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 to stake five figures on their five-card Omaha Hi-Lo skills. The resulting prize pool climbed to $3,823,020 and delivered another thrilling installment in the series’ rich mixed-game calendar.
Among the five players who returned for the final day was also Veerachai Vongxaiburana. A day trader by day, and now, a Big O champion by night! Vongxaiburana clinched his first-ever WSOP bracelet and a career-best $784,353, triumphing over a stacked final day lineup that included four-time bracelet winner Phil Hui, two-time WSOP champion Marco Johnson, online legend Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, and seasoned WSOP grinder Shawn Rice.
Known as a fun and fearless player, this marks Vongxaiburana’s biggest poker result to date. A longtime presence at the WSOP, his first recorded cash came all the way back in 2013 in a Pot Limit Omaha event. Since then, he’s steadily racked up 25 WSOP cashes, mostly in Omaha formats, but until now, he had never reached a final table. He made a breakthrough in spectacular fashion, taking down one of the toughest lineups of the summer.
In the heads-up duel, he outlasted Phil Hui, whose mixed-game résumé includes a title in the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship, PL Omaha, H.O.R.S.E., and Omaha Hi-Lo. With this victory, Vongxaiburana pushes his total live tournament earnings past the $1.1 million mark and carves his name into WSOP history.
2025 WSOP Event #44: $10,000 Big O Championship Final Table Results
2025 WSOP Event #44: $10,000 Big O Championship Final Day Recap
Marco Johnson
Five players returned for the final day of the $10,000 Big O Championship, each bringing their own story and dream of capturing poker’s most prestigious prize. Among them was two-time WSOP bracelet winner Marco Johnson, who bagged the chip lead with 60 big blinds.
Trailing closely was online legend Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, who had just come off a runner-up finish in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, his fourth final table of the series. Sharing third place with 49 big blinds apiece were Veerachai Vongxaiburana and Shawn Rice, both chasing their maiden bracelet and closer than ever before. Phil Hui, the shortest of the five but still very much alive, brought 34 big blinds and a resume that included four WSOP bracelets and a $50,000 Poker Players Championship title.
With talent of this caliber, it didn’t take long for sparks to fly. The first two hours were a rollercoaster of chip lead changes: Vongxaiburana overtook Johnson early, then Blom surged ahead before Johnson reclaimed the top spot, only for Vongxaiburana to grab it back again. But it was a monster three-way confrontation that brought real chaos to the table.
Shawn Rice opened from the cutoff, Viktor Blom three-bet the pot from the small blind, and Phil Hui responded with a cold four-bet. Both Rice and Blom called, both all in and at risk. Blom showed A♥K♥8♦5♣3♠, Rice tabled A♦Q♥9♥6♣2♦, and Hui revealed A♣A♠7♠5♦3♥. The flop came J♠10♥2♠, keeping Hui ahead with aces and giving him a flush draw. The 7♥ on the turn changed little, and the J♦ on the river sealed the deal. Hui scooped the pot, eliminating Blom in fifth place for $181,069 and Rice in fourth for $253,276.
Shawn Rice
Now with nearly half the chips in play, Hui seemed to have a path to victory, but Vongxaiburana had other plans. In a pivotal hand, he knocked out Marco Johnson on the flop of A♦6♠J♠. Johnson showed A♠8♣6♥3♠3♥ for top and bottom pair with a flush draw, but Vongxaiburana was ahead with A♥J♦5♠5♦2♥ for top two pair. The 7♥ on the turn and 5♥ on the river gave Vongxaiburana the scoop, ending Johnson’s run in third place for $360,711.
The heads-up match began nearly even in chips, with Vongxaiburana slightly ahead. What followed was a two-and-a-half-hour duel, marked by swings in momentum. Vongxaiburana pulled ahead early, but Hui rallied back, seizing a 1.5:1 chip lead. Then came the turning point.
Phil Hui
On a board of 9♠7♥5♠8♦6♣, Vongxaiburana bet, Hui potted, and Vongxaiburana called. Hui showed 7♦7♠5♦4♣2♠ for a straight and a qualifying low, but Vongxaiburana revealed A♦Q♦10♣8♣2♦ for a higher straight and the better low to scoop the entire pot, leaving Hui with just eight big blinds.
Hui managed one double-up but couldn’t mount a full comeback. The final hand saw the chips fly on a 9♣8♦3♦ flop. Hui was ahead with 7♠6♠6♣5♠5♣, holding the better low draw and middle pair. Vongxaiburana tabled A♠K♦J♥10♠7♥ for overcards and a potential higher straight. The turn came 3♣, pairing the board and favoring Hui, but the Q♦ on the river completed Vongxaiburana’s straight and locked up the pot.
Hui fell just short of his fifth bracelet, earning $522,878 for the runner-up finish. Meanwhile, Veerachai Vongxaiburana etched his name into the WSOP record books, winning his first-ever bracelet and a career-best $784,353.
After nearly 3 hours of heads-up action and massive pots going back and forth, Veerachai Vongxaiburana took down the last pot in Event #44: $10,000 Big O Championship to send @KungPhui out in 2nd for $522K.
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Veerachai Vongxaiburana
Viktor Blom
