€100,000 Super High Roller
Day 2 Started
2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®
€100,000 Super High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®
Buy-in
€100,000
Prize Pool
€5,948,415
Entries
61
Day 2 of the 2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® €100,000 Super High Roller has started.
From the 56 entries, 38 survived the first day of action. As the players returned at 12:30 local time, registration was closed and the prize pool will be calculated soon. Four players joined the action today, making for a total of 60 entries.
The first level of play is Level 9 with blinds at 3,000 and 6,000 with a 1,000-ante.
Like yesterday, live updates can be found exclusively on the PokerStars Blog. We'll focus on feature stories and will start the live updates tomorrow as the Main Event kicks off at noon local time.
| Table | Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Alexandros Kolonias | Greece | 231,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Christoph Vogelsang | Germany | 242,000 |
| 1 | 3 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | 165,000 |
| 1 | 4 | Bertrand Grospellier | France | 331,000 |
| 1 | 5 | Igor Kurganov | Russia | 516,000 |
| 1 | 6 | Davidi Kitai | Belgium | 214,000 |
| 1 | 8 | Jason Mercier | United States | 356,000 |
| 2 | 1 | Ole Schemion | Germany | 310,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Martin Kabrhel | Czech Republic | 117,000 |
| 2 | 3 | Rainer Kempe | Germany | 265,000 |
| 2 | 4 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | 336,000 |
| 2 | 5 | Ali Reza Fatehi | Iran | 770,000 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Bonomo | United States | 230,000 |
| 2 | 8 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | 223,000 |
| 3 | 1 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 907,000 |
| 3 | 2 | Viacheslav Buldygin | Russia | 827,000 |
| 3 | 4 | Dan Colman | United States | 432,000 |
| 3 | 6 | Mustapha Kanit | Italy | 104,000 |
| 3 | 7 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 185,000 |
| 3 | 8 | Oleksii Khoroshenin | Ukraine | 349,000 |
| 4 | 1 | Fedor Holz | Germany | 366,000 |
| 4 | 2 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 864,000 |
| 4 | 5 | Charlie Carrel | United Kingdom | 443,000 |
| 4 | 6 | Sergio Aido | Spain | 127,000 |
| 4 | 7 | Stefan Schillhabel | Germany | 505,000 |
| 4 | 8 | David Peters | United States | 591,000 |
| 5 | 1 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | 364,000 |
| 5 | 2 | Mike Watson | Canada | 240,000 |
| 5 | 4 | Dan Smith | United States | 232,000 |
| 5 | 6 | Byron Kaverman | United States | 233,000 |
| 5 | 7 | Steffen Sontheimer | Germany | 661,000 |
| 5 | 8 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 676,000 |
| 6 | 1 | Kevin Hart | United States | 396,000 |
| 6 | 3 | Isaac Haxton | United States | 287,000 |
| 6 | 4 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 117,000 |
| 6 | 5 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 148,000 |
| 6 | 7 | Bryn Kenney | United States | 429,000 |
| 6 | 8 | Erik Seidel | United States | 169,000 |
PokerStars has replaced the European Poker Tour brand with PokerStars Championship, but it's still a very similar event as the Grand Final was in recent years. The entire poker circus has once again set foot in the Monte-Carlo Casino® and like last year, there's a €100,000 Super High Roller.
This year's edition attracted a field of 61 entries, similar to last year's edition where Ole Schemion beat a field of 61. Here's a comparison between the events since it's inception back in 2012.
| Season | Year | Entries | Winner | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPT 8 | 2012 | 45 | (38 + 7) | Justin Bonomo | United States | €1,640,000 |
| EPT 9 | 2013 | 50 | (42 + 8) | Max Altergott | Germany | €1,746,400 |
| EPT 10 | 2014 | 62 | (50 + 12) | Daniel Colman | United States | €1,539,300 |
| EPT 11 | 2015 | 71 | (58 + 13) | Erik Seidel | United States | €2,015,000 |
| EPT 12 | 2016 | 61 | (46 + 15) | Ole Schemion | Germany | €1,597,800 |
| PSC 1 | 2017 | 61 | (47 + 14) | €1,784,500 |
Photos courtesy of Tomas Stacha
Perhaps the most obvious way to trace the history of poker is to follow the evolution of the games that are the most popular at a given time.
Diving back into the mists of time, to the hazy early days of the game, it coalesced into primordial poker ooze as draw poker. Gradually, draw gave way to stud. Stud, in turn, transformed into hold'em, and then no-limit became the variant of choice.
