While you’re abstracted in thought, let me permeate your meat for a moment.
March holds two events that have the power to unhinge even the most GTO of minds. One is in North America, and the other is, unusually, in Eastern Europe, and that’s where we’ll begin.
After Storm Dennis catapulted ghost ships upon Irish rocks and forced Tesla’s autopilot to save at least eight lives, Rob Yong showed us that he could swim, but can he ski?
It’s officially impossible for anyone to be more focussed on their job than me. Was on discord call to @padsPokerSquad discussing @partypoker MTTs & never even noticed house was flooded & I was sitting in 1ft of water 💦 KTF Rob 💪 #focussedpic.twitter.com/4zRgZUapTk
partypoker’s first exclusive high roller tournament series comes at you from the Casino Sochi in Russia 6-15 March. Christened the partypoker MILLIONS Super High Roller, the event is the byproduct of Yong and his high stakes buddies fancying some time on the piste, and then creating an event around the pastime.
Here is the schedule.
6-7 March – $25,500 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Short-Deck (SD) 7-8 March – $25,500 NLHE 8-9 March – $25,500 NLHE SD 9-10 March – $51,000 NLHE 10-11 March – $51,000 NLHE SD 11-12 March – $100,000 NLHE 12-13 March – $100,000 NLHE SD 13-15 March – $250,000 NLHE Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB)
The schedule contains the 5th SHRB held outside of Las Vegas.
Here are the previous non-Vegas winners.
SHRB China (2018) – Justin Bonomo beat 75-entrants to win $4.8m SHRB London (2019) – Cary Katz beat 12-entrants to win $2.6m SHRB Bahamas (2019) – Daniel Dvoress beat 37-entrants to win $4m SHRB Australia (2020) – Timothy Adams beat 16-entrants to win $1.5m
Then World Poker Tour Los Angeles Poker Classic (WPT LAPC)
The WPT LAPC is one of the longest-running live tournament series in the world. It began on 7 December, and ends on 4 March, giving high rollers the chance to have their cake and scoff it down.
There are two $25,000 NLHE puzzles on the March end of the schedule that need solving.
2 March – $25,000 NLHE PokerGO High Roller
3 March – $25,000 NLHE PokerGO High Roller
As you can tell, PokerGO will showcase both events.
The $10,000 WPT LAPC Main Event begins 29 Feb, ending on 4 Mar when the final six players suspend play until the final table on April 2 at the HyperX Esports Las Vegas Arena.
Here is the history of WPT LAPC $25k events.
2010: Scott Seiver beat 41-entrants to win $425,330
2011: Erik Seidel beat 18-entrants to win $144,570
2012: Eui Kim beat 23-entrants to win $242,970
2013: Rodger Johnson beat 24-entrants to win $182,315
2014: Kevin Jonna beat 25-entrants to win $262,640
2016: The event had the year off.
2017: A shy German beat 14-entrants to win $233,860
2018: Alex Foxen beat 50-entrants to win $424,625
2019: Maria Ho beat 28-entrants to win $276,690, and Rainer Kempe won the 27-entrant version for $270,905 (both were dating at the time).
In 2015, the $25,000 High Roller became a $50,000 NLHE Turbo, and Jason Koon defeated 31-entrants to claim the $436,344 first prize.
That’s a wrap for the high stakes action in March.
Get your butlers booked.
Poker is about to mystify and mesmerise us for another month. January animated 2020 with splashes of brilliance from three continents and February maintains that trend.
After the Aussie Millions, the high roller fraternity took a flight to Queensland to compete in the Australian Poker Open (APO). That new series ends with the inaugural Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) Australia.
Australia becomes the fifth country to host an SHRB when the players descend on the Star Gold Coast in Queensland, 2-4 Feb for the AUD 250,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) extravaganza.
Here are the previous winners.
Las Vegas
2015: Brian Rast beats 43-entrants to win $7,525,000*
2016: Rainer Kempe beats 49-entrants to win $5,000,000
2017: Christoph Vogelsang beats 56-entrants to win $6,000,000
2018: Justin Bonomo beats 48-entrants to win $5,000,000
2018: Isaac Haxton beats 36-entrants to win $3,672,000**
The buy-in was $500k before dropping to $300k in ensuing years.
