Philipp Gruissem Wins the �25,500 Single-Day High Roller (�485,135)
Another day at the 2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino?, another high roller event. This time it was a �25,500 buy-in tournament that was to finish in a single day. A total of 58 players entered, together with the 27 reentries that made for a field of 85 playing for a �2,082,500 prize pool.
Philipp Gruissem beasted through the field, applying all the pressure on the bubble and never relinquishing the chips he gathered there. While Gruissem was the official winner, he wasn't the one walking away with the most money. The trophy went to Gruissem but Steve O'Dwyer walked away the biggest paycheck as he had more chips when the deal was made.
Gruissem, however, was the one getting the richest from the tournament because he was in for a single bullet while O'Dwyer had fired 4.
| Position | Player | Country | Entries | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philipp Gruissem | Germany | 1 | �485,135 |
| 2 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 4 | �494,665 |
| 3 | John Juanda | Indonesia | 1 | �266,550 |
| 4 | Justin Bonomo | United States | 1 | �205,100 |
| 5 | Oliver Weis | Germany | 1 | �162,450 |
| 6 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 2 | �127,030 |
| 7 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 1 | �100,000 |
| 8 | Jason Mercier | United States | 2 | �78,100 |
| 9 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | 2 | �59,350 |
| 10 | David Peters | US | 1 | �52,060 |
| 11 | Joao Simao | Brazil | 1 | �52,060 |
With just 30 minutes per level and the option to buy back in when busted, the action was fierce from the get-go. Play got underway on a short delay, but as soon as cards were in the air, the chips were flying. When registration closed after 8 levels, the clock mentioned 27 reentries. Dan Colman, Mike Watson, [Removed:17] and Erik Seidel all entered 3 times, but Steve O'Dwyer was record holder with 4 entries.
While he was in for the most money, he also had the most chips in front of him when the tournament went on dinner break with 12 players remaining and 11 getting paid. Shortly after the players had returned, Rafael Moraes bubbled as his queen-jack failed to improve to a straight. Moraes had pushed his draw against the two-pair of Gruissem who had checked back the flop.
The bubble was a Brazilian, and his countryman Joao Simao was next to go. Simao lost with ace-seven suited to John Juanda's pocket eights. As David Peters lost with pocket sixes to Gruissem's ace-king, the final table was formed. Gruissem had the lead, having gained a lot of chips on the bubble and with the busting of two players.
What followed was a rapid execution of several players. They just about followed each other out the door on their way to the payout desk. Nick Petrangelo (queen-jack lost to ace-three) and Jason Mercier (ace-jack lost suited to sevens) both felt victim to Gruissem while Oliver Weis took care of Daniel Dvoress (ace-three lost to ace-ten) and Mikita Badziakouski (deuces lost to ace-king).
Oliver Weis had been short on the bubble but was suddenly a force to be reckoned. In a sudden change of events, however, he was still the next to go. Juanda pushed with ace-king from the button, Weis reshoved with eights from the small blind and O'Dwyer called from the big blind with jacks to put them both at risk. Juanda made a straight and tripled up, O'Dwyer won the side pot with a set to Weis' unimproved pair of eights.
Justin Bonomo lost to Gruissem with king-queen suited to pocket fours and John Juanda was sent to the rail as his king-queen failed to improve against the pocket eights of Steve O'Dwyer.
Philipp Gruissem and Steve O'Dwyer agreed to a deal right away. O'Dwyer was to receive �494,665 while Gruissem guaranteed himself �465,135. They left �20,000 in the middle and decided to flip for it. Two hands of blind all in later and it was all done. Gruissem made a full house on the first blind push, the nut straight on the second. O'Dwyer, apparently not very talented at going blind all in, failed to make hand both times.
Next up is the 3-day �25,750 High Roller to close the week. On top of that, the Main Event is still ongoing with some huge names still left in the field. Both events you can follow on PokerNews.com, you're one-stop-shop for anything and everything PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo.
