The 2025 World Series of Poker has come and gone. With records set, blow-ups settled, and history made, the summer series was heralded by many, Daniel Negreanu included, as the greatest in its history.
There were the headlines – Michael Mizrachi’s 4th Poker Players Championship and Main Event victories, Shiina Okamoto’s back-to-back Ladies Championship wins, the talking heads Martin Kabrhel and Will Kassouf, and Shaun Deeb’s controversial (to some) Player of the Year award. And then there were the stories that flew under the radar or didn’t get the airtime they deserved.
With so much going on in the poker world over the summer, stories slip through the cracks. Below, you’ll find a handful of notable moments you may not have caught during the chaos.
Check out Part 2 of this article.
Tyler Brown’s color-up refusal
With only a handful of players remaining in Event #28: $600 Mixed No-Limit/Pot-Limit, Tyler Brown refused to color up all of his 25K chips, telling the floor he wanted to keep one-third of them to avoid having to make change. Brown’s refusal, and the ensuing words, led to a one-round penalty and the hint of a DQ. Brown backed down — and then answered in the loudest way possible by winning the event. Matt Savage offered up his opinion on the matter in an installment of Savage Rules!
Mike Lavin cashes in on ClubWPT Gold Rush
The ClubWPT Gold Rush promotion caused quite the stir this summer, but before the train went off the rails entirely, Mike Lavin cashed in on the $1M payday when he won Event #20: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout. Lavin’s performance at the final table was nothing short of dominant but was somewhat overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the same promotion in the Millionaire Maker event that led to two players being banned.
Linda Ngo’s career-best sets the tone
It was a great summer for women at the World Series, with Leo Margets' final table finish in the Main Event and Esther Taylor’s third-place finish in the Poker Players Championship serving as the highlights. Linda Ngo set the tone earlier in the series, however, with her career-best $154,140 score in Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions. Ngo’s seventh-place finish was only her third recorded tournament cash.
Cherish Andrews benefits from butterfly effect
Sometimes, small mistakes can lead to profitable situations. That’s exactly what happened to Cherish Andrews on the stone bubble of Event #14: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed when she found herself with one last 5K chip due to an error with the blinds.
As Adam Hampton wrote, "With the bubble fast approaching, a new level started, and play began with the big blind ante set at 40K. However, it quickly came to light that it should actually be 35K. Some tables had already played a hand, while others had paused to clarify the situation. Not ideal, but how much difference could a single 5K chip in the pot really make? For one player, the difference was $50,000.
"With the ante situation resolved and her stack consisting of just a single 5K chip, she saw a big confrontation developing on the stone bubble. She folded, kept that single chip in front of her — which she may not have had, had the big blind ante not been corrected — and watched on as Allan Le busted out. With that, she was in the money to the tune of $50K."
Darren Elias wins first WSOP bracelet
Darren Elias has won a lot of poker tournaments throughout his career, but a bracelet had eluded him – until this summer. Elias' win in WSOP Online Bracelet Event #14: $888 NLH Crazy Eights flew under the radar for the most part. After finishing runner-up to Nick Schulman in the $10,000 2-7 Championship, Elias closed out a win in the online streets to make up for it.
"It feels amazing to win my first bracelet," Elias shared on social media. "Closing this one out takes the sting away a bit after finishing 2nd in the $10K 2-7 Championship last week."
Moneymaker turns Main Event Day 1 bust into money
It's always a fun sweat to follow Chris Moneymaker in the WSOP Main Event, but this year the fun ended prematurely. The 2003 Main Event Champion entered the field on Day 1A and just a few hours later, his run came to an end in brutal fashion.
With 
, Moneymaker was loving life on the 
flop and chips went in the middle. The turn, a blank, went check-check and the river improved Moneymaker to a full house. Unfortunately for him, his opponent had – essentially the nuts – and Moneymaker, in his words, "wasn't good enough to fold."
If you're a fan of happy endings, it all worked out well for Moneymaker. He hopped into the Moneymaker Poker Tour Main Event down the road at the MGM Grand and won it for $238,900.
The GRO mystery
Martin Kabrhel said a lot of things this summer. Amongst his most used catchphrases was the mention of a concept he called GRO – a play on GTO, or game theory optimal. But what is GRO? Kabrhel teased fans about the meaning behind GRO, but never revealed the secret behind his bracelet-winning style of play, and the mystery remains. Whether it’s a level, a mindset, or just pure trolling, GRO became one of the 2025 WSOP’s enduring mysteries.
