2025 World Series of Poker Main Event Day 3 Highlights

On Tuesday, the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event witnessed a significant shuffle as many top players were eliminated on Day 3. Shotaro Kobayashi emerged as the chip leader, accompanied by a group of formidable competitors, including three prominent female players.

Chip Leaders

Leading the pack, Shotaro Kobayashi secured a commanding chip count of 1,971,000. He is closely followed by notable figures such as:

• Max Neugebauer: 1,928,000 (2023 WSOPE Main Event Champion)
• Juliet Hegedus: 1,745,000 (Notable performer with prior WSOP experience)
• Thomas Eychenne: 1,618,000
• Sylwia Studniarz: 1,460,000 (Emerging talent from Poland)
• Thi Xoa Nguyen: 1,160,000 (Highly experienced player)

Juliet Hegedus, a Hollywood native, has seen impressive progress in her WSOP career, moving from a 12th-place finish in the 2024 Ladies Championship to a strong position this year, while Sylwia Studniarz continues to build on her young yet promising resume.

Player Highlights

Thi Xoa Nguyen stands out as one of the most accomplished players in the lineup, gearing up for what could be her fourth cash in the Main Event with a substantial stack of over a million chips.

Eliminations on Day 3

In notable exits, both Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth found themselves eliminated before the money bubble. Negreanu went all-in with pocket nines, facing Simon Levy’s ace-queen. A queen on the river ended his run earlier than hoped.

Daniel Negreanu couldn’t spin it up on Day 3 for a shot at the money bubble.

Meanwhile, Hellmuth clashed with Michael Zulker, pushing his stack with ace-king against pocket queens but ultimately fell victim to a rivered queen. Other notable bust-outs included Phil Hellmuth III, Brian Rast, and former champions Greg Raymer, Jonathan Tamayo, and Johnny Chan.

Looking Ahead: The Money Bubble

As the event progresses, 1,476 players will return on Wednesday to face the money bubble. Only 15 players will be eliminated before reaching the payout stage, where each participant who survives will secure a minimum of $15,000. The ultimate victor will walk away with a grand prize of $10,000,000.

Players are scheduled to resume with new blinds at 3,000/6,000/6,000 in Level 16, with five additional two-hour levels left in the day’s play.

Stay tuned for live updates at 12 PM Vegas time for coverage of this exciting phase of the 2025 WSOP Main Event.