Which Newcomer Is Taking Poker's High Roller Scene by Storm?

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Dec 19, 2024 5 min read

After over 12 hours of play on Day 2, Event #13: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller has come to an end. A total of 29 players returned for the final day at Atlantis Paradise Island, all vying for a shot at a gold bracelet at the 2024 World Series of Poker Paradise. With late registration open until the conclusion of the first level of play, another 29 players joined the field, bringing the total number of entrants to 130 and generating a prize pool of $6,500,000.

A total of 20 players made the money, each earning a minimum cash of $105,370. However, the grand prize of $1,292,000 was claimed by Tom Fuchs, who also took home his first WSOP bracelet after defeating Moonho Seo in heads up play, capping off a dominant final table performance.

$50,000 No Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

Fuchs, a newcomer to the high roller scene, has made a strong impression with his recent performances, including his first cashes in high roller events over the past few months. This includes his previous career-high score at the Triton High Roller Series in Monte Carlo just over a month ago, where he earned $762,000. Fuchs carried that momentum into the WSOP Paradise, entering the $100,000 Triton Main Event, where he finished in 13th place for a cash of $296,500. He also found success in the $25,000 Super Main Event, securing a min-cash of $50,000 before ultimately parlaying that into a victory in the $50,000 NLH High Roller, earning a new career-best score.

However, this victory clearly meant more than just the money for Fuchs. After winning his first WSOP bracelet, he shared, "When you start playing, you always dream about the bracelet. I can't even fully realize that I won it yet, but it’s just amazing."

Fuchs had support from his rail and celebrated his victory with high roller Mario Mosbock, as well as fellow final table members Fedor Holz and Thomas Muehloecker, after eliminating both players.

Overcome with emotion following the win, Fuchs said, “I feel overwhelmed. This is one of my first high roller tournaments where I made the final table, and to be able to play it with Fedor and Muehloecker, getting to play with my friends, it’s crazy.”

Day 2 Action

After playing in the Super Main Event on Day 1 of this event, Fuchs was one of the 29 entrants to join the field before late registration closed. However, other late entrants on Day 2 such as Phil Hellmuth, Christoph Vogelsang, Nick Petrangelo, and Matthias Eibinger all fell short of the money.

Daniel Negreanu, who bagged after Day 1, found himself on the rail before the money bubble burst, after losing a flip with his pocket tens. Other players to hit the rail early on Day 2 that bagged from Day 1 include Fuchs' good friend Mosboeck, Kristen Foxen, Isaac Haxton, Bryn Kenney, and Seth Davies.

As the day progressed, knockouts came fast and furious as the money bubble approached. Once the players reached the hand-for-hand stage of the day on the stone bubble, the eventual champion, Fuchs, was able to catapult his run by doubling up with pocket aces.

Unfortunately for Chris Hunichen, after he three-bet all-in against Artur Martirosian’s pocket aces, his pocket queens were unable to crack them and became the bubble boy, with the remaining 20 players securing a cash.

Once in the money, the previously mentioned Holz separated himself from the pack, taking over the chip lead. Holz eliminated players such as Martirosian, Ben Tollerene, and Orpen Kisacikoglu, despite having the worst hand against all three when the chips went in the middle. Holz looked poised to score another knockout when he had fifth-place finisher James Hopkins dominated, but Hopkins took a page out of Holz's playbook and ended his sun-run, securing a double up.

Daniel Dvoress, the Day 1 chip leader, was unable to find the same success on Day 2. After his kings were cracked by Muehloecker, Dvoress was sent to the rail in 12th place. Alex Foxen, unable to replicate the same fate for Santhosh Suvarna’s kings, joined Dvoress in tenth place, setting up the final table of nine players.

Final Table Action

Heading into the final table, Holz encountered some bumps along the way, causing him to fall to third on the leaderboard, with Leonard Maue overtaking the chip lead and Fuchs right on his heels in second.

Once the final table began, the chips were being spread around the table, with the short stack doubling up multiple times throughout a level of play. However, Punnat Punsri became the first casualty, after losing a race to Holz.

After a few more levels of no knockouts, Fuchs increased his aggression and found himself with the chip lead as the final break of the evening approached, holding more than double the chips of Muehloecker in second place. It was past 1:00 a.m. local time, and with eight players still remaining, the tournament director informed them that they could either bag up and return the next day to finish the tournament or they could continue playing for a few more levels. All the players agreed they wanted to go as long as possible, and the play continued.

However, as it turned out, time would not be an issue for the players. After Suvarna was knocked out by Hopkins in eighth, Fuchs took matters into his own hands. He first eliminated Felipe Boianovsky, followed by Holz, Hopkins, Maue, and finally, Muehloecker, after flushing him out on the river to set up a heads-up match with Seo.

Fuchs reflected on his performance at the final table, saying, “Once I got the chip lead, it was pretty much a smooth ride. Everyone was pretty shallow because no one busted for a couple of hours.” He added, “I just knew the spots and ran well.”

Heads Up

Fuchs entered heads-up play with a commanding lead, holding approximately 32,600,000 of the 39,000,000 chips in play.
Seo didn’t go down without a fight, managing to find one double-up. But just a few hands later, Seo and Fuchs were all-in again, with Seo holding ace-king and Fuchs holding pocket fours. The flop came ace-high but was followed by a four. After the turn and river failed to improve Seo beyond Fuchs' set, Seo was eliminated in second place, and Fuchs claimed the title.

That concludes our coverage of the $50,000 No Limit Hold'em High Roller, but be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as the World Series of Poker Paradise wraps up with the $25,000 Super Main Event, featuring a star-studded final table.

• Tags WSOPP24 Alex Foxen Artur Martirosian Ben Tollerene Bryn Kenney Chris Hunichen Daniel Dvoress Daniel Negreanu WSOP Paradise World Series of Poker Phil Hellmuth Punnat Punsri Seth Davies Thomas Muehloecker Mario Mosbock Kristen Foxen Tom Fuchs
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker
• Related Players Daniel NegreanuPhil HellmuthBryn KenneyBen TollereneKristen FoxenThomas Muehloecker