WSOP 2025 Day 34 Recap: Shiina Okamoto Defends Ladies Championship for Sensational Back-to-Back Win

Japanese poker hero Shiina Okamoto won her second Ladies Championship as Event #70 went the way of the 2023 runner-up and 2024 champion. After a stunning performance, the Japanese star announced ‘I defended’ as she captured the hearts of the WSOP for the third year running. In five other events, the PLO Championship began and Narcis Nedelcu won his first WSOP bracelet.

Awesome Okamoto Wraps Up Back-to-Back Ladies Titles

To say one person has dominated the $1,000-entry Ladies Champinship the past few years in Las Vegas is as wild an understatement as anyone can imagine. Japanese player Shiina Okamoto captured the hearts of everyone watching the WSOP last year as, one year from finishing second, she finally took gold in the Ladies Event after back-to-back heads-ups.

Reaching the final table with the chip lead this summer, the world wasn’t only watching but expecting Okamoto to do it again. Somehow, she did, beating terrific players along the way with her brand of calm, measured poker that blends attacking power plays with sensitive reads and even-tempered reason throughout.

By the time she made the final heads-up, Okamoto had a sizeable lead. While her opponent, Heather Alcorn, doubled up once, she couldn’t do so again, running ace-deuce into pocket nines. All Okamoto needed to do was hold and when she did so, the two women embraced as the back-to-back champion celebrated.

“I really believed I was going to win,” Okamoto said after the event. “I didn't feel rushed like I needed to force it. I just focused on doing what I needed to do properly. There was still a lot of pressure, with everyone expecting me to win back-to-back. I thought that as long as I stayed calm and did everything right, I would eventually come out on top. So I was really conscious about not panicking and keeping my composure.”

Okamoto’s inner Zen certainly helped her cope with the pressure and she credited her ability to survive a sea change at three-handed as key.

“I had been trying to exploit tendencies I noticed earlier in the tournament, but my opponents adjusted their play. It took me some time to adjust back. That was tough,” she said. “I think people now associate me with this event. Some players start adjusting their strategies against me, calling lighter to catch bluffs, or playing more cautiously. I was able to take advantage of that. In a way, it’s just a good fit for how I play.”

After winning the last two Ladies Championships and getting to heads-up the year before those wins, Okamoto’s title defense in 2026 can’t come soon enough for the Japanese superstar with the golden touch in this event.

WSOP Event #70 $1,000 Ladies Championship Results

Nedelcu Beats Abrams to End Wait 

In the $1,500-entry Eight Game Mix Event #73, Romanian player Narcis Nedelcu won $184,862 and his first WSOP bracelet, claiming gold after beating the American professional Scott Abrams heads-up. The final duel looked a certainty for Nedelcu, going into the battle with a 5:1 chip lead but Abrams battled back close to even. 

In the end, it took a redraw to the flush to give Nedelcu the win after both men made the nut straight. It was a first win for Nedelcu but a brilliant one after the Romanian player made final tables at the WSOP in consecutive years, finishing eighth in last year’s $2,000 NLHE Event.

WSOP Event #73 $1,500 Eight Game Mix Final Table Results

Cao and Reyes Top 100 Million in Gladiatorial Battle 

On Day 2 of the Gladiators of Poker Event #67 in Las Vegas, Yuanzhi Cao (106.3m) bagged the chip lead after surviving via a two-outer along the way on Day 2. A total of 812 players started in seats but only 13 remained at the close of play, with Manuel Reyes (101.5m) the only other player to bag over 100 million chips with one day to go in the competition.

With a $420,680 top prize on offer in this $300-entry event, life-changing money is guaranteed to go to either a first-time bracelet winner or the one-time winner and WSOP crusher Roland Isrealashvili, who on 34m chips has the chance to bag his second WSOP bracelet and the biggest single prize of his career. 

WSOP Event #67 $300 Gladiators of Poker Chip Counts

PLO Titans Clash in Latest Championship Event

In Event #74, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, just 56 players remain in with a chance of gold with two days left in the tournament. Dutch player Javier Francort (4.06m) has a huge lead, with Quan Zhou (2.41m) the only player with over half the leader’s stack.

With 1.91m chips, Alex Foxen is likely to pose a significant obstacle along the way for Francourt, while other crushers such as Thomas Taylor (1.64m), Isaac Kempton (1.47m), Robert Mizrachi (1.27m), Alex Livingston (1.25m), Stephen Chidwick (865,000) and Ryan Riess (650,000) could yet grab the top prize of $1.39m from the $8.1m prize pool.

WSOP Event #74 $10,000 PLO Championship Chip Counts

Two New Events Begin 

Two more events kicked off in Las Vegas as a very busy week of poker began once again. In Event #75, the $1,000 Mini Main Event - which has a similar structure to the WSOP World Championship starting on Wednesday - saw 4,077 entries battle down to 318 survivors, with Duane Fernandez (2.67m) leading the way with Liran Betito (2.48m), John Richards (1.44m), Jeremy Wien (825,000), Andrew Moreno (545,000), and Shawn Buchanan (280,000) all chasing glory - or profit - on Day 2.

Finally, in Event #76, the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet event, Chris Vitch (583,500) leads the remaining 101 players from 458 entries, with Barry Greenstein (292,000), Jake Schwartz (260,500), Jeff Madsen (252,200), Robert Wells (243,000) and Dario Alioto (219,500) all still in contention from inside the top 20 places on the leaderboard.

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