** Poker Central held dragged the 2019 event into Dec 2018, creating two SHRB games in a single calendar year to align with their new Player of the Year setup.
China
2018: Justin Bonomo beats 75-entrants to win $4,823,077
London
2019: Cary Katz beats 12-entrants to win $2,610,317
Bahamas
2019: Daniel Dvoress beats 37-entrants to win $4,080,000
It’s the third Triton Jeju event. The first comprised of five games. Mikita Badzuakouski starred by becoming the first player to win back-to-back No-Limit Hold’em Main Event titles, and Kenneth Kee won the Short-Deck Main Event. The series returned in 2019 with seven events. Jason Koon won two of them, including the Short-Deck Main Event, and Timothy Adams won the NLHE Main Event.
The action takes place between 9-22 Feb at the Landing Casino in Shinwa World, Jeju, South Korea with an 11-event series. There are two Main Events, both priced at HKD 1m (NLHE & Short-Deck), and it’s the first time at this price point for the NLHE Main Event having previously been HKD 2m.
Running simultaneously with the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series is partypoker’s MILLIONS South America event.
The series runs from 6-16 Feb, from the Enjoy Conrad Resort & Casino, Punta del Este, Uruguay, and the main feature is a $10,300, $5m GTD NLHE Main Event.
As has become standard, there is a $25,500 NLHE MILLIONS Super High Roller, and that takes place 10-11 Feb and a $10,300 NLHE MILLIONS High Roller Finale.
It’s the second MILLIONS event of 2020. Dusk till Dawn (DTD) in Nottingham hosted MILLIONS UK in January, and the in-form Kahle Burns took down the $25k Super High Roller, Joao Vieira took down the $10k High Roller Finale, and Anton Suarez won the $10k Main Event.
In 2019, MILLIONS South America hailed from the Belmond Copacabana Palace Hotel in Brazil. Marty Mathis won the $10k Main Event, Guillaume Nolet won the $10k High Roller, and there were two $25k events with Jonathan Depa owning one. Pablo Joaquin Melogno Cabrera took down the other.
And that’s a wrap for the February high roller action.
Australia is under attack from mother nature.
Ten million acres of land burns, as more than 100 fires rage across New South Wales. The flames have forced hundreds of people to the beach as their homes turn to ash.
Heaven has turned into hell.
And, it’s in this newly created hell that we venture first in our round-up of January’s high stakes poker tournaments. With PokerStars putting their Carribean Adventure to sleep, the Aussie Millions takes centre stage.
Once again, the Crown Melbourne will welcome the maddening crowd.
The Aussie Millions experienced a high roller renaissance in 2019. The last frothy bubbles of blood fell out of the corners of the AUD 250,000 Challenge in 2016, but the AUD 100,000 limped on after only 18-players competed in 2017, and 19 in 2018. Then in 2019, 42-entrants turned up, and Cary Katz secured the $1,074,908 first prize.
The star of the 2019 Aussie Millions was Toby Lewis. The UK-based pro doesn’t frequent the live scene too often these days, but when he does, players are typically left weeping into their bowls of rice.
Lewis won the 62-entrant AUD 50,000 Challenge for $587,054 after flipping with Manig Loeser and then finished runner-up to Rainer Kempe in the AUD 25,000 (Kempe conquered a field of 151-entrants to win $590,814, and Lewis collected $555,107).
Anton Morgenstern picked up a second title for Germany when he conquered the throbbing mass of 67-entrants in the AUD 25,000 PLO for $384,767.
Australian Poker Open (25 Jan-1 Feb)
High Rollers who love Australia have a reason to extend their trip in 2020 after Poker Central partnered with the World Poker Tour (WPT) and The Star Gold Coast to host the Australian Poker Open, and the Super High Roller (SHRB) Bowl Australia.
