A new event to the schedule, Event #59: $1,000 Battle of the Ages at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw a staggering 3,074 entrants, generating a huge prize pool of $2,815,784. In the end, it was Sebastiaan de Jonge left standing to claim the first-place prize of $335,390.
Alongside the enormous sum of money amassed to compete for, there was something else at play: generational bragging rights. This unique structure saw those aged over 50 years old play in a separate Day 1 flight from those aged under 50. Once the cream of the respective age groups had risen to the top, the two fields were combined to see which could triumph — experience or youth.
It took just over 20 hours of play, including spilling over into an unscheduled Day 3, to whittle the field down to one player. Coming into the final day with just five big blinds, De Jonge battled back to emerge victorious, flying the flag high for the under-50s contingent.
De Jonge claimed the $335,390 up top, a WSOP bracelet, bragging rights, and the knowledge that he will forever be the first Battle of the Ages champion.
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Battle of the Ages Final Table Results
PlacePlayerCountryPrize 1Sebastiaan de JongeNetherlands$335,390 2Ignacio SagraArgentina$223,394 3Hakeem MashalUnited States$165,944 4Srivinay IrrinkiUnited States$124,269 5Joseph RohUnited States$93,820 6Jack MaskillUnited Kingdom$71,416 7Allan LeUnited States$54,814 8Xia WangMacau$42,424 9Kelley SlayUnited States$33,112
Winners Reaction
“Incredible run, actually really lucky, ridiculously lucky. It’s funny how many rivers, how many good rivers, you need to win the tournament. If you think back on all the rivers you had, it’s really insane,” De Jonge told PokerNews following his big win.
This was De Jonge’s first WSOP final table, first WSOP win and, of course, first bracelet. The first-place prize is also De Jonge’s largest ever tournament score, and as a result, moves him into the top 50 for his nation’s all-time money list, the Netherlands. Last but by no means least, De Jonge’s name will forever be etched in history as the first ever champion of the WSOP Battle of the Ages.
Sebastiaan de Jonge
When questioned as to which of the above meant the most, he said, “The bracelet by far. The final table was already really cool to make it, out of 3,074 players, like I said, you have to [go on an] incredibly good run. [But] just really happy, really, really happy, really good feeling to win.”
When asked if this settles the score on which generation plays better poker, De Jonge gave a humble answer, “It’s not as simple as that. The older guys were playing well; they were often a little less technical, less GTO than the younger guys, but the tournament, the blinds were going so fast, and everybody was playing really slow. It was not a lot of poker, it was a lot of all in and survive, survive, survive; so I am the biggest survivor, I guess.”
Despite being the sole survivor, there’s no time for celebrations just yet as the poker isn’t pausing for De Jonge.
“We are going to play the tag team [event] right now, then I am going to have some dinner, then I am going to find a party to drink a little bit.”
Final Table Action
With stacks short and blind levels ever-increasing, chips were sure to fly from the get-go.
Xia Wang was the first to fall, coming into Day 3 with just 5 big blinds, she wasn’t able to spin up a stack, departing in eighth place.
Just 15 minutes later, Allan Le suffered the same fate. The 25K Fantasy Draft player found his remaining chips in the middle versus a dominating hand, and couldn’t catch up to stay alive. De Jonge made quick work of Jack Maskill and start-of-day chip leader Joseph Roh, sending them both to the exit in quick succession.
Srivinay Irrinki departed in fourth place, all in with the best hand. He couldn’t hold on versus Ignacio Sagra. Hakeem Mashal was next to fall, losing a flip versus De Jonge and departing in third place.
Ignacio Sagra
De Jonge faced Sagra for the title, going into heads-up with a slight chip disadvantage. The duo exchanged pots back and forth before a huge hero call, and crucial hold, swung things in De Jonge’s favour.
With stacks short, three rapid fire all-ins went in favor of De Jonge, seeing Sagra eliminated in second place and the Dutchman triumphing.
In this Series
- 1 Who Won $64K and the First 2025 WSOP Bracelet?
- 2 David Shmuel Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo for $205,333!
