Defending BPO Florida World Championship winner Phil Hoff has been spotted in the field.

Hoff is back representing New York Free Poker (NYFP), the club he qualified in last year as well.

The champ says he's been splitting his poker-playing time since his 2022 triumph between local games and trips to Florida, with many a stop here at Palm Beach Kennel Club.

Hoff told PokerNews that he may not have qualified at the top of the NYFP leaderboard this year, but he did make it in to defend his title.

Hoff's title defense has taken one significant bump so far, as he's busted and had to use his available re-entry. Currently he's working with just under a starting stack, with about 25,000 chips in front of him.