German poker player Philipp Gruissem emerged victorious from the €25,500 Single-Day High Roller Event of the 2017 PokerStars Championship Monte Carlо. The player managed to scoop a cash portion estimated to €485,135 as well as the champion’s title after a two-way deal at the end of the competition.
The one-day event which was presented by Monte-Carlo Casino saw a player field of 85 participants, with 58 entries and 27 re-entries for the massive guaranteed prize pool estimated to €2,082,500. Despite Gruissem winning the Single-Day High Roller trophy and being crowned as a winner, it was actually Steve O’Dwyer who managed to get the biggest cash portion from the guaranteed prize pool as was the one holding more chips at the time when the two-way deal was made. On the other hand, Gruissem had made a single entry, while O’Dwyer had used four entry options.
The action at the Single-Day High Roller event was fierce from the very start, as players were given only 30 minutes per level as well as an option to buy back in when eliminated. There was only a short delay before the game got back to the fast pace it had from the beginning. The registration process was closed after eight levels of play with a total of 27 re-entries made by that time. A number of world-famous poker players took part in the competition, with Erik Seidel, Dan Colman, Mike Watson and David Yan making a total of three entries. As mentioned above, Steve O’Dwyer entered four times.
By the time the dinner break started, there were only twelve players left in the game, with only eleven of them getting a cash portion of the guaranteed prize pool. And shortly after the game was renewed, it was Rafael Moraes who became the bubble boy to burst the money bubble and get eliminated at the 12th position.
The Brazilian was shortly followed by another Brazilian – Joao Simao. A bit later, the tenth place was taken by the US player David Peters. After that, the players got eliminated one by one, until there were only two of them standing around the final table – Philipp Gruissem and Steve O’Dwyer.
The two players stopped the game for a while and negotiated over an eventual deal. They soon managed to get to an agreement, under which O’Dwyer was to get a cash portion of €494,665 and Gruissem was to receive €465,135. An additional portion of €20,000 and the event’s trophy were left for the winner.
Two hands later, Guissem guaranteed himself the champion’s title, boosting his money prize to €485,135 and getting the Single-Day High Roller event’s title.
With Philipp Gruissem climbing to the first place in the ranking, Steve O’Dwyer from Ireland occupied the runner-up position after being granted with a guaranteed prize pool portion estimated to €496,665. John Juanda from Indonesia remained third, with a consolation prize of €266,550.
The fourth place in the ranking was taken by Justin Bonomo from the US. Bonomo was followed by another German player – Oliver Weis – who remained fifth. Mikita Badziakouski ranked sixth, while the Canadian Daniel Dvoress occupied the seventh place. Two very popular US players formed the final table ranking remaining at the eighth and the ninth position – Jason Mercier and Nick Petrangelo, respectively.
- Author
Harry Evans
