Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller | 2023 World Series of Poker

06-18-2023 19:16 UTC-8

Dan Smith Eliminated in 6th Place ($912,022)

Jim Murray

Level 22 : Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante

Martin Kabrhel raised to 1,700,000 from late position and Dan Smith pushed all-in for his remaining 5,900,000 from the big blind. Kabrhel made the call.

Dan Smith: A♦Q♦
Martin Kabrhel: 10♦6♦

Smith went in with the best hand and the covering suit, but the 8♣4♣6♥ flop would deliver Kabrhel the lead.

Smith would be unable to catch back up on the 8♥ turn and the K♠ river, sending him to the payout desk, but not before expressing his displeasure with the polarizing antics of Kabrhel.

"Good luck, most of you. I hope you get barred," said Smith while gesturing to Kabrhel.

"What does it mean?" replied Kabrhel.

"Banned," clarified Smith.

"Why?" asked Kabrhel.

"Your antics are the worst of anybody I've ever met. Everyone else is a great player."

"Somebody must be worse," noted Kabrhel, which marked the end of the conversation.

Smith followed that up with more explanation in his bustout interview with @nataliedbode here: https://t.co/9HZ5gRL4hz
— PokerGO (@PokerGO)

Player	Chips	Progress
Martin Kabrhel	42,200,000 11,500,000	11,500,000

Alex Kulev	25,900,000 -1,600,000	-1,600,000

Artur Martirosian	17,800,000 1,200,000	1,200,000

Chance Kornuth	11,900,000

Chris Brewer	7,900,000 -2,000,000	-2,000,000

Dan Smith	Busted

Tags: Dan Smith Martin Kabrhel

06-18-2023 19:01 UTC-8

Brewer Holds to Double

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Calum Grant

Level 22 : Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante

Artur Martirosian opened to 1,200,000 with J♦10♦ from under the gun before Chris Brewer raised to 4,000,000 with A♦J♣ from the button. This left Brewer with 200,000 and Martirosian called.

Brewer put in the last of chips on the Q♠J♠7♦ flop and Martirosian called.

Brewer was ahead thanks to his ace kicker and he raked in the double-up following the 4♥ turn and 2♠ river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alex Kulev	27,500,000 -600,000	-600,000

Martin Kabrhel	25,600,000

Artur Martirosian	21,400,000 -4,200,000	-4,200,000

Chance Kornuth	12,200,000 900,000	900,000

Chris Brewer	9,900,000 4,200,000	4,200,000

Dan Smith	6,700,000 -300,000	-300,000

Tags: Artur Martirosian Chris Brewer

06-18-2023 18:45 UTC-8

Jacks Versus Queens Versus Kings

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Jim Murray

Level 22 : Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante

Alex Kulev raised to 1,200,000 from the button with 10♣8♠ and Chris Brewer moved all-in for 6,900,000 with A♦J♦ from the small blind, prompting Kulev to fold.

In the next hand, Dan Smith raised to 1,300,000 from middle position with 8♥8♣ and was called by Chance Kornuth in the big blind with A♦8♦.

Kornuth check-folded the 10♦4♠Q♥ flop to a 900,000 bet from Smith.

Smith would pick up K♦K♣ and raise to 1,300,000 from middle position in the very next hand, with Chris Brewer picking up J♠J♣ in late position. Brewer put in a three-bet of 3,600,000, almost half of his remaining stack of 9,300,000.

But it wouldn't end there. Artur Martirosian looked down at Q♠Q♥ from the big blind and moved all in over both players for 10,700,000. Smith would deliberate for a moment before making the call.

Brewer was able to sniff out the trouble and got out of the way.

The A♥5♣8♥ flop kept Smith in the lead, but with Martirosian halfway out the door, the Q♣ on the turn pulled him right back in and catapulted him into the lead in the hand.

The J♥ left Smith unimproved and Martirosian got the full double-up.

