Event #5: 50th Annual High Roller - $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Completed
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #5: 50th Annual High Roller - $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2019 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$50,000
Prize Pool
$5,280,000
Entries
110
Level
23
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Ben Heath Leads Final 12 in $50,000 High Roller
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Although ten levels were scheduled on Day of Event #5, the 50th Annual High Roller - $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em, just eight were needed to burst the money bubble and whittle the star-studded $50,000 High Roller down to 12 players.
Big names entered, re-entered and busted in a tournament field littered with multiple bracelet winners and big names looking for their first taste of WSOP glory.
Ben Heath is the only player in the top five chip counts not to have won a WSOP bracelet, but will start Day 3 in pole position to change that, having sent Daniel Negreanu to the rail earlier in the day after Negreanu ran queens into the British player's kings. Heath was a continuous threat to big reputations throughout the day.
The Brit's best WSOP cash came in 2015 when he finished sixth in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed Event for $77,591, but since then has never finished higher than 30th in a bracelet event.
However, following High Roller cashes in both the Caribbean and Monte Carlo, Heath will be taking 5,255,000 chips through to Day 3 having already locked up his largest career WSOP cash.
The remaining 12 players are all guaranteed $101,604 but will be eyeing up the $1,484,085 for first place. Other big stacks still in the field include Dmitry Yurasov (4,800,000), Elio Fox (4,695,000) and Chance Kornuth (4,510,000).
Day 2 Recap
With late registration open for two more levels on Day 2, the likes of Scott Seiver and Michael Addamo were both new faces once cards were in the air. Both Ben Heath and Barry Hutter enjoyed strong starts, with Heath eliminating Roger Teska as Hutter did the same to Thomas Winters.
Other early eliminations included Kenny Hallaert, Rainer Kempe, Igor Kurganov, Isaac Haxton and Adrian Mateos.
The Hellmuth Show
Another new face on Day 2 was 15-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth who rocked up to the $50,000 High Roller midway through the second level of the day.
However, on returning from break Hellmuth was involved in a pot against Chance Kornuth, where Hellmuth check-called all three streets with top pair only for Kornuth to have made a backdoor flush.
That led to the first Hellmuth blow-up of the year, with Hellmuth blowing his top at Kornuth's stroke of fortune.
And then, after using his single re-entry, he lasted just two hands before losing house over house against overnight chip leader Ali Imsirovic to bust for the second time in quick succession.
Registration Closes; Bubble Bursts
There were only 27 players in the field as registration closed, with the payouts being confirmed shortly thereafter. Just 17 players would get paid and the winner will take home $1,484,085.
The bubble burst when Todd Ivens fell foul of the pocket aces of Nick Petrangelo. This was then followed by the first four eliminations in the money.
Markus Gonsalves (17th - $75,789) ran eights into tens of Heath, but it was Dmitry Yurasov who lead the final two tables. Eric Wasserson (16th - $75,789) and Johannes Becker (15th - $75,789) followed him out the door.
Meanwhile, Heath was quietly chipping up and his chip lead was secured as Bryn Kenney (14th - $86,543) and Elias Talvitie (13th - $86,543) became the last eliminations of the night.
Here are the remaining payouts:
| Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,484,085 |
| 2 | $917,232 |
| 3 | $640,924 |
| 4 | $458,138 |
| 5 | $335,181 |
| 6 | $251,128 |
| 7 | $192,794 |
| 8 | $151,755 |
| 9-10 | $122,551 |
| 11-12 | $101,604 |
On Sunday, the tournament is scheduled to play down to a final table of six ready for the final table to be live-streamed on Monday. PokerNews will be catching all the action and every elimination as we get closer to crowning the next bracelet-winner.
End of Day Chip Counts & Seat Draw
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Day 3 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 419 | 1 | Sam Soverel | United States | 1,820,000 | 36 |
| 419 | 2 | Cary Katz | United States | 2,590,000 | 52 |
| 419 | 3 | David Einhorn | United States | 1,090,000 | 22 |
| 419 | 5 | Manig Loeser | Germany | 575,000 | 12 |
| 419 | 7 | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | 2,260,000 | 45 |
| 419 | 8 | Elio Fox | United States | 4,695,000 | 94 |
| 427 | 1 | Dmitry Yurasov | Russia | 4,800,000 | 96 |
| 427 | 3 | Chance Kornuth | United States | 4,510,000 | 90 |
| 427 | 4 | Sam Grafton | United Kingdom | 1,480,000 | 30 |
| 427 | 5 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | 3,800,000 | 76 |
| 427 | 7 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | 5,255,000 | 105 |
| 427 | 8 | Matthew Gonzales | United States | 155,000 | 3 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,255,000 | 175,000 |
|
4,800,000 | -1,100,000 |
|
4,695,000 | -5,000 |
|
4,510,000 | 1,360,000 |
|
3,800,000 | 200,000 |
|
2,590,000 | 90,000 |
|
2,260,000 | 360,000 |
|
1,820,000 | -55,000 |
|
1,480,000 | 80,000 |
|
1,090,000 | 390,000 |
|
575,000 | -325,000 |
|
155,000 | -125,000 |
Elias Talvitie Eliminated in 13th Place ($86,543)
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Cary Katz opened to 100,000 in early position and Elias Talvitie three-bet to 250,000 in the cutoff. The action folded back to Katz who shipped all in and Talvitie made a quick call.