The Australian Poker Open extends Poker Central’s network of events that includes the US Poker Open and the British Poker Open. David Peters won the 2019 US Poker Open, and Sam Soverel took down the inaugural British Poker Open.
Although the 2 February is not in January, it makes sense to reference the SHRB Australia here. It’s the first time the AUD 250,000 buy-in event hits the land of the wallabies and continues the trend of SHRB migration with Justin Bonomo winning the 2018 SHRB China, and Daniel Dvoress winning the 2019 SHRB Bahamas.
2-4 Feb: AUD 250,000 NLHE.
WPT Gardens Poker Championship (14 Dec-15 Jan)
In a 2019 study by OnePoll, research of 2,000 Americans revealed that 40% had never left the country, and over half didn’t even have a passport. As a high roller, you have to take an oath to behave a tad differently, but if you missed that memo, there are a few crumbs of comfort in January.
The WPT Gardens Poker Championship in California is currently in full swing, and there are two $20k+ NLHE events pencilled into the calendar.
Here they are.
6-7 Jan: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) High Roller 7 Jan: $20,000 NLHE High Roller Bounty
The WPT Gardens Poker Championship debuted in 2019, and there was only one $25,500 event. NLHE was the game, and the turn out was mediocre with Darren Elias topping a field of 11-entrants to win the $192,500 first prize.
WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open (9-22 Jan)
Passportless Americans can then make the trip from California to Florida for the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Florida.
There is one $25k+ event on the schedule, and here it is.
20-21 Jan: $25,500 NLHE High Roller
The WPT first planted high rollers into the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in 2018. Retiree Stefan Schillhabel won the 25-entrant $50,000 NLHE event for $493,000, after beating Adrian Mateos heads-up. Justin Bonomo finished third in that event, before going on to win the 75-entrant $25,000 NLHE, with Mateos once again playing the role of the stubbled chinned bridesmaid.
Despite decent numbers, the high rollers vanished from the 2019 schedule, and only the $25,500 makes the cut in 2010.
partypoker MILLIONS UK (4-12 Jan)
With North America and Australasia covered, partypoker will set up camp in Europe, with partypoker MILLIONS UK coming live and direct from Dusk Till Dawn (DTD), Nottingham, England.
Rob Yong and co., first engraved the MILLIONS brand onto the DTD sigils in 2017, when Pascal Lefrancois defeated 14-entrants to win the £151,300 first prize in the £25,000 NLHE event. 2018 belonged to Steve O’Dwyer after beating 51-entrants to win the £25,500 NLHE event for £450,000, while also collecting the £314,000 first prize for winning the 105-entrant £10,300 NLHE event.
There was no MILLIONS UK in 2019, with the company preferring to hold a MILLIONS Europe at the King’s Resort, Rozvadov in August.
There is only one $25k+ event on this year’s calendar.
Here is it.
7 Jan: $25,500 NLHE Super High Roller
And that’s a wrap for January’s live tournament high roller schedule.
In 35-days, Father Christmas will have come and gone, millions of people would have earned the bronze medal, falling short of a myriad of New Years’ resolutions that never got past the 24-hour mark, and all eyes in the poker world will stare towards Melbourne.
But we have one more month to go before 2019 is locked in a vault.
We have Player of the Year’s to herald.
Let’s take a look at the tapestry.
December Tournaments
Three primary events will shape the 2019 Player of the Year (POY) awards.
The World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock & Roll Poker Open.
The World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic.
The European Poker Tour Prague.
The World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Hard Rock & Roll Poker Open
There is one event that will attract North American High Rollers, and that’s the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller: Mon & Tue 2-3 Dec.
It’s the first time an event of this magnitude has appeared on the schedule. In 2015, Jason Mercier defeated a field of 83-entrants to win the $517,187 first prize, and in 2016, Ben Tollerene defeated a field of 21-entrants in a $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $459,228.
Of interest, Sean Winter finished third in 2015, and second in 2016. Winter currently sits second in the Global Poker Index (GPI) POY race and fifth in the Poker Central’s equivalent.
World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic
The World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic runs at the same time as the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Prague, so it will be fascinating to see where the high rollers believe the value lies.
