PokerGO founder Cary Katz has been an everyday on the excessive curler scene for greater than a decade, so it might have stunned some to see his title among the many entries in Occasion #83: $2,500 No-Restrict Maintain’em Freezeout.
After three lengthy days of motion on the 2025 World Sequence of Poker, Katz was among the many remaining 4 gamers who bagged up for an unscheduled day at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Wanting again on his resolution, Katz instructed PokerNews that he had a sense about this explicit occasion.
“I wasn’t even presupposed to play it. I did not even have it on my schedule. I used to be going to relaxation this weekend and simply prepare for the Foremost [Event]. However you recognize, I mentioned I had a sense I type of wish to play this.
“I like freezeouts. I am going to go over to late register the freezeout and see what occurs. And it was a great resolution. I am glad I took my shot.”
With the WSOP Foremost Occasion occurring round them, Katz overcame an early chip deficit and a loud Brazilian rail to defeat Breno Drumond in heads-up play.
Regardless of boasting over $40 million in earnings and quite a few victories, Katz had but to get his arms on a WSOP gold bracelet. That career-first got here in a area of 1,299 entries, taking residence the most important share of the $2,890,275 prize pool.
“It feels superb. I simply wished to get pleasure from each second. I had a sense the entire occasion that, generally you simply know when you are going to run properly.”
Occasion #83: $2,500 No-Restrict Maintain’em Freezeout Remaining Desk Outcomes
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Household Affair
Katz claimed his first WSOP bracelet after a number of shut calls through the years, together with a trio of runner-up finishes. The primary got here again on the 2013 World Sequence of Poker, when his kings had been cracked by jacks in Occasion #19: $5,000 Pot-Restrict Maintain’em.
The second was in 2017, as Katz got here up brief in Occasion #52: $1,500 No-Restrict Maintain’em. The newest likelihood got here in 2023, the place Occasion #29: $100,000 Excessive Curler resulted in additional heartbreak.
This time, Katz wouldn’t be denied. He took the chip lead early within the additional day and completed the job in entrance of his household and the PokerGO manufacturing group.
“It means every little thing to me to have my household there. I had my spouse there, I had my son there, my daughter was there. My different daughter was there final evening, my son-in-law was there, so it was fairly an expertise.”
The Katz household was cheering on in opposition to a loud crew of Brazilians, who tried to propel Drumond to victory.
“I used to be nearly rooting for them to win arms simply so I might hear the cheering, as a result of I used to be feeding off it. It was stunning. That was simply particular, the Brazilians deliver a lot.”
Drumond held the chip lead as play concluded an evening earlier, whereas Katz was pleased to bag up for the unscheduled day.
“I assumed he was taking part in very properly and really aggressively, and I used to be getting actually drained on the finish of Day 3. So it was lucky for me that the time ended and I might come again, get a good evening’s sleep, and begin again up on Day 4.”
The timing labored out properly for Katz, who discovered an early double to begin the day and watched Drumond earn a pair of eliminations. Preston McEwen and Jaehoon Baek fell on the opening stage, leaving at a chip drawback to begin heads-up play.
After taking command and having enjoyable with the opposing rail, Katz sealed the victory when his pocket threes gained a flip to ship Drumond out in second place.
“I am simply I used to be simply grateful that he did not have a pair when he referred to as me.” As Katz celebrated, Drumond had extra work to do as his stack was ready within the WSOP Foremost Occasion. The additional day of motion price him a 3rd of his chips, however the second-place prize of $298,690 supplied a little bit of comfort.
Katz earned $449,245 for his efforts, and might now deal with taking his personal shot within the Foremost Occasion.
“I made a decision this 12 months to shake it up slightly bit, determined to skip day one, simply type of like preserve my vitality. Coming with 75 bigs on Day 2, it appeared like the proper transfer for me. I will not be that emotionally invested in it, so I can simply type of, I wish to simply play it unfastened and simply have at it.”
The scheduling labored out properly, as Katz can now enter the most important occasion of the collection as a WSOP bracelet winner.
That concludes our protection of the $2,500 No-Restrict Maintain’em Freezeout, however the [I]PokerNews[/] group stays busy with full protection of the remainder of the WSOP in Las Vegas.
