Hate them or love them, Martin Kabrhel and Will Kassouf have been two of the most-talked-about gamers of the 2025 World Collection of Poker. Kabrhel has been polarising for years, however this summer time he in some way shifted into the function of a loveable rogue.
Between new catchphrases which have launched a brand new merch line, fixed clock calls and even a mid-hand telling off from Daniel Negreanu, he turned that rascally child at school you may’t assist however have a tender spot for.
Kassouf’s return was minimize from a unique fabric. The villain of the 2016 WSOP Most important Occasion re-emerged 9 years later with a deep run in Poker’s World Championship and the identical needle-heavy desk presence that after cut up the poker world down the center. His act generated tens of millions of clicks, but in addition the acquainted discomfort that comes with watching somebody push the road simply far sufficient for everybody to start out asking the identical query once more: Is it good for poker?
Each males largely dominated dialog all summer time, however does poker nonetheless want characters like this to thrive, or is their model of theatre one thing the trendy recreation has outgrown?
Kabrhel a Villain No Extra?
“I attempt to take pleasure in my life, I attempt to benefit from the poker. That is all I can do, proper?” Martin Kabrhel mentioned that to PokerNews as soon as upon a time, and nobody regarded like they have been having fun with the 2025 WSOP greater than he was.
All summer time, Horseshoe and Paris echoed along with his now-famous strains. “On line casino Royale,” “Not like that,” “That is embarrassment.” These “Martinisms” didn’t simply turn into memes, they turned the vocabulary of the Collection. If this have been the early 2010s, a Kabrhel soundboard app would have been the number-one obtain of the summer time.
The clock was always known as on him. He talked nonstop and pushed the desk dynamics in each route. However as an alternative of pushing folks away, the total Kabrhel expertise in some way softened. The tough edges was one thing extra mischievous than malicious.
Even the professionals who used to appear probably the most irritated by him are seeing the act in a different way. On Chip Chief Teaching’s YouTube channel, Alex Foxen defined that he needs Kabrhel at his desk.
“He makes different gamers play worse. Not simply in opposition to him, in opposition to me as properly. I believe he advantages me. I believe he is hilarious and a very sensible man. The hate folks anticipate me to have for him is incorrect.”
Probability Kornuth additionally admitted his place has modified. “Used to hate him. Like him now. As soon as I finished pondering he was dishonest, I may perceive what he is making an attempt to do.”
Kabrhel can even take a shot. Nick Schulman‘s “say my identify, Martin” was one of many strains of all the Collection after the Corridor of Famer windmilled an enormous bluff in Kabrhel’s face. Everybody on the desk knew Schulman had gained that trade, and Kabrhel didn’t struggle it.
What helps him resonate so strongly is how a lot he resembles the characters who made poker must-see TV in the course of the growth years. The power, the needling, the efficiency is all very Tony G. After busting Michael Moncek from the$250K Tremendous Excessive Curler, Kabrhel advised him, “GG Mikey, good luck subsequent bullet.” Moncek didn’t take offence. He posted on X that he discovered Kabrhel “tremendous amusing” and added that “poker wants villains.”
The broader viewers appears to agree. A PokerNews ballot with greater than 1,700 votes confirmed 44 p.c of followers mentioned he retains them entertained. Thirty-eight p.c discovered him annoying, and simply 10 p.c felt he created a hostile atmosphere.
And buried beneath all of the theatre is a world-class participant. Kabrhel gained the Mini Most important Occasion in a ten,794-entry discipline for $843,140, added picked up his fifth bracelet at WSOP Europe within the $10K PLO Thriller Bounty and got here near the WSOP Participant of the 12 months title earlier than ending fourth.
Kabrhel is messy, unpredictable, irritating, and hilarious all on the identical time. And whether or not you suppose he’s a villain, hero, or one thing in between, poker has hardly ever been extra entertaining for spectators lately than when he’s on digital camera.
Kassouf Rolls Again the Years
If Kabrhel spent the summer time strolling the tightrope of desk theatre, Will Kassouf charged straight by means of it. His deep run within the 2025 WSOP Most important Occasion introduced again the precise persona that made him notorious in 2016. The place Kabrhel was one thing akin to charming, Kassouf’s act swung again towards the model of himself that a lot of the poker world hoped had mellowed.
