The fast-paced and action-heavy final table for the 2025 WSOP Main Event Championship is now down to the final four players. Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi holds a renonkulous lead with 445.2 million. John Wasnock is in second place with 94.5M, Braxton Dunaway is in third with 25.3M, and Kenny Hallaert is the short stack with 19.4M. Three players busted in the first 30 hands including the elimination of Daehyung Lee on the first hand, and five players busted in the first 55 hands. Spanish pro Leo Margets set a new record with the deepest run in the Main Event with a seventh place finish. The Grinder amassed so many chips that tournament officials suspend play early with only four remaining instead of three.
And then there were four. Yes, only three players stand in the way of the eventual Main Event champion with $10 million on the line. It's so close, you can taste it! When the action in the 2025 WSOP Main Event was paused on Tuesday in Las Vegas, four players remaining instead of the plan to play down to the final three? Why? Tournament director Jack Effel and other WSOP suits decided to halt action because The Grinder had such a massive lead.
Day 9 of the Main Event was also the first of two days on the final table. This year's Main Event was the third-largest in history with 9,735 runners. Nine of them were still in the hunt for the championship and $10 million in cash. Everyone who advanced to the final table locked up at least a cool million.
John Wasnock began the final table with the chip lead at 108.1M and the only stack north of 100M. The Grinder a.k.a. Michael Mizrachi was second with 93M. Leo Margets was fifth with 53.4M. Former pro snowboarder Jarod Minghini began the final table as the short stack with 23.6M.
If you blinked, you missed the first bustout. The 2025 Main Event final table did not wait for fireworks to happen from the get-go. There was no hesitation. No nerves. Just two folks throwing down on the first hand. Yup. A rare elimination on Hand #1!
Short-stacked Daehyung Lee opened to 3.2M and big stack John Wasnock called. The flop was
Yup, a second bustout in the first orbit! On Hand #7, just six hands after the initial bustout, short-stacked Jarod Minghini made a final stand with
We saw fireworks on Hand #25 shortly after Wasnock padded his big stack to over 182M. Braxton Dunaway raised on the cutoff to 4M, Wasnock bumped it up to 10M from the button, The Grinder raised to 30M from the small blind, the big blind folded, Dunaway bailed, Wasnock moved all in with his monster stack, and a pot-committed Mizrachi called all-in for his entire stack worth 71.7M. The Grinder flipped over
We saw a third elimination on Hand #28. Short-stacked Leo Margets made a valiant final stand with
Two hands later... the crowd was treated to more fireworks. Another shorty tangoed with a biggie. The Grinder opened to 4.3M, Adam Hendrix raised to 12M, Mizrachi shoved with
With five to go, The Grinder padded his lead and became the first player to pass 200M with 214.4M. Hallaert was second with 138.9M, Wasnock was third with 110.3M, Dunaway fourth at 89.3M, and the quiet Luka Bojovic (remember him?) was the shorty with 36M.
At the first break, Grinder led with 247.3M and he followed by Hallaert with 156.3M. Meanwhile, Wasnock slipped under 100M to 92M. Dunaway also slipped to 57.3M, and Bojovic was short with 31.5M.
By Hand #43, The Grinder inched closer to the 300M mark after he rivered a four-flush against Hallaert. On Hand #54, The Grinder passed 420M when he took a huge chunk out of Hallaert's stack. Grinder turned two pair with Queen-ten against Hallaert's flopped top pair with King-Jack. Hallaert thought he was making a hero call on the river, but he was behind and slipped to 24M. With 421M, The Grinder held over 72% of the chips in play.
On Hand #55, Luka Bojovic got it all-in with
After Hand #59, WSOP officials suspended play with four to go after The Grinder amassed a monsterstack. He had so many chips that the suits were worried three handed wouldn't last long tomorrow on Day 10. Don't forget this is a TV show! The Grinder joked he would only need an hour on Wednesday to finish off the rest of the field.
With four to go, The Grinder bagged the lad with 445.2M. Wasnock was in second with 94.5M, Dunaway was third with 25.3M, and Hallaert was the shorty with 19.4M.
Action resumes at 3pm local time in Las Vegas at the Horseshoe Casino. We'll find out if The Grinder can go the distance and win his eighth bracelet. Or maybe there will be a remarkable comeback from one of the shorties who rally back from a daunting deficit? Or maybe it's the amateur from the Pacific Northwest in Wasnock who fends off The Grinder to pull off a come-from-behind victory?
2025 WSOP Main Event - Final Table Day 1 Recap
Remaining: 4
Entrants: 9,735
Prize Pool: $90,535,500
Payouts: 1,451
FINAL TABLE - REMAINING CHIP COUNTS:
1. Michael Mizrachi (USA) 445,200,000
2. John Wasnock (USA) 94,500,000
3. Braxton Dunaway (USA) 25,300,000
4. Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) 19,400,000
FINAL TABLE RESULTS:
1. TBD $10,000,000
2. TBD $6,000,000
3. TBD $4,000,000
4. TBD $3,000,000
5. Luka Bojovic (Serbia) $2,400,000
6. Adam Hendrix (USA) $1,900,000
7. Leo Margets (Spain) $1,500,000
8. Jarod Minghini (USA) $1,250,000
9. Daehyung Lee (South Korea) $1,000,000