Mihai Taizs is an accomplished tournament player with $287,732 in career tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob, with wins on the WPT International Circuit, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, and a trio of smaller series, but he had never set foot on US soil before landing in Chicago to compete in the 2025 WSOP Grand Victoria Main Event.
He didn’t waste any time making his presence known as he bagged the chip lead in Flight C of Event #10: $1,700 Main Event, and despite the ups and downs of tournament poker, rode that wave to his first WSOP Circuit ring, his largest career cash of $188,095, and a $5,000 Package to Paradise.
“I am very happy, it was a very tough final table,” Taizs told PokerOrg immediately following his victory. “There were a lot of good players here, I don’t know how (to put it in words) because it is mostly pure adrenaline. The staff was great, and I hope I can come back.”
'It wasn't so easy'
Not only did Taizs have the chip lead after Flight C, he also had the chip lead heading into Day 3 after outlasting 70 players on Day Two, but the lineup that stood between him and his first career ring included 2015 WSOP bracelet winner John Reading, Event #1 and 2025 WSOP-C Atlantic City Main Event Champion Bohdan Slyvinskyi, Multi-time MSPT winner Angel Suarez, 2024 WSOP Grand Victoria (November) Main Event runner-up Cero Zuccarello, and 21-year-old Jai Vallurupalli, who has been lighting up the tournament circuit with 42 cashes for $95,041 since April.
“You know when you have the chip lead, the game looks easier,” Taizs said of the long stretch at the top of the counts. “(In reality) it wasn’t so easy cause I had some downswings, and at the final table, I lost a little, but step-by-step I just brought it back.”
Lost a little might be an understatement as a wild day inside the Grand Victoria Casino started with Reading getting his short stack into the middle with ace-jack against Suarez’s queen-four for about 700,000. A four on the flop gave Suarez a pair, and the player with the largest accomplishment on his resume was out in sixth place for $31,660.
Suarez, who finished runner-up in the Mini Main Event, kept that momentum going after the Reading elimination and almost ended Taizs’ day early. On a board reading 
, Taizs put in a raise to 1.8 million over a Suarez bet of 460,000 and got snap called. He tabled pocket sixes for a flopped set, but Suarez tabled eight-seven for a flopped straight. However, with a larger straight available, Suarez felt uncomfortable putting in a re-raise, leaving value on the table and Taizs with life.
Taizs dropped to the middle of the pack after that hand and watched as Vallurupalli would double through Zuccarello to leave the 2024 runner-up with just a few big blinds before Taizs finished him off when, on a six-high board, both players flopped top pair. Taizs held ace-six to Zuccarello’s king-six, leaving him collecting his bags and hitting the rail in fifth place for $43,369.
Vallurupalli wouldn’t have those chips for long, however, as he got aggressive from the small blind with a shove for just under 3,000,000 only for Slyvinskyi to wake up with pocket aces in the big blind. The young phenom would turn a pair of fives but improved not further, hitting the rail in fourth place for $60,600.
This left Taizs on the short stack heading into three-handed play, and he got shorter when he paid off a pair of river bets, one each to Slyvinskyi and Suarez, but with the blinds at 60,000/120,000/120,000, he still had over 40 big blinds to play with.
Back to the lead
Things would slow down after that, and without many flops, Taizs clawed his way back to even with his two opponents, and by the time players went on their second break of the day he was once again the chip leader.
“I could tell (Slyvinskyi) understood (ICM) and was aware of the pay jumps,” Taizs said of his final three opponents. “(Suarez) didn’t check (the pay jumps) often and went on a very good run on the final table, lots of aces and kings, but I think he was more of a recreational player than the two of us.”
A few hands after the break with the blinds at 100,000/200,000/200,000 for Level 30, Suarez moved all in for 4,475,000 from the big blind and Slyvinskyi snap-called from the small blind with a covering stack.
Slyvinskyi held pocket eights against Suarez’s ace-four of hearts, and when an ace hit the window on the flop, Slyvinskyi was left with roughly a million in chips. The Ukrainian would find a double shortly thereafter to keep things interesting, but got his last 1,725,000 into the middle with queen-nine of hearts only to run into Taizs pocket tens, ending his day in third place for $86,342.
Heads-up started with each player holding over 45 big blinds, but with Suarez in a gambling mood, things got spicy quickly, and Taizs almost took down the tournament just minutes into the match when Suarez four-bet all in for 7,350,000 from the button with ten-nine offsuit, only to run into Taizs' pocket sevens.
The flop and turn were clean for the Romanian, but when the river landed a nine, Suarez made a better pair to take the chip lead, giving each player over 60 big blinds to play with, but it might as well have been six, as Suarez refused to slow down.
A flipping mood
After whittling him back down, Taizs again had another shot to win the tournament, but his king-jack was out-kicked by Suarez’s ace-jack, leaving the players once again with nearly even stacks.
However, despite the rapid pace, only about 20 minutes had passed in Level 30, and Suarez was in a flipping mood as he once again moved all in from the big blind for 9,625,000 with ace-four suited and Taizs snap called with pocket nines.
This time, there would be no ace in the window, and the chip stacks would once again flip in Taizs favor, giving him a two-to-one chip lead.
On the final hand of the tournament, Taizs opened the button to 400,000 and Suarez defended the big blind. The flop fell 
and Suarez check-called a bet of 300,000 to see the run 
hit the felt.
Suarez led for 1,100,000, and Taizs called to see the river 
complete the board. Suarez bet 2,500,000, Taizs moved all in with a covering stack, and Suarez wasted little time before calling with 
while saying, “Well, I guess it is my time to go, I have to call.” Taizs tabled 
for the flopped flush, and Suarez’s run was down in second place for $125,390.
Off to Paradise
Now with a taste of American poker under his belt, we asked what the biggest difference was between European and American poker.
“Really, you want to know?” Taizs quipped before saying, “The European players are better, because (in America) there are a lot of recreational players. This is the biggest difference. The American players, the majority come for fun. In Europe, they are playing for a living and their livelihood.”
Up next for Taizs is a trip to Miami, which was already in the works, which is a good thing for him because he now holds a $5,000 Package to Paradise which is a quick flight away, well for him at least, as his wife is still over in Europe but with a phone call telling her to pack her bags, so she can hopefully make the trek to join him.
