Poker Player Makes Squid Game Final with Shot at $4.56 Million!

In the 926th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by Mike Holtz and Connor Richards at Level 9 Studios to talk the latest stories in the poker world. That includes former WSOP Main Event runner-up Steven Jones making the top five in the finale of Netflix's popular Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2. Find out if the poker pro was able to win the $4.56 million top prize.

They also dive into the debate fueled by Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth on how many World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelets there should be each year, who won the WPT bestbet Jacksonville Bounty Scramble, and why the Global Poker Awards are no more. Plus, the crew remembers Ulvis Alberts, the original WSOP photographer who recently passed away, while Connor shares details on the time he played poker on the North Korean border and his feature article on Lynard Skynard and the poker game they played on their ill-fated flight that led to a deadly plane crash. Oh, and did we mention that Sam Soverel shared a full-frontal selfie on social media? No? Well, he did.

Finally, this week's recent tournament winners include Terelle Tavares winning the 888poker UKPL Coventry, Martin Kabrhel taking down BSOP High Roller, Edward Jackson-Spivack nabbing a Chainsaw Mixed Series trophy, Albert Croteau victorious in BPO Atlantic City Championship, Carl Masters winning RGPS Grand Prix Tunica II, Gal Yifrach defeating Thomas Boivin to claim the PokerStars 2025 NAPT title.

Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast!

A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Time Stamps
*Time Topic*
00:00 | Welcome to the show
00:52 | How did Steven Jones do on Squid Game?
06:30 | How many WSOP bracelets should there be each year?
12:54 | WPT bestbet Jacksonville Bounty Scramble
15:25 | Global Poker Awards come to an end
18:00 | Lynard Skynard & North Korean Poker Game
20:05 | WSOP photograph Ulvis Alberts passes away
23:27 | Terelle Tavares wins 888poker UKPL Coventry
23:47 | Martin Kabrhel's takes down BSOP High Roller
26:05 | Sam Soverel goes full frontal
26:53 | Edward Jackson-Spivack wins Chainsaw Mixed Series trophy
28:27 | Albert Croteau Victorious in BPO Atlantic City Championship
29:05 | Carl Masters wins RGPS Grand Prix Tunica II
30:18 | Gal Yifrach wins PokerStars 2025 NAPT
33:10 | What's coming up?