There are three $25k events and a $100k game. Also, there are five $10k events across all major disciplines – more than enough action to keep players with deep pockets busy.
Here are the highlights.
Dec 9-10: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
Dec 10-11 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Dec 12-13 $10,000 8-Game Mix
Dec 13-14 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Dec 15-16 $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Dec 16-21 $10,000 WPT Five Diamond Main Event
Dec 19-20 $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Dec 20-21 $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Dec 21 $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic dropped the name of Doyle Brunson from the doorframe in 2014.
Here are the scores on the board since then.
In 2014, Mohsin Charania defeated a field of 586-entrants to win the $10,000 Five Diamond Main Event for $1,177,90, and Andrew Lichtenberger won the 55-entrant $100,000 WPT No-Limit Hold’em Alpha8 event for $1,770,692.
In 2015, Sam Stein conquered a 65-entrant field to win the $122,220 first prize in the $10,400 Pot-Limit Omaha, Kevin Eyster vanquished 639-entrants on his way to capturing the $1,587,382 first prize in the WPT Five Diamond Main Event, and Fedor Holz defeated the 45-entrant $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Alpha8 event for $1,589,219.
The WPT Five Diamond became high roller heaven in 2016. James Romero won the 791-entrant $10,400 Main Event for $1,938,118, Jason Koon defeated a 43-entrant field to win a $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for $412,800, Ankush Mandavia then beat Jason Koon, heads-up, to win a 64-entrant $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for $403,532, and Jan Schwippert took down the 38-entrant $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller for $1,439,274.
Things went a tad insane in 2017 when Justin Bonomo won two $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Rollers for a combined haul of $460,000, Stefan Schillhabel, Keith Tilston, Rainer Kempe and Jason Koon also picked up $25,000 No-Limit High Roller wins. Sergio Aido won a 28-entrant $10,000 No-Limit High Roller, Ryan Tosoc beat Alex Foxen, heads-up, to win the Main Event for $1,958,065, and Dan Smith mauled a 39-entrant $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller to collect $1,404,000.
Last year saw Joshua Ladiness and Sam Soverel win $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha events, Sam Soverel also won a $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and John Hennigan won a $10,000 Mixed Games event. Manig Loeser, Nick Petrangelo and Seth Davies won $25,000 games. Dylan Linde won the record-breaking 1,001-entrant Main Event for $1,631,468, and Jake Schindler earned $1,332,000 for winning the 37-entrant No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller.
European Poker Tour Prague
EPT Prague has four €10k events, three €25k events, and a €50k game.
Here are the highlights,
Dec 6-7: €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em
Dec 8: €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Dec 9-11: €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Dec 11: €10,200 No-Limit Hold’em
Dec 12: €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Dec 14: €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Dec 15-17 €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em
Dec 16: €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em
In 2014, Leonid Markin topped a field of 51-entrants to win the €771,360 first prize in a €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller.
In 2015, Rainer Kempe won an 80-entrant €25,500 No-Limit High Roller for €539,900, and Steve O’Dwyer won the 56-entrant €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller for €746,543.
In 2016, Isaac Haxton, Sam Greenwood and Sergi Reixach won €25,000 events, and Leon Tsoukernik defeated a field of 49-entrants to win the €741,100 first prize in the €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller.
In 2017, Igor Kurganov and Albert Daher won €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em events, and Timothy Adams won the €555,000 first prize in the 34-entrant €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller.
Last year, Thomas Boivin and Corentin Ropert won €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Rollers, and Matthias Eibinger took the €653,000 first prize in the €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller.
Here are the current GPI POY and Poker Central High Roller of the Year standings.
Winter has cashed in both the Rock & Roll Poker Open and the Five Diamond event. Stephen Chidwick and Rainer Kempe have made money at the Five Diamond and EPT Prague. Interestingly, Burns hasn’t appeared in the pecking order of any of these events before.
Points accrued at EPT Prague only count for the GPI POY.
