For many players, just cashing the Main Event is a bucket list item.
And when the bubble approaches, the stalling starts. Players with big stacks start complaining. Players with short stacks shrug their shoulders and pretend they’ve got a big decision to make.
Day 4 of the 2025 WSOP Main Event started with 1,476 players, just 15 eliminations off the money. And there were some painfully short stacks. With blinds of 4,000/8,000, Yinan Zhou didn’t even have a big blind to post. His stack of 6,100 — a 10th of his starting stack — was hoping for a miracle.
Steffen Schroeter came next with a stack of two big blinds. 38 players had less than their starting stacks. 73 players had less than 10 big blinds. All were looking around the room nervously and praying they'd make it to the money.
$30K package adds controversy to the bubble
Actually, not all.
There’s usually a consolation prize for bubbling the Main Event — traditionally a free shot at the same tournament the next year. That’s less than the $15,000 min-cash and probably the last thing you want to think about after being eliminated following a grueling three days of poker.
This year, it was announced on X that the stone bubble would win a $30,000 package to WSOP Paradise. That’s worth more than the payout for 603rd place here (which would get $27,500).
There were a lot of players who thought that was a bad move from the WSOP, especially after the controversy over the $1 million ClubWPT Gold promotion that led to a chip-dumping investigation and two players getting banned.
Chris Brewer said it pretty succinctly.
Matt Berkey put his spin on it.
Good or bad, there was now a very big incentive for short stacks to punt. And it definitely changed the way the bubble played out.
How the 2025 Main Event bubble burst
12.05pm
We lose the first player of the day. 14 more eliminations are needed. We spot Jeff Platt on the floor. “This is one of my favorite times of the Main Event," he says. "I love it. The air is just electric. You walk around, and everywhere, everyone is yelling, screaming, and maybe some are crying out there. But it’s all pretty awesome.”
12.10pm
The second player of the day is eliminated. Some players are complaining about egregious stalling. One player asks the floor when they’re going hand-for-hand. “Soon,” comes the reply. “The sooner, the better,” the player replies.
12.15pm
Stalling is causing bigger issues on some tables than others. One table erupts into an argument.
“It’s okay for you, you have 500K,” one player says.
“It doesn’t matter what my stack is. It’s not ethical to do it,” replies another.
“You'd do it if your stack was shorter,” the player shot back.
Debate becomes argument, and the floor is called with the words “entitled p***k” being thrown out.
The floor lays the law down: "You’re not talking to each other anymore. If you do, you’re on a one-round penalty.”
12.30pm
We’ve had eight eliminations now, which means seven to go before the money. “Let’s f*****g go!” rings round the Horseshoe as one short stack finds a double.
We find a happy Vanessa Kade on the floor, and it’s not just because she’s not sitting near Will Kassouf anymore. “I'm feeling good on the bubble," she says. "This is the first time I’ve cashed in the Main Event. I’ve played it four or five times, and this is very exciting for me.”
Kurland finds aces to survive
12.31pm — Stephen Kurland is the shortest stack in the room. He’s in the big blind with just 2K back. There’s a raise and a three-bet before him, and he folds. He’s all-in next hand and, incredibly, finds aces and wins enough to last a whole new orbit. He gets a high five from Mike Matusow, who’s sitting next to him. Kurland reveals that he folded kings in the hand before.
12.45pm
“Are there many stacks smaller than me?” asks Keith Heine. He’s got about 100K and just needs some reassurance. “For some people a min-cash in the Main Event really matters,” he says. “I’m that guy. I’m just a father of five from Missouri.”
1.05pm
With five players left, play goes hand-for-hand. Now the media frenzy picks up pace. The floor now roams from all-in to all-in, announcing the action — and this isn’t just any floor. Spearheading the charge from table to table is none other than Jack Effel, Senior Vice President of Poker Operations and World Series of Poker at Caesars Entertainment.
1.18pm
We’ve had another two eliminations and just need three more to burst the bubble.
1.30pm
Kings run into aces for an elimination.
1.43pm
An all-in player with a set of sevens loses to a flush on the river and is eliminated. That puts us on the stone bubble.
1.55pm
John Pointer is all-in and at risk. And he looks quite happy about it. Down to 12K, he’s heard that the bubble gets a $30K package to WSOP Paradise in December and doesn’t know whether he wants to win or lose the hand. “I don’t know what I want,” he admits. Meanwhile, the player to his right has his mom on a video call and introduces her to the table and the packed media rail. Everyone shouts “Hi!” at her. This feels like a party.
Bubble bursts for a three-way flip
2.00pm
It’s obvious that not all the players know about the $30K package for the stone bubble. The WSOP tweeted about it, but given how big it is and how it potentially changes things, it should surely have been announced to the floor.
2.05pm
There are eight all-ins from the latest round of hands. Marco Dickner is the first player to be eliminated on the bubble. He gets his last chips in with 
and is actively rooting for himself to lose. The poker gods oblige, and he loses to Kevin Kerber’s 
on a 
runout. It’s the first time we’ve seen a player celebrate busting on the bubble of a tournament.
2.15pm
Two more players are eliminated in the same round of hands as Dickner — Mathew Frankland and Sachin Joshi. It means that all three players share the two min-cashes and get $10K each. They also get a flip for the $30K package.
2.20pm
Dickner, Frankland and Joshi are dealt a hand face up. The winner gets the $30K package. You can see what happens in the video below.
The WSOP bigwigs are out in force for the three-way flip. “You’re all in the money!” is announced once that's done, and the room starts to celebrate.
And with that over, it’s back to the poker. But what of the day’s short stacks?
Yinan Zhou and John Pointer made it. In fact, at the time of writing, they’re still in with a shot at the ultimate $10 million spin-up. Steffen Schroeter, Stephen Kurland and Keith Heine also made it to the money and cashed for $15,000 in 1,438th.
Everyone loves a happy ending. Except for the player who was eliminated one place before the bubble. For Adam Rude, there was no consolation prize.
