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 up to its reputation. With a field of 152 entries made up of the world’s top mixed-game players, the tournament generated a prize pool of $1,413,600 at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
Dealers Choice is a true test of all-around poker talent as players can pick from a pool of 21 different variants, each with its own strategy and quirks. We’ve seen a fair share of games called, from 2-7 Razz, to Big O, 2-7 No Limit Single Draw, Badeucy, Limit Omaha, and many more.
As has been the case with several events in this series, the scheduled three days of play weren’t enough to crown a new winner. After 12 hours of play on Day 3, the tournament was paused with three players remaining and Ryan Hoenig leading the charge over Dylan Smith and Philip Sternheimer. An unscheduled Day 4 was added, with the trio returning to battle it out for the $354,444 top prize and, for each of them, a maiden WSOP gold bracelet. While being close before, none of the three had previously claimed WSOP gold, so one way or another, a first-time champion was being crowned when the play resumed.
The final day was a quick affair and it was Ryan Hoenig, who went wire-to-wire to take down the $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship and $354,444. In 2023, he came close to a bracelet but finished runner-up to Hassan Kamel in the $10,000 PLO8 Championship. Now, he has completed the job in dominating fashion. This win pushes his live tournament earnings over $1.2 million.
Both Smith and Sternheimer will have to keep searching for their first WSOP gold. Like Hoenig before today, both have come close in the past. This was Sternheimer’s fifth WSOP final table, with two third-place finishes, a fifth, sixth, and seventh. Smith, meanwhile, had reached four final tables, including this one, with two runner-up finishes, a third, and a fourth-place result.
With the summer still young, don’t be surprised if either player finds themselves back under the lights chasing another shot at WSOP glory.
2025 WSOP Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ryan Hoenig | United States | $354,444 |
| 2 | Dylan Smith | United States | $230,374 |
| 3 |  Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | $154,460 |
| 4 |  Dario Alioto | Italy | $106,935 |
| 5 | Matthew Vengrin | United States | $76,525 |
| 6 | Brandon Cantu | United States | $56,671 |
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2025 WSOP Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship Final Table Recap
Fourteen players returned for Day 3 of Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship, and while it might have seemed that a full day’s play would be enough to crown a winner, even twelve hours weren’t enough.
More than nine hours passed before five-time WSOP bracelet winner Adam Friedman was eliminated in seventh place, setting the official final table.
Brandon Cantu was the first casualty of the final six and in the cruelest game possible – playing Razz. Cantu raised and got action from Dylan Smith and Ryan Hoenig. All of Cantu’s chips went in on fifth street. Hoenig got out of the way, and Smith ended up with an 8-low, just edging out Cantu’s 9-low. That ended Cantu’s run in sixth place for $56,671.
Momentum began shifting toward Hoenig, who chipped up steadily by taking pots off both Smith and the previously leading Brit, Philip Sternheimer.
Hoenig next knocked out Matthew Vengrin in Big O. On a flop of 3♣8♥8♠, Vengrin moved all-in and Hoenig made the call, showing K♦J♠8♣5♣5♦ for flopped trips. Vengrin couldn’t catch up on the 3♦ turn and 9♥ river, and exited in fifth place for $76,525.
The same game saw the next elimination. Dario Alioto pushed his remaining chips in, and Sternheimer called. Alioto showed A♥K♣3♦3♠2♦, but Sternheimer’s A♠7♥6♣5♦3♣ had him covered. The board ran out 9♣9♦5♠J♦6♠, giving Sternheimer the win and sending Alioto out in fourth for $106,935.
Despite the pace, three-handed play continued for about another hour before tournament staff decided to pause the action and resume the following day.
Ryan Hoenig bagged the overnight lead with nearly 5 million chips, good for 25 big bets, while Smith and Sternheimer returned with 11 and 10 big bets, respectively.
The unscheduled Day 4 kicked off quickly with fireworks. In Pot Limit Omaha, the board read 9♣8♠J♠7♣8♥ when Hoenig moved all-in. Sternheimer, down to about five big bets, tanked for a while before calling. Hoenig revealed Q♠10♦9♥5♦ for a straight, while Sternheimer’s J♣7♥6♣5♣ two pair wasn’t enough. He bowed out in third place for $154,460.
That left Hoenig with a nearly 5:1 chip lead over Dylan Smith going into heads-up play. He didn’t let up. During a round of Badeucy, he widened the gap further, and by the end of the Omaha Hi-Lo orbit, Smith was down to just a bet and a half.
It ended moments later in Pot Limit Omaha. Smith was all-in with K♣10♠6♥4♠, and Hoenig was going nowhere with K♦Q♠J♦4♥. The flop 9♦8♦3♣ and turn 3♦ sealed the deal with a flush for Hoenig.
After leading the event wire-to-wire, Ryan Hoenig captured his maiden WSOP bracelet and $354,444. Dylan Smith earned $230,374 for his runner-up finish in one of the most challenging events of the series.
* Hands and photos courtesy of PokerNews and WSOP
