Michael Wang won his third bracelet with an epic comeback victory in 2025 WSOP Event #74 $10,000 PLO Championship for almost $1.4 million. Japanese pro Shiina Okamoto pulled off a rare feat when she won the Ladies Championship in back-to-back years. Okamoto outlasted 1,368 runners to win Event #70 $1,000 Ladies Championship for $184,094 and her second bracelet. Aaron Kupin took down Event #76 $2,500 Mixed Big Bet for $206,982, and thwarted Daniel Negreanu from winning his eighth bracelet. Meanwhile, Ian Pelz was the last player standing in Event #67 $300 Gladiators of Poker when he outlasted a field of 24,629 combatants to win his first bracelet and $420,680.

The 2025 WSOP has been memorable for many reasons, but historians and poker geeks will look back at this summer as the time that Shiina Okamoto won the Ladies Championship in consecutive years. It was an impressive performance considering she faded 1,245 players last year to win 2024 Ladies Championship for $171,732, and was also the runner up in 2023 (which paid out $118,768). Two wins and a second-place finish in a three-year span is stunning!
Event #70 $1,000 Ladies Championship attracted 1,368 runners and a prize pool worth $1,203,840. Only the top 206 places paid out, and some notables who cashed included JJ Lui, Barbara Enright, Tamar Abraham, Allyn Shulman, Robbi Jade Lew, Jessica Marks, Maria Lampropulos, Farah Galfond, Susan Faber, Kitty Kuo, Kathy Liebert, and Melanie Weisner. Shiina Okamoto outlasted a final table that featured Heather Alcorn, Stephani Hagberg, Julie Huynh, Sonia Shashikhina, Juliet Hegedus, Sumire Uenomachi, Tanith Rothman, and Elisa Nakagawa.
After being the runner up in the Ladies Championship two summers ago, Okamoto stepped into the limelight for the first time last summer and knocked out Jamie Kerstetter heads up to win the bling. In 2023, Okamoto was the runner up when she lost a heads-up battle against Tamar Abraham. It's been a heck of a three-year run in the Ladies Championship for Okamoto.
Event #74 $10,000 PLO Championship attracted 874 runners and a prize pool worth $8,128,200. The top 132 places were paid out. Erik Seidel bubbled the final table in ninth place. Oter notables who went deep were Ben Lamb, Mikey Rocco, Robert Mizrachi, Mike Gorodinsky, Ryan Riess, Stephen Chidwick, Scott Bohlman, Alex Livingston, Felipe Ramos, Phil Hellmuth, Seth Davies, Anson Tsang, John Monnette, and Phil Ivey.
Michael Wang outlasted a tough final table that included Michael Zulker, Quan Zhou, Sean Rafael, Melad Marji, Javier Francort, Alex Foxen, and Simeon Tsonev. First place paid out almost $1.4 million and Wang snagged his third bracelet.
Event #76 $2,500 Mixed Big Bet attracted 458 runners and a prize pool just north of $1 million. Aaron Kupin navigated a pro-heavy final table that included three bracelet winners in Marco Johnson, Daniel Negreanu, and Jeff Madsen. Plus, Ofir Mor and Bariscan Betil. Negreanu busted in fourth place and he'd have to wait to fight another day for bracelet #8. Johnson hit the bricks in second place and missed his change at a third bracelet. Kupin stepped into the winner's circle for the first time which paid out almost $207K.
Event #67 $300 Gladiators of Poker attracted an eye-popping field of 24,629 brave souls and a prize pool worth $6,058,734. The top 812 places paid out with a heady $420K set aside to the champion. Ian Pelz was the last gladiator standing and he outslugged a final table that included Sang Sim, Manuel Reyes, Jesus Rodriguez, Yuanzhi Cao, Roland Israelashvili, Joseph Butler, Santiago Trujillo, and Timothy Thorp.