Global Poker Index Player of the Year
Kahle Burns – 3,548.08
Sean Winter – 3,525.43
Stephen Chidwick – 3,428.36
Rainer Kempe – 3,421.86
Manig Loeser – 3,327.95
Poker Central High Roller of the Year
Sam Soverel – 2,820
Cary Katz – 2,000
Ali Imsirovic – 1,685
Stephen Chidwick – 1,580
Sean Winter – 1,300
2018 Poker Masters – Image by Poker Masters
Oscar Wilde once said that ‘success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.’
The successful high rollers need an arena; a place to hunt, a place to bear their teeth. Currently, that place is the World Series of Poker Series Europe (WSOPE), but on Monday the warriors pack up their weapons of mass destruction and head to Las Vegas.
The 2019 Poker Masters is the first of two events that will get the poker media into full-on prophecy mode, in November. We will get to the second in two shakes of a puppy dog’s tail.
The Poker Masters is a by-product of those mad scientists at Poker Central. It climbed out of Cary Katz’s mind two years ago. Back then the schedule consisted of 4 x $50,000 events, culminating in a $100,000 Main Event. The Germans dominated the series with Steffen Sontheimer claiming the inaugural Purple Jacket after making the final table of four of the five events, bubbling the fifth, winning two, and cashing for more than $2.7m.
Last year, the cherubic Ali Imsirovic won $100,000 in prize money, and the Purple Jacket jacket after cashing in three of the seven events, winning two of them and cashing for more than $1.2m.
Speaking in the aftermath of glory, Imsirovic told the press: “If you don’t constantly play your best in this series, you’re just going to get destroyed.”
The defending champion is one of the in-form players entering what will be the biggest Poker Central Series so far, with ten events on tap. Other players to keep an eye on in this one will be (if they play) Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo, Stephen Chidwick, Sam Soverel, Cary Katz and Sam Soverel.
Here is the schedule.
Poker Masters
4/5 Nov – $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em
5/6 Nov – $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
6/7 Nov – $10,000 Short-Deck Hold’em
7/8 Nov – $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em
8/9 Nov – $10,000 Big Bet Mix
9/10 Nov – $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
10/11 Nov – $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
11/12 Nov – $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
12/13 Nov – $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em
13/14 Nov – $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event
The venue is the PokerGO Studios at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
It’s a points-based system with the winner picking up $100,000 and a Purple Jacket.
Once the Poker Masters wraps up, it’s time for the high rollers to hop on a jet plane destined for the Bahamas and partypoker’s MILLIONS World.
The action once again takes place at the Baha Mar Resort, and there’s enough medicine for the high rollers to swallow.
16/18 Nov – $250,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Bowl
16/18 Nov – $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONS High Roller
18/19 Nov – $25,500 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONS Super High Roller
19-23 Nov – $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONS Main Event
19 Nov – $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em
21/23 Nov – $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONS High Roller Finale
23 Nov – $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller
It’s the second time that partypoker has partnered with the Baha Mar in Nassau.
Last time out, Roberto Romanello put a mushroom cloud over the heads of 196-entrants to win the $450,000 first prize in the $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. Roger Teska won the one-of-a-kind 394-entrant $25,500, $10m GTD No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONS World for $2m. Giuseppe Iadisernia beat 54-entrants to win the $845,000 first prize in the $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller. And Steffen Sontheimer defeated 34-entrants to win the $3.685m first prize in the $250,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Championships.
And that’s your high roller schedule for November.
It’s time to sharpen those swords.
There are 155 cramped antonyms, and my favourite one is ‘roomy’. After a cramped September that saw our high rollers battle it out in London, and online in PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), and GGPoker’s GGSeries III, we have a roomy looking October.
One series stands alone on the schedule, but it has a healthy set of lungs. The 2019 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) returns to the King’s Resort in Rozvadov, the Czech Republic for the third year running, and it’s the type of schedule that will see high rollers contorting and convulsing in a crazed atavistic dance.
Five events carry a €25k+ billing with three at that exact price point, joined by a €100,000 and €250,000 event notwithstanding the €10,350 Main Event that will no doubt hand a tyrant a million euro score.
