WSOP 2025: Mizrachi Makes History with Record Fourth Title in $50K Poker Players Championship

Michael Mizrachi captures his fourth $50K Poker Players Championship title and seventh career WSOP bracelet
 

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi has once again lived up to his legendary status. In Event #66: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, Mizrachi clinched his fourth career title in this iconic event, standing alone atop the PPC’s storied winners’ list. The victory netted him 1.331.322$ and his seventh WSOP gold bracelet.

Mizrachi becomes the only player to win the PPC four times (2010, 2012, 2018, 2025), leaving three-time title holder Brian Rast in the dust. Throughout his run, Mizrachi put on a dominating performance, knocking out five of the final six opponents on the last day, including Joao Vieira, Andrew Yeh, and Albert Daher.

At the final table, Mizrachi squared off against Bryn Kenney, the top earner on poker’s all-time money list, with their heads-up clash lasting just under fifteen minutes. Esther Taylor finished third and made WSOP history with the best PPC result ever by a woman, surpassing Melissa Burr’s seventh-place finish back in 2014. To date, Taylor and Burr remain the only two women ever to reach the final table in what’s considered one of the toughest tournaments at the WSOP.

After his win, Mizrachi admitted this may have been the best performance of his career: “I might have played better than I did in any of my other wins. Everything went according to plan. I was always at or near the top of the leaderboard, and I think this was as well as I could have played.” Asked about the possibility of a Poker Hall of Fame induction, he joked: “Maybe if I get five! No, just kidding. I hope I’m inducted next year.”

Rainer Kempe claims his first WSOP gold bracelet in Super Turbo Bounty
 

Event #72: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (8-Handed) crowned a new champion after just 15 hours of play. Rainer Kempe topped a field of 809 to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and a massive 892.701$, plus another 30.000$ in bounties.

Kempe, who already boasts trophies from the EPT, WPT, and PCA, finally added poker’s most coveted prize to his collection. The road wasn’t easy. He battled through a stacked and aggressive final table, outlasting players like Martin Kabrhel, Ryuta Nakai, and eventually Yuya Arito heads-up to secure the title.

Czech pro Martin Kabrhel reached his third final table at WSOP 2025, following up a third-place finish in the 5.000$ PLO 8-Handed and a seventh in the 250.000$ No-Limit Hold’em, this time taking fifth and banking 212.926$.

While the structure forced an ultra-fast pace, Kempe stayed focused all day. “I almost feel like I’m cheating,” he joked as he reflected on how much quicker the event was compared to the grueling three-day battles typical of the WSOP.

Yilong Wang claims his first gold bracelet in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em
 

Yilong Wang took down Event #68: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em, which drew an impressive 2,338 entries and generated a huge 6.242.460$ prizepool. Wang fought his way to the top, overcoming Israel’s Ran Ilani in a heads-up battle that began with Wang at nearly a 2-to-1 chip disadvantage. This career-defining victory was worth 830.685$, by far his largest live score so far.

It was the first-ever WSOP final table for the Chinese player, who started out as a cash game regular while studying in London. “I’ve been playing tournaments for seven or eight years and always felt like I was running bad,” Wang said after the triumph. “This time, luck was finally on my side.” He also hinted he may retire from professional poker to return to China and start a new business project, though he doesn't plan to miss future WSOPs.

Alexander Wilkinson takes down the $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship for first-ever bracelet
 

The WSOP 2025 winners’ circle has a fresh new name. Alexander Wilkinson conquered Event #71: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship, bagging 333.054$ and his first gold bracelet after an impressive run.

Wilkinson bested seasoned pro Matthew Schreiber heads-up; Schreiber, already a bracelet winner, led after Day 2 and came up just short of another title. It was Schreiber’s second agonizing runner-up finish this summer, after also finishing second in Event #8: 1.500$ Dealers Choice. Nick Schulman rounded out the podium in third place, missing out on what would have been his eighth career bracelet.

The final table was stacked with elite talent, including five-time bracelet winner Yuri Dzivielevski and 2021 Main Event finalist Hye Park.

Source: WSOP, PokerNews, Wikipedia