2025 WSOP: Ian Pelz Beats the Huge Field to Win Event #67: $300 Gladiators of Poker

Ian Pelz Wins Event #67: $300 Gladiators of Poker
Ian Pelz Wins Event #67: $300 Gladiators of Poker

Ian Pelz managed to beat the field of 24,629 total entries to win World Series of Poker Event #67: $300 Gladiators of Poker for $420,680. The event was held at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The prize pool was bloated up to $6,058,734, and $420,680 was the main prize for the winner on top of a golden WSOP bracelet. Ian Pelz had to beat Sang Sim in a heads-up battle to win the tournament, and he did it as an underdog, as he had a 2:1 chip deficit going into the heads-up.

This was also Pelz’s first WSOP bracelet and his most significant live tournament score. This win also pushed his total live earnings just above the one-million mark.

“I kind of just played my game and good things happened… I definitely took advantage of the fact that some of these players have less experience and haven’t been in these situations before, whereas up until the final table, it wasn’t really a stressful situation for me,” said Pelz.

Event #67: $300 Gladiators of Poker Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1 Ian PelzUnited States$420,680
2 Sang SimUnited States$300,160
3 Manuel ReyesUnited States$219,410
4 Jesus RodriguezUnited States$167,730
5 Yuanzhi CaoUnited States$128,970
6 Roland IsraelashviliUnited States$100,120
7 Joseph ButlerUnited States$77,580
8 Santiago TrujilloArgentina$60,700
9 Timothy ThorpUnited States$47,770

The Final Table

Before the start of the action at the final table, Joseph Butler had the chip lead with 60 big blinds, and closest to him were Israelashvili and Pelz, who both had 44 big blinds. The shortest stack was Rodriguez with 16 big blinds.

The first final table elimination came when Santiago Trujillo open-shoved from the CO with K10 and got reshoved by Rodriguez, who had AA. The board ran JK829, giving some help to Trujillo but not enough, and he was eliminated in eighth place for $60,700.

Santiago Trujillo
Santiago Trujillo

Sang Sim opened with AhAc, Israelashvili called with 77, Joseph Butler shoved with A9 and got called just by Sim. The flop came J78 and Sim’s pocket aces didn’t look that great anymore, but 2 and 6 on the turn and river were safe and pocket aces held. Joseph Butler was eliminated in seventh place for $77,580.

Roland Israelashvili shoved from UTG, and Pelz called after tanking for a while. Israelashvili had 99 and was dominated by 1010. The board 5K532 ran clean for Pelz, and Israelashvili was eliminated in sixth place for $100,120.

Manuel Reyes went all-in with A7 and was called by Yuanzhi Cao, who was ahead with AQ. The board came K85J2, giving more than enough hearts for Reyes, who hit the nut flush and eliminated Yuanzhi Cao in fifth place for $128,970.

Yuanzhi Cao

Jesus Rodriguez shoved from SB with K4 and was called by Sim in BB with KQ. Right away on the flop, Sim hit top pair of queens, and Rodrigues only managed to catch the pair of fours on the river, which marked his elimination in fourth place for $167,730. The whole board was Q2JA4.

Manuel Reyes opened big from SB, and Sim shoved from the BB just for Reyes to snap-call and put his tournament life on the line. Reyes had A10 against Sim’s 88 and dealer put down 27Q8J giving set to Sim on the turn, which wasn’t even needed for him to win the hand and eliminate Reyes in third place for $219,410.

The Heads-Up

At the start of the heads-up match, Sim had more than a 2:1 chip lead, and the game was on. Pelz managed to slowly catch up in chips, and the last hand happened when he opened from SB with 85, Pelz raised with QJ, and Pelz called. The flop came A48, Sim bet, and Pelz called. The turn was 10, Sim checked, Pelz bet, and Sim called. The river was 9, giving Sim the straight, but Pelz hit the flush, and all the money went in. Both players turned the hands, and Sang Sim was eliminated in second place for $300,160. Pelz was crowned the new champion, and he received his first WSOP bracelet.

