Czech Joker Martin Kabrhel Leads After Day 1 of $250,000 Super High Roller
The biggest buy-in of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicked off today with Event #46: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em, an event that drew 46 entrants on Day 1 as poker villain Martin Kabrhel bagged the chip lead, good for nearly three starting stacks.
Also among the 38 players who advanced to Day 2 are Kristen Foxen, Sean Winter, Adrian Mateos, Stephen Chidwick, Dan Smith, and Brandon Steven, as well as Super High Roller newcomer Jesse Lonis, reigning champion Santhosh Suvarna and Daniel Negreanu, who is looking for another deep run fresh off his third final table appearance of the summer.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Kabrhel | Czechia | 4,265,000 | 171 |
| 2 | Ben Tollerene | United States | 3,505,000 | 140 |
| 3 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 3,155,000 | 126 |
| 4 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | 2,975,000 | 119 |
| 5 | Isaac Haxton | United States | 2,895,000 | 116 |
| 6 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh | United States | 2,765,000 | 111 |
| 7 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 2,705,000 | 108 |
| 8 | Barak Wisbrod | Israel | 2,645,000 | 106 |
| 9 | Alexandros Theologis | Greece | 2,400,000 | 96 |
| 10 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | 2,340,000 | 94 |
Kabrhel Brings Chaos in Super High Roller
Big buy-ins bring about big plays, and there was no shortage of them on Day 1 of the $250,000 Super High Roller. Austria's Matthias Eibinger made a bold river bluff with just seven-high that led to his elimination as Brandon Steven called his 15 percent pot bet.
Later, future Poker Hall of Famer Jeremy Ausmus got the attention of the table as he correctly called with just jack-high on a double-paired board.
The 2022 champion Alex Foxen fell late in the day at the hands of his arch nemesis Kabrhel, whose cries of "NOOOT LIKE THIIIIIIIS," could be heard throughout the Paris Ballroom throughout the day. The Czech Joker was on his worst behavior on Sunday and at one point playfully pushed away Negreanu, who last week yelled for Kabrhel to "shut up" in the $50,000 High Roller.
Kabrhel, who caused controversy in this event in 2023, also eliminated fan favorite Michael "Texas Mike" Moncek on his continued quest to best his third-place 2023 finish that earned him $2,279,038.
Day 2 will kick off at noon local time on Level 9 with blinds of 15,000/30,000/30,000. The plan is to play ten hour-long levels with 15-minute breaks every two levels and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 14 around 6:30 p.m.
The three-day tournament will award a winner on June 17. Late registration will remain open for two levels on Day 2, at which point the prize pool will be determined.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on-site tomorrow for continued coverage of the biggest buy-in of the summer.