Level 27
The remaining 5 players opted to chop the remaining prize pool.
1st Place
Phillip Krnyaich
2nd Place
George Hortelano
3rd Place
Ruy Albano
4th Place
Nathan Helmick
5th Place
Ignaci Hidalgo
Level 26
20:30– Chip Count Update
| Helmick | Nathan | 1,700,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 1,400,000 | 42 | 4 |
| Krnyaich | Phillip | 9,500,000 | 42 | 6 |
| Hortelano | George | 4,000,000 | 42 | 7 |
| Albano | Ruy | 2,700,000 | 42 | 9 |
20:12– Action folds to Jonathan Preservati in the SB who shoves his 550,000 stack. Phillip Krnyaich takes a moment to pause and puts in a call showing 10c 9c. Preservati flips over his Ks Jh excited to be ahead. The flop comes 7c 9d Ah, causing Preservati’s excitement to fade. The turn brings a 7h- no help to Preservati’s tournament life. The river falls 8h sending Jonathan to the felt. Preservati mentioned many times throughout the tournament that he entered with a single bullet and was so happy to be advancing through the field, achieving a payday that was “better than a couple of days of work.” He will depart with $5,700- certainly a great payday.
20:00– Six players have made it to the 40,000/80,000/80,000 blind level with $84,271 of the prize pool still up for grabs.
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Helmick | Nathan | 2,300,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 600,000 | 42 | 4 |
| Preservati | Jonathan | 650,000 | 42 | 5 |
| Krnyaich | Phillip | 7,400,000 | 42 | 6 |
| Hortelano | George | 5,100,000 | 42 | 7 |
| Albano | Ruy | 3,100,000 | 42 | 9 |
Level 25
19:57– Ezequiel Carranza is eliminated in 7th place and cashes $4,705.
19:55– Ezequiel Carranza opens from UTG+1 to 150,000, it folds to Jonathan Preservati who raises all-in for 380,000. It folds to Carranza who puts in the call with 750,000 behind. Carranza tables Ah 9h and Preservati shows As 10h. The board runs out 5h 10s 7c 4s 5c and Preservati doubles up to 900,000.
19:39– Ignacio Hidalgo opens to 300,000 UTG, and it folds to Phillip Krnyaich who raises to 600,000. It folds back to Hidalgo who makes the call. Hidalgo checks dark and the flop comes 9d 6d 9s. Krnyaich checks back and the turn is the Ad. Hidalgo checks, Krnyaich bets 150,000 and Hidalgo calls. The river comes the 4h and both players check. Hidalgo 8d 8h, Krnyaich Ah Kc.
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Carranza | Ezequiel | 700,000 | 42 | 1 |
| Helmick | Nathan | 1,600,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 900,000 | 42 | 4 |
| Preservati | Jonathan | 650,000 | 42 | 5 |
| Krnyaich | Phillip | 7,500,000 | 42 | 6 |
| Hortelano | George | 5,500,000 | 42 | 7 |
| Albano | Ruy | 2,300,000 | 42 | 9 |
19:25– George Hortelano, Ezequiel Carranza, and Brian Schaedlich see a flop 3 handed, and the flop comes 6c 7c Ks. Schaedlich checks, Hortelano bets 350,000, Carranza calls, and Schaedlich shoves 1,325,000. Hortelano finds the call, and Carranza folds. Schaedlich shows 7d 7s for a flopped set, while Hortelano shows top pair, flush draw, and back door straight draw with a Kc 8c. The turn comes 4c completing Hortelano’s flush, and the 3d river gives no improvement to Schaedlich. Schaedlich hits the rail in 8th place, taking home $3,805 for his day. (George Hortelano- 4,700,000)
19:10– Coming off break and heading into level 25 our 8 players go into 30,000/60,000/60,000 blinds with an average stack of 2,500,000. Krnyaich still leads the field vying for the $29,063 first place prize.
