Yaginuma Wins Millionaire Maker Title as Final Two Players Accused of Collusion

The $1,500-entry Millionaire Maker was always going to have a dramatic conclusion, but the end of the event on Wednesday night may cause waves that continue to crash throughout the rest of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). After Jesse Yaginuma and James Carroll made the heads-up, the former came back from 9:1 down in suspicious circumstances to triumph for a payday worth an extra $1 million.

Jesse Yaginuma beat James Carroll heads-up to claim not only the top prize of $1,255,180 but a $1m bonus because he qualified for the event via ClubWPT Gold. While Josh Reichard led the final for a long time, eliminating four players in a row, Yaginuma eventually doubled through James Carroll and eventually gave himself victory.

WSOP 2025 Event #53 $1,500 Millionaire Maker:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Jesse Yaginuma	United States	$1,255,180
2nd	James Carroll	United States	$1,012,320
3rd	Josh Reichard	United States	$702,360
4th	Jacques Ortega	Brazil	$534,590
5th	Jeffrey Tanouye	United States	$409,870
6th	Jonah Labranche	United States	$316,190
7th	Alejandro Ganivet	Spain	$245,430
8th	Bruno Fuentes	France	$191,690
9th	Kaifan Wang	United States	$150,660

The Reichard Show

In the nine-handed Millionaire Maker final, Josh Reichard had the lead going into play and utilized that stack very well early on. Taking out Spanish player Alejandro Ganivet for $245,430 in seventh place and Jonah Labranche for $316,190 one place later, Reichard looked certain to make the final duel and the battle for the bracelet. After he busted Jeffrey Tanouye in fifth place for $409,870, Reichard also removed Brazilian Jacques Ortega from the equation in fourth place.

All-in with ace-eight, Ortega was favorite to win against Reichard’s six-five but the American’s hand hit the river as a board of K-J-T-9-6 sent the Brazilian home with $534,590 and left three in play. Eventually, Reichard got it in bad and couldn’t survive, however, with his pocket threes crushed by James Carroll’s pocket jacks to send play heads-up, as Reichard went home with $702,360.

With 269.3 million chips, Carroll by far dominated the shorter stack Yaginuma. Carrol hadn’t qualified via ClubWPTGold, however, while Yaginuma had. The two men went for an extended break of 25 minutes and when they returned to the felt, everything changed.

A Controversial Champion

Carroll initially grew his lead but soon, Yaginuma came back into it, a series of bets made by Carroll before Yaginuma shoved to quick folds. The commentary team, led by PokerStars Joe Stapleton, performed heroics making it come through as sensible, but Yaginuma’s return to prominence came without him ever being all-in and at risk.

With the extra $1 million on the line courtesy of ClubWPT, the WSOP bracelet up for grabs and PokerStars representatives on comms, there was a tricky line to be trodden but many players and fans didn’t hold back on social media as the action played. Hundreds accused both players of rigging the heads-up clash in order to chop up the extra money on offer, with some accusing WSOP of being to blame, with no deal-making permitted in World Series bracelet events.

Eventually, queen-three was good against ace-ten, a queen on the turn giving Yaginuma the win and his fourth WSOP bracelet as his friend Carroll congratulated him. Yaginuma took $1,255,180 to Carroll’s $1,012,320, but no-one was any the wiser of how the $1m would be chopped up, with that between the two final combatants.

The Champion in His Own Words

After the event, Yaginuma said he was ‘thrilled but tired’ as he celebrated the epic victory.

“It's a long tournament,” he said. “Everyone always calls my [online] bracelets fake bracelets. You know, that's to be argued. But it feels great to have a live one.”

Yaginuma admitted that, just like in any WSOP event, luck played a part in him winning a his latest major title.

“You’ve got to avoid a lot of minefields when you're going through 12,000 people,” he conceded. “I got 22^nd in the Mystery Millions, so I didn't think I would get a chance to make a deep run in such a big field again. But I was extremely fortunate. You want to ladder up, but I mean, I definitely wanted to get the bracelet, and it feels good to get it.”

More WSOP News

Paul Seaton