Cary Katz: 
Elias Talvitie: 
The board ran out 
and Katz's full house was more than enough to win the pot. The stacks were counted and Katz started with 1,250,000 while Talvitie began the hand with 1,215,000. Talvitie was on the unfortunate side of a cooler and headed to the payout desk in 13th place.
The final 12 players will now bag up their chips and return tomorrow at 2 p.m. for Day 3.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,500,000 | 1,100,000 |
|
Busted |
Bryn Kenney Eliminated in 14th Place ($86,543)
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Bryn Kenney moved all in for 625,000 from early position. It folded to Sam Grafton in the big blind who called.
Bryn Kenney: 
Sam Grafton: 
It was a flip between the two players, with Grafton the bigger stack by just a few big blinds. The flop 
favoured Kenney who took the lead, and was poised to leave Grafton short with the 
coming on the turn.
However the 
turned things on their head as Grafton rivered a set to send Kenney to the rail in 14th place.
The tournament is now one elimination away from bagging up for the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,400,000 | 370,000 |
|
Busted |
Johannes Becker Eliminated in 15th Place ($75,789)
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The action folded around to Johannes Becker in the small blind who pushed all in for his last 750,000 chips. Chance Kornuth peeked down at his cards in the big blind and instantly called to put Becker at risk.
Chance Kornuth: 
Johannes Becker: 
Becker was way behind Kornuth's premium hand and the flop of 
only made it worse. The 
on the turn meant Becker was drawing dead to the on the river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,150,000 | 550,000 |
|
Busted |
Eric Wasserson Eliminated in 16th Place ($75,789)
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Sam Soverel opened to 100,000 and Cary Katz called. Eric Wasserson was in the big blind and moved all in for 285,000.
"This is outrageous," said Soverel, thinking for a while before folding.
"Wow!" said Katz. "Why are you playing? I was hoping to get some more money!"
Katz called with 
but was behind the 
of Wasserson.
"Pick me, dealer!" he said and the king in the window saw him take the lead. The board ran out 
with the river ultimately improving Katz to two pair, sending Wasserson to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,875,000 | -875,000 |
|
|
1,400,000 | 650,000 |
|
Busted |
Petrangelo's Second Overbet Gets Through
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The action folded to Chance Kornuth on the button who raised it up to 115,000. Nick Petrangelo called and the two players went heads-up to a flop of 
.
Both players checked and the hit the turn. Petrangelo led out with a significant overbet of 450,000 and Kornuth called to see the on the river. One overbet wasn't enough for Petrangelo who reached back for another one of 1,200,000. Kornuth gave it some thought but decided to send his cards to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,600,000 | 580,000 |
|
|
2,600,000 | -580,000 |
Final Two Tables
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
| Seat | Table 427 | Chip Count | Table 419 | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dmitry Yurasov | 5,900,000 | Sam Soverel | 2,750,000 |
| 2 | Johannes Becker | 750,000 | Cary Katz | 750,000 |
| 3 | Chance Kornuth | 3,180,000 | David Einhorn | 700,000 |
| 4 | Sam Grafton | 1,030,000 | Elias Talvitie | 975,000 |
| 5 | Nick Petrangelo | 3,020,000 | Manig Loeser | 900,000 |
| 6 | Bryn Kenney | 625,000 | Eric Wasserson | 200,000 |
| 7 | Ben Heath | 5,080,000 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 1,900,000 |
| 8 | Matthew Gonzales | 280,000 | Elio Fox | 4,700,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,900,000 | 1,400,000 |
|
|
5,080,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
4,700,000 | 120,000 |
|
|
3,180,000 | 640,000 |
|
|
3,020,000 | 320,000 |
|
|
2,750,000 | 1,670,000 |
|
|
1,900,000 | 600,000 |
|
|
1,030,000 | -70,000 |
|
|
975,000 | -790,000 |
|
|
900,000 | -1,180,000 |
|
|
750,000 | -450,000 |
|
|
750,000 | 250,000 |
|
|
700,000 | -1,620,000 |
|
|
625,000 | |
|
|
280,000 | -70,000 |
|
|
200,000 | -160,000 |
Markus Gonsalves Eliminated in 17th Place ($75,789)
Level 16
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Ben Heath opened to 110,000 from under the gun and Markus Gonsalves three-bet shoved all in for around 700,000 on the button. The blinds folded and Heath made a quick call to put Gonsalves at risk.
Ben Heath: 
Markus Gonsalves: 
Heath had the higher pocket pair of the two players and Gonsalves was looking to spike a two-outer in order to stay alive. The board ran out 
and Gonsalves was the first player to bow out after the money bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,050,000 | 1,350,000 |
|
Busted |