Here they are.
World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) High Roller Schedule
16 October: €250,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller.
18 October: €25,500 No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck High Roller.
20 October: €25,500 No-Limit Hold’em Platinum High Roller.
21 October: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship.
23 October: €100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Diamond High Roller.
The €10,350 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event runs 25 October – 27 October.
Daniel Negreanu Fans Gain a Sweat as Kid Poker Tries For WSOP Player of the Year #3
An essential habit cultivated by all great players is to take time away from the game.
Daniel Negreanu has done that.
Kid Poker missed the Triton Million London, British Poker Open, partypoker MILLIONS Europe, European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona, and The Super High Roller Bowl London.
It’s the first time Negreanu has played at the King’s Resort in Rozvadov, and he will arrive with a vampiric thirst for the game. The Canadian star has already pledged a daily VLOG for his rampant followers and has offered action to a select few.
In the summer, Negreanu offered Low/Medium/High packages on his WSOP action to his loyal tribe, and the pieces sold out in three minutes. Unfortunately, technical gremlins meant Negreanu oversold his action leaving him looking like a scarecrow in a hurricane.
Negreanu has pledged to give those that missed out on his Vegas loot (he cashed for more than $2m to give everyone a healthy profit) a chance to buy pieces of his WSOPE action at zero markup.
Writing on Twitter, Negreanu estimates he will spend €1.2m on buy-ins during the festival as he attempts to become the only player to win the Player of the Year three times.
The WSOP POY Leaderboard has Negreanu pegged in third place. Shaun Deeb sits in second with Robert Campbell in charge. You sense the winner will emerge from this triumvirate.
Campbell cashed in nine events, making five final tables, and winning two bracelets. The Australian cashed for more than $680,000.
Deeb is the reigning WSOP POY Champion and the only player of the three with experience of competing in Rovzadov. Deeb cashed in four events last year, including finishing runner-up to Norbet Szécsi in the €1650 PLO/NLHE Mix.
After the WSOP, Deeb won the 115-entrant $25,500 No-Limit High Roller at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open for $778,300. He is currently giving everyone hiccups in WCOOP winning his seventh and eighth titles. Deeb may enter WSOPE knackered, but he will have that winning feeling in his mucus.
Here is the leaderboard.
WSOP Player of the Year Leaderboard
Robert Campbell – 3,418.78
Shaun Deeb – 3,280.13
Daniel Negreanu – 3,166.24
Daniel Zack – 3,126.13
Philip Hui – 2,881.67
Jason Gooch – 2,643.72
Joseph Cheong – 2,595,54
David ‘ODB’ Baker – 2,480.06
Chris Ferguson – 2,476.96
Anthony Zinno – 2,443.22
In Other News
Outside of the WSOPE, the ARIA is hosting three $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em events on the 3, 4 and 5th October, building up to the Poker Masters in November.
Finally, the World Poker Tour (WPT) bestbet Bounty Scramble is joining the high roller club, hosting a $20,000 No-Limit High Roller on Thursday 10 October.
The inaugural British Poker Open (BPO) is Poker Central’s first foray away from Las Vegas for an event outside of the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB). The series consists of ten games. It began on Sep 6, and ends on Sep 11 with the £103,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.
The BPO works the same way as the US Poker Open with points awarded for making the ITM positions.
The series has already raced through three events, here are the winners:
BPO event scores count towards the Poker Central High Roller of the Year, and the 2018 Champ, and 2019 leader, Sam Soverel currently leads the BPO standings after a third and second in the first three events.
Poker Central’s flagship product, the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB), dons a thick woolly jumper and leaves the US shores for only the second time since its creation in 2015.
The £252,500 buy-in event takes place 13-15 Sep, immediately following the BPO Main Event. As with previous SHRB’s the tournament is capped (49-entrants), and 19 of those seats belong to the Poker Central/Aspers team who will dole them out as they deem fit. A draw will determine whose buttocks will sit on the remaining 30 open seats.