The hand that marked his return got here on Day second of the Most important Occasion, when he went right into a ten-minute tank with the second nuts whereas unleashing a full barrage of desk speak. “Wow, such a sick river,” “Not one we are able to simply verify down,” and “You’ve bought the nuts and I’ve bought the second nuts” all got here pouring out as Sacha Cohen tried to get by means of the hand. Cohen ultimately known as the clock just because, as he mentioned, “I desire a break.”
Kassouf made the proper name and doubled up, however the hand set the tone for the remainder of his run. Each orbit introduced one other scene, one other tank, one other monologue. The issue wasn’t the leisure however his affect on the sport.
As Kassouf climbed towards Day 7, the antics escalated. He argued with gamers, argued with the ground, argued with Jack Effel, and repeatedly insisted he was being picked on. He was hit with a ten-second shot clock, then a spherical penalty, then one other warning as workers tried to maintain the match transferring whereas nonetheless treating him pretty.
Effel tried to cause with him throughout a break, “I’m not fearful in regards to the protection. I’m fearful about everybody having a very good time.”
However Kassouf noticed it in a different way. “People can’t take it,” he advised Effel. “There’s a technique to my insanity.”
The viewers had their say, too. PokerNews polls confirmed the neighborhood leaning strongly in opposition to him, with greater than two-thirds saying his behaviour was dangerous for the sport.
But he saved pushing, insisting he was reacting to how others handled him, claiming that gamers had threatened him, and stating that rulings have been inconsistent. He in contrast himself to Donald Trump. He framed the criticism as a type of political tribalism. He insisted he was merely “constructed completely different” and operating on two hours of sleep.
His elimination in thirty third place ought to have been a feel-good second. A second deep Most important Occasion run 9 years after his unique breakout, however as an alternative, it led to chaos. After shedding a preflop all-in to Kenny Hallaert, Kassouf was confronted by match workers, knowledgeable he was banned from the rest of the Collection, and escorted from the WSOP gaming ground.
The rail serenaded him with “sha-la-la, hey hey, goodbye.” Safety walked him out, and similar to that, probably the most contentious storyline of the summer time reached its conclusion.
Is It Good for Poker?
Poker turned a phenomenon as a result of gamers like Phil Hellmuth, Sammy Farha, Mike Matusow, and Tony G made each hand really feel like a scene value watching.
Kabrhel and Kassouf each faucet into that lineage, however the trade’s response to every exhibits how a lot the sport has developed. At the moment’s viewers nonetheless needs leisure, stress, and desk power, however not at the price of tempo, equity, or the ambiance on the desk.
Kabrhel pushes, prods, and irritates, however Kassouf is completely different. His fashion doesn’t simply create theatre, however it stops the sport totally. Ten-minute tanks, relentless speech play, arguing with gamers, arguing with workers, a number of penalties, and ultimately an unceremonious goodbye. It tarnishes the sport, and for a good portion of the poker neighborhood, that crosses a line.
And that’s the place the louder, extra important viewpoint is available in, one voiced clearly by gamers like Seth Davies.
“Get out of right here with this ‘Kassouf and Kabrhel are good for the sport’ stuff.” Davies posted on X in the summertime. “Getting PokerNews extra clicks isn’t good for the sport. Individuals are gonna see these guys on TV after which go emulate them of their native recreation and chase off half the poker site. Horrible for the sport.”
That is the counter-argument that carries actual weight. Not everybody watches poker to be entertained by disruption. On the grassroots stage — the nightly $1/$3 video games, the charity tournaments, the weekend dailies — conduct like this may make the atmosphere worse, not higher.
Newer leisure gamers already really feel intimidated, and in the event that they stroll right into a card room and see folks mimicking Kassouf’s tanking or trash speak, they gained’t stick round. And with out them, all the ecosystem shrinks.
So is that this behaviour good for poker? A few of it’s. A few of it isn’t.
The sport advantages from persona, ego, aptitude, and the occasional villain. What it doesn’t profit from is disruption so heavy that the sport can’t perform.
Calum Grant
Senior Editor & Stay Occasions Government
Calum has written for varied poker retailers however discovered his dwelling at PokerNews, the place he has contributed to varied articles and reside updates, offering insights and reporting on main poker occasions, together with the World Collection of Poker (WSOP).
