The numbers are in for the 2025 PokerStars North American Poker Tour Main Event, and it is now official: the tournament has managed to once more break its original promise of $3,000,000.
While the event failed to break the attendance record set last year, it drew in a very respectable field of 738 total entries out of 405 unique players. These numbers translated into a prize pool of $3,579,300, shared by 111 top finishers.
As is always the case with poker tournaments, the lion’s share of that prize pool will go to the eventual winner. The last player standing in this year’s NAPT Main Event will walk away $653,050 richer, which is a rather nice return on the $5,300 buy-in.
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Day 3 Action Commences Today
After a grueling couple of days of play, the original field of 738 entries has dwindled down to just over 10% of that number. Today, the remaining players will be coming back to take their seats, unpack their chips, and continue the journey to the final table.
As it stands right now, all those returning have locked up just under $10,000, so they are guaranteed to get at least some profit for their efforts on the felt. However, it is that final table seat that everyone will be going for, as making it into the top nine guarantees a payday of at least $60,450.
One player positioned better than the rest for that final table run is Peter Mugar, who is starting the day as the chip leader. After a very successful day at the tables yesterday, Mugar is coming back with a lead of over 50 big blinds ahead of his nearest competitor.
What’s interesting is that this is Mugar’s third consecutive in-the-money finish in NAPT Main Events. His best was 35th place in 2023, and with a fair few chips at his disposal, he’ll, no doubt, be looking to improve on that performance.
A Stacked Deck
Mugar may be the one holding most chips, but it’s way too early to predict who’ll be lifting up that trophy on Wednesday. Still remaining in the field are quite a few accomplished players, including the likes of Jesse Lonis (starting second in chips), Ankis Ahuja, Patrick Leonard, Dan Smith, Chance Kornuth, and David Coleman, who finished third back in the 2023 Main Event.
Still in the running are also a couple of PokerStars ambassadors, as Jennifer Shahade and Kenny Hallaert managed to bag some chips yesterday. They are not returning to big stacks, but, as always, they’re only a double-up or two away from being in a really good spot.
A few big names also made it into the money but couldn’t secure their place for today’s action. That list includes the 2024 WSOP Main Event winner Jonathan Tamayo, Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel, Stephen Song, and Sergio Aido.
With the race to the final table continuing today, we can now say that the 2025 PokerStars NAPT Main Event was a rather international affair, attracting players from 29 different countries worldwide. Of course, as expected, players from the United States were a majority, representing 80% of the field.
The remaining players will continue their efforts to reach the final table that takes place on Wednesday, November 12. PokerStars will feature live coverage of the final day’s play with cards up on a stream with 30 30-minute delay.
This will allow fans all over the world to tune in and witness all the action, commented on by Joe Stapleton and James Hartigan, as well as expert commentators, until the 2025 NAPT Main Event champion is crowned.
