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Nine of the world's best players returned to Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas this Monday with their sights set on one of poker's most coveted titles. Hours later, Adrian Mateos stood alone.
The Spanish superstar has captured Event #41: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em for $4,334,411, defeating all-time money leader Bryn Kenney heads-up to win his sixth WSOP bracelet. The victory is the second-largest score of Mateos' live tournament career and makes him the youngest player in history to win six bracelets at the age of just 31 years old.
In a game where greatness is measured by the company you keep, Mateos' latest triumph may well be his finest yet. Phil Ivey, Jason Koon, Sean Winter and Kenney were among the elite names swept aside at the final table, as the Winamax Team Pro outlasted a 56-entry field and claimed the lion's share of a $13,720,000 prize pool.
If there was any doubt that Mateos is perhaps the very best player of his generation, this performance offered an answer few could dispute.
Event #41: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Final Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | $4,334,411 |
| 2 | Bryn Kenney | United States | $2,776,634 |
| 3 | David Einhorn | United States | $1,862,941 |
| 4 | Sean Winter | United States | $1,312,037 |
| 5 | Jason Koon | United States | $972,375 |
| 6 | Samuel Mullur | Austria | $760,417 |
| 7 | Brandon Wilson | United States | $629,397 |
| 8 | Phil Ivey | United States | $553,270 |
| 9 | Michael Moncek | United States | $518,518 |
Two Wins and $10 Million in a Month
With more than 30 live tournament victories already on his résumé, Adrian Mateos added another title to his collection and seemed to enjoy it just as much as if it were his first. “I feel amazing. When I come to this tournament, it’s my favorite of the series because it’s super expensive and also because the structure is better than the others. It’s three days, we play deeper, and I just love it. I was super excited to come today and compete. Everything went my way, and I was able to win the race,” he said as poker fans lined up to take selfies with the newly crowned six-time WSOP bracelet winner.
The 31-year-old explained that he woke up “super motivated” because the day felt “super special.” “We’re playing for a lot of money, and I have extra motivation. But when I sit at the table, I just try to play every hand as well as I can. I don’t feel the money or the pressure when I’m playing in these tournaments. Of course, I try to put all my focus into it and perform at my best.”
“Of course, I ran good,” he added. “I had a few coolers go my way and won the big pots. I think I played great today. When those two things happen, it’s easier to win. Today I ran good and I played good.”
Not only is this victory a major achievement in itself, but it also comes just one month after his $6,370,000 Triton success in Montenegro. “It’s crazy,” he said, still struggling to process it. “Before the Triton trip, I was on a downswing for a year or so, losing every live trip I went on. But I kept working really hard. I was putting in the work, getting good results online. I trusted the process and kept showing up. Now I’ve had one month of running really well, I’ve won a lot of money, and I’m pretty happy. I need to enjoy the moment, and I will do that.”
This $10 million month in results now allows him to close the gap in the all-time money list rankings, where he now sits in fifth place with more than $67,000,000 in live cashes. “I love the rankings,” he said. “I love poker, and I would like to move up the list. It’s something that motivates me, and I will keep working and playing to get as high as possible. Bryn is number one right now, and he’s an amazing player. It will be tough to catch him, but I will try.”
And try he will, with many more events still to come this summer. “I will continue chasing bracelets. Maybe I’ll take a few days off now. There aren’t any big buy-ins in the next few days, so I’ll stay here and try to win another bracelet and more tournaments. This is what I do for a living, and I still love it. I love the competition, and I will keep trying to win more and more.”
Final Day Action
The five-star finalists returned at 2 p.m. for an off-stream hour of play. Among the nine remaining players, Jason Koon began the day with just 15 big blinds but quickly doubled through chip leader Bryn Kenney to climb right back into contention. Koon’s dream start continued two hands later when he won a coin flip against Michael Moncek, eliminating him in ninth place for $518,518.
Following the first elimination, Phil Ivey was the next player to score a double-up, but the 11-time bracelet winner eventually ran his pocket jacks into Kenney’s pocket queens and exited in eighth place for $553,270.
Following the first break, the final seven players took their seats on the main feature table. The move suited Sean Winter just fine, as he tripled up shortly after the restart. Meanwhile, Brandon Wilson, down to only two big blinds, managed to survive thanks to Koon on the very next hand, but this new hope was short-lived however, as Koon eliminated him shortly after in seventh place for $629,397.
Day 1 chip leader Samuel Mullur (6th - $760,417) with ten-nine was next to fall to Mateos' ace-eight, before Mateos saw his tens held against Koon's ace-king to score another elimination. One orbit later, Winter (4th - $1,312,037) five-bet all-in with ace-nine suited, only to run into Mateos' ace.
Now three-handed, Einhorn eventually moved all in with a straight draw. Unfortunately for him, Kenney had already flopped the straight and improved further on the turn to eliminate Einhorn, sending him into heads-up play with 50,575,000, slightly ahead of Mateos, who held 33,325,000.
The chip lead, however, quickly changed hands when Mateos made a straight on the turn. It didn't take much longer to see Mateos flop two pair with ten-deuce. Kenney held ten-nine for top pair so both players ended up moving all in. The turn and river bricked out, and Mateos secured his sixth WSOP bracelet.
That will conclude today’s coverage of the $250,000 Super High Roller. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting updates on the ground!