It’s not the first time that Poker Central has held an SHRB outside of Las Vegas. In 2018, Justin Bonomo left 75-entrants feeling emaciated after he took down the $4.8m first prize (Bonomo would go on to win the Las Vegas event a few months later for $5m).
And the SHRB London won’t be the last the world sees of the brand outside of Las Vegas. The BPO and SHRB London sponsor, partypoker, is also sponsoring an SHRB Bahamas, due to take place during the partypoker MILLIONS World in November.
Here is the history of the SHRB:
SHRB Las Vegas
2015 – Brian Rast ($7.525m)*
2016 – Rainer Kemper ($5m)
2017 – Christoph Vogelsang ($6m)
2018 – Justin Bonomo ($5m)
*The only time the event has been a $500k buy-in, all other buy-ins have been $300k.
SHRB China
2018 – Justin Bonomo ($4.8m)
Online High Rolling News
PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker
With only London offering live tournament high stakes poker action in September, it’s allowed the online poker room giants to step into the breach to provide the high stakes players with some comfort.
The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) takes place Sep 5 through Sep 25. It promises to be the wealthiest WCOOP in history with $75m in guaranteed prize money, but the high rolling action is down on last year.
There is only one event, and that takes place on Sep 11 – WCOOP 25 (High) is a $2m GTD, $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. The event clashes with the BPO’s £50,000 and the £100,000. Something to look at if the BPO returns next year.
Last year, there were three $25,000 buy-in events during WCOOP. Jorryt “TheCleaner11” van Horryt took down the 54-entrant $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed event for $1.3m. Linus “LlinusLlove” Loeliger won the first No-Limit Hold’em event for $2.5m, and Wiktor “limitless” Malinowski won the second one earning $3.4m.
GGPoker’s Good Game Series 3
For once, PokerStars is not the place to be if you want to compete in $25,000 buy-in events. Between Sep 8 and 29, GGPoker is hosting a highly ambitious $50m GTD GGSeries 3. There are 482-events, and amongst them sits an incredible 14 $25,000 buy-in events.
To put that into perspective, the previous GGSeries only had one $25,000 buy-in event. Andras “PokerBluff1” Nemeth banked close to half a million bucks for winning that one.
A hammerhead shark robs a sushi joint somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The only witness is an Angler Fish. The cops bring him in the identify the culprit in a lineup, and the hammerhead has to stand in line next to a bunch of bog standard shark looking sharks – that’s how ridiculous it would be for anyone in the world to host a $25,000+ buy-in event during the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Each year, in June, earning the big bucks comes secondary to glory in the shape of gold bracelets, and Jack Effel and the crew will hand out three to high rollers in that month.
The first has been named ‘High Roller – $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em for the 50th Annual’. The single re-entry, 300,000 starting stack, levels up every 60-minute, late reg open until the start of Level 12 event takes place over four days beginning May 31.
It’s a new event to celebrate the WSOP’s 50th Anniversary, but it’s not the only time the WSOP has held a $50,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. In 2012, Mike Watson emerged bloodstained and battered from a €50,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em High Roller during the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) in Cannes where he beat 60-entrants to win the €1m first prize.
On June 19, high rollers with Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) set in their sniper rifle crosshairs will sit down to compete in the $25,000 buy-in PLO bracelet event. Once again, the game is single re-entry, only this time players have 150,000 chips, and the levels increase every 60-minutes. Late registration remains open until the start of Level 13. Last year, Shaun Deeb won this event on his way towards a successful series that saw him claim the Player of the Year crown. Deeb defeated 230-entrants to win the $1,402,683 first prize.
Then on June 24, mixed game specialists begin the cliff like ascent towards the summit of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship (PPC). Games involved include Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Seven Card Stud, Razz, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw. Players start with 300,000 in chips, and blinds increase every 100-minutes, with late registration ending at the start of Level 11. The five-day event is a one bullet affair. Last year, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi became the first player to win the PPC three times, collecting $1,239,126 after wading through a field of 87-entrants.
The 50th Anniversary WSOP runs from May 28 to July 16 with a record 89-events. Here is a full breakdown of events.
