The 2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions is down to the final nine and two WPT World Champions are in the mix for the first bracelet of the summer when play resumes on Saturday.
Dan Sepiol won the WPT World Championship in 2023 for a monster score of $5,282,954. That accounts for more than half of his live tournament earnings of $9,009,263.
Scott Stewart is the reigning WPT World Champ. He took down the tournament last December for his biggest haul of $2,563,900. That's just under half of his $5,588,703 in total live career winnings.
Sepiol will start the final table on Saturday as the second-biggest stack overall (3,360,000), with Stewart behind him in fourth (1,915,000).
Don Ciaglo leads the final table with 4,265,000 chips after a stellar Friday at the Commerce that saw him hit a two-outer on the river with pocket eights to crack Brandon Zuidema's pocket queens. Zuidema was the start-of-day chip leader but that unfortunate beat saw him eliminated in 24th place for $6,600.
At 68, Ciaglo is the oldest player at the final table and has total live winnings of $34,280. His last recorded live cash was when he won his Circuit ring at Lake Tahoe in a $400 NLH event for $9,336.
Meet the 2025 TOC final nine
- Seat 1: Kevin Lemmer - 585,000
- Live tournament earnings: $17,981
A 57-year-old from Johannesburg, South Africa, residing in Englewood, New Jersey. He qualified for the TOC by winning Event #7 during the online circuit event for Nevada, New Jersey, and Michigan in December.
Kevin Lemmer- Seat 2: Shawn Rice - 1,475,000
- Live tournament earnings: $1,541,843
A 58-year-old from Lubbock, Texas, Rice qualified for the TOC with a ring in Event #2: $400 Monster Stack during the Choctaw Durant (Oklahoma) stop.
Shawn Rice- Seat 3: Don Ciaglo - 4,265,000
- Live tournament earnings: $34,280
A 68-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, currently residing in Granite Bay, California. He qualified for the TOC by winning Event #12: $400 No-Limit Hold'em at the Harveys Lake Tahoe (Nevada) stop.
Don Ciaglo- Seat 4: Kevin Li - 1,420,000
- Live tournament earnings: $49,068
A 23-year-old from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, currently residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He qualified for the TOC by winning Event #2: $600 No-Limit Hold'em / Pot Limit Omaha at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino (Calgary, Canada) stop.
Kevin Li- Seat 5: Scott Stewart - 1,915,000
- Live tournament earnings: $5,588,703
A 37-year-old from Huntington Beach, California, currently residing in Lakewood, California. Stewart qualified for the TOC by winning Event #16: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Series Finale at Thunder Valley Casino (California).
Scott Stewart- Seat 6: Karapet Galstyan - 1,785,000
- Live tournament earnings: $327,405
A 52-year-old from Armenia currently residing in Henderson, Nevada. He qualified for the TOC by winning Event #10 during the online circuit for Nevada, New Jersey, and Michigan in July.
Karapet Galstyan- Seat 7: Daniel Sepiol - 3,360,000
- Live tournament earnings: $9,009,263
A 31-year-old from Valparaiso, Indiana, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sepiol qualified for the TOC by winning Event #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Limit Hold'em at the 2024 World Series of Poker.
Dan Sepiol- Seat 8: Maxwell Young - 1,780,000
- Live tournament earnings: $3,314,657
A 40-year-old from Connecticut, currently residing in Boynton Beach, Florida. He qualified for the TOC by winning Event #17: $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller during the Harrah's Cherokee (North Carolina) stop.
Maxwell Young- Seat 9: Yang Xu - 3,020,000
- Live tournament earnings: $16,287
A 37-year-old from Beijing, China, currently residing in St. Louis, Missouri. He qualified for the TOC by winning Event #3: $250 No-Limit Hold'em at Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Omaha/Iowa).
Yang Xu
2025 Tournament of Champions payouts
All nine players are now guaranteed at least $16,100, while $200,000 and the first gold bracelet of the year await the winner. Play will restart at 11am PT on Saturday in the stream room at the Commerce Casino and Hotel. You can put yourself at the heart of the action by following the final table on PokerOrg Instant.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 |
| 2 | $140,000 |
| 3 | $100,000 |
| 4 | $70,000 |
| 5 | $50,000 |
| 6 | $37,000 |
| 7 | $28,000 |
| 8 | $21,000 |
| 9 | $16,100 |
Feature image courtesy of WPT