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Carranza | Ezequiel | 1,400,000 | 42 | 1 |
| Schaedlich | Brian | 2,100,000 | 42 | 2 |
| Helmick | Nathan | 1,700,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 2,100,000 | 42 | 4 |
| Preservati | Jonathan | 400,000 | 42 | 5 |
| Krnyaich | Phillip | 6,600,000 | 42 | 6 |
| Hortelano | George | 2,500,000 | 42 | 7 |
| Albano | Ruy | 2,800,000 | 42 | 9 |
Level 24
18:55– Phillip Krnyaich opens 175,000 from HJ, Harrell folds, and Ruy Albano moves all-in from the SB. Phillip calls, showing JcJh, and Albano tables AcKc. The Ks shows as the window card of a Ks 6d 3h Qd Qh board and Ruy doubles up to 2,000,000. (Phillip Krnyaich- 6,500,000)
18:50– Zachary Harrell exits in 9th place and brings home $2,932.
Final Table Reached–
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Carranza | Ezequiel | 1,400,000 | 42 | 1 |
| Schaedlich | Brian | 1,800,000 | 42 | 2 |
| Helmick | Nathan | 1,400,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 2,500,000 | 42 | 4 |
| Preservati | Jonathan | 800,000 | 42 | 5 |
| Krnyaich | Phillip | 7,200,000 | 42 | 6 |
| Hortelano | George | 2,300,000 | 42 | 7 |
| Harrell | Zachary | 400,000 | 42 | 8 |
| Albano | Ruy | 700,000 | 42 | 9 |
18:35– Michael Glick hits the rail in 10th place setting up the final table. Glick takes home $2,400 continuing his great run in Daytona Beach tournaments.
18:24– Roiler Gomez is eliminated in 11th place for $2,400.
18:20– David “Moose” Hughes is eliminated after flopping top pair and running into Phillip Krnyaich’s set of fours. “Moose” hits the rail in 12th place and takes home $2,400. (Phillip Krnyaich- 6,500,000)
18:15– Going into level 24, 12 players remain with Phillip Krnyaich leading the pack.
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Helmick | Nathan | 1,500,000 | 42 | 1 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 2,500,000 | 42 | 2 |
| Krnyaich | Phillip | 6,000,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Harrell | Zachary | 750,000 | 42 | 4 |
| Albano | Ruy | 800,000 | 42 | 7 |
| Hughes | “Moose” | 300,000 | 42 | 8 |
| Hortelano | George | 1,400,000 | 44 | 1 |
| Gomez | Roiler | 300,000 | 44 | 2 |
| Carranza | Ezequiel | 1,700,000 | 44 | 5 |
| Schaedlich | Brian | 1,400,000 | 44 | 6 |
| Glick | Michael | 1,000,000 | 44 | 7 |
| Preservati | Jonathan | 700,000 | 44 | 9 |
Level 23
18:15– Gerardo Griffa is eliminated in 13th place for $1,943
18:10– Motyk Scott is eliminated in 14th place for $1,943
18:09– Seth Bobet is eliminated in 15th for $1,943
18:05– Steve Schween raises to 250,000 all-in from the button and is called by Ignacio Hidalgo in the big blind. Schween shows AhQs and Hidalgo shows 4s 4h. Schween is eliminated in 16th place for $1,618 when he fails to improve. (Ignacio Hidalgo- 2,500,000)
17:48– Xinxin Martin is eliminated when her AcJs falls to “Moose” Hughes’ Ad 5c on a 5h 9s 9d Ks 10h board. (“Moose” Hughes- 550,000)
17:45-The Daytona Beach Holiday Classic moves into Level 23 with 17 players remaining. Blinds are increasing to 20,000/40,000/40,000 as the field continues to shrink toward the final table.
Play remains steady as eliminations continue and the remaining players look to advance deeper into the money. Further updates will follow as the Holiday Classic progresses at Daytona Beach Poker. Chip counts are as follows:
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Helmick | Nathan | 800,000 | 42 | 1 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 2,400,000 | 42 | 2 |
| Krnyaich | Phllip | 4,900,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Martin | Xinxin | 300,000 | 42 | 6 |
| Albano | Ruy | 1,600,000 | 42 | 7 |
| Hughes | “Moose” | 300,000 | 42 | 8 |
| Scott | Motyk | 400,000 | 42 | 9 |
| Hortelano | George | 1,100,000 | 44 | 1 |
| Gomez | Roiler | 600,000 | 44 | 2 |
| Griffa | Gerardo | 400,000 | 44 | 3 |
| Bobet | Seth | 300,000 | 44 | 4 |
| Carranza | Ezequiel | 600,000 | 44 | 5 |
| Glick | Michael | 1,200,000 | 44 | 7 |
| Preservati | Jonathan | 800,000 | 44 | 9 |
| Harrell | Zachary | |||
| Schaedlich | Brian | |||
| Schween | Steve |
Level 22
17:07- Le Tieu busts on a massive pot against Phillip Krnyaich who now has 3.7 million in chips
Level 21
The Daytona Beach Holiday Classic moves into Level 22 with 21 players remaining. Blinds are increasing to 15,000/30,000/30,000, and the average stack sits at 954,000. All remaining players have locked up a minimum payout of $1,326.
