The World Series of Poker's most expensive regular tournament, a $250,000 buy-in, has been running since 2021. Adrian Mateos was the first winner, followed by Alex Foxen, Chris Brewer, Santhosh Suvarna, and Seth Davies. The event peaked in 2024, but its popularity has since declined.
The current Super High Roller tournament ran from June 13th to 15th. The quarter-million-dollar entry fee was paid 41 times on the first day (reentries were allowed once), and 31 players advanced to the second day.
11 players sat down at the tables from the very first minute, the most confident ones, like Jason Koon and Aleksejs Ponakovs, and the most passionate poker players, the ambitious amateurs David Einhorn and Vinny Lingham. Incidentally, three of those 11 reached the final table. Two more future finalists sat down during the first level. Maybe these late registrations aren't so bad after all.
The first to go, on the third level, was Dejan Kaladjurdjevic, who unsuccessfully tried to knock out Ponakovs's aces a board. Dejan and his quite convincingly represented a full house on the flop, playing a complex check-call-3-bet line (first calling the bet, then check-raising). After busting, he immediately re-entered.
Adrian Mateos was the second to lose all his chips. It was a fairly simple 5-bet all-in for 100 blinds on the button versus the hijack, with Mateos holding , against Vogelsang's . The Spanish giant delayed his return for about a level. The next outs were Bernhard Binder, Alex Theologis, and Alex Foxen. After them, Mikita Badziakouski could have easily been eliminated , but he was able to save $250,000 thanks to an opponent's inattention.
On the flop of , Mikita re-raised Barak Wisbrod's continuation bet and barreled the turn's . He loaded almost the entire stack, leaving himself one chip, and on the river , wisbrod announced all-in and turned over his cards – . Mikita didn't call his all-in, since he a worse hand.
He auto-shoved his remaining 5,000 chips from the small blind on the next hand and safely tripled his stack. By the end of the day, he had a decent working stack of 1,425,000. It's a bit of a shame that his one-chip boost didn't lead to a tournament win, but we don't live in a fairy tale.
Austrian Samuel Mullur ended the day as the chip leader, almost tripling his starting stack to 4,315,000.
We didn't see the usual massive influx of late-registerers on Day 2 this time. According to Daniel Negreanu and several other players, this is due to the entry of Martin Kabrhel. This macabre character is said to have scared off an entire cohort of recreational billionaires with his hellish manners.
Among the large group of new players who entered in Level 10, it's worth noting Chris Brewer, one of the tournament's previous winners, and Bryn Kenney, the tournament's all-time money winner. Between Levels 10 and 11, just before late registration closed, Phil Ivey joined the ranks of the Super High Rollers. The total number of entries reached 56, resulting in nine prizes, four of which exceeded $1 million.
Soon after registration closed, Mikita Badziakouski, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Alex Foxen, and several others were warmly bid farewell to their tablemates. Artur Martirosian was next. Foxen, incidentally, would soon compete in the $10,000 one-day super turbo, win a bracelet, and at least recoup his participation (the prize for winning was slightly over $500,000).
Kabrhel didn't torment his neighbors for long and was eliminated in level 12. Twenty-six players survived until the big break. Mullur remained in the lead with 7,815,000. Einhorn was second with 6,795,000, and Mateos was fourth with 5,070,000. Artur was one of the last players with a stack below his starting stack of 1,340,000. Shortly after the break, he lost an all-in to Chidwick and exited the tournament.
Phil Ivey assumed the role of the shortest player for a long time, but the veteran kept his cool and didn't overplay his hands. He waited for kings and doubled up. He outlasted another five players. Then he had to coinflip with against suited – and after that doubling, he could look to the future with optimism: 11/13, four places short of the money...
In contrast, Bryn Kenney played certain hands as if he were being guided by an invisible hand. It's unclear, for example, what prompted him to pounce on the chip leader's raise from under the gun and not only out-raise him with a pair of eights, but also five-bet a four-bet. Mullur showed two queens, but Kenney hit a runner-runner flush.
Matthias Eibinger, who had been playing well all day, also chose eights to get cold feet. After raising to 400,000 from first position, he was three-bet to 1,550,000 by Mateos in the big blind and decided to shove it under 30 big blinds. Mateos also called with queens, and this time there were no runner-runners.
Kristen Foxen exited the tournament in 11th place. It wasn't the family's best financial day, although it's clear they hardly contributed to those three entries entirely.
Kenney surged on the bubble. It wasn't that he was putting any particular pressure on his opponents, but he was having a really good postflop run. Ivey moved all-in a couple of times, allowing him to pull away from Nick Petrangelo. Having lost a fair amount of weight and a red beard, Petrangelo ultimately became the most valuable bubble boy of this World Series. He nearly re-raised Kenney's open from the cutoff (97o) for his entire stack, but Einhorn was dealt tens in the big blind. Petrangelo showed KQo and didn't improve. They technically went all-in on the turn, when Einhorn already had a set (Kenney, by the way, would have made a straight, but he folded preflop), but Nick had outs.
