After years of near misses, Leo Margets has finally done what no woman has since 1995: made the WSOP Main Event final table. Talking at the end of a dramatic Day 8, she said, “It’s so unreal, I don’t know. Right now it’s a dream. It means so much. How lucky I am to live this.”
Talking about a hand earlier when she hit runner-runner flush to survive, she said, “That is, I think, the most incredible moment of my life.”
This was real emotion. And it wasn’t just Margets who was crying.
“I’ve been watching poker all my life,” said one woman. “And I didn’t think I’d be here when a woman made the final table. I thought I’d be watching it on TV. I couldn’t stop crying.”
It felt like a cleanse after the negativity of Day 7. Soaking in the atmosphere today was a shot in the arm. And it’s not a stretch to say that the 2025 Main Event final table is something special.
Mizrachi: I never give up
As well as Margets, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, winner of this summer’s Poker Players Championship, made the final nine after a crazy comeback that saw him drop to three big blinds and back up to a stack of 93,000,000 — the second biggest at the final table.
“I never gave up,” he said.
Mizrachi's rail got noisier through the day, and by the time Joey Padron was eliminated in 10th, at around 1.30am, they were in full voice.
“Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame!” was ringing round the thunderdome. Mizrachi promised it would be “even louder than this” come the final table. "We’re taking over!”
Adam Hendrix was sitting at the table, hood up, head down on the table, just taking it all in. This isn’t his first rodeo. He’s got over $8 million in tournament earnings. But this is his first Main Event final table rodeo, and he’s never won a bracelet before.
John Wasnock ended the day as the chip leader after dropping to 10 big blinds at one point. He’s a recreational player with $143,463 in winnings over the past 11 years. He’s already guaranteed $1 million, and with his chip stack, he’s got a great chance of winning the $10 million first prize and the bracelet.
Kenny Hallaert has been here and done it before, finishing sixth in 2016. Braxton Dunaway, Jarod Minghini, Daehyung Lee and Luka Bojovic make up the rest of a dream final nine. You can find out more about all of them in our ‘Meet the final table’ special.
You can read about the journey to the final table on Day 8 below.
2025 WSOP Main Event final table stacks
- Leo Margets (Spain) — 53,400,000 (33BBs)
- Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) — 80,500,000 (50BBs)
- Braxton Dunaway (USA) — 91,900,000 (57BBs)
- John Wasnock (USA) — 108,100,000 (68BBs)
- Michael Mizrachi (USA) — 93,000,000 (58BBs)
- Daehyung Lee (South Korea) — 34,900,000 (22BBs)
- Luka Bojovic (Serbia) — 51,000,000 (32BBs)
- Adam Hendrix (USA) — 48,000,000 (30BBs)
- Jarod Minghini (USA) — 23,600,000 (15BBs)
Main Event Day 8 - the journey to the final table
After a dramatic Day 7 in the 2025 WSOP Main Event, Day 8 was all about the poker. And lots of it.
24 players returned, and the mission was to play down to the final nine by the end of the night.
Kenny Hallaert had the most chips to start the day — a mighty stack of 63.6 million. Leo Margets was the last woman standing, and she had 17.8 million. Michael Mizrachi was looking to do the unthinkable — to win the $50K Poker Players Championship and the Main Event in one year. He had 11.4 million.
Mizrachi: Life is a rollercoaster
There’s a rumor going round that Six Flags is modeling its new ride on Mizrachi’s chip stack graph through the 2025 Main Event. He ensured that it would deliver white knuckles all the way to the end.
On the second hand of the day, he shoved UTG+2 with 
and was called by John Wasnock with 
. The 
runout saw his stack decimated — down to 2 million and at the bottom of the chip counts with just three big blinds.
Four hours later, two runner-runner flushes in hand, Mizrachi had 44 million.
“I’m used to it,” Mizrachi said to Jeff Platt on a break. “It’s my life, the gambling life, ups and downs; it’s a rollercoaster ride, but I never give up, and even at two million I knew I had a shot. The only time you don’t have a shot is when you don’t have any chips.”
