The World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2025 finished in Las Vegas this month, offering another summer of historical achievements and remarkable moments.
In this column, we are recaping four of the most impactful stories in this year series in Las Vegas.
4. TABLE TALK FRENZY
It would not be an appropriate poker list without a little controversy.
The Czech pro Martin Kabrhel took the scene for the whole eight -week series with his incessant chatter and his rapid spirit. The media have invaded its tables to catch the next viral moment of Kabrhel – or to catch a moment of his stamps to take off.
Kabrhel is a chatter at the poker table for decades, but it was only this year that his bizarre behavior brought him a global opinion. It did not hurt that he did several deep races to the series, giving it maximum broadcast live and an exhibition to social media. He won a bracelet, made several final tables and finished fourth in the player of the year’s ranking.
While Kabrhel was the darling of the media in the series, it was another talkative professional who made the headlines at the end of the summer. Will Kassouf, already known for his buffoonery of “speech game” at the poker table, brought him to another level during his deep race in the main event.
Kassouf received several penalties during the tournament for his abrasive table speech. Day 7, after being eliminated in 33rd place, he was informed by WSOP staff that he had been forbidden to participate in another tournament for the rest of the year. This brought Kassouf into a tirade, which led him to be escorted out of the site by security while the media followed to capture the scene.
3. Okamoto almost removes the three peat
Japan Shiina Okamoto managed an incredible feat at WSOP 2024, winning the $ 1,000 event a year after finishing in second place.
Then in 2025, she made the unthinkable. Okamoto traveled the distance and won the tournament for the second consecutive year. Performance is mathematically inconceivable when you consider the participation rate for these tournaments:
2023: 2nd place in a field of 1,295 players for $ 118,768
2024: 1st place in a field of 1,245 players for $ 171,732
2025: 1st place in a field of 1,368 players for $ 184,094
All eyes will be on Okamoto when the ladies’ event arrives next year.
2. Leo Margets ends the drought
Okamoto was not the only woman to make history at the poker tables this summer. Leo Margets accomplished something at the WSOP which had not been done for 30 years, becoming the first woman from Barbara Enright in 1995 to reach the final table of the main event of $ 10,000.
It is a scenario that has become a pillar with each main event: does the “last standing woman” finally pierce and would win a seat at the most prestigious final table in poker? Margets had already been the last woman standing once before, finishing 27th in 2009, and she took advantage of this experience in her historic final table in 2025.
His next history attempt was to become the first woman to win the main event, but his race ended in seventh place for 1.5 million dollars.
1. The historic summer of Michael Mizrachi
In what will happen as undoubtedly the greatest WSOP performance of all time, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi captured both the main event of $ 10,000 and the $ 50,000 poker players championship in 2025. Many main pros consider these two tournaments as the most prestigious throughout the poker, and “The Grinder” won both in the month.
Not only that, Mizrachi has now won the poker players’ championship four times in total – more than any other player.
Mizrachi’s feat amazed his peers. Living members of the poker’s fame of fame surprised him after his main victory by bypassing the normal electoral process of the fame of fame and inducing it immediately.
At the age of 44, the Mizrachi poker tournament CV could be the most impressive in the history of the game.
