Gilles Simon Wins the 2025 WCOOP $10K NLHE Main Event

Austria-based Dutchman Gilles Simon is the 2025 PokerStars World Championship Of Online Poker (WCOOP) $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event champion. Simon left 406 of the world’s best poker tournament players in his wake as he claimed $736,327 of the $4,070,000 prize pool.

Simon burst onto the poker scene two years ago when he became the European Poker Tour (EPT) Cyprus Main Event champion. That impressive victory earned the Dutch star $1,042,000. Fast forward to today, and Simon gets to call himself the World Championship of Online No-Limit Hold’em and is the first player to win both an EPT and a WCOOP Main Event title.

$10,300 NLHE Main Event Final Table Chip Counts

Only nine players returned for the fourth and final day of the $10,300 WCOOP Main Event. Ukraine’s “arodnaS” lead them back into battle with 22,405,418 chips, with Simon hot on his heels with 21,478,633.

At the start of play, there was much attention on Ivan “ILS007” Stokes despite his 7,315,458 stack placing him in sixth. The attention was warranted because Stokes won this very event in 2023 and had a shot of becoming a two-time $10,300 WCOOP Main Event champion, which would have been an incredible achievement.

The final table lost its first player within minutes of the first cards being dealt. “4435GoldenBoy” essentially jammed for 10 big blinds from early position with pocket nines, leaving themselves with a single big blind behind. “arodNaS” flat-called with pocket kings from the next seat along, and “AchoBogdanov” called on the button with ace-king. All three players checked the ten-queen-eight flop before checking to “ardonaS” when a three landed on the turn. “ardonaS” stabbed at the pot, “AchoBogdanov” folded, and “4435GoldenBoy” put their last chips into the pot. The river bricked, and “4435GoldenBoy” was gone.

The surviving eight players were now guaranteed a six-figure score, and Matthew “mjw006” Wakeman was the first of those players to claim such a prize. Wakeman min-raised with ace-king from under the gun, Preben “prebz” Stokkan smooth-called in the cutoff with pocket jacks, only for Simon to wake up with pocket aces on the button; Simon squeezed to 6.5 big blinds. Wakeman opted to shove for 31 big blinds, folding out Stokkan, but Simon snap-called. The five community cards provided no drama, and the Main Event was down to seven players.

Those seven became six after the demise of “AchoBogdanov”, whose stack had dwindled to 15 big blinds around 40 minutes into play. They opened from under the gun with ace-queen of hearts, Stokkan three-bet with pocket kings before instantly calling when “AchoBogdanov moved all-in. Stokkan improved to an unnecessary set on the river to send the Bulgarian grinder to the rail.

Then came the elimination of Stokes, the 2023 champion. Stoken opened from under the gun with ace-king, and “arodnaS” called in the big blind with pocket threes. Those three improved to a set on the flop, and “arodnaS” check-raised a continuation bet with their set, and Stokes called. A King on the turn ultimately became an expensive second-best hand for Stokes. “arodnaS” led out and Stokes called. The river was a second four, making a full house for “arodnaS,” who overbet shoved just as they had done in an earlier confrontation with Stokes.

The Brit went into the tank, used his entire timebank, and emerged with a call for his remaining 50 big blinds, only to discover he was crushed from the first post-flop street.

The next exit was that of Stokkan around the 2.25 hour mark, and it was a cooler. “arodnaS” opened with ace-eight, Stokkan defended his big blind with king-eight, and both players flopped trip eights. Both players checked the flop and the ten on the turn before Stokkan fired on the seven river and called all-in when “arodnaS” set him all-in.

Fourth place went to Mexico’s “sebasnato” after they lost a coin flip against Simon. Simon open-shoved from the small blind with pocket fives, and “sebasnato” called off their 22 big blinds with ace-seven. Simon flopped a set, rendering the ace on the river useless for the at-risk player, and the $10,300 WCOOP NLHE Main Event was down to only three players.

Heads-up was set as the clock clicked around to the three-hour mark, and it was Renan “Internett93o” Bruschi who found himself void of chips. After Bruschi the small blind with king-eight, Simon checked with ten-four of clubs, and Bruschi check-called a bet on the seven-high, two-club flop. The eight of clubs on the turn improved Bruschi to a pair of eights, but Simon to a flush. Bruschi check-called again, this time an overbet.

An offsuit ace completed the community cards, and Bruschi checked for a third time. Bruschi had 9.8 million chips at this point, and there were 9.37 million in the pot. Simon set Bruschi all-in, and the Brazilian couldn’t get away from his pair of eights, and he finished in third for $426,455.

That hand gave Simon a 115 big blind to 87 big blind chip lead over “arodnaS” going into the one-on-one segment of the tournament. Simon pulled away from his Ukrainian opponent, but then was always clawed back. What turned out to be the final break was extended because Simon needed to change a flight he’d booked! Both players sat out for around ten minutes before play finally continued.

The final hand occurred almost exactly four hours after play began. Simon opened on the button, “arodnaS” three-bet before calling off the 32 big blinds they had behind when Simon jammed all-in. It was pocket fours for Simon against ace-queen of hearts. A jack-high flop changed nothing, but the king on the turn gave “arodnaS” outs to a straight. The river was a five, keeping Simon’s pocket fours as the best hand and awarding him the title.

Simon added $736,327 to his lifetime earnings, while “arodnaS” padded their bankroll with $560,366.

$10,300 NLHE Main Event Final Table Results

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.