WSOP 2025

2025 WSOP: Xixiang Luo Wins Third Bracelet in Debut $1,500 PLO Double Board Bomb Pot Event

by Nathan Fryar June 9, 2025
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Xixiang Luo 2025 WSOP Event #24: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot Winner

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 Bomb Pot was held at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, drawing a field of 1,452 players eager to test their skills in one of the most chaotic formats.

The event generated a prize pool of $1,927,530, and it was China’s Xixiang Luo who came out on top, claiming his third WSOP bracelet along with the $290,400 top prize.

If you’re not exactly sure how double board bomb pots work (or how they translate into a full-blown WSOP tournament), you’re not alone. Born out of cash games, bomb pots force every player to pay a predetermined amount preflop, with no raising allowed until after the flop. In this event, not only was every hand a bomb pot, but each featured two boards in play, cranking up the variance and excitement to eleven.

Originally the plan was for every eighth hand to be a bomb pot, but the WSOP tweaked the structure before the start of the series, to make every hand a double board bomb pot. The result is a fast-paced, high-variance game where luck certainly plays a role, but so does skill, which is something Luo proved this year.

Luo won a similar event last summer, the $1,500 NLHE/PLO Bomb Pot for his first-ever WSOP bracelet and this year he did it again. Back-to-back victories in bomb pot events in massive fields (1,312 in last year and 1,452 in 2025) suggest there is more than enough skill involved.

With this title, Luo adds another major victory to his already packed poker résumé. He has wins across the globe and on many tours, from the WPT, APT, APPT, EPT to Merit Poker, with trophies from China and Macau, to the Philippines, Korea, Monaco, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, and of course the WSOP in Las Vegas. His victory in the $25,000 HORSE event for $725,796 at the 2024 WSOP remains his biggest cash to date, and with this latest PLO Double Board Bomb Pot title, he’s now inching closer and closer to the $5 million mark in live tournament earnings, currently sitting at around $4.8 million.

In the heads-up, Luo faced Robert Klein, who was seeking both his first bracelet and his first six-figure cash. Klein made a valiant run, battling back from a chip deficit to even the stacks at one point, but ultimately fell short. Still, second place and $193,517 marks a career-best performance for the American.

There were several WSOP bracelet winners at the final table. Slovakian bracelet holder Samuel Stranak finished third, while Danny Wong (4th), Bjorn Verbakel (6th), and 2023 WSOP Player of the Year Ian Matakis (7th) also made deep runs.

2025 WSOP: Event #24: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1China Xixiang LuoChina$290,400
2United States of America Robert KleinUnited States$193,517
3Slovakia Samuel StranakSlovakia$137,805
4United States of America Danny WongUnited States$99,413
5United States of America Brian SmithUnited States$72,664
6Netherlands Bjorn VerbakelNetherlands$53,824
7United States of America Ian MatakisUnited States$40,410
8United States of America Jacob BaumgartnerUnited States$30,756
9China Yang WangChina$23,735

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2025 WSOP: Event #24: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot Final Table Recap

The final day of Event #24: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot began with just 13 players remaining from the original 1,452 entrants. Xixiang Luo came in as the chip leader, with Samuel Stranak and Brian Smith close behind. Despite the short field, expectations were for a long day due to the nature of the format and many split pots.

It took more than three hours before the first elimination at the unofficial final table. Yang Wang was short on chips as he committed his stack on the flop and was called by several opponents. With no further betting, Wang revealed a pair of kings on both boards. However, Stranak showed pocket aces on one and a full house on the other, eliminating Wang in ninth for $23,735.

Shortly after, Jacob Baumgartner moved all-in with K♠6♦5♣3♥ on flops of 6♠4♠K♣ and A♠7♦8♠. Luo and Danny Wong called, but when Wong shoved over the top, Luo folded. Wong showed A♥A♣Q♠5♠ and won the hand with a set of aces on one board and a flush on the other, sending Baumgartner out in eighth place for $30,756.

The next to exit was 2023 WSOP Player of the Year Ian Matakis, whose raise created some confusion as he left some chips behind rather going all-in. Wong called a river bet from Matakis after revealing his own hand early. It still held up, and Matakis departed in seventh place for $40,410.

Ian Matakis 2025 WSOP
Ian Matakis

Bjorn Verbakel was the next casualty in a three-way all-in. Wong and Smith both had him at risk, but it was Smith who scooped the entire pot, knocking out Verbakel in sixth for $53,824 and crippling Wong in the process.

Despite being short-stacked, Wong outlasted Smith. In the hand that sealed Smith’s fate, Wong and Luo each claimed one board in a split pot. Smith had flopped a full house on one board but couldn’t dodge Wong’s trips, which improved to a bigger full house by the river. Meanwhile, Luo flopped trips on the other board and turned quads to lock up his half. Smith was eliminated in fifth for $72,664.

Not long after, another three-way all-in happened that sent Wong to the rail. Wong held bottom set on the bottom board and an open-ended straight draw on the top. Stranak had top two on the top board and an open-ender on the bottom, while Klein had the nut flush draw and a gutshot on top, plus a pair on the bottom. When the boards completed, Stranak’s top two held up and Klein backdoored a straight on the bottom, splitting Wong’s chips. Wong finished in fourth for $99,413.

Samuel Stranak 2025 WSOP
Samuel Stranak

Luo had been in control for most of the final table, though Robert Klein briefly overtook him. But that lead was short-lived, as Luo quartered Klein in an all-in pot to retake control and never looked back.

Luo then eliminated Stranak in third place. They got it in on the flop, with Luo holding A♠Q♣8♣5♠ and Stranak revealing 9♠4♠3♠3♣. Both players had flopped flushes on the 10♠8♠K♠K♣2♥ board, but Luo’s was higher. On the A♦6♥4♥10♥6♦ board, Stranak needed help but couldn’t find it, exiting in third for $137,805.

Heads-up play began with Luo holding a 1.5:1 chip lead over Klein. While Klein managed to pull even at one point, momentum quickly swung back in Luo’s favor as he steadily chipped away at Klein’s stack.

Robet Klein 2025 WSOP
Robet Klein

In the final hand, Klein moved all-in with A♥K♠9♠6♣, and Luo made the call with A♠10♦2♥6♥. Luo flopped a flush on J♠7♠Q♠, leaving Klein drawing to a one-outer straight flush that didn’t materialize. On the second board of 3♥7♥5♦4♠, Luo turned a straight, but an eight on the river could earn Klein half the pot. It didn’t come, and Luo scooped the hand to secure his third WSOP bracelet and $290,400. Klein took home $193,517 for his runner-up finish for his best career result to date.

* 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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