Sang Sim

* Hands and photos courtesy of PokerNews and WSOP

In This Series
July 1, 2025
Ian Pelz managed to beat the field of 24,629 total entries to win World Series of Poker Event #67: $300 Gladiators of Poker for $420,680. The event was held at ...
June 30, 2025
Event #68, the $3,000 No Limit Hold’em was won by Yilong Wang, who collected his first WSOP bracelet along with $830,685. Wang, from China, first learned to play poker while ...
June 30, 2025
Shiina Okamoto is the new champion of World Series of Poker Event #70: $1,000 Ladies Championship for $184,094. The event brought 1,368 entries, which generated a prize pool of $1,203,840, ...
June 30, 2025
Narcis Nedelcu takes down World Series of Poker Event #73: $1,500 Eight Game Mix, getting hands on his first WSOP bracelet and $184,683! The event attracted 789 entries, which generated ...
June 29, 2025
Michael Mizrachi isn’t just back—he’s back on top. Already tied with Brian Rast for the most wins in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, Mizrachi smashed that tie to bits on ...
June 29, 2025
Success in casinos runs in the family for Alex Wilkinson. His father, Wil Wilkinson, owns a casino in California and and is a veteran of WSOP action. He’s been coming ...
June 29, 2025
Rainer Kempe took down the World Series of Poker event #72: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em by beating the field of 809 entries to win his first WSOP bracelet ...
June 28, 2025
It’s been a pretty decent summer for the Slovenian Blaz Zerjav. He picked up his second bracelet of the summer in his seventh cash when he outlasted 615 entries in ...
June 28, 2025
Lonny Weitzel triumphed over 3,338 competitors in the 2025 World Series of Poker Event #64, the $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em, securing his first WSOP bracelet and a $356,494 prize ...
June 27, 2025
The bracelet for Event #65: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em at the 2025 World Series of Poker is heading south to Brazil after longtime friends Kelvin Kerber and Peter Patricio ...
June 27, 2025
Andjelko Andrejevic wins his first World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #62: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Andrejevic had to beat the field of ...
June 26, 2025
Winning a World Series of Poker bracelet is the dream for most players, one that the majority of grinders will never achieve. Winning a single bracelet immediately elevates a player’s ...
June 26, 2025
Jesse Yaginuma has won the 2025 WSOP Millionaire Maker, taking down over $1.25m in the enormous 11,966 entry field. The event was so big that not only one millionaire was ...
June 25, 2025
Sebastiaan de Jong has won the inaugural $1,000 Battle of the Ages event at the 2025 World Series of Poker. He secured his first bracelet and the first prize of ...
June 25, 2025
Moshe Gavrieli won World Series of Poker Event #60: $3,000 Limit Hold’em for $200,303, beating the field of 343 entries. The event generated a prize pool of $915,810. It was ...
June 24, 2025
It was a battle between colony and motherland when Robert Wells, from Wales in the UK, found himself head-to-head against Canadian mixed-game beast Thomas Taylor. That was after 3 days ...
June 23, 2025
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 ...
June 22, 2025
Kristopher Tong has been close to a bracelet before. He was runner-up in 2013 in a mixed hi-lo game, and he took 5th in the prestigious Poker Players Championship in ...
June 22, 2025
If Benny Glaser hadn’t already written his name into poker history and guaranteed himself a spot in the Hall of Fame eventually, he absolutely secured those honours on Saturday. He ...
June 21, 2025
After three days of poker, Matt Vengrin closed the deal in Event #54: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed at the 2025 World Series of Poker, which runs at Horseshoe and Paris ...
June 21, 2025
Dennis Weiss won World Series of Poker Event #51: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha to set a new personal score record of $2,292,155 and collect his second WSOP bracelet. Weiss ...
June 21, 2025
After four days of action, Samuel Rosborough triumphed in the World Series of Poker Event #52: $1,500 Freezeout, winning his first WSOP bracelet and $410,426. Rosborough had to beat the ...
June 20, 2025
Austrian Klemens Roiter has won Event #37, the $1,500 Monster Stack, claiming his first WSOP bracelet and over $1.2m in prize money. He defeated American David Uvaydov heads-up, to take ...
June 20, 2025
After four days of grueling battling at the poker tables, Brian Rast beat Andrew Yeh in a heads-up to win his seventh World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #50: ...
June 18, 2025
Joey Couden has won Event #45, the $500 Salute to Warriors, to claim his second WSOP bracelet to date, taking the $187,937 first prize. He was the only bracelet winner ...
June 18, 2025
Among the players Jason Daly had to best on his way to his second bracelet was none other than the king of bracelets himself, Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth and Daly were ...
June 18, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker rolled on at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with one of the most action-packed formats on the schedule: Event #49: $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em. ...
June 18, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker continued its run at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with Event #44: $10,000 Big O Championship, a four-day battle that drew 402 players willing ...
June 16, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas rolled on with one of poker’s most polarizing formats. It’s Razz, of course. It’s a game you either ...
June 16, 2025
At the 2025 World Series of Poker, held at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, one of the most popular four-card events on the schedule, the $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, drew a ...
June 16, 2025
The 2025 WSOP rolled on at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, and it took an extra day to determine a champion in Event #40: $5,000 Seniors High Roller. The event ...
June 15, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker continued at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with one of the most classic formats in the game, a good old-fashioned Limit Hold’em. Event #41: ...
June 14, 2025
Event #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. at the 2025 World Series of Poker brought the mixed game crowd out in full force, smashing records with 867 entries, which is the largest turnout ...
June 14, 2025
After a lengthy heads-up battle, Joao Vieira was the one to celebrate and take the title, beating Aram Oganyan and the field of 103 entries at the World Series of ...
June 13, 2025
Philip Sternheimer is the new champion of World Series of Poker Event #36: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $763,087 at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Sternheimer ...
