The above-50s demographic is a very significant and growing part of the WSOP’s customer base. Seniors events are growing and Event #48, the Seniors $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship with 7,575 entries, required two starting days and a further four to bring it to a conclusion.
It was eventually won by 58-year-old Brett Lim, who took down his first bracelet and $653,839 after a lengthy heads-up encounter against Elan Lepovic. Lim had held the chip lead throughout most of the final table, relinquishing it to Lepovic, but re-capturing before pressing on for the ultimate win. Lim, who had shown visible frustration at not being able to end the duel sooner, was eventually rewarded with his first WSOP winner’s bracelet.
Although well inside the 50-year-old minimum age requirement, Lim recognized the depth of talent from many top pros who have just become old enough to play. He admitted to bluffing a lot, owing his success at it to being down to people having an opposing opinion of the kind of player he was. This enabled him to pull off some sick bluffs and kick on for glory.
WSOP 2025: Event #48 $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold’em Championship Result
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Brett Lim | $653,839 |
| 2 | Elan Lepovic | $435,572 |
| 3 | [ Dennis Carlson | $326,508 |
| 4 |  Jose Boloqui | $246,464 |
| 5 |  Lawrence Rabie | $187,351 |
| 6 | Jason Reels | $143,425 |
| 7 | Manish Madan | $110,581 |
| 8 | Ron Fetsch | $85,872 |
| 9 | Peter Fellows | $67,166 |
WSOP 2025: Event #48 $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold’em Championship Recap
The final table coverage on PokerGo was hosted by PokerStars’ award winning commentary duo James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton, joined by the online site’s very own Team Pro, Barny Boatman, the longest still-in-the-business side-kick in poker TV commentary, if we hark back to his Late Night Poker commentary stints.
Once an iconic phrase in UK poker, I wonder how many now remember, “Tell us about the dealer button, Barny?” that famous uttering of the equally legendary Jesse May, when poker audiences were so new to the game that every element had to be spelled out.
The action on the table began with an all-in on the very first hand, giving the commentary team barely any time for pleasantries before having a hand to deliver supporting dialogue for. By far the shortest-stacked player at the table, Manish Madan shipped 1.7m of his last 1.85m in with A♠7♥ and was put to the sword by Jason Reels, who deliberated for perhaps longer than required, before making the call with K♦7♠.
On the flop of K♥9♣2♦ the remaining 150k behind went in and the board ran out 5♥Q♣. It was short, but maybe not that sweet a final day for Manish Madan, who departed in 7th for $110,581.
With six left, play slowed, giving everyone, including Hartigan, Staples and Boatman, time to settle-in and get to know each other. So what did they ind out?
From a commentary point of view, Hartigan, Staples and Boatman is a highly listenable combo for off-table banter, as well as action calling and insight. There were the inevitable jokes about the seniors not being able to use a computer or an app, which fell a bit flat. But hey, let he who is guilt-free of making bad gags about those who codger their way to the payout desk, throw the first stone.
In fact, once familiar with the protagonists for the bracelet in this event, quite the opposite joke began to be cracked. Has anyone checked these guys ID? Some barely looked old enough to play in the casino, let alone get a seat in the seniors event and some looked like they might just have needed a note in their back-pockets from their mom, in order to stay out this late!
But thankfully James Hartigan was on hand to assure everyone not to worry, the IDs would definitely have been checked prior to entering the tournament. That some of the contestants could have easily passed for being in their 40s, is more indicative of advancements made in skin and hair care products, than it is evidence of an anti-ageing side-effect of playing poker. All the finalists were indeed in the verifiable old-fogey age category.
Back to the action, with six left, Carlson and Lim, the two chip leaders initially began to pull away from the rest of the pack. Despite eliminating Madan, Reels was still the short-stack, but found a double-up courtesy of Carlson, out-gunning kings with with Q♣J♠, hitting trips on the river, when almost heading out the door.
But soon after the first break of the day, Jason Reels did become the 6th place finisher ($143,425), when his Q♥10♥ failed to improve against Lim’s A♠J♠. Lim was now the clear chip leader on 65m, Carlson on 42m, was well placed in second and all the others were in the sub-20m danger zone.
Lawrence Rabie, who has brought some smiles and laughter to the final table was next to go. There were some animated moments for Lawrence early in the final when he needed to fade a heart and did so, calling for black cards, but was saved by two diamonds. However he wasn’t able to fade a six when his pocket fours were bested by Elan Lapovic’s A♠6♠ and he hit the rail in 5th, for $187,351.
At this point, Lim was the huge chip leader, while Carlson had fallen back to the not-so-in-pursuit pack. Four-handed lasted for a long time, with Lim increasing his lead, pushing all but Lepovic back under 20m.
Then it was all change, with Lim still leading, but losing ground and Lepovic falling back to under 10m. Meanwhile Jose Boloqui had begun to play bigger than his name, while Carlson had risen once again.
A couple of double-ups in the next hour of play helped Lepovic rise back up the chip chart and he made further inroads into Lim’s lead when busting Jose Boloqui in 4th ($246,464) in an AK v AT situation. They had been four-handed for a long time, but soon after Boloqui left the stage, Dennis Carlson joined him in 3rd for $326,508. Lepovic weas once again responsible for the exit, flopping a set of fives on9♠5♣2♥ with 5♠5♦, versus Carlson’s K♦7♦.
This hand gave Lepovic a slight chip lead going into the heads-up stage of the tournament. It was well past everyone’s bedtime by now and the senior’s food court discount at the Orleans has long past switched to its regular prices. But it was to be another two and a-half hours of two-ing and fro-wing, before it would be lights out for one of these seniors.
Lim initially took the lead and had turned it into almost a 2-1 advantage, before the barely 50-looking Lepovic fought back. Soon after a break in play, Lepovic assumed command of the field of play and built up a similar lead to that previously held by his rival. But fortunes would reverse again during what turned out to be a marathon heads-up session, with Lim once again ascending after two-hours of play.
In the final hand Lim’s A♠J♥ held on against Lepovic’s A♥4♦ to give him the victory, sending Elan Lepovic home in 2nd place for $435,572, leaving Brett Lim as the $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold’em Champion, with an extra $653,859 for his retirement fund.