Today, pot-limit Omaha has enjoyed a surge and become the high-stakes game of choice at many casinos across the world. Broadly speaking though, the age of no-limit hold'em continues.
Or does it?
At the highest stakes, a shift may be starting to materialize. Where nosebleed no-limit tournaments hit their apex a few years ago, things may be petering out a bit on that front.
For example, here at PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®, the €100,000 Super High Roller is down 10 entries from its 2015 peak of 71. The shift is most stark at Aussie Millions, where the $250,000 Challenge failed to even run this year and the $100,000 Challenge nearly got shelved as well.
Meanwhile, high-stakes mixed games are gaining prominence. While the nosebleed no-limit cash scene online has been at a standstill for years, $400/$800 8-game has been running on PokerStars. On the live side of things, Bellagio recently hosted a pair of $25,400 Mixed Game High Rollers.
PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu has been a driving force behind both of those developments, and he maintains a belief that mixed games are essential to the future of poker.
"For the most part, it's already happened," he said when asked by PokerNews how soon the shift to mixed-formats become widespread. "No-limit players today are finally understanding and realizing if they want to be successful, they can't just be heads-up no-limit specialists. Maybe there was a period where that wasn't, but it's definitely true today."
Mixed formats have been a part of high-stakes poker for decades. Specialists have long found that as they move closer to the summit of their best games, their prospects for getting action slowly dry up as other players become more reticent to sit in against them.
The solution? Play in a mixed game that includes their specialties so they can get action there while in turn giving action in their weaker games.
"Way back when, you had stud players and you had hold'em players," Negreanu said. "They didn't play together. Then, they said, 'You guys suck at stud, so we'll play that a little. You guys suck at hold'em, so we'll play that a little.'
"That's the only way you'll see high-stakes poker thrive in the long run."
Negreanu, who spoke to PokerNews on break during Day 1 of the €100K, was pleased with the turnouts of the Bellagio events, which drew 25 players the first day and then 10 the second. He called it "a good start" and said the numbers compared favorably to the early days of the ARIA $25K High Roller series.
Brian Rast, Negreanu said played an instrumental role in actually putting the events together after Negreanu himself suggested the idea. They plan to continue running the events on a monthly basis outside of the World Series of Poker.
Negreanu enjoyed an excellent pair of results, with runner-up in both events for a total of a little over $250,000. He gave some back in the online mixed game, winning about $6,000 the first day and then dropping about $19,000 the second day. He still believes he's a favorite in the game, but he's well aware that opinion is not shared by his opponents.
The Canadian superstar knows how the feel because he watched, amused, as the game instantly filled up when he sat in, complete with a waiting list. When he quit, the game broke in short order.
"I've been crushing that game for a long time," Negreanu said. " I don't play very often, but when I do, I've done really well.
"There's some great players in that. But I'm watching them going, 'There's a clear mistake in stud eight-or-better. That's wrong in Omaha eight-or-better.'"
A renewed energy for poker has filled Negreanu in recent months, inspiring him to put in extra work away from the tables and sharpen his game in advance of big events here and at the WSOP.
He's been studying different variants, doing math and using simulations to break down scenarios. Long an advocate of the power of a strong mental approach, he has also focused recently on his mindset.
Early in the week, he hosted a series of mental coaches on his Full Contact Poker Podcast in response to derision he said came from well-known poker authors David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth. He called it the most important podcast he's ever done.
"They were saying it's all a crock of shit," Negreanu said of Sklansky and Malmuth. "They were speaking from such a naivete and lack of understanding of what they're talking about."
He's even been working on his no-limit game by getting exposed to the play of some of the very wizards who Negreanu suggested need to broaden their poker horizons. With PokerStars All-Stars in full swing, Negreanu has begun hosting a weekly highlight tape where he spends a couple of hours going over some of the more interesting recent hands.
Getting a front-row seat to the modern no-limit scene has been eye-opening.
"It's very, very different from even just a year and a half ago," Negreanu said. "The meta-game for high-stakes online cash has changed.
"The bet sizing is vastly different. You have underbetting and way overbetting in a lot of different spots. It's really interesting to see how people are playing today, and I'm incorporating some of that into this tournament."
So far, so good for Negreanu as he bagged the second-biggest stack at the end of Day 1 of the €100K and remains in contention with an above-average stack after the first break of Day 2.