Nine players who made it to the money sat down at one table:
- Bryn Kenney (USA) – 19,460,000 (81 bb)
- Jason Koon (USA) – 4,570,000 (19 bb)
- Phil Ivey (USA) – 5,340,000 (22 bb)
- Michael Moncek (USA) – 4,460,000 (19 bb)
- David Einhorn (USA) – 11,805,000 (49 bb)
- Brandon Wilson (USA) – 7,595,000 (32 bb)
- Samuel Mullur (Austria) – 7,485,000 (31 bb)
- Adrian Mateos (Spain) – 16,705,000 (70 bb)
- Sean Winter (USA) – 6,480,000 (27 bb)
At this point, broadcast commentator Jared Bleznick confidently predicted a heads-up match between Kenney and Mateos. Looking at their stacks, the prediction didn't seem particularly prowessful, but Bleznick was very proud of his accuracy and tirelessly reminded them of it every few minutes during the final match.
The day didn't end there, however. The younger players hit Ivey a couple of times, forcing the veteran to fold his best hand on the river with aggressive play. By the end of Day 2, Phil had fallen to last place.
The broadcast on the final day didn't start from the very first minute. By the time the organizers had set up the cameras, the final table had lost two players. Michael Moncek lost his all-in with eights against Jason Koon's AJo. Then Phil Ivey was eliminated too. First, he doubled up against Kenney with against , but then he got jacks against the same opponent's queens, and two outs did not come.
Player stacks at the start of the TV broadcast:
- Einhorn – 19,025,000
- Kenney – 18,850,000
- Mateos – 15,875,000
- Koon – 13,900,000
- Wilson – 6,025,000
- Winter – 5,350,000
- Mullur – 4,875,000
The game from top 7 to top 1 didn't take that long – about three hours.
Bryn Kenney showed up that day wearing a Knicks jersey with Jalen Brunson's name on it. He played two memorable hands against – but more on that later.
After about 10 minutes, the first big clash occurs.
Wilson, short-stacked, min-raises—his hand is too good to open-shove. Mateos, in the small blind, gets caught with ATs and moves all-in, but Winter suddenly wakes up in the big blind. He has AQs, and despite his nitty-gritty (which Bleznick, of course, greatly exaggerated), Sean moves all-in without hesitation.
Wilson delivers quickly. Triple all-in, in which he has 51%.
Flop – , Mateos becomes the favorite, he has 45%.
Turn – ! Winter is the favorite, 62%, but Mateos still has a ton of outs.
River – . Wilson is left with a stub, Winter triples.
Mateos raises from the button with AKs. Winter folds, and Kenney in the big blind looks at T2s. Bleznik says he can call with any suited hand, but Kenney folds.
Branson's spirit will remember this.
Family pot. Wilson limps – for him, a raise is less than the ante. Mullur doesn't isolate with KQs, but over-limps – the more people in the pot, the better the chances of a pay jump. Kenney calls, Koon checks to the big blind with T2o.
Flop (2,000,000):
Chip leader Kenney grabs his chips and bets an ambitious 650,000. Koon calls with top pair. Wilson calls for 150,000, all-in. Mullur folds.
Turn (2,450,000/1,000,000):
Bleznik suggests checking, but Kenney isn't planning on checking top pair. He bets 1,175,000, a bit of an overbet compared to the sidepot.
Koon's hand has weakened, but the betting isn't as high and he has a gutshot. He calls.
River (2,450,000/3,350,000):
Kenney bets 2,175,000.
Jared's thoughts about a possible raise are cut short as Koon takes hold of his stack and slowly pushes most of it over the line. Raise to 7,000,000!
Kenney throws his cards into the muck faster than the wind – and Koon just as quickly demonstrates his “Brunson”.
Wilson is pardoned and takes the main pot. Koon's sidepot goes up. The commentators are delighted. Kenney is gloomy.
Wilson is eliminated in the next hand – he defended the BB, flopped top pair, but the kicker was too weak.
Einhorn bets a third of the pot on the flop and the full pot on the turn.
Mateos glares at him and reluctantly folds.
Everyone folds to Mullur in the small blind, he moves all-in for 11bb and Mateos calls with an ace.
Postflop doesn't quite add up.
But the five of clubs on the river saves the day. Mullur is out.
“I wish Winter would put more money in the pot now,” Bleznik commentates without much hope.
Winter reraises to 2,450,000. Einhorn folds.
Nit Winter continues to have fun with the suited kings.
"That's what makes him dangerous," Bleznick explains. "He's got a very tight image, it's impossible not to trust him, but he's capable of making moves like that at any moment and has a good sense of when to execute them."
Mateos folds.
Professionals might not love Bleznicks commentary at all times, but he's absolutely killed some of the games on CoinPoker, winning six and seven figure scores in the PLO high stakes games.
Koon and Kenney's stacks are even, but then Koon's tide begins to turn. With nines in the cutoff, he calls an under-the-gun raise, calls the flop with one overcard, checks the relatively innocuous turn, and gets overbet on the nasty river.