June 13, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker continued at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with Event #35: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em, a three-day tournament that offered no second chances. As a ...
June 12, 2025
When Wednesday dawned and Event #30: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship returned for the unscheduled Day 4, only 12 players in the history of poker had won 7 or ...
June 12, 2025
After three days of battling it out at World Seris of Poker Event #33: $1,500 Limit Hold’em, which was running at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, Jason Duong made a ...
June 12, 2025
After three days of poker, Jason Koon beat the field of 171 entries in the World Series of Poker Event #32: $50,000 High Roller at Paris and Horseshoe Casino, Las ...
June 11, 2025
The 2025 WSOP at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas rolled out a classic in Event #29: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em. After a series of mixed games events, it was time for ...
June 11, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas continued with Event #31: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack, one of the more affordable shots at bracelet glory on ...
June 11, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas rolled out one of its fastest (and most brutal?) events with Event #34: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty. True ...
June 11, 2025
After four days of intense poker action in Paris and Horseshoe Casino, Las Vegas, Courtenay Williams beat the huge field of 16,301 entries to record his first World Series of ...
June 10, 2025
The $1,500 Big O tournament at the 2025 World Series of Poker stretched an extra day at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. After 1,499 entries and four days of play, ...
June 10, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas continued to deliver massive fields and memorable moments as Event #28: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em / Pot-Limit Omaha ...
June 10, 2025
After three days of battling it out on the poker tables, South Korea’s Chang Lee was the one out of 392 entries who came on top and claimed his first ...
June 9, 2025
Nick Guagenti won his 3rd bracelet on Sunday, and his first in a non-Hold’em event. He prevailed over a stacked final table that included runner-up Chino Rheem, Paul Volpe, Adam ...
June 9, 2025
A brand-new event made its debut at the 2025 World Series of Poker, and it didn’t take long for it to deliver fireworks. Event #24: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board ...
June 7, 2025
Michael Lavin destroyed his final table opposition on his way to securing the bracelet in Event #20: $1,500 NLH Shootout. Already the owner of a bracelet from an online WSOP event, ...
June 7, 2025
Finally, one for the good guys! Canada collected its first bracelet of 2025 on Friday when Zachary Zaret powered through the $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo for the win. It took more ...
June 7, 2025
The $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event at the 2025 World Series of Poker drew 1,176 entries to Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, creating a prize pool of ...
June 6, 2025
The $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship is one of the most prestigious and skill-testing events on the World Series of Poker calendar, and the 2025 edition has more than lived ...
June 6, 2025
Event #17 of the 2025 World Series of Poker drew 1,692 entries to the tables at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, generating a prize pool of $3,011,760 and delivering another ...
June 6, 2025
It’s probably safe to say Benny Glaser knows poker. The record-holder for WCOOP and SCOOP titles online, and the now 7-time WSOP bracelet winner, has conquered essentially every form of ...
June 6, 2025
Lou Garza grabbed his second bracelet with a come-from-behind win in Event #14: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed. And he had to do it against one of the all-time tournament ...
June 5, 2025
After two days of four-card poker action, the $600 PLO Deepstack game is complete, and Cristian Gutierrez picked up his first bracelet with the win. The Horseshoe and Paris Las ...
June 5, 2025
The last eleven remaining players in Event #13, the $1,500 NLH Handed returned on Wednesday for the third and final day. Their number included David Jackson, shooting for his third ...
June 4, 2025
Brad Ruben has added another remarkable chapter to his WSOP legacy by winning Event #12: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball at the 2025 World Series of Poker. The tournament spanned three ...
June 4, 2025
The Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship is one of the most prestigious mixed game events on the World Series of Poker calendar and the 2025 edition ...
June 4, 2025
The $10,000 Mystery Bounty event at the 2025 World Series of Poker was one of the most anticipated tournaments of the early schedule, following right on the heels of the ...
June 3, 2025
Kenneth Kim has won Event #10: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack for $318,842 and his first WSOP bracelet at the 2025 World Series of Poker, held at the Horseshoe and Paris ...
June 3, 2025
Day 3 of World Series of Poker Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions has ended and it didn’t just crown a champion, it crowned three new millionaires. Michael Wilklow emerged as ...
June 2, 2025
Benny Glaser takes down the 2025 World Series of Poker Event #8: $1,500 Dealers Choice for $150,246 at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas and adds his sixth WSOP bracelet to ...
June 2, 2025
The 2025 World Series of Poker $25,000 Heads-Up Championship Event #7 has a new champion, and it is Artur Martirosian, who managed to beat Aliaksei Boika in the final heads-up ...
June 1, 2025
Dan Heimiller is one of the veterans of the WSOP battle. Coming into Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud, he’d booked at least one cash in every WSOP series since ...
June 1, 2025
Caleb Furth, more commonly known as Bruno, booked his second PLO bracelet in dramatic fashion, providing yet another example of the “chip and a chair” poker meme. Furth was down ...
June 1, 2025
It took 4 days for a bracelet ceremony in Event #3: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, and Spaniard Antonio Galiana was the big winner. He had to work his way through ...
May 31, 2025
The second bracelet of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has been awarded, and it goes to David Shmuel, who triumphed in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or ...
May 29, 2025
With Jack Effel’s traditional “Shuffle Up and Deal!”, the 56th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) officially got underway in Las Vegas. Over the next seven weeks, 100 gold bracelets ...
February 18, 2025
The schedule is out for the first World Series of Poker (WSOP) under GGPoker’s ownership. It seems like they’re looking to start off with a bang as this series breaks ...
Clicky