Isaac Haxton has won the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) V, the $3.67m first prize, and a long overdue place in poker’s major title record books.
It’s a fantastic achievement for the 33-year-old poker pro, who has fought tooth and nail in the highest stakes poker games for as long as anyone in the modern game.
The 36-entrant SHRB V took place over three days. Rick Salomon led 27-survivors at the end of Day 1, and Haxton ended Day 2 knowing he had a quarter of the chips in play and position on the second biggest stack belonging to Stephen Chidwick.
Final Table Lay of the Land
1. Ali Imsirovic – 875,000
2. Stephen Chidwick – 2,405,000
3. Isaac Haxton – 2,415,000
4. Igor Kurganov – 1,550,000
5. Talal Shakerchi – 995,000
6. Alex Foxen – 1,590,000
7. Adrian Mateos – 975,000
Let’s take a look at how Haxton took this one down.
Ali Imsirovic Eliminated in 7th Place ($540,000)
The Poker Masters Champion opened to 40,000 on the button, Stephen Chidwick called in the small blind, before Isaac Haxton squeezed to 230,000 from the big blind. Imsirovic wasted little time in moving all-in, Chidwick folded, and Haxton called. Imsirovic was ahead with JcJh v A5cc, but the Kh9c7c flop handed Haxton a flush draw. The Tc complete that loose end on the turn, while also handing Imsirovic a flush draw, but the deck wasn’t as kind – the 9d ended the action, and Imsirovic moved to the rail for a consolatory hug from his father.
Igor Kurganov Eliminated in 6th Place ($756,000)
The action checked to Stephen Chidwick who bet 65,000 from his position in the middle of the pack and Igor Kurganov moved all-in for 350,000 on the button. Talal Shakerchi, who was next to act, also moved all-in for 1,560,000, and Chidwick folded. The Hedge Fund manager was light years ahead with TT versus 77, and despite flopping a gutshot straight draw, Kurganov couldn’t find the luck he needed to remain in the tournament.
Isaac Haxton – 2,755,000
Adrian Mateos – 2,455,000
Talal Shakerchi – 2,035,000
Stephen Chidwick – 1,910,000
Alex Foxen – 1,650,000
Adrian Mateos Eliminated in 5th Place ($972,000)
Adrian Mateos was first to act and opened to 110,000, and when the action folded to Alex Foxen in the big blind he three-bet to 455,000. Back on Mateos and the Spaniard moved all-in for 1,910,000 and Foxen called. We were at the races with Foxen’s AK searching for luck against the pocket nines of Mateos, and the deck delivered a King on the flop to give Foxen the winning hand, sending Mateos home.
Alex Foxen – 6,440,000
Isaac Haxton – 2,160,000
Talal Shakerchi – 1,285,000
Stephen Chidwick – 920,000
Talal Shakerchi Eliminated in 4th Place ($1,118,000)
First, to act, Isaac Haxton opened to 140,000 UTG, Talal Shakerchi moved all-in for 1,285,000, and Haxton made the call. The partypoker pro was ahead with 99 >ATo, and it stayed that way to send the only non-professional at the final table back to his hotel room.
Stephen Chidwick Eliminated in 3rd Place ($1,512,000)
Shakerchi had still not left the casino by the time his compatriot, Stephen Chidwick tangled with Isaac Haxton in a bout of gymnastics that ended up with the pair all-in pre-flop with Chidwick at risk of elimination. It was another classic flip with Chidwick’s AQ needing to get lucky against JJ, and a set for Haxton on the flop reduced the odds dramatically. The 2d on the turn left Chidwick drawing dead, and Haxton would take on the Global Poker Index (GPI) #1, Alex Foxen, for all the beans with a 4,965,000 v 5,840,000 chip deficit.
Heads Up
Alex Foxen opened to 150,000 holding AdJc, Isaac Haxton three-bet to 630,000 holding pocket eights, and Foxen called. The dealer fanned a Kc7s5h flop over the table, and Haxton bet 750,000; Foxen called. Both players tapped the felt at the sight of the 6s on the turn, before deja vu on the 5s river, and Haxton took the lead with his pocket eights.
Haxton – 7,220,000
Foxen – 3,585,000
Foxen opened to 15,000 holding the crappy looking Qd2s, and Isaac Haxton called with K6dd. The flop of AsTd8d handed Haxton a flush draw, and he rightly called after Foxen had bet 235,000. The turn was the 3d completing the flush, and Foxen, who now had a flush draw, bet 515,000; Haxton called. The river was the 6h, Haxton checked for the third time, and then moved all-in when Foxen wagered 1,400,000 on a bluff. Foxen folded.
Haxton – 9,340,000
Foxen – 1,465,000
Isaac Haxton limped from the button for 60,000, Alex Foxen raised to 225,000, Haxton moved all-in for 9,400,000 and Foxen called for his remaining 1,330,000. Foxen was ahead with A8dd facing KsJh, and the AcQc6c strengthened his lead. The Kh gave Haxton a pair, and the Js on the river handed him two-pairs and the victory he has no doubt dreamt of his entire poker career.
Ike Haxton: Mr Consistency
Haxton debuted in the live tournament scene spectacularly when finishing runner-up to Ryan Daut in the 2007 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship in the Bahamas, banking $861,789.
A decade has passed, and Haxton has grown that $861,789 into a big fat looking $23,654,395 good enough for a 13th place standing in the All-Time Live Tournament Money Earned Leaderboard, overtaking Mikita Badziakouski, Sam Trickett, Brian Rast, Phil Hellmuth Jr, Jason Koon, Scott Seiver and Jake Schindler.
The $3,672,000 Haxton pocketed for his SHRB V win is his most substantial score to date, eclipsing the $2,525,841 he collected after losing to Phil Ivey in the AUD 250,000 Challenge at the 2014 Aussie Millions.
Haxton has now earned $8,194,991 playing live tournaments in 2018, and only seven people have won more. Haxton’s previous best annual score was $3,724,936 in 2014.
What’s incredible about this man is his consistency.
It’s only his seventh live tournament win, and his first major, with three of those victories coming in the past 12-months, but of his 106 cashes, 52 of them have seen Haxton rise to the position of six or above – an astonishing number, and it’s not hard to envisage a parallel universe where Haxton’s play gets the luck it deserves, rewriting the history books completely.
Here are the final table results:
Final Table Results
1. Isaac Haxton – $3,672,000
2. Alex Foxen – $2,160,000
3. Stephen Chidwick – $1,512,000
4. Talal Shakerchi – $1,188,000
5. Adrian Mateos – $972,000
6. Igor Kurganov – $756,000
7. Ali Imsirovic – $540,000