Nick Schulman’s Recent Triumph: Discover how Nick Schulman added to his impressive poker resume by securing another World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, highlighting his strategies and key moments in the tournament.
Jason Koon’s Success Story: Learn about Jason Koon’s journey to winning a WSOP bracelet, including his preparation, pivotal hands, and what this victory means for his poker career.
David Baker’s Achievement: Explore David Baker’s path to capturing a WSOP bracelet, focusing on his gameplay tactics and the challenges he overcame during the event.
Impact on Poker Community: Understand how these recent victories by Schulman, Koon, and Baker have influenced the professional poker community and what their wins signify for the future of the game.
Insights and Analyses: Gain critical insights into the strategies and skills that led these players to success, along with expert analyses on what it takes to win at the highest levels of poker.
The third week of action at the World Series of Poker saw more big names cash in at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas.
That included Nick Schulman, David Baker, and Jason Koon coming out on top to add to their trophy collections. Some other stars have shined as well, including an online poker legend who seems to be on a quest to win a bracelet.
Here’s a look at some of the events over the last week.
Bracelet No. 7 Heads to Nick Schulman
Poker pro Nick Schulman has been a force at the WSOP over the last few years. He’s scored four gold bracelet since 2023 and secured his seventh last Thursday. The PokerGO commentator won the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for $497,356 in an event coveted by many pros.
Schulman faced quite an opponent when the event’s 233 entries were whittled down to heads-up play. Four-time World Poker Tour champion Darren Elias may be the biggest name in the game without a bracelet and had a chance to make that happen here.
Elias was the chip leader with six players remaining and engaged in almost eight hours of heads-up play before Nick Schulman was able to secure the win.
“First of all, Darren Elias (runner-up for $336,421) who I was heads-up with is easily, probably the toughest no-limit deuce player I’ve ever played with,” Schulman said after the win. “Big shoutout to him. It was a crap shoot at the end and I made hands. It’s a little silly. He just hung in there the whole time and played so great.
Image Credit: Poker Go
“It’s a little emotional because I was content to lose to him because he deserved it. I wanted to win. It feels amazing. I’m a little bit overwhelmed with this one.”
The 40-year-old player originally from New York now has $23.8 million in live tournament winnings. Schulman, who also works as a commentator for PokerGO, is quite the savant at the deuce to seven lowball poker variant. He won the same event in 2009 and 2012 as well.
In 2024, he took down the $25,000 High Roller for $1.7 million and won a bracelet in a $5,000 event at the WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas in December. With seven bracelets, Nick Schulman is tied with Benny Glaser, Billy Baxter, Daniel Negreanu, John Hennigan, Men Nguyen, and Scott Seiver.
Jason Koon, David ‘ODB’ Baker Add to Trophy Collection
A couple other big names rose to the top over the last week with Jason Koon and David “ODB” Baker finding the winner’s circle as well.
Koon, originally from West Virginia, took down the $50,000 High Roller for almost $2 million, topping fellow well-regarded pro Andrew Lichtenberger (runner-up for $1.3 million) in heads-up play to secure the title. The event attracted plenty of well-heeled poker pros and Koon was pleased to reach the finish line.
“I’ve dedicated my entire life to being very good at this game,” the PokerStars ambassador said after the win. “Every person in here is trying to win. It’s not like these guys have been around for two or three years. You’re talking to guys who have multiple decades of resumes and somehow we’re still here and we’re playing the biggest game and winning. It’s amazing.”
Baker scored his fourth bracelet in $5,000 Seniors High Roller and took home $646,845. He held a significant chip lead on the fourth day of action with just four players remaining and was able to ride that to victory.
Image Credit: Poker Go
After the latest win, Baker offered a look back at his past bracelet wins and how much they meant to him. Even after being in poker for more than two decades, the player from New Haven, Connecticut, still loves the game.
“All my bracelets have their own thing,” he said. “The first one, I beat an old friend of mine and it was ‘get the monkey off your back.’ The second one came right after I won the LAPC (L.A. Poker Classic), so it was kind of cool because it was the only summer I did side bets on bracelets and stuff. And I grew up playing Limit Hold’em, so that one felt special too.
“The third one was in the $1,500 Razz and that one really felt special because a few years earlier, I had been heads up and I had a 30-to-1 chip lead and I ended up losing and then I came back in the same event. All three of those were about the bracelet, but this one, it’s still about the bracelet because I love the World Series, but it’s also about the money. I mean, $650,000 is a lot of money.”
Other Players Shine With Big Wins
A few other players stand out with wins over the last week. Longtime pro John Racener took down a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty for his third career bracelet. He took home $247,595 for the effort and the title comes after he won the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship last year.
That event was won this year by Ian Johns, who was rewarded with his fourth bracelet and $282,455. He won the same event in 2016 and expressed his love of this format.
“The satisfaction of getting it done and knowing that I can come here and be competitive over so many years, just feels really good,” he said afterward. “When I was 18 I started playing Limit Hold’em a lot online, I just became obsessed with that game and that game only – studied forums, played a gazillions of hands, playing eight tables – like for years and years. And then when I moved on to live play I [continued] to play a lot.”
England’s Philip Sternheimer won his first bracelet in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi‑Lo Championship for $763,087 and a video of his reaction last week showed just how ecstatic he was at accomplishing one of his goals.
In the online arena, Jonathan Little cashed in for his first bracelet at WSOP Online in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $90,663. The two-time World Poker Tour champion and former WPT player of the year is a longtime poker coach. Little has had many close calls at the WSOP, but now has some gold.
I won the $1k @wsop freezeout online for $90k and a bracelet. I lost a big flip to get short but grinded hard and ran nicely. 🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/xyzst59cl2
Online Legend Making Deep Runs, Still Seeking First Bracelet
During the online poker boom in the 2000s, few players bet as big as Viktor Blom. Going by the screen name “Isildur1,” the Swedish poker player was involved in some of the biggest pots online at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. These games might baffle the average gambler – with millions of dollars won and lost.
In 2008, Blom had a bankroll of $2,000 on Full Tilt and went on to build that up to $1.4 million, according to reports. Millions more would be shipped his way in the coming years. Blom won some of the biggest tournaments in online poker, including the PokerStars Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP) $10,300 Maine Event in 2012 for $1.3 million.
Image Credit: Poker Go
More recently, Blom has been more of a live tournament player and despite having almost $3 million in WSOP winnings, he has yet to find a bracelet. It hasn’t been for lack of trying. The last few years have seen Blom make several deep runs and that has continued in 2025.
On Saturday he finished runner-up to Ian Johns in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship for $282,455. Also this year, h has a sixth-place score in the $50,000 High Roller for $348.068, and a fourth in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship for $152,315.
Blom seems determined to add a bracelet to his list of accomplishments and many wouldn’t bet against him. On Tuesday, he was once again seated at a WSOP final table as just five players remained in the $10,000 Big O Championship. The Swedish superstar sat second in chips and will add $784,353 to his career total as well as a bracelet if he comes out on top.
Looking Ahead to the Next Week of WSOP
Some big events are in the works in the coming week and here are a few tournaments to watch for.
Event 53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em – June 18
Event 55: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship – June 18
Event 57: $50,000 HIGH ROLLER Pot-Limit Omaha – June 20
Event 59: $1,000 Battle of the Ages – June 22
Event 64: $1,000 Super Seniors – June 24
Event 66: $50,000 Poker Players Championship – June 24
