Michael Mizrachi Wins 2025 WSOP Main Event and $10 Million
The 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event, the third biggest in history, has been won by 44-year-old American, Michael’ The Grinder’ Mizrachi.
Michael’ The Grinder’ Mizrachi is the 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event champion. © WPT/Flickr
Key Facts:
- Michael Mizrachi has collected $10 million for winning the 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event.
- The new champion won $50,000 The Player’s Championship for a fourth time earlier in the 2025 Series.
- The dramatic Main Event final table took just 79 hands to complete – the fewest ever.
- Influenced by Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu, WSOP organisers inducted Mizrachi into the Hall of Fame on the spot.
Before the 2025 World Series of Poker, Michael Mizrachi was known as the player who had won the World Series’ $50,000 The Poker Player’s Championship a remarkable three times and had also finished fifth in the 2010 Main Event.
As if that CV was not impressive enough, following a fourth Poker Player’s Championship title and steamrolling of this year’s WSOP final table, the 44-year-old now has World Champion status and is a member of poker’s exclusive Hall of Fame.
Enjoying a stunning run of good fortune in the later stages of the famous Main Event, the history books will forever show Mizrachi, a popular pro, collected $10 million for outpointing John Wasnock, a recreational player and investment banker by profession, in a brief heads-up battle.
Leo Margets Bridges 30-Year Gap
Other finalists included Leo Margets, who rewrote the record books by becoming the first female player since 1995 to reach the deciding table. Margets ultimately finished in seventh place, earning $1.5 million, the largest cash prize collected by a woman in WSOP history.
Barely known Korean player, Daehyung Lee, was another non-American who reached poker’s Holy Grail. He was the first player eliminated, but still collected $1 million for his efforts. Serbia’s Luka Bojovic fared better.
A relative newcomer, he received $2.4 million for sixth.
Grinder Michael Mizrachi flush over two pair John Wasnock for $10M main event WSOP victory WSOP Main Event poker pic.twitter.com/vqdyQ0paEK
— Papa Poker (@papapok3r) July 16, 2025
With Americans filling the top three places – Braxton Dunaway took third for $4 million reward – the honour of top visiting player went to Kenny Hallaert. The Belgian had already been to the WSOP Main Event final, finishing sixth in 2016. He went two places better this time around.
WSOP 2025 Main Event Finishing Positions
- Michael Mizrachi (United States) – 1st Place: $10,000,000
- John Wasnock (United States) – 2nd Place: $6,000,000
- Braxton Dunaway (United States) – 3rd Place: $4,000,000
- Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) – 4th Place: $3,000,000
- Leonor ‘Leo’ Margets (Spain) – 5th Place: $2,250,000
- Luka Bojovic (Austria/Serbia) – 6th Place: $1,750,000
- Adam Hendrix (United States) – 7th Place: $1,400,000
- Daehyung Lee (South Korea) – 8th Place: $1,100,000
- Jarod Minghini (United States) – 9th Place: $1,000,000
Winner Walks into Poker Hall of Fame
Traditionally, Poker’s Hall of Fame welcomes just one new inductee. This year, the latest member was Nick Schulman, who was honoured during a July 10 ceremony which coincided with Day 5 of the WSOP’s Main Event.
However, a social media campaign by 1989 WSOP Main Event Phil Hellmuth winner appears to have persuaded organisers to spontaneously issue a second membership to the player commonly referred to as “The Grinder”.
Ahead of the final day’s play, when four players remained, Hellmuth posted a video of star player Daniel Negreanu on his X account stating, “We all agree that if Grinder wins tomorrow, he should snap go into the Hall of Fame. Daniel and I are really pushing for this, right, Daniel?”
In the video clip, Negreanu replied: “The Grinder should have been in already. The guy’s a legend and an icon. He’s exactly what poker needs. Someone who proves you can have fun, love the game, not take yourself too seriously, and still dominate. And he’s been doing that for decades.”
10/10 and a One-In-A-1,000 Winner
Collecting $11.3 million in prizemoney in just two 2025 WSOP tournaments (plus receiving instant Hall of Fame membership) smacks of genius and brilliance.
However, a YouTube video produced by retired pro-player Doug Polk suggests the circumstances that resulted in Mizrachi’s Main Event success were closer to biblical.
In the 22-minute video Polk outlines how ‘The Grinder’ was down to three big-blinds during Day 8 before an outrageous series of ten “big pots” and successful “all-ins” during the final three days led to WSOP immortality.
Polk lists the probability of each and declares: “The chance of him winning all 10 of those, just .14 per cent, a little over one-in-a-thousand times”.
Factoring in the all-ins and major confrontations that would have happened during the seven previous days, it is easy to understand why the WSOP Main Event is described as poker’s most elusive prize.
