He also holds the distinction of being just the second two-time WSOP Player of the Year award winner, joining seven-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu in that feat, thanks to his narrow victory in the POY race this summer. His first POY award came in 2018, and he has been a perennial contender in the race ever since.
The latest triumph saw Deeb, a 39-year-old poker pro from Troy, New York, outlast 38 entries in the €25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em high roller at this year’s WSOP Europe festival at Kings Resort Rozvadov. He earned $384,930 and the hardware for the win. This was only his second no-limit hold’em bracelet, joining his victory in the $10,000 NLH six-max in 2018. He has three PLO high roller wins (2018, 2021, 2025), a $10,000 pot-limit hold’em victory (2015), a $1,500 seven card stud triumph (2016), and an eight-game mix title (2023).
“But I’m a realist, I’m not great at no-limit hold’em,” he told PokerNews live reporters on site after the win. “There were 38 people, and I was three of the bullets. It’s not that hard to win these smaller fields, especially if you have the bankroll and can gamble up and rebuy, which I obviously did.”
Deeb has two titles and six final tables so far in 2025, placing him 30th in Card Player’s POY rankings, which are sponsored by CoinPoker.
A-6 Works In Deeb’s Favor This Time Around
In a key hand during his heads-up battle with Iago Savino, Deeb won an all-in withA♠6♦, the hand that Max Heinzelmann cracked his pocket aces with in an infamous viral clip from the 2011 WSOP main event. Deeb shared a screenshot from that broadcast when he took to social media to celebrate his win in this event.
#8 in honor of a legend pic.twitter.com/MbETSDIuQw
— shaun deeb (@shaundeeb) October 1, 2025
Deeb has long said that his goal is to one day surpass 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth atop the WSOP titles leaderboard. He reiterated that sentiment after this win.
“I’ve said for years I’m going to go after Phil, so getting two in the same year is pretty nice. I obviously got very lucky in this one, but I’m just gonna keep showing off. It’s a lot of fun, and my wife lets me go away when there are bracelets on the line.”
Fireworks Around The Bubble
This high-stakes event ran over the course of two days. The 38-entry turnout saw the seven-figure prize pool split amongst the top six finishers.
A double elimination saw the bubble burst and sent the first player inside to the rail inside the money. Savino held 9♠9♥ and had both Luka Bojovic and Sirzat Hissou covered. Bojovic was in rough shape with A♥3♥, while Hissou held A♣Q♦. The board came down 9♦5♠3♠6♣Q♥ and Savino’s set of nines dragged the pot.
Bojovic, who finished fifth in this year’s WSOP main event for $2.4 million, headed home empty-handed in this event. Hissou secured $69,030 as the sixth-place finisher.
Another main event final tablist was soon eliminated in Jan-Peter Jachtmann. The German, who placed fourth for $3 million in the 2023 WSOP main event, ran K♣6♣ into the K♠J♦ of Zdenek Zizka. The young Czech backgammon professional, who earned his first bracelet earlier this year defeating Deeb heads-up in a $1,000 no-limit event, made broadway to narrow the field to four. Jachtmann earned $85,410 as the fifth-place finisher.
Closing Out No. 8
Ioannis Angelou-Konstas was the next to fall. The Greek player got the last of his short stack in after a flop of K♣6♥4♥ holding Q♦6♦ for middle pair. It was second best to the 7♥7♣ of Savino, who hails from Brazil. The 5♣ turn and J♠ river changed nothing and Angelou-Konstas settled for $114,660.
A classic preflop race spelled the end of Zizka’s run. It pitted his 6♦6♣ against the A♣K♠ of Deeb. The Q♣10♣3♣ flop came Deeb the nut flush draw and a gutshot to go with his overcards. The 2♥ turn was a blank, but the J♠ on the end filled Deeb’s broadway straight to earn him the pot. Zizka took home $166,140 as the third-place finisher.
With that, heads-up play began with Savino holding 10,375,000 to Deeb’s 8,525,000. On the third deal of the clash, Deeb four-bet shoved from the button with the previously mentioned A♠6♦. Savino, who had three-bet from the big blind with 8♠8♥, made the call. The board came down 9♥7♦5♦A♦Q♦ and Deeb made a diamond flush to double into a commanding lead.
Soon after that, Deeb jammed from the button with K♦10♦ and Savino called off his last seven or so big blinds with J♣9♠. The K♥10♠5♠A♣2♣ runout gave Deeb kings up and the title. Savino earned $256,230 as the runner-up, his largest live score yet.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | $384,930 | 336 |
| 2 | Iago Savino | $256,230 | 280 |
| 3 | Zdenek Zizka | $166,140 | 224 |
| 4 | Ioannis Angelou-Konstas | $114,660 | 168 |
| 5 | Jan Peter Jachtmann | $85,410 | 140 |
| 6 | Sirzat Hissou | $69,030 | 112 |
Photo credit: WSOP / Pokernews, Tomas Stacha.
