WSOP 2025 Day 39 Recap: Main Event Day 1C Sees 1,678 Players; Zarbo, Ahmadi Collect First Bracelets

Another starting flight in the $10,000 Main Event saw the biggest field so far on Friday at the World Series of Poker with one more remaining on Saturday.

The 39th day of play also saw a couple of players cash in for some nice payout in lower buy-in events including Giuseppe Zarbo winning the $800 Summer Celebration and Nick Ahmadi finding the top spot in the $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship. Here’s a look at how things shaped up on Friday at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas.

French Part-time Player Celebrates Good Times With First Bracelet

A couple of lower buy-in events wrapped up on Friday and Giuseppe Zarbo (pictured above) came out on top in the larger of those two, Event #80: $800 Summer Celebration. The player from France scored his first bracelet and $504,180 in an event that saw 7,078 entries and $5.2 million prize pool. Like many players heading to Horseshoe and Paris, Zarbo is a part-time player but obviously brings some skills to the table.

“I play when I have the time,” he said afterward. “I’m no professional player — I have a regular job — but when I play, I play to win.”

Event #80: $800 Summer Celebration final table results

Gold Bracelet, Gold Coin, & $300K Awarded to Nick Ahmadi in $600 Deepstack Championship

Nick Ahmadi scored his first bracelet and $302,165 in Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship. He also scored a 24-karat gold PokerNews Deepstack Championship winner’s coin as a bonus for his efforts. The tournament saw a record 5,667 entries for a $2.9 million prize pool. The longtime player now has more than $1.3 million in live tournament winnings and this becomes the biggest cash of his career.

“It’s a pretty awesome experience,” Ahmadi said after the win. “I don't know, kind of numb right now, so I'm sure it'll kick in pretty soon, but yeah, it feels awesome. It’s every poker player’s dream, so super happy and fortunate to be in this spot.”

Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship final table results

Main Event Day 1C Brings in Biggest Field Yet

The third starting flight of Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship saw 1,678 players take their shot at glory with 1,249 advancing to Sunday’s Day 2. Two-time bracelet winner Andriy Lyubovetskiy led the field with 392,400, followed by Bin Weng (336,000), who has been one of the hottest players in the game over the past few years.

Some others advancing on Day 1C included 2023 Monster Stack champion Braxton Dunaway (234,800), Calvin Anderson (230,200), Jon Kyte (206,200), Lucas Greenwood (193,600, Vanessa Selbst (155,200), Michael Addamo (92,600), Philip Sternheimer (91,900), Boris Angelov (82,500) and Jack Sinclair (72,900). Day 1A produced a 923-player field and Day1B saw 1,096 for a total so far of 3,697 players. Sunday’s final flight should once again be the largest of the four starting flights with registration also open for the first two levels of Day 2.

Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship Day 1C

Fourth Day Needed in $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship WIth Just Two Players Remaining

An extra day of play will be needed in Event #82: $10,000 Eight Game Mixed Championship to determine a winner. The tournament was scheduled to end after three days, but Eric Wasserson and Mike Gorodinsky return to play to a winner on Saturday. Gorodinsky is looking for his fifth bracelet, but faces an uphill climb as Wasserson, who is looking for his second bracelet, has more than a 6-to-1 chip advantage. The winner goes home with $422,421 in a tournament that produced a 195-entry field and a prize pool of $1.8 million.

Event #82: $10,000 Eight Game Mixed Championship heads-up chip counts

Just 25 Players Return to Action in $2,500 Freezeout

After two days of action in Event #83: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em, Pawel Brzeski returns as chip leader with 5,555,000 and only 25 players remaining. The regular online player is followed by a pair of Brazilians – Breno Drumond (3,955,000) and Vitor Dzivielevski (2,820,000). PokerGO founder Cary Katz also has a nice chips stack and sits in fourth with 2,495,000.

Event #83: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em

Shaun Deeb Finishes at Top of Leaderboard in $1,000 NLHE

Just days after winning his seventh bracelet in the $100,000 Pot Limit Omaha for almost $3 million, Shaun Deeb sits atop the chip stacks in an event with a much lower buy-in. After a second entry in Event #84: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em, Deeb made the most of it and built his stack up to 923,000.

The tournament saw a record 1,873 entries for a $1.6 million prize pool and just 314 players moved on to Day 2. The winner secures a $232,498 payday and some others moving on to Day 2 include Harry Lodge (193,000), Jinlong Hu(182,000), Max Kruse (161,000), and Alen Bakovic (140,000).

Event #84: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em