Will Kassouf was the character du jour at the WSOP in 2025.
The media lined up for days to feature him and PokerGO couldn't get him to the feature table quickly enough.
Penalties, special shot clocks, endless rants. This one had it all.
The sideshow was eventually kicked off the tracks by Kenny Hallaert on Day 7, while characters like Leo Margets and Michael Mizrachi stepped up to be featured at one of the most heroic final tables of our time. But not before Kassouf made a mockery of the affair and left us with a few bad memories.
WSOP characters are not always pleasant, but they still make up a key part of the tapestry at the summer series. We don't get to decide who shows up. Summits can gather to make rules, but annoying people will always find a way to be annoying.
Kassouf set the standard in 2025, spinning a top-ten Day 5 chip stack into a closed loop of verbal assault and angle-shooting that didn't stop until he was out the door two days later.
Our world-class team of photographers was on hand throughout the Main Event to capture everything, and that meant spending a lot of time around Kassouf. Here's a look back at the chaos through the lenses of Hayley Hochstetler and Omar Sadar:
Day 4 omens spark Day 5 surge
We talked to Kassouf on Day 4 before things got super weird. He was on two hours of sleep and talked for 45 minutes. Perhaps we could have seen some of this coming.
Kassouf hinted at what was to come when we spoke to him on Day 4."I think this is my year," he told us. "I’m not into politics, but I think Donald Trump is a good omen for me. Some people might make comparisons between me and him. He was elected president in 2016 when I had my deep run. He's now the president again in 2025, and I’m hoping for another deep run to make up for not making the final table last time."
Things got a little weirder and louder on Day 5 as the field started to thin out. Kassouf would spend a lot of time throughout the rest of the tournament on the featured table, a place where he openly enjoyed a psychological edge.
"They freeze because they know their friends and family are watching, and it's all on YouTube forever. They’re like rabbits in the headlights. Then you’ve got someone like me talking at them, so they're going to play more passively."
A late surge of chips put Kassouf in play for what would prove to be a chaotic Day 6.
Day 6
The capacity for chaos increased almost immediately on Day 6 when Kassouf walked right into a huge pot with aces against kings.
Kassouf tossed in a big four-bet and talked everyone to dust.
Kassouf's aces held up and floor staff were in for a long Day 6. "Come on, England!" yelled Kassouf. "Finally on the right side of it.". Kassouf would survive the runout.
Meanwhile, the conflict with floor staff reached a fever pitch on Day 6 after the time clock was called on Kassouf for the sixth time in the opening level. Tournament Director Bob Smith declared Kassouf's hand dead after he walked to the other side of the dealer.
The cooler gave Kassouf 10M in chips and sparked a day that led to his own special shot clock. But that didn't put an end to anything. A special time clock didn't help much, either. Every consequence seemed to have its own set of unintended consequences.
"You want to challenge me," Kassouf said to the table. "The floor (staff) wants to challenge me. Jack Effel wants to challenge me. I'm ready."
Kassouf would bag again as one of 57 players returning for Day 7.
Day 7
Will Kassouf was warned countless times before a one-round penalty was finally issued on Day 7. Everything came to a thrilling climax on Day 7 when Kassouf was eliminated and escorted from the premises.
It started with another player calling clock on him in the first hand. A back-and-forth transpired with floor staff about a reset of his 10-second clock to 30 seconds, but floor staff had their fill at that point, and Kassouf was given a one-round penalty. That's where things went to pieces very fast.
The tone shifted and things got ugly in Kassouf's final hours. Kassouf stepped away to vent to floor staff, players, off-duty dealers, media, and anyone who had the guts to listen. At this point, the tone had shifted completely, and the rants were missing any hint of playfulness.
Jack Effel finally stepped in after Kassouf turned Day 7 of the Main Event into a circus. He would return and double-up twice, but Kassouf would eventually die with pocket sevens at the hands of hero Kenny Hallaert.
Kassouf had one more chance to filibuster after his elimination. “I’m feeling ruthless and relentless,” Kassouf said afterwards. “I will not stop until I get what I want. And I won’t rest until I’ve won. And God help anyone that gets in my way.”
The 2025 WSOP Main Event would go on to write a much different story when Leo Margets made it to a world-class final table that Michael Mizrachi destroyed in historic fashion. Kassouf, though memorable, became a very loud footnote of 2025.
