Fourteen players kicked off the 2025 PPC season, with six others sidelined by last-minute illness. As predicted in our season preview, three players carried over their momentum from last year, taking home the lion’s share of the $350 prize pool. But the spotlight belonged to Thuy, who stormed through the final table to claim her first PPC win!
Big Hands, Big Trouble
Rob started hot, landing pocket Queens twice in the first hour and hitting a set both times. The second time, however, proved costly.
With blinds at 150-300, five players limped before Rob completed from the small blind. The big blind checked, and all seven saw a Q♠️-J❤️-3♦️flop, giving Rob top set. He bet 600 into a 2,100 pot, drawing four callers. The K♦️ turn invited more action, and Rob’s 1,200 bet was called by Christina and Lauren. Christina cryptically announced she needed “something very specific” on the river.
That “something” arrived on the 8♦️ river, completing her flush. Rob bet again and Christina called before Kara raised to 2,400. Rob and Christina called, building a 16,000-chip pot. Rob’s set of Queens bested Kara’s top pair with A-K, but Christina showed J♦️6♦️ for a rivered flush to rake in the win, as both Rob and Kara experienced the danger of slow playing their strong starting hands.
Rob wasn’t the only one to regret a big pocket pair. Minutes later, Matt’s Aces fell victim to Chris’s Q❤️5❤️, when he turned trip fives against both Matt and Kara to scoop an 11,000-chip pot.
Daniela’s Cold Streak Against Lauren
Meanwhile, Daniela saw promising hands turn repeatedly into heartbreak—especially against Lauren.
In Level 2, Daniela’s 5♣️3♣️ turned into a full house on a T♦️-5❤️-5♠️-9❤️-T❤️ board. But Lauren’s T♣️4♣️ held the better full house.
In Level 5, Daniela’s J-J was outflopped by Lauren’s T-T, ultimately losing a 3,800-chip pot when the board ran out T♠️-7♠️-5❤️-Q♦️-9♠️ with bets on all three streets.
And in Level 7, Daniela’s A-A crumbled when Lauren flopped another set—this time with pocket 4s—and ultimately got her whole stack in to pick up the pot of more than 18,000 chips.
Finally, left with only 2 big blinds, Daniela shoved J❤️2♠️ against Chris and Lauren, who checked it down, and Lauren’s 9♦️4♦️ paired up to send Daniela packing in 14th place.
Fast Knockouts, Brutal All-Ins
The eliminations came fast as short stacks made their moves.
- Luciano (13th place) was the first player to bust on the Blue Table, falling victim to James this time around.
- Crystal (12th place) shoved A-5, but Kasra’s A-T held as the board ran out 9-6-4-7-Q, giving Crystal hope right up to the end. (Before busting, Crystal did hit what might be the first straight flush ever at the PPC when her K♣️3♣️ found a board of J♦️-A♣️-4♣️-5♣️-2♣️.)
- Matt (11th place) moved in with K♣️T♣️ and got called by Lauren with J♠️9♠️, making Matt a 2-to-1 favorite to survive and double up to about 12 big blinds. But the board ran out Q❤️-T♦️-5♣️-8❤️-2♠️, giving Lauren a straight and her second bounty of the night.
- James (10th place) saw his flopped two-pair overrun by Altaf’s trip Kings on the turn, taking home a $5 bounty for knocking out Luciano.
- Quang (9th place) fell to Thuy, after which the field combined to one table.
- Rob (8th place) — whose early fortune had reversed, leaving him with few playable hands for several levels in a row — made his final stand with 6♦️4♦️. He got three callers, did not improve by the river, and lost to Lauren’s T-T (giving Lauren a third bounty).
Big hands and Big Decisions for Kasra
A few minutes later, it was Kasra’s tournament life at risk. With blinds at 1,200-2,400, Lauren limped from first position with 8♣️7♣️ Kasra raised to 6,000 with Q❤️Q♠️, and action folded around to Lauren who called the extra 3,600. The flop came 9♣️-8❤️-2❤️, and Lauren led out for 3,000. Kasra quickly moved all-in for his last 7,000, and Lauren called. Kasra was a 3-to-1 favorite to survive and double up. The T❤️ on the turn gave Lauren a few straight outs, but Kasra was still a big favorite, and the K♣️ on the river sealed the double up for Kasra.
The very next hand, Kasra was looking to ride the momentum as he raised to 5,500 from first position with A-K suited. Action folded to Altaf in the cutoff who thought for a minute before moving all-in for about 22,000. Everyone folded back to Kasra who agonized for several minutes, counted out his chips (realizing he’d have only a couple big blinds left if he called and lost), and ultimately folded.
That fold undoubtedly had a significant effect on the outcome of the entire tournament. If Kasra had called; the pot would have been almost 50,000 chips, making the winner of that hand the overwhelming chip leader. Instead, Altaf picked up a nice 9,000-chip pot preflop, and went into the home stretch of the tournament with the third largest stack (with Kasra close behind).