With the field now reduced to just over two tables, play continues as the tournament works toward the final table. Updated chip counts reflect a wide range of stack sizes, setting the stage for continued eliminations as blinds escalate.
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Albano | Ruy | |||
| Alpizar | Kahlina | |||
| Bobet | Seth | 200,000 | 46 | 7 |
| Boling | Stephen | |||
| Carranza | Ezequiel | 700,000 | 44 | 5 |
| Fermin | Felix | |||
| Glick | Michael | 1,300,000 | 44 | 7 |
| Gomez | Roiler | 1,000,000 | 44 | 2 |
| Griffa | Gerardo | 800,000 | 44 | 3 |
| Harrell | Zachary | |||
| Helmick | Nathan | 975,000 | 42 | 1 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 2,300,000 | 42 | 2 |
| Hortelano | George | 500,000 | 46 | 3 |
| Hughes | “Moose” | 300,000 | 46 | 5 |
| Krnyaich | Phllip | 1,900,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Martin | Xinxin | |||
| Preservati | Jonathan | 700,000 | 46 | 9 |
| Schaedlich | Brian | |||
| Schween | Steve | |||
| Scott | Motyk | 2,200,000 | 46 | 2 |
| Tieu | Le | 1,600,000 | 42 | 8 |
Level 20
| Last Name | First Name | Chip Count | Table | Seat |
| Albano | Ruy | |||
| Alpizar | Kahlina | |||
| Bobet | Seth | |||
| Boling | Stephen | |||
| Call | James | |||
| Carranza | Ezequiel | 1,200,000 | 44 | 5 |
| Dispennette | David | |||
| Fermin | Felix | |||
| Fischbein | Steven | |||
| Glick | Michael | 900,000 | 44 | 7 |
| Gomez | Roiler | |||
| Griffa | Gerardo | 300,000 | 46 | 7 |
| Harrell | Zachary | |||
| Helmick | Nathan | 1,400,000 | 42 | 1 |
| Hidalgo | Ignacio | 1,200,000 | 42 | 2 |
| Hortelano | George | |||
| Hughes | “Moose” | 500,000 | 46 | 5 |
| Krnyaich | Phllip | 2,300,000 | 42 | 3 |
| Macdonald | David | |||
| Martin | Xinxin | |||
| Preservati | Jonathan | 800,000 | 46 | 9 |
| Schaedlich | Brian | |||
| Schoen | Doug | 350,000 | 44 | 4 |
| Schween | Steve | |||
| Scott | Motyk | |||
| Serafim | Carlos | |||
| Tieu | Le | 950,000 | 42 | 8 |
| Trestini | Oscar |
Level 19
The Daytona Beach Holiday Classic continues to narrow as play moves into Level 19, with blinds increasing to 10,000/15,000/15,000 and just 39 players remaining. With the next payout set at $681 and a $29,063 first-place prize still firmly in sight, the tournament has officially entered its most pressure-filled stretch. Every decision now carries real weight as stacks compress and the march toward the final table becomes clearer.
Among the most notable recent eliminations is Vincent Yenko, who had previously held the overall chip lead earlier in the series. His exit serves as a reminder of just how quickly fortunes can change at this stage of the event. As the field continues to thin, the remaining players are navigating tighter ICM considerations, escalating blinds, and a steadily approaching payout ladder that leaves little room for error.
With Level 19 about to begin, the Holiday Classic is firmly in grind mode. The remaining field is balanced between players looking to survive to the next pay jump and those positioning themselves for a deep run and a shot at the title. With fewer than forty players left and the biggest money still ahead, the Daytona Beach Holiday Classic is shaping up for a compelling finish.