Negreanu knows even if he wins, the skeptics will remain out there, and some of them will be ready to swoop in and flood the table when he sits in for his next session of $400/$800 on PokerStars.
"They obviously feel like I'm the sucker," he said with a smile. "It's really kind of comical to me because I feel like I'm a favorite. So, one of us is wrong."
Negreanu plans to keep putting in the work on his best games and their best games. And if he's right about the future of poker, they'll be mixing it up in mixed games for years to come.
Laura has touched down at the PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®. On an untypical wet, rainy day she looks around the city, known famous for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, in search of a billionaire, or at least an umbrella.
His last live cash is from August 2015, and he hasn't logged into his online accounts to play high stakes for months either. Patrik Antonius hasn't been as much of a staple in the poker world as he once was. But he's not gone, and certainly not forgotten.
We caught up with the Fin in Monaco where he was playing Day 2 of the €100,000 Super High Roller at the 2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®.
"I've been very good," Antonius said with a big smile on his face. "I'm very happy with my life situation, I can't complain. You know, I haven't been traveling for the events. Life changes a little bit and my lifestyle has changed as well."
The former Full Tilt Poker Pro has been focusing on life in Monaco with his family, but he's been playing live cash games as well. Tournament poker hasn't been his bread and butter for quite some time.
"I can't say that I'm a very experienced tournament player anymore," he admitted. "I was playing a lot of tournaments in 2005 and 2006, but for the last eight years or so, I've played fewer than 10 tournaments a year."
While he's no tournament regular anymore, missing the €100,000 Super High Roller in his backyard wasn't going to happen.
"It's nice to play this one, I enjoy playing this tournament," he said.
Antonius was once on top of everyone's list of most feared players, but in tournaments that's not really the case anymore. Asked how he would rank himself among the field of high roller regulars, Antonius demurred.
Still, he doesn't feel like an underdog even competing against players who are now at the top.
"I know that if I play my best, if I just play good, there's a good chance that I'm doing well in the game," he said.
Playing live, Antonius is in his comfort zone. He gave up on high-volume online poker two years ago, but he's still willing take on anyone in a live setting.
Still, not having focused on tournaments for some time is a disadvantage.
"I had a couple months off so I was rusty in the beginning," he said. "[Rhythm] is what I'm kind of missing and I'm at a disadvantage to the people that are playing every day.
"I know how it feels; it's like any other sport. You can't take time off, it's going to hurt a little bit."
While he would never describe the €100,000 buy in as learning money, he does admit he's picking up some things playing with players that are on top of the poker tournament world right now.
"For me it's interesting, it's competitive and I think I can improve," he said. "People are playing amazing poker and I can learn something from them for sure."
The fact that this tournament is just about in his backyard helps, but Antonius admitted he sometimes misses the life of a traveling pro and wishes to get back to it.
So far, though, it's been mostly plans and little execution. He keeps telling himself he wants to play more tournaments, but the action always eventually lures him back to the live cash games.
He's been playing all over the world. One of the places where he was involved in big games was Las Vegas. Daniel Negreanu wrote a blog about the game that featured Antonius and fellow fan favorite Gus Hansen.
"The games in Vegas have been nice; we had a lot of fun," Antonius said. "We've played a lot of crazy sessions with play around the clock."
Still, Antonius wished he didn't need to travel halfway over the world to be able to take a seat in a good high-stakes game.
"I've been here in Monaco with my family, my kids are growing and I don't really want to be months and months away from home anymore," he said. "I wished we would have more bigger and regular games in Europe."
Instead of just muttering about the good old days where he played in big games in London, Paris and Monaco, he's working on setting up his own poker room. He's cooking up a secret project that he hopes will set the standard.
"I can't share any details yet but if we could get a nice poker room in Europe, that would be good for a lot of people," he said.
Pressed for more, Antonius shared he's in the late stage of getting a poker room right here in Monaco. He said there's a market because there's a group of players who want to play "decently high stakes" but aren't interested in much travel
With Monaco already being known all over the world for it's casinos and extravagant lifestyle, it wouldn't be a bad spot for such a room. And Antonius feels he could lure more than just a local crowd.
"People would fly here from all over the world," he said. "It would be very easy to organize good games here. We just have to get proper rake so it's reasonable."
Before a European Bobby's or Ivey's room is a reality – or let's just call it Patrik's Room – Antonius is looking everywhere for good games. Except online, that is.
It's perhaps surprising from a man who built a reputation and made himself a legend as one of the true titans of the virtual felt.
