Players to Watch at the WPT® World Championship 2025

What makes the 2025 WPT® World Championship field different?

So, why does the WPT® World Championship field feel so distinct in 2025?

First, the structure.

You get a $10,400 buy-in, deep stack, long levels, and six days of play before the TV final. That setup favours experienced live tournament players, not just variance and run-good.

Second, you have the qualification funnel. 

WPT® Global expects to send 100+ online qualifiers through a ladder that starts at $1 and $5.50 and ends in $1,060 finals with $12,400 packages.

ClubWPT®’s Gold promotion has $2,000,000 in cash and prizes added, including a $500,000 Second Chance raffle and a $100,000 WPT® Ambassadorship.

Across the Gold Mystery Quest and the raffle, over 200 WPT® World Championship seats are awarded, with around 100 players qualifying for the live Gold Mystery Quest Mystery Bounty event at Wynn.

And third, we have the calendar.

The event sits in the middle of the December schedule clash with WSOP Paradise and EPT Prague. Any poker star who chooses Wynn over those stops makes a statement with that decision alone.

On site, that all turns into a packed Encore poker room on the busy Day 1 flights. Tables fill early, big names register late, and side rails form fast around feature tables and familiar faces.

What we will see is a $10K where past champions, POY leaders, ambassadors, and qualifiers all collide at the same tables.

Champions Club: Hudon, Sepiol, Stewart, and the repeat problem

Eliot Hudon – the original Wynn champion

Eliot Hudon turned the first modern WPT® World Championship into a breakout win in 2022. He beat 2,960 players to take $4,136,000, which remains his biggest live score to this day. 

His total live earnings now sit close to $4.9M. He has backed the title up with solid WPT® and WSOP runs, which matters in a field this tough.

Why does Hudon still profile well for 2025?

It’s evident he has what it takes for this exact structure, this room, and this stage. If he returns, he checks every “can he do it again?” box.

Eliot Hudon won the WPT® World Championship in 2022.

Dan Sepiol – the $40M field crusher

Dan Sepiol won the 2023 edition, the year the guarantee hit $40M and the field reached 3,835 entries.

He banked $5,282,954, moved over $9.4M in recorded live earnings, and added more than $5.4M in WPT® results alone. Not a bad day at the office.

That result pushed him into the upper tier of US live pros and high on Indiana’s all-time money list. His calm, controlled style across a marathon final table suited Wynn’s deep structure and TV stage.

If Sepiol chooses Wynn over Prague or Paradise again, he becomes an instant headline rail pick.

Scott Stewart – the reigning champion

Scott Stewart closed out 2024 by beating a 2,392-player field for $2,563,900.

That win took his live earnings to somewhere around $5.6–5.8M, alongside six WSOP Circuit rings and a 13th-place WSOP Main Event finish in 2017.

His record is stacked with large-field NLHE results. His history suggests he knows perfectly well how to move through softer spots early and still arrive with chips when the room fills with killers.

Back-to-back winners are rare at this level. If you want a live tournament specialist with proven Wynn form, Stewart is an easy “must watch” pick.

The reigning champion, Scott Stewart

Chris Moorman – the back-to-back final table machine

Chris Moorman has not won this championship as of yet (but it’s worth mentioning that he has done something almost as hard).

He made the WPT® World Championship final table in both 2023 and 2024, finishing 4th each time. His live earnings are impressive, sitting above $11.5M, with a WPT® LAPC title, a WSOP bracelet, and several seven-figure scores. 

If we look at his online record, it’s even more extreme, with years spent at or near the top of global MTT rankings.

Therefore, will anyone be able to stop Moorman from making a third straight deep run?

If he bags up again in 2025, you are no longer looking at a fun story. You are watching the start of a mini-dynasty at one of the biggest $10Ks in poker.

Other recent finalists: Sotiropoulos, Lichtenberger, and company

Names like Georgios Sotiropoulos and Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger added high-roller weight to past final tables. Both carry seven-figure live results, deep major series experience, and balanced games that play well in slow structures.

They may not draw the same casual traffic as Rampage or Brad Owen. Anyone building a serious “who can actually win this?” list should keep them on the radar.

POY race on the line: Castro, Peacock, Vanier, Betbese, Vezhenkov, Kitsbabashvili

Why does the WPT® Player of the Year race matter so much at Wynn? Because a single deep run in the World Championship or Prime Championship can flip the entire table.

As of 18 November 2025, according to the official WPT® Player of the Year leaderboard, the standings look like this:

For all of them, a deep run in the World Championship or WPT® Prime Championship can seal, steal, or revive the POY title.

Castro sits comfortably (for the moment) as the points leader, with a mix of consistency and one strong title. Peacock brings higher total WPT® cashes and will try to turn volume into a late push. Vanier sits close behind with solid mid-six-figure results.

