With 10 players left in the $35,000 buy-in WSOP Super Main Event, British PokerStake player Benny Glaser was all-in and at-risk. Holding ace-queen, he awaited his fate in hope of doubling himself up, forcing his way back into contention and potentially setting up bracelet number nine after the greatest year of his poker career.

As Eric Wasserson considered his options, time seemed to slow down. Eventually, Wasserson called and showed pocket aces. Those rockets survived and while it was blast off for E-Was, it was a painful end to the event for Glaser, who got very close to winning the $10m top prize at the biggest $25,000-entry event in poker history.

How Did Glaser Get Eliminated?

Over the past 12 months, Benny Glaser hasn’t just become an eight-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, he has been one of the most successful players backed on PokerStake. The British superstar came a very close second to Shaun Deeb in the WSOP Player of the Year race too, and came into the latest session in the $25,000-entry Super Main Event hoping to run even deeper than the final 24 he started in.

“I’ve made Day 4 of the WSOPP Super Main event!” he said on X. “The biggest prize pool of all-time. It’ll be live-streamed with cards up, on a delay. 24 left now, we have $335k locked up, and it’s $10 million for first! What an absurdly big spot. Time to run outrageously good. Let’s get it!”

That absurd spot turned out to be on the cusp of the final nine. Finding ace-queen, Benny shoved and wasn’t instantly called, as his opponents drifted out of the hand. Only the American player Eric Wasserson remained in contention. Looking around to the other table, it looked as though Wasserson was stalling for the other table, and appeared concerned that he could be beaten and miss the payjump between 10^th and 9^th place.

Then he called with pocket aces. Benny was clearly displeased with the perceived slowroll. The board played out safe for the American as Wasserson attracted the chips but also became a magnet for either condemnation from his poker peers or in some cases, a defence

“It’s Not a Very Nice Move.” – Benny Glaser Speaks Out

“He went off at me at one point.”

After his inglorious exit, a crestfallen Benny was clearly gutted to have left one of the juiciest tournaments in the world just before a final table where he would obviously have had an experienced edge. He was going for bracelet number nine, after all. Jeff Platt posed the questions for the WSOP and started with the obvious one, as to how he felt about the slowroll.

“Obviously not very classy. It’s not very good human… not a very nice move but it’s more the sadness of busting, obviously,” Benny told him. “Part of me almost, like, expected it from him, but it just happens, it’s tournaments.”

Platt then asked if there was any history between the two men that might have led to such a supposed slowroll at such a painful part of the event.

“There’s a little bit from the summer,” Benny said. “He went off at me at one point but I don’t really want to get into it.”

Benny was then asked if he could look back at the immense achievement of finishing inside the top 10 of a field of 2,891 with any pride.

“I’m hoping I’ll feel more [pride] when the pain wears down a little bit,” he said. “There are some hands that will be on my mind today that I’m not necessarily super-proud of, but hopefully we’ll be feeling better after it soon.”

Top professional that he is, Benny talked through his feelings with Jeff while the other players prepared to gather at a single table. Once there, however, another player was about to experience a painful beat.

Thorel Leads as Mercier Makes the Final

Down to nine players, one more had to go before play concluded for the night and it turned out that player was Leonard Maue. The German four-bet all-in pre-flop and must have thought he was winning when his pocket kings were called by the chip leader, Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel. Incredibly, that wasn’t the case, as Thorel turned over pocket aces. They held through the nine-high board and the final eight were formed.

With eight players left, one of them will win the $10 million top prize. Even eighth place gets $1.1m after the German Maue busted for $850,000 in ninth place. The runner-up on the night will win $6m, while third place is worth $4m. If Natasha Mercier wins that prize or better, she will usurp Liv Boeree’s 2024 finish in fourth which earned her a record female poker player’s prize of $3m.

Mercier – the wife of multiple bracelet winner Jason – sits third in chips on 165 million, behind only Bernhard Binder (211m) and the overwhelming chip leader Thorel, who will sit down with 567 million chips. With the short stack being the Argentinian player Franco Spitale on just 33 million – the equivalent of eight big blinds – the final table is sure to be electric when play begins this evening in The Bahamas.

WSOP Paradise 2025 $25,000 Super Main Event Final Table Chipcounts:
Position	Player	Country	Chips
1st	Jean-Noel Thorel	France	567,000,000
2nd	Bernhard Binder	Austria	211,000,000
3rd	Natasha Mercier	Lebanon	165,000,000
4th	Belarmino De Souza	Brazil	150,000,000
5th	Eric Wasserson	United States	130,500,000
6th	Terrance Reid	United States	114,500,000
7th	Peter Chien	Canada	76,000,000
8th	Franco Spitale	Argentina	33,000,000