Will Shillibier
Managing Editor
On this Sequence
1 Who Received $64K and the First 2025 WSOP Bracelet?2 David Shmuel Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hello-Lo for $205,333!3 Furth Wins Second WSOP Bracelet; Denies Kabrhel in $5,000 Pot-Restrict Omaha4 GTO Examine Sees Antonio Galiana Win Second WSOP Bracelet in $5,000 No-Restrict Maintain’em5 Persistence Pays Off: Dan Heimiller Wins $1,500 Seven Card Stud for Third WSOP Bracelet6 Artur Martirosian Wins WSOP $25,000 Heads Up Championship ($500,000)7 Benny Glaser Provides to His Legacy With Bracelet No. 6 in Occasion #8: $1,500 Sellers Selection8 Michael Wilklow: As soon as a Thriller, Now a Millionaire (and WSOP Bracelet Winner)9 Kenneth Kim Storms Again to Win His First WSOP Bracelet10 Father-Son WSOP Bracelet Duo Made as Yosef Fox Wins $10,000 Thriller Bounty11 5 Bracelets in 5 Years: Brad Ruben Wins the $1,500 No-Restrict 2-7 Lowball Draw ($138,080)12 Ryan Bambrick Denies Daniel Negreanu to Declare Second WSOP Bracelet13 Christopher Staats Denies David Jackson in WSOP $1,500 6-Handed NLH for $414,95014 Corey Thompson Practically Wins Two WSOP On-line Bracelets Proper Off the Bat15 Cristian Gutierrez Wins $600 PLO Deepstack For His First Bracelet and $193,78016 Lou Garza Mounts Memorable Heads-Up Comeback to Clinch Second WSOP Bracelet17 Benny Glaser Goes Again-to-Again (Once more) for seventh Bracelet in $1,500 Blended18 Zachary Zaret Overcomes Stacked Remaining Desk to Win First Bracelet19 Michael Lavin Steamrolls the Competitors on Solution to a Second WSOP Bracelet20 Ryan Hoenig Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win Occasion #18: $10,000 Sellers Selection Championship21 Bohlman’s Breakthrough: Blended Sport Vet Wins 2nd Bracelet in $2,000 NLH ($436,044)22 Blaz Zerjav Wins Maiden WSOP Bracelet in $25,000 6-Handed Excessive Curler23 Aloisio Dourado Claims Redemption with First WSOP Bracelet in File-Breaking Badugi Occasion24 Blended Sport Maestro Xixiang Luo Luggage $290,400 and Third WSOP Bracelet25 Nick Guagenti Crushes Chino Rheem’s Triple Crown Bid in $10K Stud Victory26 Newbie’s Luck? 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Chang Lee Wins $25,000 Excessive Curler ($1,949,044)27 Penalized Poker Participant Wins WSOP Bracelet Regardless of Shade Up Controversy28 LA Poker Participant Outlasts 16,300 Opponents to Win 2025 WSOP’s Colossus29 Igor Zektser Scoops His First Bracelet in Occasion #27: $1,500 Large O30 A Few Cocktails on the Street to First WSOP Bracelet for Mark Darner31 Rising New Jersey Poker Star Captures First WSOP Bracelet32 Jason Koon Strikes to Third on All-Time Cash Checklist w/ WSOP $50,000 Excessive Curler Win33 Toy Charizard, Pink Slipper Carry Canadian Household Man to WSOP Victory34 Nick Schulman Joins Poker’s Immortals With Bracelet No. 7 in the $10K 2-7 Championship35 Ukraine’s Renat Bohdanov Spikes Gutshot to Win Second WSOP Bracelet36 John Racener Claims Third WSOP Bracelet For His Third Son37 Philip Sternheimer Tears Up After Ending 13 12 months Bracelet Chase38 Joao Vieira Avenges WSOP Paradise Loss to Win WSOP $100K Excessive Curler ($2,649,158)39 Andrey Zhigalov Wheels In Second Bracelet in Occasion #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($197,923)40 Ian Johns Slays ‘Isildur1′ to Win WSOP Restrict Maintain’em Championship for a Second Time41 Fourth Bracelet & $647K for Seniors Excessive Curler Champ David “ODB” Baker42 Carlos Leiva Defeats Weisman on Solution to Profitable WSOP $1,000 PLO Bracelet Occasion43 A Father’s Day