It has been a long summer, with several historic events that have occurred, but the time that all poker players look forward to has finally arrived. The 2025 World Series of Poker has slogged through eighty tournaments (and still has another twenty to go), and the pinnacle tournament on the schedule is looking to get its cards in the air today. The $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship – the Main Event – heads off into action on Wednesday with a myriad of questions that are surrounding this year’s event.
Day 1A Starts at Noon
The first of four Day Ones will begin on Wednesday, with the other three-Day Ones occurring on the subsequent days (Thursday through Saturday). For that $10,000 buy-in – and it is only ONE SHOT in the Main Event, unlike many other tournaments – players will receive 60,000 in chips and prepare to take on two-hour levels of the most demanding poker that can be played. After seven levels – that’s right, FOURTEEN HOURS of poker play alone – those fortunate enough to have chips will bag them up and move on in the tournament.
After the first four Day Ones are complete, the survivors of Days 1A, 1B, and 1C, will converge on the halls of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas under the auspices of Day 2A to continue the fight to be poker’s next World Champion. Those three days are grouped together, but Day 1D gets its very own Day 2B, as it is routinely the largest flight of the opening Day Ones. The field for the 2025 WSOP Main Event will come together for the first time on Day Three, to be held on July 8.
Just because you make it to the merging of the field doesn’t mean you have earned anything, however. WSOP officials estimate that the money bubble will not pop until Day Four – with an eerily precise timing of Level 17 on that day – and there is STILL another week to play before a champion is determined. The final table, featuring the nine survivors from a fortnight prior, will be held on July 15-16.
How Big Will It Be?
The 2025 WSOP has been surprisingly strong, considering all the forces that could have potentially acted against it. The fields have run at or slightly above their 2024 numbers, meaning that the threat of smaller fields has not materialized. Foreign participation seems to be right at 2024 levels also, even after the threats from the U.S. government to those potentially traveling to the U.S. to take part in the WSOP.
As to the 2025 WSOP Main Event, expecting it to top last year’s record-setting numbers might be a bit much to ask. 10,112 players came to the felt during the 2024 tournament to build a $94,041,600 prize pool, the richest prize pool ever in the history of poker. The final table would provide some excellent poker, but it would also provide a controversy that was never fully closed.
In what was a surprise, the previously unknown Jonathan Tamayo would emerge as the champion of the event, defeating Jordan Griff to take down the $10 million first-place prize and the WSOP World Championship. Eagle-eyed viewers and others concerned about the integrity of poker, however, noted that the rail of Tamayo, including poker professionals including former WSOP Main Event victor Joseph McKeehen and multiple bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche (side note: Nitsche has not come to this year’s WSOP, or at least hasn’t cashed in ANY poker event in Las Vegas), possibly violated WSOP rules. Their support included a massive amount of computer power being used to run simulators and applications to advise Tamayo while he was playing, verboten in the game of poker.
Nothing was done against what has become known as the Tamayo Scandal, because a month after the completion of the WSOP, Caesars Entertainment sold the rights to the WSOP to the NSUS Group, the ownership behind the online poker site GGPoker. The incident was brushed under the carpet and, other than Nitsche’s absence from the 2025 WSOP, has never been satisfactorily closed. Although NSUS put some cosmetics on their rules for 2025, banning electronics from the railside, they did nothing to punish the perpetrators.
Expect the 2025 WSOP Main Event to make a run at the 10K mark, but do not expect it to pass its performance in 2024. We will know for sure the final numbers when the late registration period ends on Day 2B, at which point the slate will be set for the tournament. It is Christmas, New Year’s, and your 21st birthday wrapped up in one setting – the 2025 WSOP Main Event is ready for action!
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