Mizrachi also had some ominous words for the rest of the players. He said he's "100% certain" he’s going to win the Main Event and that he felt like he did when he won the $50K Poker Players Championship earlier in the summer.
“I feel like I’m going to have a huge edge later on if I get really deep; they’re going to be in trouble,” he said.
Mizrachi would be box office on the final table. He’s the proof that you don’t need drama and controversy to make poker a compelling watch.
Iachan eliminated after dinner
The other big box office draw would be Leo Margets. We haven’t had a woman on the final table since 1995, when Barbara Enright finished fifth. We’ve come close over the years, but would the Spanish pro and Winamax ambassador be the one to finally make it?
By the dinner break she was up to 20 million. Not troubling the chip leaders, but with blinds at 500,000/1,000,000, not in any immediate danger either.
We were also down to 17 players. But, with eight more eliminations needed, and play likely to slow down dramatically on the final table bubble, it was looking like it was going to be a long night.
Hallaert had been chopped down to size at this point. Braxton Dunaway was the new big chip leader with close to 100 million chips, double that of Luka Bojovic in second.
We lost one player straight after the dinner break. Daniel Iachan, supported by his mom on the rail, flipped for a near 30-million pot with nines against the A-K of Bojovic.
The 
flop was clean, but with mom behind him on the rail, the turn destroyed his WSOP hopes. He was spotted taking a souvenir photo in the hallway a little later, all smiles and soon to be on his way to pick up his $450,000 prize. That’s a massive boost to his previously recorded career earnings of $87,539.
Massive flip for Margets
Play slowed down again, and we didn’t get another elimination for an hour. But when it came, it was an absolute monster.
Margets called an all-in from Sergio Veloso preflop with 
. He had 
and the pot was worth 64.7 million pot. If Veloso lost it, he’d be out. If Margets lost it, she’d be down to three big blinds.
Veloso was praying before the flop was dealt, and they seemed to be answered. The 
flop gave him a huge lead in the hand, but Margets had clubs working for her.
The 
turn gave her 25% equity. “This is wild,” Schulman said on comms. And indeed it was. The sent her rail into a mess of limbs. Veloso took it with huge class, giving Margets a warm hug on the way out.
Who needs controversy when you’ve got action like this?
Margets now had 71 million chips, and the reality of a woman making the Main Event final table was looking ever more real.
Veloso did a classy post-bust interview as well. “I did my best all tournament, and I am so happy with this result,” he said. “It’s my first Main Event. I’m a little bit emotional right now, as that was a brutal flip that probably would have got me on the final table, but that’s poker.”
Final table bubble approaching
Lautaro Guerra was next to go in 15th with 
against the 
of Hendrix. He was followed out by Ruben Correia (14th), Maksim Pisarenko (13th) and Joseph Ozimok (12th).
Meanwhile, Mizrachi was showing why he’s so exciting to watch. As other players were putting the brakes on, he was pedal to the metal.
From a stack of 32 million, he raised to 2.5 million preflop with and Tony Gregg three-bet to 6.2 million with 
.
That would be the end of the hand for most people at this point in the Main Event, but Mizrachi just ripped his stack in and got a quick fold from Gregg.
And Gregg was the next player out at the hands of Mizrachi.
Mizrachi had and Gregg was looking for help with 
. The 
was all Mizrachi’s.
Do you remember what he said earlier about how dangerous he’d be if he got a deep stack? He’s got it. Is it possible that he could win the two most prestigious tournaments at the WSOP in the same year?
Padron eliminated in tenth — final table set
That left the redraw for the unofficial final table. History was calling — but Margets wasn’t folding her way there.
After a raise from Minghini to 3.2 million with , Margets three-bet to nine million with from a stack of 47 million. That elicited a quick fold.
And then we got the monster hand we needed to break the deadlock.
Wasnock raised to 3.2 million with and Bojovic called with . Margets folded 
before the shortest stack at the table, Padron, shoved with for his last 12.6 million.
Both players called and checked down the 
board. Wasnock took the pot, moved to 108 million, and Padron was eliminated.
The 2025 WSOP Main Event final table was set.
Play resumes in the 2025 WSOP Main Event on Tuesday, and the champion will be crowned on Wednesday.