"Tough fold! You can't even imagine how tough it is against Kenney. But Koon's good!" Bleznick continues to be in a state of permanent admiration.
"The call would have been difficult too!" Ali Nejad adds diplomatically.
A lost Koon raises to 1,100,000 from the button with QTo, and Einhorn suddenly raises to 3,500,000 from the small blind with 54s—the first such move from the usually placid billionaire at this final table. Koon folds.
Kenney ponders what to do against Koon's raise from first position. The effective stack is almost 30 blinds!
“All-in,” he says and takes the pot.
Winter opens QJs, checks top pair, calls the turn, and gets a big bet from his opponent on the river.
The fold can't be found, and Sean's stack drops to the bottom.
The first thing Winter does after this hand is bluff 3-bet a third of his stack against one of the chip leaders.
Looks very strong as usual. Kenney folds.
Expensive preflop clash.
Koon moves all-in, Mateos calls. Tens win, Koon is out. Sean Winter hits another page jump!
Winter raises A8o from first position, Mateos defends the big blind. On a low flop, Mateos quickly checks. Winter ponders what to do. What would you do in his place?
After sitting motionless for a while, the American goes all-in!
Mateos even loses his poker face for a moment.
35% equity, gone.
But joy is a fleeting feeling, as Buddha said. The very next hand becomes Winter's last.
Sean raises to 2,700,000. Mateos moves all-in.
"If anyone can fold here, it's Winter!" Bleznick says.
But Winter calls and leaves the tournament a minute later.
Stacks in the top 3:
- Mateos – 36,325,000
- Einhorn – 25,725,000
- Kenney – 21,850,000
Bryn Kenney, ladies and gentlemen! Limp all-in 46bb with two deuces!!
Einhorn definitely senses some kind of falseness, because after receiving a push, he sits and thinks about something for almost a minute, and only after looking at the cards again, he sadly shakes his head and folds.
The pot is limped. Kenney checks. Einhorn quickly bets 1,000,000. Kenney casually check-raises to 3,700,000.
Suddenly Einhorn does something no one expected of him – 3-bet 9,000,000!
"If I were Bryn Kenney, I'd call 100% of the time. Why? Because against a made hand, I'd get it all in anyway, and let the bluff keep bluffing," Bleznick assures.
But Kenney doesn't want to risk a draw out of position, so he moves all-in and gets an instant call.
Having played brilliantly throughout the tournament, in the top 3, Einhorn goes all in with 0% to win and three outs to make the cut.
HU stacks: Kenney – 50,575,000, Mateos – 33,325,000. Effective stack – 66 bb!
The finalists initially traded wins in small pots. Then, with stacks roughly the same as at the start of heads-up play, Kenney raised to 1,300,000 with . Mateos defends on the BB with .
With a structure where the BB posts not one but two big blinds (since the ante has to be posted at a full table, even when there are only two players), folding to the BB is mathematically impossible—at least, that's what Bleznik claims. There's something unnatural about it, to my taste, but for some reason people have taken a liking to these BB antes.
Flop (3,100,000):
Mateos checks, and Kenney, in full accordance with the GTO Wizard recommendation, checks back.
Turn (3,100,000):
Mateos checks. Kenney Solver advises: big bet – 75%, check – 25%.
Kenney overbets 4,000,000.
They say he doesn't work with solvers at all. And they say the same about Mateos, by the way. What can I say—talented!
The solver demands a medium-sized reraise from Mateos in this spot. This line seems a bit suspicious, so Mateos does what anyone would probably do: call.
River (11,100,000):
The flush doesn't hit, but the full house does. Solvers want Mateos to bet a medium sized 91% and check 9%. Adrian, of course, checks to the aggressor.
Kenney is expected to check. Instead, he... bets 14,500,000!
"I don't quite understand what he's doing," says Bleznik. "Maybe it's a bluff, and he's trying to hit a nine, blocking a straight. But that's a mistake. Adrian went against the GTO Wizard's advice, and it paid off handsomely."
Mateos calls (and the solver wanted to raise) and wins a huge pot.
Kenney manages to flop another straight, he was actually pretty good at flopping straights in this final table, but Mateos once again has absolutely nothing, and the straight pair goes down the drain.
Kenney isolates his opponent's limp, makes a continuation bet, but stops on the turn and gets a big bet from 8-high.
A nutty unpaired hand without any blockers on the draw quickly folds.
"Branson" vs. Brunson
Mateos checks.
Kenney bets 2,100,000.
Mateos check-raises 6,500,000.
Kenney sways slightly as he looks at the table.
“11,300,000,” he says finally, leaving 17 million behind.
"All-in," Mateos says with a Spanish accent. Instant call.
Mateos explains the situation to the fans in the stands. Kenney goes to join his teammates, Cary Katz and Chino Rheem.
Turn – . 20% for Kenney.
River – . Mateos shakes his fist victoriously. Bring it in!
This is his sixth bracelet. At 31 years old (he'll be 32 in two weeks), no one has ever achieved that.
