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Alexey Borovkov Leads Final Nine After Rob Yong Steals the Show on Day 1
After 11 levels of play inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, Day 1 of the $50,500 Onyx High Roller Championship has come to an end, with nine players bagging chips and earning their place in Day 2.
The biggest buy-in on the 2026 Onyx High Roller Series schedule attracted a field of 18 high-stakes regulars which generated a prize pool of $864,000, and unlimited reentries available through the opening six levels. Once registration closed, the remaining players had their sights set on building a stack for the final table.
Leading the way is Alexey Borovkov, who finished the night with 1,289,000. Borovkov had a steady upswing for most of the day, until he eliminated Paulius Vaitekunas when both players flopped top pair, with Borovkov's ace-king dominating Vaitekunas' king-jack and catapulted him into the lead.
Not far behind is Rob Yong, who bagged 1,019,000 after an active day at the tables after entering during the final moments of registration. Yong was involved in plenty of pots as the night went on, with one of his final boosts coming against Alex Kulev. Yong's pocket fours held against Kulev's flush draw after the chips went in on the flop, sending Kulev to the rail.
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau sits third with 770,000, while Zorlu Er follows in fourth with 588,000. Artur Martirosian rounds out the top five with 518,000, just ahead of Manuel Fritz, who bagged 497,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexey Borovkov | Russian Federation | 1,289,000 | 107 |
| 2 | Rob Yong | United Kingdom | 1,019,000 | 85 |
| 3 | Mikalai Vaskaboinikau | Belarus | 770,000 | 64 |
| 4 | Zorlu Er | Turkey | 588,000 | 49 |
| 5 | Artur Martirosian | Russian Federation | 518,000 | 43 |
| 6 | Manuel Fritz | Austria | 497,000 | 41 |
| 7 | Thomas Alfred Mayer | Austria | 287,000 | 24 |
| 8 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 227,000 | 19 |
| 9 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | 208,000 | 17 |
The Yong Show
As the day moved on, it became the Yong show, with the Brit involved in some of the biggest and most entertaining pots of the day. Yong first put Kulev to the test on every street, and Kulev went deep into the tank and eventually folded what he said was trips in queen-jack, only for Yong to turn over seven-six for a bluff.
Badziakouski was next to be put in the blender by Yong, with four spades on the board Badziakouski check-raised the turn before betting the river with a king-high flush, only for Yong to move all in. Badziakouski used all of his time banks as the pair exchanged some table talk, eventually folding his flush before Yong showed two red cards for a complete bluff.
Not everything went Yong's way, with Thomas Alfred Mayer doubling through him after Yong called an all-in with with 7-high eventually losing to Mayer's ace-high.
$50,500 High Roller Championship Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 |
| 2 | $250,000 |
| 3 | $164,000 |
The tournament will resume tomorrow at 1 p.m. for Day 2 on Sunday August 16, where the remaining players will play down to a champion. The final day will move away from timed levels, with 16 hands played per level, while the action will also be streamed live on the OnyxLive YouTube Channel.
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PokerNews will return for Day 2 with live updates as the $50,500 Onyx High Roller Championship plays down to a winner.