WSOP 2025 Day 41 Recap: Cary Katz Wins Maiden Bracelet, Hellmuth and Negreanu Both Survive Day 2 of Main Event 

A thrilling day of action on Day 41 of the 56th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw PokerGO’s own Cary Katz win his first-ever WSOP bracelet after a long and illustrious career, while Day 2 of the Main Event saw legends survive and Shaun Deeb was denied a second bracelet of the series heads-up. Four events took place at the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada as poker fans at home and around the world watched on.

Cary Katz Wins First WSOP Title

The PokerGO founder and tournament crusher Cary Katz won $449,245 and his first-ever WSOP bracelet last night in Las Vegas as he took down the $2,500-entry NLHE Freezeout Event #83 on the schedule, beating Brazilian Breno Drumond heads-up. It was a comeback victory, too, as Katz, supported by his family and friends on the rail came from behind to conquer one of the loudest rails of the WSOP so far and seal victory.

At an entertaining final table, Katz, so often someone who likes to fly modestly under the radar, has three runner-up finishes in his career, in 2013, 2017 and 2023, where he just missed the win in the $100,000 High Roller. Today, there was no hiding the immense achievement of Katz adding a WSOP bracelet to a career total of $41 million in live cashes alone. Comfortably inside the top 20 tournament poker players of all-time, Katz was predictably humble in victory as he has been generous in heads-up defeats of the past.

“I wasn't even supposed to play it,” he told reporters after this victory. “I didn't even have it on my schedule. I was going to rest this weekend and just get ready for the Main Event. But you know, I said I had a feeling I kind of want to play this, ‘I like freezeouts. I'll go over to late register the freezeout and see what happens.’ It was a good decision - I'm glad I took my shot.”

That shot, in an event where 1,299 entries created a prize pool of $2.89m, was more than worth it. Banking close to half a million dollars, Katz won plenty of early pots without showdown heads-up, before a terrific call exposed a bluff from Drumond and switched the lead. Katz built a dominant advantage but saw Drumond double back into contention. In the final hand, Katz shoved with pocket threes and Drumond called with a suited ace-jack. The classic coinflip saw a ten-high board play out and Katz was the champion, celebrating with his rail packed with friends and family, as the raucous Brazilians were finally silenced.

“It feels amazing. I just wanted to enjoy every moment,” said Katz. “It means everything to me to have my family there. I had my wife there, I had my son there, my daughter was there. My other daughter was there last night, my son-in-law was there, so it was quite an experience.”

Asked about battling not only Drumond but his passionate rail, Katz was, as always, humble and appreciative of the whole game going on, something which has driven his own personal mission to make poker a game everyone can enjoy.

“I was almost rooting for them to win hands just so I could hear the cheering, because I was feeding off it,” he said. “It was beautiful. That was just special, the Brazilians bring so much.”

After so many years of bringing so much at the felt, Cary Katz has earned his moment in the spotlight. It won’t last long, purely because the PokerGO founder plans to slip into the Main Event on Day 2d with 75 big blinds. On a day where the quiet poker hero silenced the noisiest rail of the summer, it seems right.

WSOP Event #83 $2,500 NLHE Freezeout Final Table Results

Deeb Falls Just Short of Double Glory 

Shaun Deeb fell just short of winning two WSOP bracelets inside a week in Event #84, the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Instead, it was a first-time bracelet winner Zdenek Zizka from the Czech Republic who won the top prize of $232,498, the biggest result of his career to date. The 26-year-old former backgammon player topped 1,873 entries in the event, which had a prize pool of $1.64m and provided vital WSOP Player of the Year points for Deeb despite heads-up defeat.

Zizka, who Deeb said he was battling from ‘50 players out’ used his game skills to battle into a 3:1 heads-up lead before calling off his stack with pocket deuces. Deeb’s king-three couldn’t hit and the Czech player - less floorshow than his compatriot Martin Kabrhel in this year’s WSOP - had the win.

