2025 WSOP: Kenneth Kim Wins $600 Deepstack Bracelet After Lightning-Fast Final Table

Kenneth Kim
Kenneth Kim

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 Las Vegas. He beat the field of 6,090 players, who generated a prize pool of $3,069,360.

Kim closed out one of the fastest final tables in recent memory, completed in just an hour and 20 minutes (including a break), by defeating Alex Paredes heads-up. Paredes took home $212,275 for his runner-up finish.

“I didn’t think I was going to win this tournament till the end, till the very end, because you just never know. And my approach was to play one level at a time and try not to think too far ahead, “said Kim after the win to PokerNews.

Kim also recalled a pivotal moment with just eight big blinds, making a hero call against David Gonia’s bluff: “I was pretty happy that I went with my read instead of just giving in to the pressure. So that hand gave me a healthier stack, making it easier to navigate through the field. I tried to play one level at a time, and that approach really helped me a lot. I didn’t try to change my mindset.”

Event #10: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1United States of America Kenneth KimUnited States$318,842
2Ecuador Alex ParedesEcuador$212,275
3United States of America Daniel MunizUnited States$157,968
4United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Gary BlackwoodUnited Kingdom$118,468
5United States of America Jared AndersonUnited States$89,541
6Mexico Raul Melendres CruzMexico$68,212
7South Africa Edgar AntezanaSouth Africa$52,377
8Mexico Luis Diaz MorenoMexico$40,541
9United States of America Chad CullimoreUnited States$31,633

The Final Table

Chad Cullimore was the first one to leave the final table. He pushed all of his chips in the middle from SB and got called by Luis Diaz Moreno. Cullimore had K♥8♠ and was ahead of Moreno’s 9♥3♠, but the board ran 6629X to give Moreno two pair and to end the road for Cullimore in ninth place for $31,633.

Chad Cullimore
Chad Cullimore

After eliminating Cullimore, Luis Diaz Moreno shoved from UTG and got called by Alex Paredes. Moreno was in really bad shape, as his A♠7♠ was against A♥A♦ of Paredes. The board was 4♠Q♣9♦Q♦6♣, and it wasn’t even close for Moreno to dodge the elimination in eighth place for $40,541.

Luis Diaz Moreno
Luis Diaz Moreno

Edgar Antezana was sitting in the BB and was forced all in with less than a blind and was facing a raise from Daniel Muniz, who was in an all-in race against Antezana. Atezana was far behind with 10♠8♣ against Muniz who had A♠8♥. The board was J♦2♠4♠2♦2♥, and ace-high was enough to eliminate Antezana in seventh place for $52,377.

Edgar Antezana
Edgar Antezana

Raul Melendres Cruz shoved from BTN with Q♣9♠ and got called by Jared Anderson in SB, who had A♠2♥. Dealer put down 2♣7♦10♥K♦5♠, and Anderson, who was ahead pre-flop, stayed ahead after the river was dealt, improving his ace high to pair of duces and eliminating Cruz in sixth place for $68,212.

Raul Melendres Cruz
Raul Melendres Cruz

Jared Anderson was the next one who moved all-in with K♦Q♦ from SB and got called by Kenneth Kim with A♥J♥ in BB. The flop came 7♠J♦3♣, extending Kim’s lead but still leaving Anderson with some direct outs and backdoors. The turn was 9♣, and the river was 6♣, which was the end of the tournament for Anderson, who finished in fifth place for $89,541.

Jared Anderson
Jared Anderson

Popular Twitch streamer Garry Blackwood was the short stack sitting in the BB when he faced a shove from Kenneth Kim, who was in SB. Blackwood took a moment before he made the call and found himself behind with 10♦5♦ against K♣J♦.

The flop 5♠8♠4♥ turned things around and gave Blackwood hope, but the turn was K♥, and Blackwood’s hope instantly slimmed down before the river 3♦ killed it. Blackwood was out in fourth place for $118,468.

Gary Blackwood
Gary Blackwood

Daniel Muniz was all-in from the BTN, and Kenneth Kim was tanking before he made the call in SB and apologized as soon as Paredes folded and cards turned face up as he was trying to get Paredes in the three-way hand. Kim turned A♥A♦, having Muniz in bad shape with K♠8♣. The board came 6♥J♣A♠3♥3♣, and Muniz was eliminated in third place for $157,968.

Daniel Muniz
Daniel Muniz

The Heads-Up

Not much longer after Muniz was eliminated, we came to the tournament’s final hand when Alex Paredes opened from BTN, and Kenneth Kim just called. The flop came 3♠5♠Q♦, Kim checked, Paredes bet, and Kim called. The turn was 2♦; Kim checked again; Paredes bet again, but this time he faced a shove instead of a call, but he quickly called in disgust when he saw Kim turned straight with A♥4♠.

Paredes had A♠9♠, and he still had some equity with his flush draw, but the river was K♣, ending the story for Paredes, who was out in second place for $212,275.

Alex Paredes
Alex Paredes

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* Hands courtesy of pokernews.com

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