"th’Kick" Wins PokerStars High Rollers Main Event for $413K
Switzerland-based Austrian “th’Kick” won a massive $413,157 prize this weekend after he triumphed in the High Rollers 23: $2,100 NLHE [Main Event], $2M Gtd at PokerStars.
The two-day event concluded the High Rollers series, and it was a fitting finale. A field of 1,333-players was created, despite the buy-in for the tournament being an eye-watering $2,100. The $2 million guarantee was beaten by $666,000.
High Rollers 23: $2,100 NLHE [Main Event], $2M Gtd Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | th’Kick | Switzerland | $413,157 |
| 2 | MkMyWishFish | United Kingdom | $298,639 |
| 3 | hdjgkfkgsdl | United Kingdom | $215,864 |
| 4 | Connor “blanconegro” Drinan | Mexico | $156,032 |
| 5 | prebz | United Kingdom | $112,784 |
| 6 | Simon “C. Darwin2” Mattsson | Sweden | $81,523 |
| 7 | Ole “wizowizo” Schemion | Austria | $58,927 |
| 8 | thehushpuppy | United Kingdom | $42,593 |
| 9 | Lincownz | Brazil | $30,788 |
Hundreds of online poker’s biggest names and established professionals bought into the High Rollers Main Event, as you would expect for such a prestigious tournament and a tournament that was set to award more than $400,000 to its champion.
Several paragraphs could be filled with the names of those who failed to reach the money place, such was the level of competition in this tournament, but the one name that stands out is Martin “nizmo jiz” Kozlov because he busted in 171st place and was the last player to walk away empty-handed.
Kozlov’s exit opened the floodgates as everyone was then guaranteed a $4,306 return on their $2,100 investment. Such luminaries as Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi (166th for $4,306), “Legenden” (138th for $4,306), Team PokerStars Pro Andre “aakkari” Akkari (101st for $5,507), David “MissOracle” Yan (85th for $7,041), and Chris “ImDaNuts” Oliver (22nd for $14,724) were just a handful of grinders who cashed.
Final Table Reached
Everyone was guaranteed $30,788 by the time the final table was reached, and what a final table it was.
Brazil’s “Lincownz”, a former Sunday Million champion, was the first player to lose their stack at the final table. This ninth-place finish added $30,788 to his or her bankroll. Lincownz was then joined on the rail by the United Kingdom’s “thehushpuppy” who had to make do with a $42,593 haul.
The waters grew slightly less shark-infested when Ole “wizowizo” Schemion fell in seventh-place for $58,927. Schemion is one of the world’s elite grinders and would have been a worthy champion in this online event, but it was not meant to be.
Sixth-place and $81,523 went to the current world number one, according to PocketFives, Simon “C. Darwin2” Mattsson. The Swede is a phenomenal player, one with more than $8.8 million in online poker tournament winnings.
Mattsson’s exit guaranteed a six-figure score for the remaining five players, and it was “prebz” who got his hands on the first of these prizes, busting in fifth-place for $112,784. Prebz was joined on the payout table first by Connor “blanconegro” Drinan ($156,032) and then every blogger’s worst nightmare, the alias “hdjgkfkgsdl” who banked $215,864.
There was no deal between th’Kick and “MkMyWishFish” despite there being a $114,000 pay jump. th’Kick will be happy no deal was reached because he or she brushed aside MkMyWishFish to resign the runner-up to the $298,639 consolation prize and to claim the massive $413,157 for himself.
Another Massive Score for th'Kick
Amazingly, this isn’t th’Kick’s largest online cash. That honor goes to a third-place finish in the 2017 SCOOP-55-H: $10,400 NLHE [Main Event] which saw him win $690,348. That particular tournament was won by British superstar Charlie “Epiphany77” Carrel who added a cool $1,200,899 to his bankroll. Ironically, both Mattsson and Drinan were present at that final table too; the cream does rise to the top in these huge events.
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