Welcome to the final day of Online Event #13: $5,300 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller Championship here at the 2023 World Series of Poker.
Although this event was originally on the virtual felts on WSOP.com, the final six players come back to battle on the live felt of the Main Stage at Horseshoe today at noon local time. This is the first-ever online/live hybrid bracelet event held at the WSOP.
A total of 304 players plus 104 reentries joined the action on Day 1 to create a prize pool of $2,040,000. The top 60 players found a minimum cash but all eyes will be on the top prize of $393,516 and the coveted gold bracelet.
After the dust settled it was Sam "ApesSonIMHO" Soverel who bagged the chip lead with a stack of 2,873,636. Close on his heels was Israel’s Yuval "Larrybird84" Bronshtein (2,741,876) and high-roller regular Aleksejs "APonakov" Ponakovs (1,593,689), who round out the top three.
Also in the mix is popular poker YouTuber Ethan "Rampunts" Yau, who comes into the final table fourth in chips and will look to capture his second career gold bracelet with a win here.
Final Table Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Sam "ApesSonIMHO" Soverel
United States
2,875,000
58
2
Yuval "Larrybird84" Bronshtein
Israel
2,740,000
55
3
Aleksejs "APonakov" Ponakovs
Latvia
1,595,000
32
4
Ethan "Rampunts" Yau
United States
1,310,000
26
5
Lingkun "CN_23" Lu
United States
1,155.000
23
6
Gergely "wildace_hun" Kulcsar
Hungary
525,000
11
The action will start with blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a 50,000 big blind ante. The final table will be streamed on PokerGO and YouTube on a 60-minute delay and will play until a winner is crowned.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews for all your up-to-date coverage of this final table and the rest of the 2023 WSOP here at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Gergely Kulcsar opened to 100,000 from under the gun with J♠J♦ and it folded to Ethan Yau who made the call in the big blind with 8♥6♥.
The flop came 7♠6♣2♠ and Yau checked to Kulcsar who continued for 75,000, which Yau called. On the 7♦ turn Yau checked again and Kulcsar checked back.
The A♠ hit the river and Yau checked a third time. Kulcsar pondered for a moment, but eventually tapped the table for a showdown. Kulcsar's jacks held up to score the early pot off Yau.
Yuval Bronshtein opened to 225,000 from under the gun and it folded to Lingkun Lu in the big blind who moved all in for 440,000, which Bronshtein called.
Lingkun Lu: 10♦9♦
Yuval Bronshtein: K♥3♥
Bronshtein was slightly in the lead, but when the board ran out J♠8♦2♠Q♥2♥, it was the turned straight for Lu that scored back-to-back double ups.
Gergely Kulcsar raised to 175,000 from under the gun as action folded to Ethan Yau in the big blind, who moved all in for 500,000. Kulcsar called to put him at risk.
Ethan Yau: A♥10♣
Gergely Kulcsar: J♦J♦
Yau was looking to pair his ace but found no help on the 8♥8♠K♦9♥3♠ board as "Rampage" became the first casualty of the final table. Kulcsar, meanwhile, who began the final table at the bottom of the chip counts, has moved up to second with that bustout.
Gergely Kulcsar shoved all in from the cutoff and Lingkun Lu called in the small blind for his last 680,000.
Lingkun Lu: K♠K♦
Gergely Kulcsar: K♣10♣
Lu had woken up with kings and was a big favorite to double up yet again as the flop came Q♠J♥8♠. Kulcsar's rail began chanting for an ace or a nine that would give him a straight, and they erupted in celebration at the sight of the A♥ turn.
The river came the 9♦ and Lu was sent to the rail with his cracked kings.
Aleksejs Ponakovs opened to 550,000 from under the gun, leaving only 555,000 behind. It folded to Sam Soverel in the small blind who shoved all in, covering the whole table and Ponakovs put in the rest of his chips to make the call.
Aleksejs Ponakovs: 3♦3♣
Sam Soverel: 10♠10♦
Ponakovs was in need of help, but when the board ran out J♣9♣7♥K♦6♠, it was the tens for Soverel that held to send Ponakovs out in fourth place.
The action folded to Gergely Kulcsar in the small blind who moved all in, covering the 1,280,000 remaining for Yuval Bronshtein in the big blind, who made the call for his tournament life.
Yuval Bronshtein: K♥6♠
Gergely Kulcsar: 7♥7♣
Kulcsar was well ahead, and when the flop came 7♦5♠2♠, the flopped set put Kulcsar even further in the lead. On the 3♥ turn Bronshtein picked up a gut-shot straight draw, however, when the river fell the K♣ it was the end of the road for Bronshtein who was eliminated in third place.
Gergely Kulcsar moved all in on the button for 1,680,000 and Sam Soverel quickly called in the big blind to put Kulcsar at risk.