Particular: Allan Le Denies Shaun Deeb in $1,500 Razz44 Seth Davies Wins $250K WSOP Tremendous Excessive Curler for First Bracelet and $4.75M Rating45 V for Vongxaiburana as ‘Interest’ Participant Beats Professionals to $10k Large O Bracelet46 Hellmuth Denied as Jason Daly Wins Second Bracelet in $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hello-Lo47 Joey Couden Wins Second Bracelet in $500 SALUTE to Warriors ($187,937)48 Tyler Patterson Grabs Second Bracelet in $3K 6-Handed NLHE for $574K49 Klemens Roiter Finishes the Job for First Bracelet in Occasion #37: $1,500 MONSTER STACK50 Brian Rast in Seventh Heaven w/ Miraculous Comeback in WSOP $10k Razz Championship51 Texan Punches Ticket to WSOP Foremost Occasion with $1.5K Freezeout Bracelet Win52 Dennis Weiss Claims Victory in $25K PLO Excessive Curler for $2,292,15553 After 3 Runner-Ups, Matt Vengrin Lastly Will get His WSOP Bracelet in $1.5K PLO54 Mateos Makes Historical past as fifth Youngest to Win 5 WSOP Bracelets55 Emotional Kristopher Tong Makes use of Inspiration to Seize First WSOP Bracelet56 Brett Lim to Sail Off into the Sundown After Senior’s Championship Win57 Benny Glaser Wins Three WSOP Bracelets in Three Weeks w/ Blended Triple Draw Triumph58 Dylan Linde Takes Down the $50k PLO Excessive Curler for Third Bracelet and Profession-Greatest Rating59 Welshman Wells Roars to Victory in $3K 9-Sport Combine for Maiden Bracelet60 Sebastiaan de Jonge the Sole Survivor in WSOP Battle of the Ages61 Gavrieli Denies Bohlman Second Bracelet of the Summer time in $3K Restrict Maintain’em62 Craig Savage Bides His Time to Triumph in WSOP $500 No Restrict Maintain’em Freezeout63 Yaginuma Overturns 9:1 Deficit to Win Millionaire Maker & 4th Bracelet64 It is Déjà Vu as Aaron Cummings Goes Again-to-Again in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw65 Nedelcu Dominates Remaining Desk to Win First Bracelet in $1,500 Eight Sport Combine66 Queen of the Felt: Shiina Okamoto Wins Again-to-Again WSOP Women Championships67 Michael Mizrachi Makes Historical past with Fourth $50K PPC Title at 2025 WSOP68 Yilong Wang “Fortunate Sufficient” To Win Bracelet In $3k No Restrict Maintain’em69 Runs Within the Household: Alex Wilkinson Lastly Wins The $10k 2-7 TD Occasion70 Rainer Kempe Speedruns First Bracelet In $10,000 Tremendous Turbo Bounty71 Zerjav Wins Second Bracelet of Summer time as Huck Seed Narrowly Misses Out72 Brazil’s Kerber & Patricio Win WSOP Tag Staff Bracelet After 14-12 months Journey73 Andjelko Andrejevic Wins Maiden Bracelet in $5,000 6-Handed NLH ($855,515)74 Fortunate Eight for Lonny Weitzel as He Wins $1,000 Tremendous Seniors Occasion75 Ian Pelz Wins Gladiator Off One Hungover Bullet ($420,680)76 Negreanu Denied as Aaron Kupin Wins First Bracelet in Blended Large Wager77 Michael Wang Completes Certainly one of WSOP’s Biggest Comebacks in $10K PLO78 Simply Like That! Martin Kabrhel Wins Fourth Bracelet in Mini Foremost Occasion79 Qinghai ‘The Terminator’ Pan Comes Again for Additional Day & Wins $10K Stud Hello-Lo Championship80 Shaun Deeb Wins Seventh WSOP Bracelet; Overtakes Participant of the 12 months Lead81 Fireworks in Las Vegas as Nick Ahmadi Wins PokerNews Deepstack Championship For $302,16582 Mike Gorodinsky Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $10K 8-Sport Championship83 Backgammon Professional Zdenek Zizka Denies Shaun Deeb Eighth Bracelet84 WSOP Glory at Final: PokerGO Founder Cary Katz Wins $2,500 NLH Freezeout85 Giuseppe Zarbo Wins $504,180 For $800 Summer time Celebration Victory
