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Aleksejs Ponakovs Wins $100K WSOP High Roller, Denies Ivey’s 11th Bracelet

Aleksejs Ponakovs Wins $100K WSOP High Roller, Denies Ivey’s 11th Bracelet
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Arved Klöhn Content Writer
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: July 4, 2024 · 4 minutes to read

Latvia’s Aleksejs Ponakovs won the $100,000 High Roller event of the WSOP, the most expensive tournament of the season so far and denied Phil Ivey his 11th bracelet as the American poker superstar finished second.

The $100,000 event attracted 62 entries and the total prize pool was almost $6,000,000 with the first two places taking home seven-digit figures. The field of this tournament was filled with super high roller stars including Dan Smith, Jason Koon, David Peters, Michael Addamo, Andrew Lichtenberger, Chance Kornuth, Koray Aldemir, Adrian Mateos, Stephen Chidwick, Marius Gierse, Dario Sammartino, Erik Seidel, Christoph Vogelsang and Shannon Shorr. Albeit none of the names mentioned finished in the money.

Kory Aldemir Bubbles

It was the defending Main Event champion Koray Aldemir who bubbled in 11th place. He jammed a tiny stack from UTG with 7-6 suited and Aleksejs Ponakovs 3-bet with A-T suited. While Aldemir caught a 6 on the flop, Ponakovs spiked an Ace on the river to eliminate the German. After that, all the remaining players secured at least $162,623.

Among the players finishing the in money were Ben Heath, Talal Shakerchi, Mikita Badziakouski and Nick Petrangelo.

Phil Ivey Losses Heads-Up With a Semi-Bluff

Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey – (c) Hayley Hochstetler / WSOP.com

After Ben Heath busted in third place, Phil Ivey and Aleksejs Ponakovs were the last two players remaining. The Latvian started with more chips, but Phil Ivey briefly took the lead when he called down Ponakovs’ bluff with top pair. But after a couple of hands Ponakovs regained the lead and in the end, it was a huge semi-bluff that decided the game:

Ponakovs opened from the button to 2 big blinds and Ivey reraised to 7 big blinds. Ponakov called. Flop: J 7 3 . Both players checked. After the 9 peeled off on the turn, Ivey checked again and now Ponakovs bet 7.5 big blinds. Phil Ivey in turn check-raised all-in for a bit over 27 big blinds and after one minute Ponakovs called. Ivey showed 8 6 for a straight-draw while Ponakovs held A 9 for middle pair. The river brought the 8 . That was none of Ivey’s outs and with that card the tournament was over.

After having won one bracelet during the 2021 Online WSOP (the $7,777 Lucky Sevens High Roller), Aleksejs Ponakovs now won his first live WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas. He was incredibly happy about the victory and told PokerNews that he plans on playing many more events going forward: “I’m really pleased to finally get the bracelet. There is for sure some good stuff happening right now in my head. I am getting better and better in life. I am coming for more events.”

For Phil Ivey, this was the 3rd final table appearance during this WSOP. After finishing 7th in the $100K Bounty event and coming 3rd in the Stud Championship, he now was only one spot away from winning his 11th bracelet.

WSOP Event #42: $100k High Roller Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1stAleksejs PonakovsLatvia$1,897,363
2ndPhil IveyUnited States$1,172,659
3rdBen HeathUnited Kingdom$805,024
4thGregory JensenUnited States$571,896
5thMicahel MoncekUnited States$420,944
6thTalal ShakerchiUnited Kingdom$321,437
7thMikita BadziakouskiBelarus$255,001
8thMasashi OyaJapan$210,485
9thNick PetrangeloUnited States$181,068
10thEric WorreUnited States$162,623

2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Results

EventEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPrize
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em832$349,440Katie KoppUnited States$65,168
Event #2: $100,000 High Roller Bounty46$3,000,500David PetersUnited States$1,166,810
Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em752$1,673,000Scott SeiverUnited States$320,059
Event #4: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed430$574,050Brad RubenUnited States$126,288
Event #5: $500 Housewarming20,080$8,433,600Henry AcainUnited States$701,215
Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship64$1,512,000Dan SmithUnited States$509,717
Event #7: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better1,086$1,449,810Amnon FilippiUnited States$252,718
Event #8: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em251$5,929,875Chad EveslageUnited States$1,415,610
Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud329$439,215Alex LivingstonCanada$103,282
Event #10: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship123$1,146,975Ben DieboldUnited States$299,488
Event #11: $600 NLH Deepstack5,715$2,916,650Raj VohraUnited States$335,886
Event #12: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em85$4,069,375Jake SchindlerUnited States$1,328,068
Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold’em522$696,870Michael MoncekUnited States$145,856
Event #14: $1,500 6-Max NLH2,392$3,193,320Leo SomaFrance$456,889
Event #15: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship196$1,827,700Daniel ZackUnited States$440,757
Event #16: $3,000 No Limit Hold’em1,240$3,310,800Stefan LehnerAustria$558,616
Event #17: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball309$687,525Dominick SarleUnited States$164,243
Event #18: $1,000 NLH Freezeout2,663$2,370,070Bryan SchultzUnited States$330,057
Event #19: $25,000 PLO High Roller264$6,237,000Tong LiChina$1,467,739
Event #20: $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw350$467,250Denis NestrenkoRussia$108,250
Event #21: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH6,501$8,678,835Mike JukichUnited States$966,577
Event #22: $10,000 Stud Championship95$885,875Adam FriedmanUnited States$248,254
Event #23: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold’em213$568,710Jeremy AusmusUnited States$142,147
Event #24: $1,000 FLIP & GO1,329$1,182,810Christopher ChatmanUnited States$187,770
Event #25: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack4,062$2,859,648Rajaee WazwazUnited States$358,346
Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship92$857,900Jonathan CohenUnited States$245,678
Event #27: $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em1,000$1,335,000Michael SimhaiUnited States$240,480
Event #28: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha106$5,074,750Robert CowenUK$1,393,816
Event #29: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw437$583,395Maxx ColemanUnited States$127,809
Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha1,891$1,682,990Daniel WeinmanUnited States$255,359
Event #31: $10,000 Triple Draw Championship118$1,100,350Brian HastingsUnited States$292,146
Event #32: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.773$1,031,955Steven AlbiniUnited States$196,089
Event #33: $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em1,348$3,599,160Nino UllmannGermany$594,079
Event #34: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Holdem1,774$2,368,290Justin PechieUnited States$365,899
Event #35: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Event281$625,225Lok ChanHong Kong$144,338
Event #36: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo471$628,785Ali EslamiUnited States$135,260
Event #37: $1,500 Millionaire Maker7,961$10,627,935
Event #38: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Championship121$1,128,325Pedro BromfmanBrazil$294,616
Event #39: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha719$1,919,730Fabian BrandesGermany$371,358
Event #40: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship137$1,277,525Daniel ZackUnited States$324,174
Event #41: $1,000  Turbo Bounty NLH (freezeout)2,227$1,982,030Ramsey StovallUnited States$191,268
Event #42: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em62$5,998,500Aleksejs PonakovsLatvia$1,897,363
Event #43: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Holdem4,786$2,010,120David PerryUnited States$241,729
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