WSOP 2025 – Jon Kyte Flying High, Renji Mao Pushing for Bracelet Gold
The latest day of action in Las Vegas saw PokerStake players Renji Mao and Jon Kyte put themselves in pole position for a run at WSOP bracelet gold. With five events in action, Kyte thrived in Event #4, the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event, where he sits ninth of 16 survivors to the final day, while Mao is seventh in chips from 693 entries in WSOP Event #3, the $5,000 buy-in 8- Max NLHE event, with just 24 players between him and the gold.
Mao Makes Bid for Gold in $5k NLHE Event
The third day of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw five events in progress, and while there were no bracelets won, all of the action was red hot at Horseshoe and Paris casinos. On Day 2 of Event #3, the $5,000 buy-in 8-Max NLHE event, PokerStake’s Renji Mao bagged a top seven stack with 2,045,000 chips. With 25 players making the third and final day, Renji has every chance of winning his second WSOP bracelet.
Back in 2023, Renji finished first out of an astronomical 4,747 entries in the $800-entry NLHE Deepstack Event #26. That win not only earned him a top prize of $402,588 – behind only his third-place result in Jeju on the Triton Poker Series earlier this year – but his first WSOP title, a landmark in his rapidly developing poker career.
While Renji is well-placed in the final 25 of this event, which has a top prize of $582,008, plenty of other big names stand in his way. Spanish player Antonio Galiana top scored on Day 2 to take a lead into the final day with 3,615,000 chips. Greek $25k Fantasy Draft player Georgios Sotiropoulos (3,045,000), Bradley Gafford (2,445,000), Uri Reichenstein (2,095,000) and Christian Roberts (2,065,000) completed the top five, while the enigmatic Michael ‘Texas Mike’ Moncek (1,805,000) will be firing hard to win his third WSOP bracelet in four years.
Among those to bust today was another PokerStake favorite, as Jeremy Ausmus cashed in 50th place for $12,089. You can follow Renji’s journey via his PokerStake page here where you can also stake him in future events throughout the 56th annual WSOP.
| WSOP Event #3: $5,000 8-Handed NLHE Day 2 Chip Counts: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Antonio Galiana | Spain | 3,615,000 |
| 2nd | Georgios Sotiropoulos | Greece | 3,045,000 |
| 3rd | Bradley Gafford | United States | 2,445,000 |
| 4th | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 2,095,000 |
| 5th | Christian Roberts | Venezuela | 2,065,000 |
| 6th | Renji Mao | China | 2,045,000 |
| 7th | Michael Moncek | United States | 1,805,000 |
| 8th | Joshua Remitio | United States | 1,755,000 |
| 9th | Gaetan Balleur | France | 1,700,000 |
| 10th | Benjamin Palmer | United States | 1,595,000 |
Jon Kyte Flying High for Norway in Event #4
Norwegian PokerStake player Jon Kyte is also a day away from winning gold, but for him, it would represent his first-ever WSOP victory. A total of 910 players began Day 1 of the $1,500-entry Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Event #4, with 224 of them reconvening today on Day 2. The bubble burst, the top 200 then 100 were reached and at the close of play, just 16 players remained in with a chance of winning the $205,333 top prize.
One of them is PokerStake’s own Jon Kyte. We don’t want to say, ‘We told you so’. OK, scrap that, reverse it, we do, because back in March, Jon’s own words illustrated just how comfortable he is in mixed games events. Sat in a snug ninth place out of 16 players, Kyte might fly under the radar for some, but in our opinion, he has a huge chance of winning his first-ever WSOP bracelet and turning his $300,000 cumulative winnings in WSOP events alone up to over $500,000.
The event was a fast one on Day 2, and the field lost players of the caliber of Kyte’s fellow PokerStake player Alex Livingston and the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year Scott Seiver before the bubble burst. Once in the money, Ari Engel (134th for $3,027), Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow (111th for $3,027), Brad Owen (91st for $3,027), Stoyan Madanzhiev (61st for $3,820), Robert Mizrachi (47th for $4,807) and Todd Brunson (39th for $5,561) were among those who saw a return on their money, but it’s all about Kyte for us.
Can Jon win his debut bracelet inside the first week of this year’s WSOP? We can’t to find out. If you want to back Jon in other events this summer, we’d recommend that you get in while you can via his official PokerStake page.
| WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Day 2 Chip Counts: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Melvin McCraney | United States | 3,425,000 |
| 2nd | David Shmuel | United States | 3,060,000 |
| 3rd | Ilia Krupin | Russia | 2,985,000 |
| 4th | Patrick Stacey | Canada | 2,310,000 |
| 5th | Darren Taylor | United States | 1,840,000 |
| 6th | Joe Ford | United States | 1,540,000 |
| 7th | Eric Polirer | United States | 1,225,000 |
| 8th | Gregory Wood | United States | 1,200,000 |
| 9th | Jon Kyte | Norway | 1,010,000 |
| 10th | Joseph Bertrand | United States | 965,000 |
Kid Poker and the Poker Brat Alive in PLO
Event #5, the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event, saw 757 entries reduced to 123 hopefuls when Day 1 ended, with nine players still to bust before the money bubble bursts. A min-cash will be worth $9,960 tomorrow, but those at the top of the leaderboard have their sights on the $620,696 top prize.
