2018 WSOP Event 5: Nick Petrangelo Wins WSOP $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller ($2,910,227)

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Jun 04, 2018 7 min read Last updated Jul 16, 2018

After four days of intense poker action, battling against the top pros in the world, Nick Petrangelo came out victorious in Event #5: $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller at the 2018 World Series of Poker. Petrangelo defeated fellow American Elio Fox in heads-up play to take home the first-place prize of $2,910,227, defeating a total of 105 entrants.

WSOP 2018 $100,000 High Roller Results

This is Petrangelo's second career World Series of Poker gold bracelet, his first coming in 2015 in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout event. Petrangelo is well known for playing in these specific high roller events, and his track record speaks for itself. The American poker pro has accumulated more than $11.7 million in career tournament earnings but still admits these types of tournaments can take a toll on you.

"after a super intense week, it feels like a relief to be done more than anything."

“Last week I played the Super High Roller Bowl,” said Petrangelo, who finished sixth in that event. “Then the very next day I jumped right into this. So after a super intense week, it feels like a relief to be done more than anything. There’s a lot of pressure playing against really tough players for huge buy-ins, especially with the stream. This kind of event is super tough, but they’re really fun, and it’s what I love to do.”

Petrangelo bagged the chip lead on Day 2 and Day 3 and seemed in cruise control for long periods of the final table, especially today. He said that it’s stressful sleeping on the chip lead, and compared it to having the lead in a sports game with just minutes to go.

“It’s more stressful because you want everything to work out,” he said. “You have expectations to deal with [as chipleader]. I’ve tried to teach myself to just be happy that I’m here, and excited to be playing and not wanting it to be over! It’s a bad sign as chip leader to just want it to end, but there’s always an element of that, no matter how strong you are mentally.

“When you’re the chip leader, of course you want everything to go smoothly, and I think, luckily, today was the easiest anything’s ever gone. I coolered everyone and ran super hot. The last two days have been super easy for me. I think the last time I played any really tough pot was the middle stage of Day 2. Late on Day 2, I ran really good around the bubble, and the last two days I just ran really good. I’m happy with my decision-making, and ultimately I had sick cards!”

Having made numerous final tables over his poker career, Petrangelo may be used to final tables but says that there are always unique situations to try and prepare for.

"If I had it my way, every final table would be in the back corner of the room!"

“You’re trying to figure out what’s going on with the stream, trying to get hole cards [information], etc. You have to try and adjust your strategies. Every time you make a final table, there are different dynamics. I think everyone has it a bit tougher on feature tables with media stuff and hole cards and the stream. If I had it my way, every final table would be in the back corner of the room!”

Petrangelo praised heads-up opponent Elio Fox, who missed out on a second bracelet in a week.

“He’s a great player,” said Petrangelo. “He has a really strong background, especially in these formats. He plays Turbo SNGs.”

Nick Petrangelo Stats ^{(June 2018)}

Tournament Summary

It was the first time in the WSOP history that a $100,000 buy-in event was run without the "One Drop" name associated with it. That didn't stop the best poker players in the world from coming out in full force for their shot at millions of dollars in prize money.

Day 1 began with around 20 players, but that number quickly started to grow as players came and entered in waves. After a full nine levels on the opening day, there were 97 entries with just 49 players surviving. Some notables to fall by the wayside on Day 1 included Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Antonio Esfandiari, Alex Foxen, and Jonathan Duhamel.

Late registration remained open for two levels into Day 2, and the total number of entries grew to 105. That made up a whopping prize pool $10,185,000 with 16 players making the money. Among the notable Day 2 entrants was none other than Phil Ivey, who attracted the largest rail looking to catch a glimpse of the poker legend. In search of his first bracelet since 2014, Ivey fell short when he lost a flip to Stephen Chidwick.

A few others to fall short of the money included Seth Davies, Brian Rast, Tom Marchese, and Ryan Riess. On the money bubble, Jake Schindler put himself at risk with ace-nine but walked into the ace-jack of Paul Volpe. Schindler was unable to come from behind, and the bubble burst in fewer than five hands.

Petrangelo took a healthy chip lead into Day 3 with just ten players remaining, half of which already had the pleasure of winning a gold bracelet in the past. Chris Moore was the first to be eliminated, setting up the unofficial final table of nine. Fedor Holz, Adrian Mateos, and Jason Koon were all eliminated within a span of 40 hands, bringing the tournament down to just six players. Play was halted for the day, and the final six players would return for Day 4 to declare a winner.

Final Table Summary

The final day began with six players returning to the main stage in the Amazon Room at the Rio Convention Center.

“It’s more stressful because you want everything to work out.”

Bryn Kenney came into the day second in chips but after a couple of early bluffs picked off by Elio Fox, Kenney was soon on the short stack.

It wasn't until the second level of the day where the first elimination would occur. Stephen Chidwick was unable to get things going his way today, and after losing a good chunk of his chips to Aymon Hata, he found himself all in for ten big blinds against Hata. Chidwick was in a dominated position preflop, and although he hit his live card on the turn, Hata countered with a pair of aces on the river to eliminate Chidwick in sixth place.

With Kenney on the short stack, it was only a matter of time before his chips found their way to the middle. After a raise from Fox, Bryn Kenney picked up a small pair and moved all in. Fox held two over cards and found a pair on the river to send Kenney home in fifth place.

The flurry of eliminations in the second level continued when Andreas Eiler flopped trip jacks against Petrangelo's full house. All of the chips went in on the river, and Eiler headed to the payout desk in fourth place.

In the very next hand, Aymon Hata flopped top pair and wasn't able to let it go when Petrangelo rivered a straight. Hata was next on the list of casualties to fall to an overwhelming chip leader, Petrangelo.

“I’m happy with my decision-making and ultimately I had sick cards!”

When heads-up play got underway, Petrangelo held a commanding chip lead over Fox, but the two players wouldn't shy away from getting chips into the pot. The majority of hands included (blind) three and four-bets preflop as they played a lot looser than before they reached the final stage of the tournament.

Fox won multiple hands in a row and eventually took over the chip lead for a short period of time. It wouldn't last long as Petrangelo was all in with jack-three suited against Fox's pocket fives. Petrangelo flopped a pair of jacks and a flush and held on for a double up to regain the lead.

Just moments later, in another four-bet preflop hand, Fox check-raised when he flopped two pair. Petrangelo saw a turn card that gave him a larger two pair and all of the chips went into the middle on the river. Fox's hope for a second bracelet to start the 2018 WSOP came to an end, and Petrangelo's rail burst into cheers.

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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• Tags Nick Petrangelo Elio Fox Aymon Hata Andreas Eiler Bryn Kenney Stephen Chidwick Jason Koon Adrian Mateos WSOP World Series of Poker
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker
• Related Players Elio FoxBryn KenneyJason KoonStephen ChidwickAndreas EilerAdrian Mateos