“You always think that you're gonna win a bracelet. Many times it doesn't come true, but this time it did, and it just feels amazing,” he said. “It's been amazing with Shaun. We've been on the same tables every single time and he was my biggest competitor. It was meant to be, I guess. I was extremely lucky in heads up, and it just went my way. He's such a nice guy, pleasant to have my first heads up against him.”

After playing backgammon since he was five years old and travelling around to play professionally in the game since being a teenager, Zizka’s natural ability to adapt in-game to others moves serves him just as well in poker.

“I wouldn't say it was a quite natural switch because I like playing all the games. I'm still playing all the games. Backgammon is just a beautiful game,” he said.

After this latest win, with one of the toughest opponents to beat heads-up in poker, Zizka, credited by Deeb as a superb opponent, may well have a huge future in the game of poker. 

WSOP Event #84 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

Negreanu and Hellmuth Both Survive on Day 2abc of Main Event

A packed day of action on Day 2abc saw 2,681 players return to seats at the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris ballroom as the World Championship continued in Las Vegas. With an added 265 entrants taking advantage of the late registration open to them, less than half the players who began made it through the final hand, with 1,320 players making the Day 3 seat draw.

Among them, the chip leader was the Ukrainian Oleksii Kravchuk with 937,500 chips as no-one made a ‘milly’ on Day 2abc, or at least held onto such a stack by the close of play. Also flying high were Randall Lack (762,000), David Cabrera Polop (704,000), Thomas Eychenne (647,000), the multiple WPT Main Event winner Bin Weng (500,500), and Canadian pro Jon Pardy (382,500), as the total number of entries in the 2025 WSOP Main Event rose to 8,959, some way short of the record attendance of 10,112 set in 2024. Late registration remains open at the start of Day 2d tomorrow, but it will take a phenomenal number of entries to get near breaking new ground.

While several former world champions made the Day 3 cut such the back-to-back 1987 and 1988 winner Johnny Chan (95,500), ‘Fossilman’ Greg Raymer (226,000), Greg Merson (123,000), and Damian Salas (129,000), others such as Qui Nguyen, Scott Blumstein, and Robert Varkonyi all busted in an effort to repeat their heroics of yesteryear.

Both the 1989 world champion Phil Hellmuth (187,000) and his son, Hellmuth junior (80,500) made the next day, leaving alive the tantalising possibility of Hellmuth taking on his own son in a bid to extend his chances of landing a second Main Event title in Vegas - a third overall - and a record-extending 18th WSOP bracelet in total. Hellmuth will also face competition somewhere in the room from his fellow superstar of the game, Daniel Negreanu. The Canadian poker powerhouse ended Day 2 on 71,000 chips and will need help to improve his lot and make the money, but Kid Poker still has chips and with them real hope of going further than 11th in his bid to win the big one.

The chances of a female player going final table deep in the Main Event is all too real, with Vanessa Selbst returning in fine form to poker as she bagged up 160,500 chips. The WSOP legend will be joined in the Day 3 draw by Juliet Hegedus (627,000), Susan Faber (435,000), Marte Sandberg (403,000), Ladies Event winner Lara Eisenberg (214,000), and a WSOP final table star from earlier this month in Katie Lindsay (170,000).

Among to lose their $10,000 buy-ins on Day 2 without profit were the Czech bracelet winner from last week, Martin Kabrhel. Also losing out were German pro Christoph Vogelsang and Australian end boss Michael Addamo, both of whom will be players that others still in with a shot at glory will be happy to see leave. 
With Day 2d looming tomorrow, whether the attendance record is broken is just one of multiple storylines sure to emerge from the drama on another amazing day in the WSOP Main Event.

WSOP Event #81 $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship Day 2abc

Ultra Stack Starts Up

In Event #85, the $600 Ultra Stack event, Day 1a ended with 2,718 entries reduced to just 213 survivors, with Texan player Phillip Pope (2,210,000) on top of the leaderboard. Venkatara Ganne (2,190,000) and Illinois player Robert Laird (1,870,000) also bagged big stacks, while others such as the former WSOP Main Event runner-up David Williams (1,160,000) and David Moses (995,000) both sit inside the top 50 players for when Day 2 takes place on Tuesday after tomorrow’s Day 1b.

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