The drought is finally over. On Sunday night under the bright lights of poker's biggest stage, Leo Margets shattered a 30-year streak by becoming the first woman since Barbara Enright to reach the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table.
Back in 1995, Barbara Enright, now a Poker Hall of Famer, etched her name in history with a legendary fifth-place finish worth $114,180. For three decades, she stood alone as the only woman to ever reach poker's most exclusive final nine. That exclusive club now has a second member.
Margets' trailblazing run comes after years of near-misses. Annie Duke fell just short in 2000. Gaelle Baumann bubbled the final table in 2012. Last year, Kristen Foxen ran deep, bowing out in 13th. Foxen was quick to offer congratulations to Margets for finally breaking through the barrier.
With a final table seat locked up, Margets has already secured a minimum payout of $1,000,000, the largest Main Event cash ever by a woman.
Grinding to Glory
Margets came into Day 8 of the tournament sitting in 15th out of the remaining 24 players in what has become the third-largest WSOP Main Event ever, with a massive 9,735-player field. She started with 17.8 million chips and held steady in the middle of the pack, playing a patient and calculated game.
But poker is all about timing, and Margets picked hers perfectly.
Just after the dinner break, with blinds at 500,000/1,000,000, Margets looked down at J♦J♣ in the hijack and made it 2 million to go. Action folded to Sergio Veloso in the small blind, who shoved for 32.7 million holding A♦K♥. With a near-equal stack, Margets made the call, setting up a critical race for a huge pot.
The flop came Q♣A♣9♠ -- bad news for Margets, who was suddenly behind. The 3♣ on the turn brought her a glimmer of hope with a flush draw. And then, the river: 2♣.
Flush. Game-changer.
Veloso was sent to the rail in 16th place for $450,000, while Margets surged to 71 million in chips. At that point, only Braxton Dunaway (101.9 million) had a bigger stack. Heavy-hitters Michael Mizrachi and Kenny Hallaert were still in the hunt at that time, both gunning for a return trip to poker's biggest stage.
Sealing Her Seat at the Table
Margets faced turbulence late in the session after running pocket aces into eventual chip leader John Wasnock, a hand that knocked her back on the leaderboard. But she rebounded quickly, picking up pots with aggressive re-raises, including a key hand with an off-suit ace that gave her some breathing room.
And then came the moment of truth.
With ten players left, Margets watched as Joey Padron was eliminated, paving her path to the final table. History had been made.
When play resumes on Tuesday for the first of two final table days, Margets will bring 53.4 million chips to the felt, equal to 33 big blinds as play enters Level 39 (800,000/1,600,000 blinds). She's right in the middle of the chip counts, flanked by four bigger stacks to her left and four shorter ones to her right, a comfortable and strategic position.
She's guaranteed seven figures, but the ultimate prize: a staggering $10 million and poker immortality, still lies ahead.
2025 WSOP Main Event Final Table - Seating and Chip Counts
|
Seat
|
Player
|
Country
|
Chip Count
|
Big Blinds
|
|
1
|
Leo Margets
|
Spain
|
53,400,000
|
33
|
|
2
|
Kenny Hallaert
|
Belgium
|
80,500,000
|
50
|
|
3
|
Braxton Dunaway
|
USA
|
91,900,000
|
57
|
|
4
|
John Wasnock
|
USA
|
108,100,000
|
68
|
|
5
|
Michael Mizrachi
|
USA
|
93,000,000
|
58
|
|
6
|
Daehyung Lee
|
South Korea
|
34,900,000
|
22
|
|
7
|
Luka Bojovic
|
Serbia
|
51,000,000
|
32
|
|
8
|
Adam Hendrix
|
USA
|
48,000,000
|
30
|
|
9
|
Jarod Minghini
|
USA
|
23,600,000
|
15
|
2025 WSOP Main Event Final Table - Payouts
|
Place
|
Prize
|
|
1st
|
$10,000,000
|
|
2nd
|
$6,000,000
|
|
3rd
|
$4,000,000
|
|
4th
|
$3,000,000
|
|
5th
|
$2,400,000
|
|
6th
|
$1,900,000
|
|
7th
|
$1,500,000
|
|
8th
|
$1,250,000
|
|
9th
|
$1,000,000
|
Source: https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025/07/leo-margets-reaches-wsop-main-event-final-table-49166.htm
