It's the eve of the World Series of Poker. The tables and chairs are out, the chips are polished, and the poker world is trying to get a little bit of sleep before the doors crack open at Horseshoe and Paris on Tuesday morning.
The only thing left on the to-do list is the WSOP predictions column.
Thankfully, I am one of the best predictors in the business. My prediction credentials are obvious. In previous prediction attempts, I managed to foretell several of the WSOP's biggest moments, like Jungleman's follow-up victory in the 2022 Poker Players Championship, Chris Brewer's first bracelet in 2023, and Chad Eveslage's back-to-back wins that same year.
All of this is to warn you that this list of predictions is actually a list of potential spoilers, so proceed carefully.
Phil Hellmuth will only be seen in reruns this summer. Phil isn't playing
Many predictions are about what will happen, but let's start with a few about what won't happen. Everyone in poker is less than convinced that Phil Hellmuth has decided to skip the biggest tournament of the year, but I am buying what the Poker Brat is selling. He will sit out the Main Event for the first time in a very long time.
The public reaction to the announcement sent Hellmuth a clear message: he can get more attention by not playing the Main Event than he can with yet another one of his trademark entrances. He also may be a little burned out by the whole thing, or he already has other plans.
No matter what, he will likely keep the poker media guessing all the way until registration ends. Hellmuth's greatest entrance may involve no entrance at all.
No new Main Event record
The 2023 Main Event set an all-time record for entries with 10,043, and then it broke its own record in 2024 with 10,112 hopefuls. The goal from here until eternity will be to set a new record, but this year's flagship event will come up just a bit short.
It will be a great year for the Main Event — but not the biggest. Blame the rising headwinds on the global economy, or the uncertain via environment. Everyone will do their best, and it will get very close, but it's not happening. But if it does happen, you can give a lot of the credit to WSOP Online and the shared liquidity across Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. There will be more ways than ever to win your way to the WSOP.
All quiet on the RTA front
The WSOP has a brand-new policy on electronic devices and real-time assistance, with increased enforcement in the final three tables of a tournament. The new rule reads:
Once Participants have reached the final three tables in any Tournament, all approved electronic devices must be removed. An announcement will be made to Participants once they have reached the final three tables to remove all such electronic devices. Failure to do so will result in penalties up to and including disqualification.
You won't see any laptops on any rails this year. A lot has been written about the new rule, and it's a welcome change to what is normally an environment with a lot of grey areas. The prediction? This is the last we will hear about it. No one will be penalized or disqualified. Everyone will follow the rule. It's not a difficult rule to follow, and everyone will have an eagle eye out for violators. Poker players are ultimately very compliant.
Becker and Tice go deep
Landon Tice and Jeremy Becker faced off in what was supposed to be the Sweat of the Century at last year's WSOP. What we got instead was a lot of losing, and both players finished in the red.
It would be funny if both players were out of their minds this summer, playing deep into tournaments and putting up big numbers. So, that's exactly what is going to happen. Both will make final tables, and at least one of the two will win a bracelet. We had it all wrong — it should have been Tice and Becker, not Tice vs. Becker.
The final numbers weren't impressive. The rest of them
The remaining things worth predicting are shorter answers, but they're no less correct.
- Player of the Year: Yuri Dzivielevski
- Multi-bracelet winner: Yuri Dzivielevski
- First bracelet: Niklas Astedt
- $100K High Roller winner: Chris Hunichen (Back-to-back!)
- $250K Super High Roller winner: Daniel Negreanu
- Highest-scoring Fantasy Freeroll player: Jeremy Ausmus
Enjoy the summer, and remember: the real prize isn't the bracelet, or the bad beats, or the lost money — it's the friends we make along the way. Don't forget to jump in our Fantasy Freeroll for a free shot at a $10K main event package.