Chip leader overnight is New Zealander Matthew Beck (1,320,000), with third-place WSOP Main Event finisher Michael Duek (1,026,000) not too far behind. No-one else reached seven figures as stars of the felt such as Chad Eveslage (531,000), Alex Livingston (525,000), Daniel Zack (384,000), Bryce Yockey (363,000), Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow (273,000), Shaun Deeb (227,000), Phil Hellmuth (148,000), Nick Schulman (117,000), Viktor Blom (101,000) and Daniel Negreanu (89,000) all made the cut to reach Day 2 with an early shot at glory.
| WSOP Event #5: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Day 1 Chip Counts: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Matthew Beck | New Zealand | 1,320,000 |
| 2nd | Michael Duek | United States | 1,026,000 |
| 3rd | Konstantinos Bouloutsos | Greece | 900,000 |
| 4th | Andreas Zampas | Greece | 822,000 |
| 5th | Jason Lademan | United States | 816,000 |
| 6th | Wagner Wysotchanski | Brazil | 808,000 |
| 7th | AP Garza | United States | 770,000 |
| 8th | Kevin Hyde | United States | 720,000 |
| 9th | Christopher Demaci | United States | 689,000 |
| 10th | Michael Wang | United States | 686,000 |
Day 1c of Mystery Millions Attracts Biggest Crowd Yet
On Day 1c of the $1,000-entry Mystery Millions (otherwise known as Event #1), 2,995 entries, the biggest Day 1 field yet in the 2025, took their seats. When the dust settled, only 153 of them remained with a chance of that $1 million top prize (and possibly two $1m top bounty prizes). Brad Lasko (3.55m) ended Day 1c as chip leader, with the former WSOP bracelet winners Josh Reichard (2,675,000) and Valentino Konakchiev (2,330,000) close behind. Other greats such as Craig Varnell (1,390,000), Brad Ruben (1,340,000), Phil Hui (900,000), and Brock Wilson (190,000) all made it out of Day 1, with varying chances of ripping open a seven-figure bounty slip on Day 2 or beyond.
| WSOP Event #1 $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1c Chipcounts: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Brad Lasko | United States | 3,550,000 |
| 2nd | Joshua Reichard | United States | 2,675,000 |
| 3rd | Valentino Konakchiev | Bulgaria | 2,330,000 |
| 4th | Dongwoo Ko | Canada | 2,305,000 |
| 5th | Ivan Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 2,295,000 |
| 6th | Julian Lozano | Colombia | 2,245,000 |
| 7th | Georg Jancev | Canada | 1,940,000 |
| 8th | Seungjun Noh | South Korea | 1,855,000 |
| 9th | Yunkyu Song | United States | 1,835,000 |
| 10th | Liran Bracha | United States | 1,730,000 |
Max Pescatori Chasing Glory in Stud Event
There were 377 entries in Event #6, the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event. At the close of play, just 69 players were left hunting part of the $519,977 prize pool with only the top 57 players being paid.
While the chip leader John Woolen (439,000) has the best current chance of glory, Matthew Valeo (353,300), Robert Shepp (340,000), and PokerStake’s Max Pescatori (261,500) put themselves in terrific positions to challenge, while Joey Couden (also 261,500), Greg Mueller (169,500), Brian Rast (153,000), Frankie O’Dell (136,000) and the defending champion Richard Ashby (36,500) made it to Day 2 with a shot at glory. It’s safe to say that the reigning champ is going to have to spin it up to give himself a chance of defending his title.
The WSOP Player of the Year Scott Seiver, British mixed games bracelet winner Benny Glaser, former event champion Adam Friedman and the 1996 WSOP world champion Huck Seed all bowed out on the opening day of the event.
| WSOP Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Day 1 Chip Counts: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | John Woolen | United States | 439,000 |
| 2nd | Matthew Valeo | United States | 353,500 |
| 3rd | Robert Shepp | United States | 340,000 |
| 4th | David Bach | United States | 282,500 |
| 5th | Daniel Heimiller | United States | 272,000 |
| 6th | Michael Noori | United States | 263,000 |
| 7th | Joey Couden | United States | 261,500 |
| 8th | Max Pescatori | Italy | 261,500 |
| 9th | Ryutaro Suzuki | Japan | 249,500 |
| 10th | Charles Phillips | United States | 249,000 |
Photograph courtesy of PokerGO, the home of the 2025 World Series of Poker’s live streamed final table.