Thuy’s Takeover Begins
Heading into Level 10 (blinds of 2,000-4,000), the stacks were unusually short for this stage of the tournament; all seven remaining players had fewer than 10 big blinds.
Lauren and Thuy were tied for the chip lead with 36,000 chips. Altaf was not far behind with 31,000 after picking up that pot from Kasra, who was now sitting in the middle of the pack with 25,000. Chris was very short with only 15,000, and Christina and Kara were bringing up the rear with 9,000 chips each.
Christina was the next player to fall as her 8♣️8♦️ was outdrawn by Lauren’s K❤️5❤️ when the board of J❤️-5♣️-3❤️-J♣️-T❤️ gave Lauren the flush and her fourth bounty of the night. Christina was out in 7th place.
With blinds escalating, Thuy took control, knocking out:
- Altaf (6th place), who got a little too aggressive, moving all-in on the turn with second pair only to learn that he was drawing dead against Thuy’s trip 9s.
- Chris (5th place), who moved all-in preflop with 4-4, got called by Lauren and Thuy, and ultimately lost to Thuy’s flopped set with her pocket Tens, which had Chris in bad shape all along.
By four-handed play, Thuy held 118,000 chips—over 70% of the chips in play—leaving Lauren, Kasra, and Kara scrambling.
Lauren & Kara Hang On, But Thuy Continues Her March for the Win
Kara — masterfully navigating her short stack — laddered up one more time thanks to a bit of good luck when she shoved all-in with A-3 against Thuy’s A-6 and got some help from a 3 on the flop. The board ran out 7-3-2-K-2, and Kara survived.
Lauren was the next to try her luck, pushing in her final 12,000 chips after Kara had limped in from first position. Kasra folded, Thuy called, and Kara made a tough fold getting more than 5-to-1 odds, but also trying to conserve her meager 12,000-chip stack. Lauren turned over perfectly-timed pocket Kings, making her a 4-to-1 favorite over Thuy’s 6♣️4♣️.
The A♣️-7❤️-3♣️ flop was pretty bad for Lauren though, giving Thuy both a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. With her chances of surviving down to about 50/50, Lauren nervously watched as the 9♦️ came on the turn and the Q❤️ came on the river, giving her the double up and taking another chunk out of Thuy’s stack, which was now down under 100,000.
With the two other short stacks having doubled up, and with Thuy regaining her momentum by winning two small pots in a row, it was Kasra’s turn to try to stay in the game, but he was in bad shape when he shoved 8-7 into Thuy’s Q-8. The board was no help and he exited in 4th place, taking home a $5 bounty for his efforts.
Kara followed soon after, losing a heartbreaking hand with Q♣️8♠️ when she flopped top two pair on Q♦️-8♦️-5♦️against Thuy’s 9♦️7 ♣️, which had both a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw to a 6. The T♠️ on the turn gave Thuy even more outs, as now a Jack would also give her a straight. With only one card left, Kara’s chances of survival were up to 65%.
But that was one card too many for Kara; her run came to an end when the 6❤️ on the river gave Thuy the straight, and knocked Kara out in 3rd place. Despite having the fewest chips for the entire final table, Kara’s excellent short-stack play allowed her to ladder up four spots, earning her one extra POY point along with a $40 payout.
Heads-Up: Lauren vs. Thuy
Lauren started heads-up play with just 18,000 chips to Thuy’s 143,000, but took two small pots and looked like she might be able to get back in the game. But Thuy’s aggression ultimately took over, as she took four pots in a row, including the final hand in which Lauren’s T♠️7♦️ was up against Thuy’s 8♣️5♣️. The flop came Q♣️-8❤️-7♠️, giving both players a pair, but Thuy’s was stronger. The 4♣️ turn and 9❤️ river sealed Lauren’s fate, ending her run in 2nd place with a payout of $85 plus another $20 in bounties.
Thuy, meanwhile, took home her first PPC win, earning her $160 plus a whopping $30 in bounties for knocking out her husband, Quang, plus her final 5 opponents.
Thuy Takes the Early POY Lead
With her big win, Thuy leads in our 2025 Player of the Year race with 8 points. Lauren and Kara are close behind, while Altaf, Kasra, Chris, and Christina are tied for 4th. The rest of the Event 1 field is now tied for 8th place.
But with a projected 55 points up for grabs in Event 2 — including four players likely to earn 7 points or more — plus about half a dozen players looking to make their first appearance in that game, the standings are sure to shake up significantly next month.
Will Thuy begin a dominant run like Christina’s 2024 season? Or will a new contender rise to the top of the standings to challenge her? Join us for Event 2 to take your own shot at the top spot and your share of the $400 guaranteed prize pool.