This hand is just ridiculous. https://t.co/UXcTFR8Hrd
— PokerGO (@PokerGO)

Player	Chips	Progress
Alex Kulev	33,300,000 -1,200,000	-1,200,000

Artur Martirosian	25,900,000 14,600,000	14,600,000

Martin Kabrhel	18,900,000

Chance Kornuth	11,600,000 -1,900,000	-1,900,000

Dan Smith	8,200,000 -8,800,000	-8,800,000

Chris Brewer	5,700,000 -2,400,000	-2,400,000

06-18-2023 17:40 UTC-8

Smith Doubles Through Kornuth

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Calum Grant

Level 21 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante

Artur Martirosian opened to 1,000,000 with 6♦6♣ from under the gun. Chance Kornuth looked down at Q♠Q♣ in the big blind and made it 3,400,000. Martirosian quickly folded.

On the next hand, Dan Smith opened to 1,150,000 from under the gun. Kornuth then jammed as the big stack from the small blind. Martirosian folded in the big blind and Smith called off his 7,450,000 stack.

Dan Smith: A♦K♣
Chance Kornuth: 7♠7♦

Smith paired up on the K♠10♥6♦ flop and held out to double following the J♥ turn and 6♠ river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alex Kulev	30,650,000

Chance Kornuth	20,275,000 -6,200,000	-6,200,000

Martin Kabrhel	18,725,000 -250,000	-250,000

Dan Smith	15,900,000 8,450,000	8,450,000

Artur Martirosian	10,150,000 -2,000,000	-2,000,000

Chris Brewer	7,550,000 -250,000	-250,000

Tags: Artur Martirosian Chance Kornuth Dan Smith

06-18-2023 16:51 UTC-8

David Peters Eliminated in 7th Place ($712,953)

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Jim Murray

Level 20 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

David Peters moved all in preflop from late position for his remaining 2,775,000 and was called by Chance Kornuth in the small blind.

David Peters: A♠9♣
Chance Kornuth: A♥8♥

Peters was in the lead heading into the flop, but the equity would shift after the dealer rolled out a 3♠2♥4♥ board, giving both players straight outs to chop, but also giving Kornuth an ace-high flush draw.

The J♦ on the turn was good for Peters, but the 3♥ on the river would complete the flush for Kornuth and send high-stakes regular Peters to the payout desk.

A brutal end for @dpeterspoker17 in the @WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller who finishes in 7th place.
— PokerGO (@PokerGO)

Player	Chips	Progress
Alex Kulev	27,025,000

Chance Kornuth	25,225,000 3,575,000	3,575,000

Martin Kabrhel	23,000,000

Chris Brewer	11,300,000

Artur Martirosian	9,250,000 -800,000	-800,000

Dan Smith	7,450,000

David Peters	Busted

Tags: Chance Kornuth David Peters

06-18-2023 14:20 UTC-8

Brandon Steven Eliminated in 8th Place ($574,899)

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Calum Grant

Level 20 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Brandon Steven jammed for 1,725,000 from under the gun and Martin Kabrhel called to put last year's runners-up at risk of elimination.

Brandon Steven: K♠6♠
Martin Kabrhel: AxJx

Kabrhel made trips on the J♠J♥5♠ flop but Steven had some hope with his flush draw. The 7♦ turn and 9♥ river completed the runout and Steven was eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Martin Kabrhel	22,200,000 2,200,000	2,200,000

Brandon Steven	Busted

Tags: Brandon Steven Martin Kabrhel

06-18-2023 14:05 UTC-8

Brewer Doubles Through Martirosian

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Calum Grant

Level 19 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Chris Brewer raised to 750,000 from the hijack and Artur Martirosian called from the big blind.

Brewer continued for 800,000 on the 9♥7♦2♠ flop and was called. Brewer sized up to 2,500,000 on the K♦ turn and again his opponent stuck around, after Martirosian used up a time bank.

The 10♠ completed the board and Martirosian moved all in. Brewer, the shorter stack with 2,675,000 behind, had a small chuckle to himself before calling for his tournament life.