Betbese’s 2025 surge includes a marquee WPT® title and another big final table, not just one spike result. 

One reason his name keeps showing up in final-table graphics and live updates.

Betbese, Vezhenkov, and Kitsbabashvili give the list a strong European flavour. They are the players Euro fans have been sweating all season on WPT® stops across the region.

If you want a storyline that grows with every Day 2 chip count, track this group from Prime through Championship.

For up-to-date standings, keep an eye on the official WPT® Player of the Year leaderboard.

WPT® Global ambassadors and stream stars: Ivey, Rampage, Owen, Guillen, and friends

Phil Ivey – the legend with live and mixed game form

Phil Ivey needs no introduction. Considered by many to be the GOAT, he holds ten WSOP bracelets and over $54M in live earnings as of late 2025.

Since joining the WPT® family as an ambassador in 2022, he has become a centrepiece of WPT® Global branding. Recent years show him active in high-roller and mixed game events, including big WSOP and PokerGO scores.

Does Ivey always fire big-field $10Ks?

Not always.

One thing is for sure though, his presence in the room shifts attention, side action, and table dynamics the moment he sits down.

Poker legend and WPT® Global Ambassador Phil Ivey

Ethan “Rampage” Yau – swingy high-stakes streamer

Ethan “Rampage” Yau sits at a cool $3.07M in live earnings. His best live cash came in the $25,000 WPT® World Championship High Roller in 2022, where he won $894,240.

His name has been built through poker vlogs, Lodge and Hustler Casino Live streams, and aggressive shot-taking. 2025 has been public and swingy, with visible six-figure downswings and comebacks.

If you like watching poker streamers and emotional rails, Rampage is one of the purest “must watch” picks in the field.

Brad Owen – vlogger turned serious WPT® threat

Brad Owen’s live earnings sit over $1.1–1.2M, led by deep live MTT scores and WPT® cashes. He final-tabled WPT® Prime Montreal in 2024, has prior cashes at Wynn, and ran in the 2023 World Championship field.

His YouTube channel sits around 790K subscribers, with a loyal community generating him hundreds of millions of views. If he bags a big stack for Day 3, you will no doubt see it all over your feed.

Angel Guillen – steady grinder with a global footprint

Angel Guillen, a 2009 WSOP bracelet winner and WPT® Global Ambassador, holds about $2.94M in live cashes. He plays across WPT®, Australian circuits, and Asia-Pacific stops, with regular final-table appearances.

Guillen also completed a standout WPT® Australia 2025 stop, where he picked up back-to-back titles. That run underlines that he is still adding trophies, not just cashes.

He fits the “quiet professional” profile. He may not trend on streaming platforms, but he turns up, plays well, and bags often.

Angel Guillen has just completed a brilliant WPT® Australia 2025 stop

Patrick “Egption” Tardif and other package faces

Patrick “Egption” Tardif features heavily across WPT® Global ambassador hubs and package promos. 

He is a long-time online MTT grinder and streamer with experience laddering from small buy ins to major events.

He is a classic example of a qualifier who sits down in a $10K and clearly belongs. If he or similar faces reach the final table, the link between WPT® Global ladders and the main stage becomes very real.

For a full breakdown of online paths, see the WPT® Global guide on how to qualify for the World Championship.

Regional Heroes and Underrated 2025 Standouts

Who sits just below the absolute top tier but still deserves attention?

The 2025 WPT® Player of the Year list gives us a few suitable candidates. 

For example, rising players like Nico Betbese, Artem Vezhenkov, and Ilia Kitsbabashvili have already shown they can win titles and hold form across a season.

Betbese, an Argentine based in Europe, has a trademark mix of big results and flexibility across buy in levels. His 2025 push includes a major WPT® title and another big final table, so his POY run is built on more than one heater.

Vezhenkov and Kitsbabashvili both carry titles and final tables from European and international stops. They have already proved they can adjust fast to new fields and build stacks quietly.

On the rise, their names may not mean much to casual viewers yet. Inside the community, they are exactly the type of balanced, well-prepared pros who turn up ready for long, slow WPT® structures.

Qualification numbers from Europe, LATAM, APAC, and North America suggest we will see one of the most international line-ups in the event’s short history. 

Deep in the Championship, expect flag diversity that reflects that global funnel.

Final Thoughts

Remember that the real line-up only locks in when Day 1 flights and late registration close. 

Entry lists are often limited in advance, so the best way to confirm who actually showed up is to follow official WPT® chip counts, live updates, and the TV or streaming coverage once cards are in the air.

As the 2025 WPT® World Championship gets closer, check which of these profiles actually appear on the official entry list. Then set your own rail around a simple idea: a field this deep and this international will not be won by accident.

All historical prize pools and fields come from WPT®’s official event pages.