The inaugural Battle of the Ages event finally wrapped up on Tuesday with Sebastiaan de Jonge of the Netherlands demonstrating once again that persistence pays off in poker.
"I bricked every tournament I played before this one," De Jonge told Poker.Org. "I think Iāve fired 16 bullets. Nothing. Yesterday and today I hit every river. Before that I hit zero. Itās a miracle.ā
He added: "Itās my first bracelet. Iām very excited."
De Jonge, who claims $335,390 alongside his new silverware, came into the unscheduled final day with only five big blinds, seventh of the eight remaining from this 3,074-entry field. But while fellow short stack Xia Wang became the first to be knocked out, De Jonge began a surge that sent him flying to the top.
"I ran really well in the beginning," De Jonge said. "I got a lot of aces I could jam and no one could call me. I got extremely lucky heads-up with K4s against kings (both players rivered a straight on the [9x-Qx-Tx-8x-Jx] board). The next hand was queens against A-4 and I won.ā
As he built a stack to do some damage, overnight leader Joseph Roh was among De Jonge's victims, falling in fifth, and the eventual champion also polished off Hakeem Mashal in third and Ignacio Sagra heads up.
"The blind structure was so incredibly crazy," De Jonge said. "We were playing the whole Day 2 between five and 35 big blinds deep. Everyone, for hours and hours. It was crazy."
This is the tournament, new to the WSOP this year, that split its starting field between players over 50 and under 50, with the veterans and youngsters playing separate starting days, before combining on Day 2.
Though the age balance remained pretty much even until the final four tables, by the time the tournament pushed into its fourth, unscheduled, day, only the chip-leading Roh was representing the veterans. He proved to be no match for De Jonge, who earned the Netherlands' first bracelet of the 2025 WSOP and by far his biggest career score.
Negreanu locked in for defense of $50K PPC
Last year, one of the WSOP's most prestigious tournaments landed in the lap of one of the game's best-loved stars. This year, Daniel Negreanu has no intention of allowing $50K Poker Players Championship trophy to leave his grasp, although he'll need to square off once again against the very elite.
Dave Woods was on the floor as the 2025 PPC got started, hearing from Negreanu himself as he began his title defense and more than doubled his starting stack to sit 11th after the first day of play. Ali Eslami leads, ahead of Jeremy Ausmus and three-time former winner Michael Mizrachi.
There's also a fascinating word from the unheralded Bruno Portaro, whose mission to play the PPC began in Australia and came to fruition in Las Vegas. Read the latest from the PPC.
The Day Has Come at Last for the Millionaire Makers
There's no easy way to make a million dollars, but after seven days of play already, two of the nearly 12,000 entries to the $1,500 Millionaire Maker event will live that dream on Wednesday. Only seven players now remain in this titanic tournament, and PokerOrg's Mike Patrick has taken a closer look at the contenders, who have one more fitful sleep before their shot at the life-changing sum.
Tag Teamers Take Over
Players young and old came together once more for the $1,000 Tag Team event, which amassed another huge field for its Day 1. In all, 1,373 duos signed up for another fun event, meaning 2,746 players, and a prize pool of $1,208,240. Of that, $184,780 will go to the winning pair.
With 276 teams remaining (206 will make the money), the French pair of Louis Seguin and Hugomanuel Robertblacher lead the way, with 436,000 (174 big blinds) ahead of Mimi Roeder and Karim Tannous (336,000), of the United States. Perhaps the best known partnership in the top 10 is former EPT champion Dzmitry Urbanovich alongside fellow Polish Top 10 star Kacper Pyzara. They sit in eighth place with 279,000, good for 111 blinds.
While there's serious money to be won, this tournament is often more about the camaraderie, with the format allowing friends and family members to compete together. Father/daughter combo Gary Cordeiro and Marle Spragg remain in the hunt, as do married couple Aurelie and Alexandre Reard. Meanwhile Shaun Deeb has partnered with Lizzie Harrison for his tilt at a seventh bracelet, and they sit in 95th place overnight.
PokerOrg's TJ Reid and Sammie Gruber bust early when Reid was rivered with fives against pocket sevens. It hadn't been going well even before that, with Gruber losing a chunk in her first orbit. On to the next one...
The Savage Beauty of the $500 Freezeout
Craig Savage won a first career bracelet at the end of another enormous tournament, taking down the $500 Freezeout for $229,628. This time, the 5,082-entry field was whittled to its winner within the allotted two days, with Savage, from Dallas, TX, eventually gathering all the chips.
The top four finishers were all from the United States, with Savage beating Tony Harrison ($152,874) into second, ahead of Robbie Schiffbauer (3rd - $113,244) and Arthur Morris (4th - $84,584). The only two players from outside North America who made the final nine were China's Ben Fan (5th - $63,706) and Yudai Futai, of Japan, whose run ended in eighth, for $28,635.
Farrell Among Superstars Shining in $5K Six-Max
Scottish crusher Niall Farrell takes a top-ten stack into the second day of the $5,000 Six-Handed NLH event, attempting to hunt down the $855,515 top prize and a second career bracelet. Farrell's 1.735 million stack is the seventh biggest of the 54 players remaining from the star-studded 520-entry field, topped at this stage by Germany's Robert Ashelm.
Ashelm's 2.665 million heads a very Europe-centric line-up, with Spain's Samuel Bernabeu (2.16 million) in second, Belgium's Thomas Boivin (2.005 million) in third and Erwann Pecheux (1.925 million), of France, in fourth. The final 54 is exceptionally strong and also features former Main Event champion Martin Jacobson, who sits in 46th place overnight.
Late Reg Controversy Rumbles On
In other news, the WSOP has sought to clarify its rules concerning players late regging tournaments but then delaying taking their seats in order to avoid posting the big blind.
Kevin "Kevmath" Mathers tweeted the following, although the replies suggest the new (old?) policy isn't the cure-all the organisers might have wished for.
