Poker Hall of Famer Brian Rast won his seventh World Series of Poker bracelet after a miraculous comeback from just one big bet in the $10,000 Razz Championship on Thursday afternoon. The emotional win capped a long and difficult heads-up session that started on Wednesday night and needed an extra day to crown a winner.
Eventually, Rast beat Andrew Yeh to block a second career bracelet and steal the top prize of $306,644. They played two hours last night and then more than three today. It was the longest heads-up session he's played, Rast told us.
"But you know, when you're playing, it's like none of that matters. I'm just sitting there every hand trying to make the best play, and that's it," he said. "It's really kind of simple and beautiful in a way."
From the jaws of defeat
The champ had a lot of work to do after he bagged up a 4-to-1 chip deficit on Wednesday night, and Thursday afternoon only got worse after Rast was down to one big bet in just 30 minutes of play.
"I thought there was a chance it would take a while, and it took even longer than I thought."
It was longer than anyone thought, especially with Rast so close to the felt. Both players had a chance to go jump in the $10,000 HORSE Championship if Rast would just hurry up and lose, but he wouldn't do that.
After fighting back from that one big bet, Rast drifted away again, and everyone was one card away from moving on to the next event. Rast would do this dance at least twice more before he finally started to ascend for good.
Another emotional win
A two-day heads-up grind is intense, but you hardly notice in the moment, Rast told us. "It's fun to talk about after the tournament's over, but when you're playing, I have a decision to make right now, and I'm just going to try to make the best decision I can. It's the only way to do it, really. You just have to stay in the moment."
The chips moved away from Yeh while he watched helplessly until they were all gone. Rast was emotional when the final card fell, as a few of the greats have been at the 2025 WSOP. Tournament director Bob Smith was nearby to share the moment, and even Jack Effel made his way over to get a few words with Rast before the winner's photo session.
"It was so emotional because of how many times I was super short and all in, and I probably should have been out because of how long and grindy the heads-up match was."
'I can play every game'
The seventh bracelet also completed an Infinity Gauntlet of all-around poker greatness for Rast, adding a limit title to a trophy case that includes three mixed wins, both big versions of hold'em, and lowball.
"It's nice to have won a limit bracelet now. It rounds out my collection a little bit because I have a no-limit and pot-limit hold’em. I have a no-limit single draw, and I have three mixed games. Now I have a straight limit, which is something very different than the other ones."
There aren't many items left on the bucket list for Rast, who is already in the Hall of Fame and now already a seven-time champion. If anything, he wanted to shake some of the idea that he is anything but a great all-around player.
"If I am going to put my place somewhere at this point, it's as an all-around player. I can play every game. I think winning this bracelet, you know, is a testament to that being true and even true to the point where it's not just like 'mixed' is my thing. I can come in with some specialists and compete and get lucky enough to win."
2025 $10K Razz Championship final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Rast | $306,644 |
| 2 | Andrew Yeh | $204,423 |
| 3 | Brian Yoon | $142,579 |
| 4 | Joao Vieira | $101,983 |
| 5 | Nikolay Ponomarev | $74,857 |
| 6 | Christian Roberts | $56,424 |
| 7 | Ali Eslami | $43,706 |
| 8 | Maksim Pisarenko | $34,817 |
