Alfred Decarolis opened to 36,000 in middle position and Alexandros Theologis called in the hijack before Chance Kornuth called in the cutoff and Daniel Negreanu called in the small blind.
Decarolis continued for 75,000 on the flop of K♣4♦4♠ and only Kornuth called. Decarolis then bet 130,000 on the 2♦ turn and Kornuth called.
Decarolis checked on the 3♣ river and Kornuth tossed out a bet of 480,000. Decarolis called and mucked as Kornuth showed 6♥4♥ for trips.
Martin Kabrhel has been a thorn in Alex Foxen's side for multiple tournaments now, and that thorn proved to be fatal today. In a heads-up pot between the two, Foxen checked on a flop of 3♦6♠5♣ and Kabrhel bet 50,000.
Foxen check-jammed a stack of about 200,000. Kabrhel went in the tank and then called.
Alex Foxen: A♦4♦
Martin Kabrhel: A♠Q♦
Both players had ace-high but Kabrhel had the better kicker and stayed ahead as the board finished out K♥10♣ to mark Foxen's elimination as he missed his straight draw.
Michael Moncek raised to 40,000 on the button and Martin Kabrhel called from the big blind. The flop came 9♦7♣3♣ and Kabrhel check-called a bet of 50,000 from Moncek.
The turn was the 3♠ and Kabrhel check-called another bet of 115,000 from Moncek. The river was the K♥ and Kabrhel was ready to dance. He opted to check a third time and Moncek threw in a bet of 205,000. Kabrhel looked him up and Moncek showed 8♣6♣ for a missed combo draw. Kabrhel turned over A♦J♥ for just ace-high but it was good enough to win the pot.
"Don't play like this against me, Mikey," Kabrhel started on a rant. "Anyone else you can do that, but not me. I'm a station, a gas station. Do you know what that is?"
On the next hand, Sean Winter raised it up from under the gun and Moncek three-bet to 115,000 in the cutoff. Winter four-bet jammed all in for 505,000 and Moncek called.
Winter flipped over 10♠10♥ while Moncek had two over cards with A♣J♠. The board ran out clean for Winter to hold with his pocket tens, leaving Moncek on a short stack.
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.
Daniel Negreanu
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.
Brandon Steven
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.
Martin Kabrhel
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.