Gergely Kulcsar: 10♦9♦
Sam Soverel: A♥8♦
When the flop came J♦4♠3♠, the ace-high for Soverel was still well in the lead. The turn, however, came the K♦ giving Kulcsar some hope with a flush draw and straight draw. The 2♥ bricked off on the river and Kulcsar was forced to settle for a runner-up finish.
Sam Soverel spent Monday night playing in one of the live high-stakes cash games to which he is accustomed. At the same time, he was taking to the virtual felt under the name “ApesSonIMHO,” again competing against some of poker’s elite on WSOP.com.
Two days later, it ended in a second World Series of Poker bracelet for the Florida native. Soverel prevailed over a field of 408 total entries and defeated Hungary’s Gergely Kulcsar heads up at the live final table of Online Event #13: $5,300 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller Championship to capture the $393,516 top prize and another piece of coveted gold jewelry in the first-ever Online/Live Hybrid WSOP bracelet event.
The win was a long-time coming for Soverel. He earned his first bracelet in a $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event in 2016. In the seven years since, Soverel has had near-miss followed by near-miss. He had made eight final tables, finishing in the top five spots five different times. Four of them came in events with a buy-in of $50,000 or greater. Soverel was establishing himself as one of the best high-rollers in the poker world, but further WSOP glory eluded him until today.
Soverel was in his element today when the six-handed final table began at noon local time. He isn’t an online player and admits he hadn’t played online in nearly three years before this tournament. He likes the live aspect of poker, of being able to look at his opponents in person.
“I much prefer live. I hadn’t played online since late-2020,” the new WSOP champion said following his win. “Honestly, I don’t really trust the online environment. Live’s fun. It’s more social. It’s way better to me.”
Soverel’s win today pushes his career earnings past $22,000,000 and moves him up to 31st in the all-time ranking. Despite his unquestioned success against the elites of the game, Soverel admits there isn’t one thing that sets him apart in these tournaments. “I just play a lot of them,” he said.
Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Country
Earnings
1
Sam "ApesSonIMHO" Soverel
United States
$393,516
2
Gergely "wildace_hun" Kulcsar
Hungary
$284,784
3
Yuval "Larrybird84" Bronshtein
Israel
$207,264
4
Aleksejs "APonakov" Ponakovs
Latvia
$150,144
5
Lingkun "CN_23" Lu
United States
$109,344
6
Ethan "Rampunts" Yau
United States
$80,784
Final Table Action
Soverel came into the final table with a chip-leading stack of 2,875,000 and was facing a star-studded lineup that included two-time bracelet winners Yuval Bronshtein and Aleksejs Ponakovs, as well as popular vlogger and high-stakes cash game player Ethan “Rampage” Yau.
But it was Kulcsar, who began the final table with just 525,000, good for 11 big blinds, who made an early move up the leaderboard. He doubled up with aces against the tens of Lingkun Lu, then picked up jacks and eliminated Yau in sixth place.
Ethan Yau
Kulcsar cracked kings with a turned straight to send Lu out in fifth place as he moved up to second on the leaderboard behind Soverel. Ponakovs soon followed to the payout desk, calling off his last 555,000 with pocket threes against the tens of Soverel.
Kulcsar busted his third opponent at the final table when he moved all in from the small blind and Bronshtein called for his last 1,280,000 with king-six. Kulcsar flopped a set of sevens and dodged Bronshtein’s straight draw to send Bronshtein out in third and set up a heads-up duel against Soverel.
Kulcsar led 5,690,000 to 4,510,000 at the start of heads-up, but it was Soverel who struck the first, and ultimately decisive, blow. Kulcsar flopped top pair with ace-king and bet 710,000 on the turn. Soverel, who turned treys and deuces, called before improving to a full house on the river. Kulcsar bet another 1,950,000 and Soverel moved all in for 3,825,000. Kulcsar spent a few minutes in the tank before mucking as Soverel opened a wide lead.
It wouldn’t take much longer before he got the rest of Kulcsar’s chips. On the final hand, Kulcsar shoved for 1,680,000 with ten-nine of diamonds and Soverel called with ace-eight. Kulcsar picked up straight and flush draws on the turn, but bricked the river as Soverel finally had his long-awaited second bracelet.
Gergely Kulcsar
For Kulcsar, it was a bittersweet ending to a spectacular performance at the final table. He had 11 WSOP cashes dating back to 2018, but today was his first appearance under the bright lights of a final table. The $284,784 he earned for his runner-up finish is more than triple his previous best cash. Kulcsar has had more success on the virtual felt, with more than $4,000,000 in career earnings.
It was no surprise that he thrived in an online tournament, but today he was in Soverel’s element of a live final table. Soverel had the experience and the cards to come out on top. The tough field was no problem for him; this is what Soverel does every day.
That concludes PokerNews coverage of Online Event #13: $5,300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Championed. Stay tuned for more coverage of the Main Event and other bracelet events as the 2023 WSOP soon draws to a close.
