The year 2025 will go down in poker history as the year of “The Grinder.”
Michael Mizrachi stamped on an already illustrious career by winning the World Series of Poker Main Event on Wednesday, earning him $10 million and putting him in a new pantheon of players.
Key Takeaways
- This was Michael Mizrachi’s eighth WSOP bracelet and 20th final table
- The Poker Hall of Fame’s members called for an emergency motion to vote Mizrachi into the illustrious group
- No Main Event winner has recorded more career earnings
Coming on the heels of the Poker Players Championship title earlier this summer, Mizrachi became the 65th member inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame immediately after winning his eighth WSOP event on Wednesday.
“This is the best day of my life,” said Mizrachi, who has cashed in over 90 career WSOP events.
Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Brian Rast, John Hennigan, and Phil Hellmuth were among a group that surprised Mizrachi, informing him that an emergency motion resulted in a decision to make him an immediate member. Mizrachi received 31 “yes” votes to be in the Hall of Fame. There was one abstention while another member was unavailable to vote, so no one rejected the decision.
Michael @TheGrinder44 Mizrachi goes straight into the Poker Hall of Fame! No wait, no fuss, no muss; as all 33 Hall of Famers agreed unanimously!
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 17, 2025
Never happened in the history of poker that someone went in like this! But, then, no one has ever pulled off a feat quite like this… https://t.co/ykDZlEBro7
“Mizrachi has done the unthinkable, winning the two most difficult tournaments in the same summer,” WSOP Chief Executive Officer Ty Stewart said. “The WSOP would like to officially welcome The Grinder to the Gallery of Champions and the Poker Hall of Fame.”
Bringing home the bracelet
Mizrachi overcame a field of 9,735 entries to win the Main Event and needed a big rally on Day 8, when he was down to three big blinds, to reach his 20th WSOP final table. Once he was one of the last nine players left in the Main Event, it took 80 hands, the fewest ever, to decide the champion.
On Tuesday, the Hollywood, Fla. resident spiked an ace on the river holding ace-king against John Wasnock’s pocket kings. The win flipped the chip lead and helped Mizrachi hold 76% of the remaining chips after Day 1 of the final table.
It took Mizrachi just 24 hands on Day 2. He knocked out two of the four players left in the first two hands, and Mizrachi later used a club flush that included his lucky number four to claim the title and eliminate Wasnock, who took home $6 million for second place.
The 2025 @WSOP Main Event Champion is Michael Mizrachi! 🏆@TheGrinder44 takes home $10,000,000 and the @WSOP Main Event bracelet.
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 16, 2025
He is also the newest member of the Poker Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/Ftv9ywdUB3
"I had a lot of faith,” Mizrachi said. “My favorite hand's 44, I'm 44 years old. This was all meant to be.”
Record holder
The Main Event title is Mizrachi’s eighth WSOP bracelet, tying him for fifth-most all-time. He increased his earnings from the poker series to over $20 million and overall earnings of over $29 million after claiming the top payout from a record WSOP prize pool of $90.535 million.
ESPN reported that Mizrachi has accumulated the highest earnings of any WSOP Main Event winner. His fourth Poker Players Championship, a $50,000 buy-in event that won him over $1.3 million, is also a record he holds alone.
