Last night, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi completed his run at the 2025 WSOP Main Event, single-handedly dispatching the remaining three opponents to win the diamond bracelet and the $10,000,000 prize.
Mizrachi’s Main Event triumph comes on the heels of his fourth win in the $50k Poker Players Championship, and it seemed like things could hardly get any better for “The Grinder” after the final card was dealt — but they did, as the bracelet wasn’t the only trophy he got last night.
As he was celebrating the win, a group of players came out of the woodworks, including the likes of Phil Ivey, Eli Elezra, Phil Hellmuth, Jen Harman, and Brian Rast, to present Mizrachi with another nice surprise. Following his Main Event victory, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame on the spot, rounding up the best run of his career.
All Done in Under One Hour
Coming into the final table with an overwhelming chip lead, Mizrachi announced that it would take him about an hour to get it done. It was a bold, some would even say cocky statement, but when it came down to business, “The Grinder” came good on his promise.
Two players came back with very short stacks. These were Kenny Hallaert and Braxton Dunaway, who were in need of a fast double-up if they were to have a shot at winning. However, Mizrachi made sure that opportunity never came about as he eliminated both on the very first two hands.
Hallaert was the first to go. He barely had time to get comfortable in his seat when he was dealt AQ and moved all-in. “The Grinder” called with KJ in the big blind, spiked a king on the turn, and one hand into the final table, the action was down to three players.
On the very next deal, Mizrachi moved in from the small blind, and Dunaway made the call in the big for his tournament life. This time, Mizrachi was well ahead, and his hand held up to send the second opponent packing.
It was now down to a heads-up between Michael and John Wasnock, the man who started the final table as the chip leader and managed to stay out of harm’s way for the most part. Mizrachi held a massive chip lead, but Wasnock wasn’t out of it. With a couple of double-ups, it was possible for him to turn things around.
Those double-ups never came. After some back and forth, all Wasnock’s chips found their way into the middle on hand #19. Wasnock flopped two pair, but decided to slow-play his hand. On the turn, Mizrachi hit his flush, and when the last chip entered the pot, John had only six outs on the river to stay alive.
For a brief moment, “The Grinder” thought it was all over and that his opponent was drawing dead. It took him a couple of seconds to realize he still had a few outs to dodge. And dodged them he did, as the river bricked, completing the run of a lifetime for “The Grinder.”
In addition to poker immortality, the 2025 WSOP Main Event brought Mizrachi an additional $10,000,000 to add to his career winnings, while John Wasnock will pocket $6,000,000 as the runner-up.
2025 WSOP Main Event Final Table Standings
| Position | Player | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Mizrachi | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | John Wasnock | $6,000,000 |
| 3 | Braxton Dunaway | $4,000,000 |
| 4 | Kenny Hallaert | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | Luka Bojovic | $2,400,000 |
| 6 | Adam Hendrix | $1,900,000 |
| 7 | Leo Margets | $1,500,000 |
| 8 | Jarod Minghini | $1,250,000 |
| 9 | Daehyung Lee | $1,000,000 |
A Night to Remember
It is hard to add anything to the feeling of winning the poker’s biggest tournament, especially when doing so on the heels of a victory in what many consider to be the toughest and most elite WSOP event.
But, somehow, it happened for Mizrachi to ensure that this remains the night he’ll always remember. Following his Main Event win, he was greeted by a group of legendary players, all Poker Hall of Fame members, who welcomed him inside this prestigious “club.”
This is not how things are usually done, and Michael Mizrachi is the first player to be inducted in this fashion. However, following his stellar performance during the series, and accounting for all his previous results, many of his fellow players believed that it wasn’t fair to let him wait any longer.
So, they bent the rules a bit and let “The Grinder” skip ahead of the line.
Although this was one of the shortest Main Event final tables altogether, taking about five hours of play between two days, it was also one of the most exciting and emotional conclusions we’ve seen in a long time.
It certainly sets a very high bar for the next year, but poker tends to find ways to surprise us when we least expect it.
