2025 Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 26
$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  4,017
Prize Pool:  $2,088,840
March 26-31, 2025

The $600 Mid-Series Showdown anchored the middle weekend of this Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, and across four starting days there were 4,017 entries, beating the guarantee with a prizepool worth $2,088,840.

On Monday evening, after six days of play, it came to an end in a six-way deal, with chipleader Femi Fashakin winning the title, the trophy, and $156,565.

“It’s amazing,” said Fashakin. “It was a pretty tricky tournament for me, but I’m glad it all went down the way it did.”

“I was able to pick my spots,” said Fashakin, “and I got a pretty good run of cards. I got pretty lucky in some spots where I was able to get my opponents to pay me when I had a good hand, and other times I was able to take it down without too much resistance.”

This is the first Seminole Hard Rock trophy for Fashakin, who has a WSOP bracelet and more than $1.5 million in career earnings. But poker is more of a hobby than a career for him, as he is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for an A.I. security company.

“I don’t play full-time,” said Fashakin. “Most of the time I’m doing tech security stuff, so I just sneak down here whenever I get a chance off of work, and I’m usually out by Sunday or Monday.”

When asked how the trophy compared to the prize money, Fashakin said, “In this case, the trophy was more important to me. I could have played it out to the end, but I’m glad we chopped because at least I locked in the trophy.”

Fashakin lives in Orlando, less than a three-hour drive away from Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“Besides the fact that it’s pretty close to home, I really like the way the tournaments are organized here,” said Fashakin. “It’s an amazing team, and they do an excellent job to make sure the players have a good time and enjoy the game. It attracts recreational players and pros, and there’s something for everyone. And the structures are also very good. It’s one of the best casinos in the world, and I really enjoy it.”

RESULTS:

* Indicates the results of a six-way deal.

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 4,017

After the elimination of Sebastian Toro Henao in seventh place, the final six players agreed to stop the tournament and chop the remaining prizepool. These were the official chip counts:

1.  Femi Fashakin  –  25,200,000  (50 bb)
2.  Abraham Ramos  –  23,300,000  (47 bb)
3.  Atanas Pavlov  –  21,300,000  (43 bb)
4.  Zachary Fischer  –  14,100,000  (28 bb)
5.  David Frenkel  –  9,100,000  (18 bb)
6.  Joel Gossett  –  7,400,000  (15 bb)

And these are the modified payouts that they’ve agreed to:

1st:  Femi Fashakin  –  $156,565* + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  Abraham Ramos  –  $150,220*
3rd:  Atanas Pavlov  –  $147,315*
4th:  Zachary Fischer  –  $135,013*
5th:  David Frenkel  –  $103,310*
6th:  Joel Gossett  –  $94,257*

As chipleader, Fashakin was awarded the title and the trophy. Congratulations to Femi Fashakin!

Stay tuned for a recap of this event, which will be posted later tonight.

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 4,017

Femi raised from the hijack to 1,000,000, and Sebastian Toro Henao called all in from the small blind for 500,000 with .

Fashakin turned over , and Henao needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Henao paired his three on the turn, only to see Fashakin river a jack to win the pot. Henao was eliminated in 7th place.

Femi Fashakin  –  25,200,000  (50 bb)
Sebastian Toro Henao  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($42,500)

With six players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 16,725,000 (33 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $56,000 each.

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,017

Zachary Fischer moved all in from the small blind for 6,800,000, and Sebastian Toro Henao called from the big blind with a slightly larger stack and showed [Ks.

Fischer turned over , and needed it to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket fours held up for Fischer to win the pot and double up in chips.

Zachary Fischer  –  14,100,000  (28 bb)
Sebastian Toro Henao  –  500,000  (1 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 14,350,000 (29 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $42,500 each.

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,017

Sebastian Toro Henao raised to 1,000,000 from the hijack and David Frenkel called in the big blind.

The flop was , Frenkel moved all in for 3,300,000, and Henao called with for an ace-high flush draw. Frenkel showed for an inferior flush draw with a straight draw.

The turn was the , giving Frenkel a pair of fours to take the lead.

The river was the , safe for Frenkel to double up.