- 3 Furth Wins Second WSOP Bracelet; Denies Kabrhel in $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 4 GTO Study Sees Antonio Galiana Win Second WSOP Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
- 5 Persistence Pays Off: Dan Heimiller Wins $1,500 Seven Card Stud for Third WSOP Bracelet
- 6 Artur Martirosian Wins WSOP $25,000 Heads Up Championship ($500,000)
- 7 Benny Glaser Adds to His Legacy With Bracelet No. 6 in Event #8: $1,500 Dealers Choice
- 8 Michael Wilklow: Once a Mystery, Now a Millionaire (and WSOP Bracelet Winner)
- 9 Kenneth Kim Storms Back to Win His First WSOP Bracelet
- 10 Father-Son WSOP Bracelet Duo Made as Yosef Fox Wins $10,000 Mystery Bounty
- 11 Five Bracelets in Five Years: Brad Ruben Wins the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw ($138,080)
- 12 Ryan Bambrick Denies Daniel Negreanu to Claim Second WSOP Bracelet
- 13 Christopher Staats Denies David Jackson in WSOP $1,500 6-Handed NLH for $414,950
- 14 Corey Thompson Nearly Wins Two WSOP Online Bracelets Right Off the Bat
- 15 Cristian Gutierrez Wins $600 PLO Deepstack For His First Bracelet and $193,780
- 16 Lou Garza Mounts Memorable Heads-Up Comeback to Clinch Second WSOP Bracelet
- 17 Benny Glaser Goes Back-to-Back (Again) for 7th Bracelet in $1,500 Mixed
- 18 Zachary Zaret Overcomes Stacked Final Table to Win First Bracelet
- 19 Michael Lavin Steamrolls the Competition on Way to a Second WSOP Bracelet
- 20 Ryan Hoenig Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship
- 21 Bohlman’s Breakthrough: Mixed Game Vet Wins 2nd Bracelet in $2,000 NLH ($436,044)
- 22 Blaz Zerjav Wins Maiden WSOP Bracelet in $25,000 6-Handed High Roller
- 23 Aloisio Dourado Claims Redemption with First WSOP Bracelet in Record-Breaking Badugi Event
- 24 Mixed Game Maestro Xixiang Luo Bags $290,400 and Third WSOP Bracelet
- 25 Nick Guagenti Crushes Chino Rheem’s Triple Crown Bid in $10K Stud Victory
- 26 Beginner’s Luck? Surely Not. Chang Lee Wins $25,000 High Roller ($1,949,044)
- 27 Penalized Poker Player Wins WSOP Bracelet Despite Color Up Controversy
- 28 LA Poker Player Outlasts 16,300 Opponents to Win 2025 WSOP’s Colossus
- 29 Igor Zektser Scoops His First Bracelet in Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 A Few Cocktails on the Road to First WSOP Bracelet for Mark Darner
- 31 Rising New Jersey Poker Star Captures First WSOP Bracelet
- 32 Jason Koon Moves to Third on All-Time Money List w/ WSOP $50,000 High Roller Win
- 33 Toy Charizard, Pink Slipper Carry Canadian Family Man to WSOP Victory
- 34 Nick Schulman Joins Poker’s Immortals With Bracelet No. 7 in the $10K 2-7 Championship
- 35 Ukraine’s Renat Bohdanov Spikes Gutshot to Win Second WSOP Bracelet
- 36 John Racener Claims Third WSOP Bracelet For His Third Son
- 37 Philip Sternheimer Tears Up After Ending 13 Year Bracelet Chase
- 38 Joao Vieira Avenges WSOP Paradise Loss to Win WSOP $100K High Roller ($2,649,158)
- 39 Andrey Zhigalov Wheels In Second Bracelet in Event #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($197,923)
- 40 Ian Johns Slays ‘Isildur1′ to Win WSOP Limit Hold’em Championship for a Second Time
- 41 Fourth Bracelet & $647K for Seniors High Roller Champ David “ODB” Baker
- 42 Carlos Leiva Defeats Weisman on Way to Winning WSOP $1,000 PLO Bracelet Event
- 43 A Father’s Day Special: Allan Le Denies Shaun Deeb in $1,500 Razz
- 44 Seth Davies Wins $250K WSOP Super High Roller for First Bracelet and $4.75M Score
- 45 V for Vongxaiburana as ‘Hobby’ Player Beats Pros to $10k Big O Bracelet
- 46 Hellmuth Denied as Jason Daly Wins Second Bracelet in $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo
- 47 Joey Couden Wins Second Bracelet in $500 SALUTE to Warriors ($187,937)
- 48 Tyler Patterson Grabs Second Bracelet in $3K 6-Handed NLHE for $574K
- 49 Klemens Roiter Finishes the Job for First Bracelet in Event #37: $1,500 MONSTER STACK
- 50 Brian Rast in Seventh Heaven w/ Miraculous Comeback in WSOP $10k Razz Championship
- 51 Texan Punches Ticket to WSOP Main Event with $1.5K Freezeout Bracelet Win
- 52 Dennis Weiss Claims Victory in $25K PLO High Roller for $2,292,155
- 53 After 3 Runner-Ups, Matt Vengrin Finally Gets His WSOP Bracelet in $1.5K PLO
- 54 Mateos Makes History as 5th Youngest to Win 5 WSOP Bracelets
- 55 Emotional Kristopher Tong Uses Inspiration to Capture First WSOP Bracelet
- 56 Brett Lim to Sail Off into the Sunset After Senior’s Championship Win
- 57 Benny Glaser Wins Three WSOP Bracelets in Three Weeks w/ Mixed Triple Draw Triumph
- 58 Dylan Linde Takes Down the $50k PLO High Roller for Third Bracelet and Career-Best Score
- 59 Welshman Wells Roars to Victory in $3K 9-Game Mix for Maiden Bracelet
- 60 Sebastiaan de Jonge the Sole Survivor in WSOP Battle of the Ages
- 61 Gavrieli Denies Bohlman Second Bracelet of the Summer in $3K Limit Hold’em
- 62 Craig Savage Bides His Time to Triumph in WSOP $500 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout
