The 2025 World Series of Poker schedule has dropped and players all over the world can finally start to make concrete plans for the summer festival.
The WSOP didn't make many dramatic changes. The event counter increased by one to an even 100 and six new events will offer players a shot at T.O.R.S.E. and a Battle of the Ages that splits the field to under 50s and 50s and over for the Day 1 flights. There's a new $100K PLO High Roller and a $25K NLH/PLO split. Most of the rest of the schedule is what we have come to expect.
Players all over the pokerverse are now scouring the lineup, consulting our Ultimate Player's Guide, and plotting out their hotels. We reached out to a few members of our Player Advisory Board and the 2024 Main Event champ to get their raw reactions to the 2025 itinerary.
Jonathan Tamayo: The champ is here
Jonathan Tamayo has just the one WSOP bracelet to his name, but it's the one that many poker players would swap all of theirs for. He won the 2024 WSOP Main Event for $10,000,000 and will be looking to defend it underneath a poster of himself on the wall this summer.
"One event I'm looking forward to is the opening event, the Mystery Millions," Tamayo told us. "Fun fact: I have never pulled a physical envelope/ping pong ball in any mystery bounty MTT.
"My favorite outside of the Main Event is the Milly Maker, pretty much an original type WSOP structure. [Tamayo has cashed in this event seven times and went super deep, finishing 28th in 2015.] I wish they'd bring back the mixed hold'em, half limit, half no-limit, just because the short time it existed, I did pretty well in it."
Ari Engel: Fast start is a good start
Ari Engel is the king of the WSOP Circuit and a four-time WSOP bracelet winner who plays almost every day throughout the summer.
“I like that they are calling Event 2 the 'Industry Employees' rather than the 'Casino Employees' event to better recognize all the industry people who are (and should be) allowed to play but don’t work for a casino," Engel told us. The shift from the WSOP should end the annual debate about who can enter the tournament, as it's now open to anyone employed in the gaming, hospitality, or media industries.
"I like the fast start with tons of mixed games to begin with," Engel added. "They have a thing that works very well, so I think it’s smart to mainly keep it the same with some small changes, which seems to have been the overall strategy."
Ausmus: $100K PLO is going to do well
Six-time WSOP champion Jeremy Ausmus went without #7 in 2024 after he won the WSOP Online High Roller in 2023. He's a perennial final table contender with a runner-up finish to Chris Hunichen in last year's $100K and a third-place run in the $2,500 Freezeout.
“I’m super excited about the $25,000 half-PLO, half-no-limit tournament," Ausmus said. "They had done away with most of these events the last couple of years and people actually love them. I expect this event to do very well, as so many people play both games. This is probably the event I’m most excited to see in the last few years.
"Another new one that I’m excited about is the addition of the $100K PLO. Over the last year, we’ve seen a couple of $100K PLO tournaments pop up and they’ve done pretty well. I expect that at the World Series of Poker in Vegas this event will do extremely well.”
Gollins: Glad I'm in the under-50s bracket!
Christina Gollins is a two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner who came very close to her first bracelet in the 2022 Ladies Championship, where she finished third place in a tournament eventually won by Jessica Teusl. A true WSOP grinder, she is also a regular fixture in tournaments around Las Vegas and Gollins cashed four times at last year's WSOP.
“There wasn’t a ton that was changed this year, which I’m happy about. I am curious about the new Battle of the Ages tournament. I’m just glad I’ll be in the under-50 bracket so I can get more than five hands per level!"
The Battle of the Ages tournament will split the field with players over 50 years old playing in a 10am flight, followed by those under 50 at 4pm. All surviving players will combine on Day 2 to play down to a winner.
"I also noticed the absence of the Tournament of Champions on the schedule. I wonder if they are going to bring it back to LA back-to-back years.”
Moreno: Battle of the Ages gimmicky but appealing
Andrew Moreno has close to $5 million in tournament winnings but he's still looking for his first bracelet. He went deep in the $10K 6-Handed Championship last year, finishing 28th in an event that Michael Rocco won.
"I am pleased to see only minor changes to the WSOP schedule this year," Moreno told us. "Although I don’t play mix games, I’ve heard players love swapping out the hold'em in the new T.O.R.S.E. The most interesting new tournament to me is the Battle of the Ages. Although it feels a bit gimmicky, I can see the appeal."
The 56th WSOP runs from May 27 to July 16 at the Horseshoe and Paris Casinos in Las Vegas. PokerOrg will be there to bring you all the biggest moments on and off the felt.
