It’s the end of the line for the British challenge in the 2025 WSOP Main Event. Just four Brits made it to Day 7 of the $10,000 Championship Event, but none survived the day, bringing the dream of there being a UK Main Event winner to an end, for another year.
Kassouf Ousted in 33rd and Banned from the Venue
Will Kassouf was the longest lasting Brit in the 2025 WSOP Main Event, finally departing the scene of crash in 33rd place for $300,000. His participation in the event was ever so slightly controversial, to say the least. He was one comment and a few paces away from being disqualified and kicked off the property during the session, when Jack Effel said enough is enough, invoking the TD has the final say rule.
After collecting his prize and conducting his exit interview, Kassouf was then escorted from the property and banned from returning for the rest of the series. Effectively that’s just for four more days and will have minimal impact upon Will. However the question remains about whether a longer term or permanent ban might later be imposed upon Kassouf, who is now (and it’s not even arguable) the most hated person in poker.
Kassouf had returned as one of the short stacks, but managed to secure a double up during the first level, still leaving him short, but opening up possibilities for another deep run. Despite having been warned and penalised for his antics on Day 6, Kassouf continued in his trademark fashion from the start of the session. He received further penalties as the day progressed, for foul and abusive language.
In the end he was taken out by chip leader Kenny Hallaert, a player who made the final in 2016, the same year that Kassouf last made a deep run in the Main Event. Will was in the small blind and moved all-in for his last 2.7m chips after Hallaert had opened to 850k from the cutoff. Kassouf was by now so much under the skin of his opponents that one called the clock on him after just a few seconds before he pushed the last of his stack forward.
Hallaert made the call and revealed K♥5♥ to Kassouf’s 7♠7♦. But the board helped the Belgian, delivering a king on the turn to stop Kassouf in his tracks and bring his non-stop diatribe to an end. He was booed off set like a pantomime villain before being escorted off the premises.
In his post exit interview, Kassouf had not yet calmed down, complaining bitterly about the way he was treated, in particular condemning his opponents for calling the clock on him so quickly when he had “million dollar decisions” to make. The situation seems comparable with the fable of the boy who cried wolf. When he actually needed the time he wasn’t afforded it, because of all the time wasting he caused in hands when he didn’t need it. Such is life.
End of the Road for Paul Gibbons
Paul Gibbons had been in survival mode for most of Day 6, but ended it by moving up to over 7m chips. During the first level of the day Paul increased his stack to over 8m chips, but was pegged back after tussling unsuccessfully with Leo Margets, the last female player in the Main Event. He did manage to double up again, but was back down to 3.5m when he finally hit the rail in 37th place for $240,000, by far the biggest score of his poker life. It was Margets who took Gibbons’ scalp, holding ace-queen, hitting an ace on the flop to down Paul’s pocket kings.
Disappointment for Hynam
Mitch Hynam’s day certainly didn’t go according to the script he had written for himself. He began the day with the largest stack of the four remaining British players, with an above-average 13.65m chips. But it was not long before most of that was taken away from him, losing over 10m chips in a flip against Sergio Veloso. Mitch had Q♠Q♦ versus the Portuguese player’s A♦K♣. The flop of 10♥10♦3♥ was good for Mitch, but the K♥ on the turn was the decisive card and the J♥ on the river was inconsequential.
Hynam was reduced to under 3m chips and moved directly into the danger zone. It was a zone he would not climb out of again and he departed soon after in 49th place for $200,000.
Jackson First Bust Out of Day 7
Ben Jackson’s day ended swiftly, as the 57th placed finisher, the first player to hit the rail on Day 7. With only the 1.1m left that he had returned with, he wasted no time getting it all-in, doing so from under the gun with Q♠8♦. Unfortunately for Jackson, chip leader Kenny Halleart had 10♥10♦. He did not find a queen or a miracle and was sent home with $165,000.
Josh Boulton Chasing Hall of Fame Bracelet
Eight members of the Britpack returned for the 2nd Day of Event #92 $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty. The most chipped-up of them was Brandon Sheils, who sat in 12th place overnight on 475,000. Alex Lindop (397,000), Joshua Boulton (365,000) and Matthew Davenport (333,000) were also in good shape and in the top half of the leaderboard of the 167 who returned.
Sheils did not manage to make another deep run, exiting in 85th place. However three players from the UK did make it onto the final table, the most for any bracelet event so far this year. Zhicheng Miao clawed his way to 9th place for $25,386, while Jun Li made it two rungs up the ladder, taking 7th for $32,783.
With five players left, the tournament was extended to a third day, with Joshua Boulton still in as the last remaining Brit. He is in second place overnight, with 10.375m and is not far behind the chip leader Rob Wazwaz who is the only one left to have previously won a WSOP bracelet. These two are well in front of the rest of the field. Will Josh bank another bracelet for Britain or will Rob walk the dinosaur one more time?