"Online isn't interesting [for me] anymore," he said. "I don't see there being a lot of action and I can't see myself doing well."
Instead, Antonius is contemplating going back to Asia for action before his European venture becomes a reality.
"I know there's going to be more games in Asia for me," he said. "It's somewhere there on my plans, but not on the top of my list."
Will he be a presence at the WSOP this year?
Every year he thinks about it, but every year the cash games are just too tempting.
"My plan is to go very late," he said. "The cash games have been pretty good in August when all the tournaments are done. People are playing around the clock for two or three weeks or even more. It's hard to stay away from the cash games. "
Antonius said he has hardly played a single WSOP event in the last five years, but he does have his eye on at least two events this year. He's considering playing the Main Event and the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
But if there's a big live cash game, expect him to be seated there in lieu of tournament action, just as he's been for the past few years. His transition away from online nosebleeds to live games means he's out of the public eye for the most part, but still has no qualms about facing off with some of the world's best.
"I'm willing to play in any game and with anyone," he said.
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier chats to Laura whilst playing the 100k Super High Roller at the PokerStars Monte-Carlo Championship about his brand new nose.
Actor and Comedian Kevin Hart is in town and doesn't everybody know it! As he arrived to play the PokerStars Monte-Carlo Championship 100k Super High Roller, Laura went through the latest social media to find out how the star was getting on.
As April turns to May, poker players everywhere check off the days on their calendars in eager anticipation of the fast-approaching World Series of Poker. But a particular subset of players have reason to be especially excited.
Those who specialize in games other than no-limit hold'em get their one chance during the year to play high-stakes tournaments in their best variants. While high stakes no limit hold'em events can be found dotting almost every single month of the year, the summer is pretty much the only chance to play $10Ks in games like stud, Omaha hi-low and 2-7 triple draw.
Count British pro Benny Glaser among those primed and ready to attack the non-NLHE events with a vengeance at the WSOP. For now, he's getting reps here at PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®, and it's going well. It may have been only a 16-player side event, but he won the €550 H.O.R.S.E. for €3,880, topping former EPT champ Jean Montury heads up.
And that win came on the heels of his victory in the very same event at EPT Prague in December, defeating a field of 48 for €6,900. He also won the €550 Six-Handed Quadruple Stud for €6,400, besting 43 other runners.
Today, he switched gears over to no-limit and fired in the €2,200 PokerStars National High Roller.
Glaser is coming off of an epic summer in 2016, one in which he stamped his name on the poker map by winning a pair of bracelets. Both came in Omaha hi-low. Glaser shipped the $1,500 event for $244,103 and then followed it up just a few days later with victory in the $10,000 event for $407,194.
Add in two more final table finishes and a 12th in another event, and it all comprised what Glaser called a dream summer.
Though he was already the owner of a WSOP bracelet from a small triple draw event in 2015, Glaser certainly opened up some eyes with his rampage in 2016. Most would say it's impossible to repeat such a performance, but Glaser admitted he feels he has something to live up to now.
"Yeah, I do feel a fair bit of pressure," he said. "That's partly why I won't go super-hard on myself in the draft this year like I did last year."
Friends and acquaintances in the poker community have already been clamoring to get a read on Glaser's plans for the summer, trying to see if he can help carry their squads to victory. Fear not, prospective buyers, Glaser has his eyes on a full schedule stocked with $10K events and $1,500s, with the potential for another shot in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship mixed in.
But how does one follow up a dream summer? Almost any result Glaser puts up in 2017 will fall short of what he accomplished in 2016.
"It's kind of hard to say," he said when asked what he'd consider a success. "I'm not expecting to get as big of a summer. I'm not expecting three bracelets this year or whatever.
"One bracelet, I'd for sure be happy. I think a top-three finish in certain events, I'd be happy."
He's preparing in much the same way he did last year. He plans to play a full schedule in PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker, which features plenty of mixed-game action leading almost right into the WSOP. Then, he'll be taking a week of what he called "semi-relaxation."
When the time comes to fly over the pond, Glaser had best be ready, since one of the stretches he's most anticipating will kick off opening week. The two Omaha events he won in 2016 begin during the first week of competition.
"Going back-to-back would be nice," Glaser said.
After that, he's most looking forward to the Poker Players Championship and the Main Event. When it comes time to sit in for the $50K, Glaser will be back to a role as one of the more anonymous faces in the field despite his status as a three-time bracelet winner.
If his results over the past year are any judge, he might have added another to his collection by then.