WSOP 2025

2025 WSOP: Nelson Mari Sanchez Wins Lucky 7’s for $777,777

by Nathan Fryar July 15, 2025
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Nelson Mari Sanchez 2025 WSOP Event #90: $777 Lucky 7's Bracelet Winner

With just a handful of bracelets left to award, the 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is heading into its final days. But even in this last week of the series, the WSOP delivered one of the most quirky events of the summer.

Event #90, the $777 Lucky 7’s, wasn’t quirky because of an obscure format of poker. No, it was a standard No Limit Hold’em tournament. It didn’t have a twist or a mystery bounty element to it. No, the charm of this one was in the branding: a seven-handed tournament, with a $777 buy-in, guaranteeing a $777,777 first-place prize. And with 8,012 entries generating a massive $5,447,111 prize pool, it ended up being one of the most popular events of the summer.

So, who was the lucky one to cash in on all those sevens? That would be Nelson Mari Sanchez from Mexico, who outlasted the entire field and defeated Canada’s Alex Liu heads-up to claim the $777,777 top prize. Liu walked away with a very respectable $332,777. Yes, again the sevens. See if you can spot the pattern in the final table payout down below.

For Sanchez, this was a poker dream come true. His only prior recorded result on Hendon Mob was a cash for $4,924, and to say this is his career best result is quite an understatement.

Liu, on the other hand, came into this one with a more decorated résumé. The Canadian has a WSOP Circuit gold from Calgary and also shipped the Main Event at the Deerfoot Spring Super Stack earlier this year, both events we’ve covered exclusively here at poker.pro.

Still, despite his solid experience, he entered heads-up play at a chip disadvantage and wasn’t able to flip the script. But with his runner-up finish, Liu now also has the largest score of his career.

There was even a familiar name in the mix at the final table in Patrick “Pads” Leonard. But the accomplished British pro came into the final table short-stacked, busting in the very first hand of the day in eighth.

2025 WSOP Event #90: $777 Lucky 7’s Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Mexico Nelson Mari SanchezMexico$777,777
2Canada Alex LiuCanada$332,777
3Italy Nicola BracchiItaly$244,777
4Canada Allen ShenCanada$181,777
5Ireland Kieran WalshIreland$135,777
6Panama Hertsel LevyPanama$101,777
7Japan Hayato KitajimaJapan$77,777
8United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Patrick LeonardUnited Kingdom$59,470

2025 WSOP Event #90: $777 Lucky 7’s Final Table Recap

Eight players returned for Day 3 of the Lucky 7’s event with Italian Nicola Bracchi with the chip lead, sitting on 37 big blinds. Close behind was Canadian Allen Shen with 29 bigs, while the shortest stack belonged to Hayato Kitajima with just eight. Two players trailed just above him, Patrick “Pads” Leonard and Nelson Mari Sanchez, both with 12 big blinds to start the final day.

Patrick Leonard 2025 WSOP
Patrick Leonard

Their paths, however, couldn’t be more different. On the very first hand of the day, Leonard found himself in a cooler, getting ace-jack in against Bracchi’s ace-king. A clean board changed nothing, and the British pro was the first to hit the rail in 8th place for $59,470, the only payout at the final table not featuring (at least) three sevens.

Sanchez, meanwhile, quickly went from shortest to the biggest stacks in the game in just a few hands. When already at the top, he eliminated Kitajima in seventh place. On a flop of 10♣8♦3♦, Sanchez had flopped two pair with ten-eight. Kitajima, holding ace-queen, spiked an ace on the turn for some hope, but the river blanked, and the Japanese player exited with a fitting $77,777.

In sixth place, Hertsel Levy moved all-in, getting action from both Bracchi and Sanchez. The two chip leaders checked down a dry board until Bracchi made a move on the river, revealing trips with nine-four to claim the pot and send Levy out with $101,777.

Sanchez’s momentum was in full swing. Next up was Ireland’s Kieran Walsh, who attempted to bluff the Mexican on a 9♠6♥Q♥7♦Q♦ runout. Sanchez snap-called with queens full of sixes, and Walsh’s move backfired hard. No luck for the Irish as he was eliminated in fifth for $135,777.

Nelson Mari Sanchez 2025 WSOP
There was no stopping Sanchez on the final table.

Sanchez held two-thirds of the chips in play and he wasn’t done yet. His next victim was Allen Shen. The Canadian defended his big blind with eight-four and found second pair on the flop. He moved all-in, but Sanchez was sitting on pocket aces, which held to send Shen packing in fourth place for $181,777.

Bracchi, who had started the day as chip leader, was the next to fall. He shoved preflop with ace-four, but Sanchez called with ace-king and flopped a broadway straight. There were no chop outs to save the Italian, and he departed in third for $244,777.

Heads-up play began with Sanchez holding a commanding lead of more than 3:1 over Canada’s Alex Liu. And with the way this final table had unfolded, was there really any doubt how it would end?

Alex Liu 2025 WSOP
Alex Liu

It took just four hands. Liu moved all-in with ace-three, and Sanchez woke up with ace-ten. A ten hit the flop right away, and the turn and river offered no running help. Alex Liu earned $332,777 for his runner-up finish, while Nelson Mari Sanchez was crowned the lucky champion of the Lucky 7’s event, collecting a career-best score of $777,777.

* Hands and photos courtesy of PokerNews and WSOP

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Nathan Fryar

Nathan Fryar is a former professional poker player turned poker author.

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