Steve O'Dwyer raised to 5,000 from late position and Juan Pardo three-bet to 25,000 from the small blind, which O'Dwyer called.
The flop came J♣5♠7♠. Pardo made a continuation bet of 23,500 and O'Dwyer raised it up to 62,000, which Pardo called. The turn was the 2♠ and both players checked.
The river was the 7♦. Pardo checked and O'Dwyer sized up to 175,000. Pardo made the call. O'Dwyer quickly mucked his hand, suggesting he was running a bluff. Pardo did the same as he scooped over a huge pot that brought his stack well over the 500,000 mark.
Alex Kulev raised to 4,000 and picked up a call before Ilya Nikiforov moved all in from the big blind for his remaining 17,000. Kulev reraised to 35,000 and Nikiforov folded. Players flipped their cards, with Nikiforov at risk.
Ilya Nikiforov: 7♣7♠
Alex Kulev: A♠K♥
The board ran out A♣3♣6♣7♥2♣. Kulev paired his ace on the flop, but Nikiforov picked up a flush draw. He turned a set of sevens and rivered a flush to get ahead. Nikiforov won the pot and doubled up his stack.
Action folded around to Duco ten Haven who opened the button for 4,000. Jean-Noel Thorel called from the small blind before Niklas Astedt rereaised to 21,000 from the big blind, Ten Haven made the call and Thorel folded.
Astedt led out for 15,000 on the A♠8♥10♠ flop and Ten Haven made the call. The 7♠ turn was knuckled by both players before the dealer flipped the 4♥ river. Astedt put out a small bet of 10,000.
Ten Haven then used most of his 30 seconds before putting in a reraise to 125,000. Astedt went into the tank, burning a time bank in the process. He didn't use much of the extra time before making the call and Ten Haven tabled K♠Q♠ for the nut flush. Astedt mucked his hand and ten Haven scooped a sizeable pot.
Kayhan Mokri raised to 2,500 from late position and Juan Pardo three-bet to 12,000 from the small blind. Mokri then four-bet to 36,000 and Pardo called.
The flop came 2♥4♣8♣. Pardo checked and Mokri continued for 18,500, which Pardo called. Action slowed down on the turn, with both players checking when the 9♠ fell.
The river was the A♠. Pardo checked again and Mokri bet 55,500. Pardo used two time bank cards before mucking his hand and conceding an early pot to Mokri.
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris, running at La Palais de Congres, steps up a level today with the €50,000 Super High Roller. The event is set to attract the elite of high stakes poker, who will do battle over the course of three days in search of a six-figure score and the coveted shard trophy.
The Super High Roller commences at 12:30 p.m. local time. For anyone who is looking to play, it's well worth registering as early as possible. Those who register before the tournament starts will be refunded 50 percent of the tournament fees.
For everyone else, PokerNews will be following the action carefully as some of the best in the world compete. Several esteemed players have already put their names down for the Paris SHR, including Joao Vieira, Alex Kulev, Byron Kaverman, and Prague's Super High Roller second place finisher Laszlo Bujitas.
Players will begin with starting stacks of 250,000 and the first blind level is 500/1,000/1,000, meaning stacks will be 250 big blinds deep. The structure is generous, with 60-minute blinds that rise in steady increments. The event is set to run over the course of three days and Day 1 will feature eight blind levels with a 20-minute break every two levels.
To keep the action moving, a shot clock will be implemented from the get-go. Players start with four time banks worth 30 seconds each and will be given an additional time bank card at every blind level.
Tamas Adamszki
Late registration for the Super High Roller remains open until the start of Day 2 and it's possible to take a single reentry.
Previous Super High Roller champions include Stephen Chidwick, Matthias Eibinger, Steve O'Dwyer, Timothy Adams - who has won it twice, Rodrigo Seiji, and Prague 2023 SHR winner Tamas Adamszki.
By the end of Day 3, a new champion will be crowned. Stay tuned to PokerNews as reporters bring you updates of the action straight from the tournament floor.
