Software engineer Who outlasted a field of 19,654 entries to secure $1,000,000 and his first WSOP gold bracelet

Michael Wilklow Tops 19,654 Entries To Earn $1 Million And His First WSOP Gold Bracelet.

To navigate a field of 19,654 entries in a single tournament feels like an impossibility at the outset. And yet, that's what Michael Wilklow managed to do on his way to winning the 2025 World Series of Poker Mystery Millions event, which ranks as the seventh-largest field in live poker history.

Wilklow, a software engineer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the last player standing in the WSOP's annual $1,000 mystery bounty event. He won $1 million and his first career WSOP bracelet, along with 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year points. He defeated author and online poker pro Michael Acevedo heads-up for the title.

Day 3 of the Mystery Millions began with Wilklow in the chip lead among the final 20 players. By the first break the field was down to 12. Four hours in, seven players were sent on an extended break before the PokerGO broadcast went live.

Among the final seven were several developing stories. Linda Ngo had a chance to become the first woman to win a live, open field WSOP bracelet event in Las Vegas since Leo Margets in 2021. Daniel Strelitz had the chance to win his third WSOP bracelet and a bonus $1 million from a promotion run by ClubWPT Gold. Hustler Casino Live cash game player Wesley Fei sought to prove he could also thrive in a tournament environment.

Acevedo ended two of those runs at once. In a three-way all-in, Acevedo held pocket tens against Fei's A♣ K♣ and Ngo's A♠ Q♠. A clean runout delivered Acevedo a significant boost to his chip leading stack and sent out Ngo in seventh and Fei in sixth.

Wilklow's Rise Begins

The tournament nearly tipped entirely to Acevedo's favor five-handed, with Wilklow all-in and in trouble during that stretch. Acevedo's A♠ K♦ had Wilklow's A♣ 10♦ dominated, but a ten-high flop delivered a well-timed save for Wilklow and a boost to his stack.

Acevedo picked some momentum back up when his A♦ Q♠ spiked a dramatic river Q♥ to defeat Elliott Kampen's pocket 10s and eliminate him in fifth.

From there, it largely became the Wilklow show. Wilklow won a coin flip with A♦ J♠ against Yu Hsiang Huang's pocket 5s, ending Huang's tournament in fourth. The $2 million dreams of Strelitz ended in third, when his A♠ 2♦ failed to connect with the board to beat Wilklow's A♣ 6♣.

Michael Acevedo goes for the overbet bluff on the river to put Michael Wilklow to the test. Can Wilklow find the hero call?

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 In the heads-up match between Wilklow and Acevedo, the balance of power largely shifted on one hand. Acevedo's river bluff with a busted straight draw got picked off by Wilklow with fourth pair. Acevedo would battle, but one final cooler would spell the end.

Acevedo received a massive hand heads-up in A♠ K♠, and Wilklow happily obliged with Q♦ J♥. The A♣ Q♣ Q♠ flop smashed both hands, and the J♣ turn and 10♦ river only improved Acevedo's position with a Broadway straight.

Unfortunately for Acevedo, it had already made Wilklow a full house. When Wilklow shoved the river, Acevedo tanked for three minutes and couldn't find a fold. With a call, Acevedo sealed his fate in second, for $560,000. Wilklow secured the victory, becoming the third and final millionaire crowned in this event.

Before this tournament, Wilklow had $316,741 in lifetime tournament cashes. His previous best result came in June 2022, a $47,802 payday in a $1,100 no-limit hold'em event at Wynn Las Vegas.

Big Bounties Pulled Early

There were over 1,000 bounty prizes in play in this WSOP Mystery Millions tournament. Four towered above the rest, and those massive paydays didn't last long.

The two $1 million bounty prizes were pulled in the first few hours of day 2. Tyler Montoya was first to pull his seven-figure envelope from the prize chest. Upon the reveal, he proclaimed, "If you're a stripper at a strip club, you should be working tonight."

Then, proving that some guys are just that lucky, Tom Zanot claimed the second $1 million bounty. Zanot had previously won a $6.4 million pai gow progressive jackpot payout in January 2023. Zanot simply told emcee Jeff Platt, "Rather be lucky than good."

Nikolay Ponomarev went on to claim the lone $500,000 bounty, and Dan Matsuzuki was lucky enough to secure a $250,000 prize.

Final Table Results