Day 4 of the 2025 World Series of Poker main event began with 1,476 players remaining from the third-largest field in the tournament’s history. Of the 9,735 entries, only 1,461 were slated to make the money and earn a share of the $90,535,500 prize pool, which meant that 15 eliminations were needed before the bubble would burst. The min-cash this year was once again $15,000.
In a new twist, a $30,000 WSOP Paradise super main event package thrown in for whoever finished on the direct bubble.
It took more than two hours for the bubble to burst, with hand-for-hand kicking off roughly an hour into the day. As has long been the case, a gaggle of media members then followed Jack Effel, Senior Vice President of the World Series of Poker, from table to table to sweat the all-in-and-calls. Six-time bracelet winner Josh Arieh took to social media to share some of the hectic scene from a player’s perspective.
Just a quick glimpse of the bubble of the greatest poker tourn n the world @wsop main event pic.twitter.com/ywbK4VKB5o
— Joshua Arieh (@JoshuaArieh) July 9, 2025
Jacob Kim was knocked out just before that, running K♥K♣ into the A♥A♦ of Gonzalo Jose, who flopped top set and held from there.
Adam Rude was then sent packing as the last person without any compensation in this event. He got all-in after a flop of J♣7♥5♣ with his 7♠7♦ facing the A♣6♣ of Kosaku Akashi. Rude had check-shoved for 254,000 (nearly 32 big blinds) and received a quick call from Akashi, who had him well covered. The turn brought the 8♣ to give Akashi the nut flush, leaving Rude in need of a board pair on the end to remain in the event. The K♣ rolled off instead, sending him home in 1,463rd place.
The Stone Bubble
On the stone bubble, there was a flurry of action. Everyone in the mix knew that they wouldn’t be going home empty-handed. Amidst nearly a dozen all-in and calls on the fifth hand of hand-for-hand play, there were some crazy outcomes. On a board of 10♠5♣2♥6♦6♣, World Poker Tour champion Josh Reichard called all-in for his tournament life and his last 25 big blinds with A♠4♠. He was right.
Hal Hammaker quadrupled his last 1.5 big blinds when he turned A♦6♦ into a straight flush.
Three players would ultimately find the axe amidst the chaos. The first was Mark Dickner. His 5♥3♥ was no match for Kelvin Kerber’s K♥J♣ as it ran out K♣Q♥10♣8♥2♣.
Mathew Frankland got all in on a 9♦5♣4♦ flop with 10♦9♥. He ran into Michael Miravi’s K♦K♥, and the A♣ turn and 7♦ river offered no help.
Sachin Joshi had just 4,000 chips in the small blind and was forced all in. The cards were turned up on the flop, and Joshi was behind with 9♠6♣ against Julien Mariani’s K♦6♦. The 8♦ turn and 6♥ river did not improve Joshi enough to survive.
A Flip For The WSOP Paradise Package
The trio of eliminated players shuffled over to a corner of the Horseshoe Ballroom for a high stakes random runout. By virtue of their eliminations on the direct bubble, the three players split the prizes for 1,461st and 1,460th. That guaranteed each of them their $10,000 buy-in back.
The winner of a random runout of cards would claim the official bubble consolation prize.
As a dense crowd of media and staff crowded around the table, the hands were dealt out. It was 10♣2♠ for Joshi, 9♠9♦ for Dickner, and Q♥4♣ for Frankland.
Three 2025 WSOP bubble players flip for a $30,000 package into the $60,000,000 guaranteed WSOP Paradise super main event. pic.twitter.com/XyiDsp5o6s
— Card Player: The Poker & Gambling Authority (@CardPlayerMedia) July 9, 2025
Dickner’s pair of nines stayed ahead through the 6♥5♦3♣ flop and 3♠ turn. But the 2♣ river gave Frankland the straight, and the victory.
Frankland (pictured at the top of the article) earned a career-best $626,823 cash back in June. He finished fourth in the $25,000 no-limit hold’em high roller won by Chang Lee. He also won a €2,200 event and final tabled a €25,000 high roller at the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo. Those two scores this spring amount to his second ($462,283) and third-largest ($444,768) paydays.
Now he’ll have a chance to play for a guaranteed prize pool of $60 million in December.
After less than two tables full of knockouts took place over the course of a couple of hours, more than 200 additional players hit the rail within the first hour after the bubble burst.
Payouts for the 2025 WSOP main event:
| Place | Payout |
| 1 | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | $6,000,000 |
| 3 | $4,000,000 |
| 4 | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | $2,400,000 |
| 6 | $1,900,000 |
| 7 | $1,500,000 |
| 8 | $1,250,000 |
| 9 | $1,000,000 |
| 10-11 | $750,000 |
| 12-13 | $560,250 |
| 14-17 | $450,000 |
| 18-26 | $360,000 |
| 27-35 | $300,000 |
| 36-44 | $240,000 |
| 45-53 | $200,000 |
| 54-62 | $165,000 |
| 63-71 | $135,000 |
| 72-80 | $115,000 |
| 81-89 | $100,000 |
| 90-98 | $85,000 |
| 99-161 | $70,000 |
| 162-224 | $60,000 |
| 225-287 | $52,500 |
| 288-350 | $45,000 |
| 351-413 | $40,000 |
| 414-476 | $35,000 |
| 477-539 | $32,500 |
| 540-602 | $30,000 |
| 603-665 | $27,500 |
| 666-765 | $25,000 |
| 766-863 | $22,500 |
| 864-1,014 | $20,000 |
| 1,015-1,258 | $17,500 |
| 1,259-1,461 | $15,000 |
