Isaac Haxton is the new Super High Roller Bowl champion and $2.7 million better off after a strong performance and a healthy dose of luck in PokerGO’s latest $300,000 event.
20 of poker’s richest and most talented players paid the six-figure entry fee to enter the latest Super High Roller Bowl on September 29. Defending champion Daniel Negreanu was among the early frontrunners, as was recent Poker Masters winner, Stephen Chidwick.
Of all the talent on display, it was 2022 runner-up Nick Petrangelo who led the way ahead of Andrew Lichtenberger and Isaac Haxton at the end of Day 1. The aforementioned Negreanu and Chidwick were also in the mix heading into Day 2 but, as the field thinned, it was Lichtenberger and Haxton who took control.
Haxton and Lichtenberger take control
Lichtenberger’s stack was up and down during the early stages of Day 2, but a lucky river against Cary Katz swung the momentum in his favor. Also running hot at the same time as Lichtenberger was Haxton.
Haxton was one of the first players over the 1-million-chip mark and he used every one of them to push the pace. That strategy often leads to tight spots and Haxton found himself in one on the final table. Haxton had the second biggest stack when the finale got underway but a wrong move by any player would have changed the tide.
This dynamic put some players on the backfoot, but not Haxton. When Daniel Negreanu limped from the small blind, Haxton moved all in with A
4
. Negreanu, who had sprung a trap with A
Q, called. Unfortunately for Kid Poker, the 4 5 7 flop hit Haxton.
Another heart or a queen would have saved Negreanu, but the A
and 2 on the turn and river saw him exit in eighth place. That pot gave Haxton enough ammunition to take his foot off the gas while Lichtenberger picked up the pace.
Based on the action over two days of play, Lichtenberger vs. Haxton for the Super High Roller Bowl VIII seemed inevitable. Indeed, with only four of the final eight getting paid, Lichtenberger’s onslaught proved so effective that he eliminated four players on route to a heads-up showdown with Haxton.
Haxton survives war of attrition to win Super High Roller Bowl
Lichtenberger had the chips and momentum heads-up, but his lead didn’t last long. Haxton took control within a few hands and, in almost no time at all, he had a 5-to-1 advantage. Lichtenberger wasn’t done though. He hung in and got things back to level over the next few hours.
Eventually, after four hours of play, something had to give. That something was pocket kings. Haxton was slightly behind in chips when he took a stand with A 7 on a 3♦ 3 2 board. Lichtenberger called with pocket kings but quickly fell behind when the Q landed on the turn. The 6 brought the hand to an end and left Lichtenberger with a smattering of chips.
PokerGO Super High Roller Bowl VIII Result
- Isaac Haxton – $2,760,000
- Andrew Lichtenberger – $1,608,000
- Stephen Chidwick – $960,000
- Jason Koon – $600,000
It was all over on the next hand when Lichtenberger’s 9 3 failed to overtake Haxton’s 10 7. With that, PokerGO’s Super High Roller Bowl VIII was over. A valiant performance by Lichtenberger earned him $1.6 million, but the poker player of the moment was Isaac Haxton.
The win earned him yet another poker title and $2.7 million. Not only that, Haxton now moves to 10th on the all-time money list with $42.7 million in live tournament earnings