David Frenkel  –  9,400,000  (19 bb)
Sebastian Toro Henao  –  7,800,000  (16 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 14,350,000 (29 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $42,500.

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,017

Level 35 comes to an end, and the players take a 15- minute break. Here are the official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Zachary Fischer  –  7,800,000  (16 bb)
Seat 2.  Sebastian Toro Henao  –  10,300,000  (21 bb)
Seat 3.  Atanas Pavlov  –  18,800,000  (38 bb)
Seat 4.  Abraham Ramos  –  21,200,000  (42 bb)
Seat 5.  Femi Fashakin  –  26,000,000  (52 bb)
Seat 6.  David Frenkel  –  9,000,000  (18 bb)
Seat 7.  Joel Gossett  –  7,200,000  (14 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $252,680 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  $175,000
3rd:  $130,000
4th:  $100,000
5th:  $73,000
6th:  $56,000
7th:  $42,500

8th:  Marcelo Aagesen  –  $33,000
9th:  Albert Son  –  $26,000

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 14,350,000 (29 big blinds).

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 35:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,017

Abraham Ramos raised UTG+1 to 800,000, and David Frenkel moved all in from the cutoff for 4,200,000. Sebastian Toro Henao tanked for a while before he called from the big blind, and Ramos thought for a while before he folded.

Frenkel turned over , and he needed it to hold to stay alive against Heano’s .

The board came , and Frenkel flopped a set of eights to win the pot and double up in chips.

David Frenkel  –  9,800,000  (25 bb)
Sebastian Toro Henao  –  10,000,000  (25 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 14,350,000 (36 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $42,500 each.

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 35:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,017

The first half hour of Level 35 has been pretty uneventful.

Sebastian Toro Henao raised from the cutoff to 800,000, Abraham Ramos reraised from the small blind to 2,500,000, and Henao four-bet all in for 12,800,000.

Ramos tanked for a long time before he folded, and Henao took the pot.

Sebastian Toro Henao  –  16,100,000  (40 bb)
Abraham Ramos  –  22,000,000  (55 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 14,350,000 (36 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $42,500 each.

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 35:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,017

Level 34 comes to an end, and there is a brief break to color up the blue 25K chips. The final seven players asked to look at the ICM numbers for a possible deal, so we had time to get exact chip counts:

Seat 1.  Zachary Fischer  –  16,900,000  (42 bb)
Seat 2.  Sebastian Toro Henao  –  10,500,000  (26 bb)
Seat 3.  Atanas Pavlov  –  17,600,000  (44 bb)
Seat 4.  Abraham Ramos  –  21,700,000  (54 bb)
Seat 5.  Femi Fashakin  –  11,900,000  (30 bb)
Seat 6.  David Frenkel  –  9,400,000  (24 bb)
Seat 7.  Joel Gossett  –  12,400,000  (31 bb)

They weren’t able to agree to a deal, so the original payouts are still at stake:

1st:  $252,680 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  $175,000
3rd:  $130,000
4th:  $100,000
5th:  $73,000
6th:  $56,000
7th:  $42,500

Level 35 begins with increased blinds of 200,000-400,000 and a 400,000 ante. With seven players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 14,350,000 (36 big blinds).

$600 Mid-Series Showdown (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 34:  150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,017

With the board showing on the turn and a little more than 2.5 million already in the pot, Femi Fashakin checked from the small blind, Atanas Pavlov bet 1,600,000 from the cutoff, and Fashakin thought for a while before he check-raised to 4,300,000.

Pavlov tanked for a while before he grabbed his bet of 1,600,000 and brought it back to combine with his own chips and count his own stack. The action was ambiguous, and the dealer called for a floor. After explaining the situation in detail, it was ruled that Pavlov was committed to at least a call, but still had the option to raise.

It took some time to explain the situation and resolve it, and when action resumed, Pavlov moved all in. Fashakin folded fairly quickly, and Pavlov took the pot.

Atanas Pavlov  –  18,300,000  (61 bb)
Femi Fashakin  –  10,100,000  (34 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,017, the average chip stack is around 14,350,000 (48 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $42,500 each.