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 7 |  Jun Li | $42,983 |
| 9 | Zhicheng Miao | $25,386 |
| 13 | Matthew Davenport | $15,947 |
| 45 | Ciaran Mccullagh | $6,618 |
| 71 | Alex Lindop | $5,244 |
| 85 | Brandon Sheils | $4,463 |
| 146 | Yiqian Song | $3,896 |
Andrew Hulme Last Brit in Mid-Stakes Championship
Andrew Hulme is the only Brit left in Event #89 $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship. His stack of 4.775m is in mid-division, the 14th largest of the 26 that remain, just a little below the 5.8m average. He’s now guaranteed a payday of at least $48,190, but will be making a challenge for the bracelet and first prize of $1,189,408.
Thirty-one other Brits cashed in this event, with Matthew Beltcher being the next highest finisher, in 38th for $32,320.
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 38 | Matthew Belcher | $32,320 |
| 53 | Oliver Bithell | $26,819 |
| 74 | Jareth East | $16,168 |
| 114 | Philip Almond | $10,581 |
| 121 | Lewis Spencer | $10,581 |
| 140 | Martins Adeniya | $10,581 |
| 190 | Christopher Kromidias | $8,357 |
| 199 | Najeeb Elkamand | $8,357 |
| 213 | Cezary Wasilowski | $8,357 |
| 217 | Grant Gardner | $8,357 |
| 223 | Niall Farrell | $8,357 |
| 277 | Simon Higgins | $7,535 |
| 283 | Jamie Dwan | $6,859 |
| 289 | Sebastien Jung | $6,859 |
| 310 | Ian Simpson | $6,859 |
| 340 | Luke Marsh | $6,304 |
| 348 | Martin Hellmuth | $6,304 |
| 400 | Niall Costigan | $6,004 |
| 401 | George Pop | $6,004 |
| 443 | Guy Ellis | $6,004 |
| 450 | Patrick Leonard | $6,004 |
| 463 | Dean Lyall | $6,004 |
| 473 | Christopher Brammer | $6,004 |
| 479 | Daniel Charlton | $6,004 |
| 487 | Archibald Seaton | $6,004 |
| 492 | Patrick Sekinger | $6,004 |
| 532 | Oliver Braddock | $6,004 |
| 538 | Guillermo Otero | $6,004 |
| 539 | Richard Dawson | $6,004 |
| 546 | Ben Miller | $6,004 |
| 561 | Jonathan Mccann | $6,004 |
Toby Lewis Hunting Bracelet No. 2 in $3k in T.O.R.S.E
Toby Lewis is the sole remaining Brit in the inaugural Event #93 $3,009 T.O.R.S.E. The event features the same rotation as H.O.R.S.E but replacing Hold’em with 2-7 Triple Draw. His 1.985m stack is the 4th biggest of the remaining 16 players. It will play to a conclusion on Sunday, with $273,386 awaiting the winner and all guaranteed at least $14,819. Three other Brits cashed in the 522 player event.
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | Adam Owen | $8,166 |
| 48 | William Mawer | $6,312 |
| 67 | Charles Norman | $6,011 |
UK Cashes in Other Bracelet Events
James Cheung was the highest placed of 25 UK players who cashed in Event #86 $1,000 Mystery Bounty PLO. His 15th place finish was worth $16,660. Callum Gordon was not far behind in 18th, taking away $13,440.
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | James Cheung | $16,660 |
| 18 | Callum Gordon | $13,440 |
| 30 | Daniel Willis | $10,940 |
| 52 | Jack Moore | $7,420 |
| 96 | Shamil Patel | $3,260 |
| 100 | Nick Marchington | $2,840 |
| 124 | Jonathan Bowers | $2,840 |
| 126 | Ludovic Geilich | $2,840 |
| 214 | James Noy | $2,210 |
| 262 | Christopher Kyriacou | $1,980 |
| 274 | Alastair Letham | $1,980 |
| 295 | Samuel Guerra | $1,980 |
| 412 | Alan Carr | $1,620 |
| 420 | Dragos Trofimov | $1,620 |
| 450 | Pratik Ghatge | $1,490 |
| 479 | Ankush Khandelwal | $1,380 |
| 484 | Alex Todd | $1,380 |
| 577 | Stephen Moreschi | $1,320 |
| 584 | Jonathan Caplan | $1,320 |
| 604 | Adam Owen | $1,320 |
| 608 | Howard Smith | $1,320 |
| 633 | Patrick Leonard | $1,320 |
| 660 | Joseph O’Donnell | $1,320 |
| 670 | Christopher Wood | $1,320 |
| 768 | Stuart Taylor | $1,320 |
Three familiar faces made it into the money in Event #88 $50,000 High Roller. Philip Sternheimer’s 13th place for $144,985 was his 10th cash of the series and by the looks of it, he’s playing until the bitter end so can still notch up more. Main Event Stone Cold Bubble Boy Mathew Frankland took $123,068 for 16th, his 7th cash of the 2025 WSOP. And last but by no means least, the UK’s star performer Benny Glaser, already with three bracelets this year and eight in total, finished 34th for $102,024.
Adam Owen was the only Brit to make the money in Event #91 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha. He finished in 124th place for $3,156 to collect his 9th ITM finish of the 2025 WSOP.
* Hands and photos courtesy of PokerNews & WSOP
