Artur Martirosian raised the button to 3,000, and Thomas Alfred Mayer defended from the big blind.
Mayer check-called a bet of 2,500 from Martirosian on the 7♦3♣K♥ flop and then did the same when the 5♣ joined on the turn, this time for 8,000.
The 2♦ river checked through, and Mayer turned over 5♠4♥ for a pair of fives. Martirosian had him beat with A♣7♣ for a pair of sevens, and the pot went his way.
Alex Kulev raised to 2,500 from under the gun, and Aleksejs Ponakovs called on the button. The blinds folded.
The flop came 3♥6♦6♥, and Kulev checked to Ponakovs, who bet 2,500. Kulev made the call.
Both players checked the 7♥ turn before Kulev fired out a bet of 8,000 on the J♦ river, which got a quick fold from Ponakovs.
Cards are finally in the air with ten players taking their seats in the biggest buy-in of the series, the $50,500 Onyx High Roller Championship.
Level: 1
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 1,000
There is a slight delay to the start of the Onyx High Roller Championships as players register and take their seats.
PokerNews will be there from the first shuffle to bring you all the action.
The 2026 Onyx High Roller Series continues on its penultimate day at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, with the biggest buy-in on the schedule, the $50,500 Onyx High Roller Championship, getting underway. Players will receive a 300,000 starting stack, with 40-minute levels throughout the day.
The cards will be in the air at 1 p.m. local time, with the open at blinds of 500/1,000 with a big blind ante of 1,000. Late registration will remain open through the first six levels and is expected to close at approximately 5:30 p.m. but with unlimited reentries available during that time.
The last time a tournament of this buy-in took place at an Onyx series was back in January with the $50,000 Grand Slam, where Matthias Eibinger, who hasn’t made an appearance at this festival, overcame a field of 95 high rollers to take home the title and the $1,250,000 top prize.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | $1,250,000 |
| 2 | Johan Guilbert | France | $870,000 |
| 3 | Joseph Oren | United States | $575,000 |
| 4 | Tom Vogelsang | Netherlands | $430,000 |
| 5 | Sergio Fernandez | Spain | $340,000 |
| 6 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | $265,000 |
| 7 | Quan Zhou | China | $210,000 |
| 8 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | $175,000 |
| 9 | Gha Iakobishvili | Russia | $145,000 |
Johan Guilbert collected $870,000 for his runner-up finish and has been seen playing nosebleed cash games inside the Oynx Club. The French YouTuber and DJ may decide to step away from the cash tables and take his seat for this special event, while Igor Yaroshevskyy, who finished sixth in January for $265,000, has been playing throughout the current series and could also make an appearance.
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Day 1 is scheduled to continue through Level 15, with a 90-minute dinner break taking place at the end of Level 9. Those who make it through will return tomorrow for Day 2, where the tournament will play down to a champion.
PokerNews will be providing live updates through out the tournament. The final table is also expected to be streamed on the OnyxLive YouTube channel, with a seven-figure first-place prize likely to be up for grabs.
$50,500 Onyx High Roller Championship
Day 1 Started
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