Martirosian had a pair of nines with his J♠9♦ but Brewer had top pair with his K♣Q♠.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chris Brewer	13,500,000 5,600,000	5,600,000

Artur Martirosian	8,600,000 -6,400,000	-6,400,000

Tags: Artur Martirosian Chris Brewer

06-18-2023 13:20 UTC-8

Steven Veneziano Eliminated in 9th Place ($478,663)

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Jim Murray

Level 19 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Chance Kornuth raised to 600,000 from early position and was called by Steven Veneziano on the button.

The dealer rolled out the 4♥A♣3♣ flop and Kornuth put out a hefty 1,200,000 bet, which Veneziano called.

Kornuth then bet out enough to put Veneziano all-in on the Q♥ turn in the form of 6,000,000, and after using one of his time banks, decided on the call.

Steven Veneziano: A♠10♠
Chance Kornuth: A♦4♦

Veneziano would need to catch up to the two pair of Kornuth, but the 6♥ river would send him to the payout desk to collect his biggest ever recorded tournament score.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chance Kornuth	31,000,000 6,700,000	6,700,000

Steven Veneziano	Busted

Tags: Chance Kornuth Steven Veneziano

06-18-2023 11:56 UTC-8

Final Day of $250,000 Super High Roller Kicks Off at 2 PM

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Calum Grant

The previous two days of Event 40: $250,000 Super High Roller at the 2023 World Series of Poker have provided much delight to stream viewers and railbirds as a small collection of poker's biggest names and VIPs have been battling it out in the biggest buy-in event of the summer.

In addition to the high level of poker being played, the tournament has also thrown several curveballs.

Firstly, unknown poker player Dustin Bailey bagged the Day 1 chip lead to the surprise of himself and many. Bailey talked his wife and kids into coming out to Las Vegas and persuaded them to let him play in the $250K for Father's Day.

Just before play got underway on Day 2, Jason Koon had his stack pulled as he received word that his wife had gone into labor with their second child.

Then, as the second day was in its twilight hours, Phil Ivey bubbled the six-figure buy-in event.

Overnight more drama unfolded when Andrew Robl sent out the below tweet regarding polarizing figure Martin Kabrhel.

How is Martin Kabrhel not banned from the WSOP? He makes any tournament no fun for anyone and on top of it I’ve seen him mark cards in every tournament I’ve ever played with him. https://t.co/AK9XmxSJrr
— Andrew Robl (@Andrew_Robl)

Plan for Day 3

The 69-entry field that generated a prize pool of $17,181,000 has been whittled down to nine players, with play getting underway at 2 p.m. local time inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

Those who remain have already made the unofficial final table and have locked up a minimum payout of $478,663, but of course, all eyes will be on the $5,293,556 set aside for the winner.

Remaining Payouts

Place	Prize (USD)
1	$5,293,556
2	$3,271,666
3	$2,279,038
4	$1,632,005
5	$1,202,318
6	$912,022
7	$712,953
8	$574,899
9	$478,663

Coming into Day 3 as the chip leader is three-time bracelet winner Chance Kornuth, who is the only player with a stack greater than 20 million. Kabrhel bagged second-best and Artur Martirosian rounds out the top three chip counts.

Young upstart Alex Kulev, who has already tasted Super High Roller success this year, is also one to watch when cards go in the air.

As mentioned, play begins at 2 p.m. local time and PokerNews will be bringing you all the live updates from the tournament floor. At 4 p.m., the updates will briefly pause as cards-up coverage will be available on PokerGO. The stream is expected to start at 5 p.m. and updates will be in sync with the broadcast so no action is spoiled.

$250,000 Super High Roller Unofficial Final Table

Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Steven Veneziano	United States	6,775,000	23
2	Chris Brewer	United States	8,525,000	28
3	Martin Kabrhel	Czech Republic	18,400,000	61
4	Brandon Steven	United States	3,225,000	11
5	Chance Kornuth	United States	22,450,000	75
6	Artur Martirosian	Russia	18,225,000	61
7	Dan Smith	United States	7,800,000	26
8	Alex Kulev	Bulgaria	12,600,000	42
9	David Peters	United States	4,925,000	16