Michael Wilklow walked away with $1 million and his first career bracelet after outlasting 19,654 entries in the 2025 WSOP Event #8: $1,000 Mystery Millions, one of the largest fields in live poker history. The software engineer from Minneapolis topped a deep final table that included well-known players and major side stories, including a strong run by author and poker coach Michael Acevedo, who finished second for $560,000.
Good to know
- Event had over 1,000 mystery bounty envelopes, including two $1 million top prizes.
- Wilklow came into Day 3 as chip leader and closed out the win.
- The final table featured bracelet winners, cash game names, and high-stakes grinders.
Wilklow’s journey was anything but easy. At one point during five-handed play, he was all-in and dominated, but he caught a ten on the flop to stay alive. From there, momentum shifted, and he began eliminating players one by one. Daniel Strelitz’s bid for a third bracelet and a $1 million bonus from ClubWPT ended in third place. Yu Hsiang Huang went out in fourth, and Elliott Kampen was eliminated in fifth after a tough river.
Acevedo had built a lead earlier in the final table, including knocking out Linda Ngo and Wesley Fei in a dramatic three-way all-in. But in heads-up play, one failed bluff turned the match in Wilklow’s favor. Then came the final cooler—Wilklow flopped trips, improved to a full house, and got paid off by Acevedo, who had flopped top pair and turned Broadway. Wilklow shoved on the river, Acevedo tank-called, and it was over.
The event also handed out massive bounty envelopes. The two $1 million mystery bounty prizes were claimed early on Day 2—Tyler Montoya pulled the first, followed by Tom Zanot, who had already made headlines in 2023 with a $6.4 million pai gow jackpot. Nikolay Ponomarev claimed the $500,000 bounty, while Dan Matsuzuki collected $250,000.
Before this tournament, Wilklow had just over $316,000 in live earnings. His previous best result was a $47,802 finish at Wynn Las Vegas in 2022. His performance in Mystery Millions marks not only a career high but a huge leap into poker’s spotlight.
Final Table Results 2025 WSOP Event #8: $1,000 Mystery Millions
| Result | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Mike Wilklow | $1,000,000 |
| 2 | Michael Acevedo | $563,350 |
| 3 | Daniel Strelitz | $429,950 |
| 4 | Yu Hsiang Huang | $329,940 |
| 5 | Elliott Kampen | $254,590 |
| 6 | Wesley Fei | $197,550 |
| 7 | Linda Ngo | $154,140 |
| 8 | Jeffrey Hong | $120,950 |
| 9 | Michael Marks | $95,551 |
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