Aleksejs Ponakovs Defeats Phil Ivey to Win Event #42: $100,000 High Roller for $1,897,363
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The 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #42: $100,000 High Roller NLH ended one day sooner than anticipated as the $5,998,500 prizepool was divvied up between the top ten of the 62 total entries with the $1,897,363 grand prize going to Latvia's Aleksejs Ponakovs.
Ponakovs won his second WSOP bracelet, with his first one coming online in November, making the latest one his first live bracelet. Prior to the victory, Ponakovs had amassed over $1.4 million in career live earnings according to The Hendon Mob, with a near-million score coming just a month ago in May at the Triton Poker Series Madrid.
Ponakovs also notably has a 33rd-place finish from the 2013 WSOP Main Event on his resume, meaning that he has been on the felt for some time, but has just now started his surge in winnings. The first player to ever win a bracelet from Latvia in November, he now adds another to the Latvian bracelet tally.
Ponakovs was on cloud nine following the win, ��I��m really pleased to finally get the bracelet. There is for sure some good stuff happening right now in my head. I will realize later [as it sinks in].��
He was boosted by his boisterous rail who made roosters a theme due to the flashy shirt of Ponakov, which the rail copied.
��At first I was really laughing about it, but it really helped in the end,�� he said. He also added that the poker world will be seeing a lot more of him soon: ��I am getting better and better in life. I am coming for more events.��
2022 WSOP Event #42 Final Payouts
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | $1,897,363 |
2nd | Phil Ivey | United States | $1,172,659 |
3rd | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | $805,024 |
4th | Gregory Jensen | United States | $571,896 |
5th | Micahel Moncek | United States | $420,944 |
6th | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | $321,437 |
7th | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | $255,001 |
8th | Masashi Oya | Japan | $210,485 |
9th | Nick Petrangelo | United States | $181,068 |
10th | Eric Worre | United States | $162,623 |
Road to the Bracelet
One of the premier hands of Day 1 went the way of Ponakovs as he made a hero call against defending champion Michael Addamo when max pressure was applied to him. He rode that to second in chips where he would begin the day. He would dip down some in the middle part of the day, but would surge to a big chip lead before the money thanks to a few big hands to put himself in position to become the big stack bully.
As the day unfolded, the story became Phil Ivey��s attempt to win his eleventh WSOP bracelet and surprisingly, his first in no-limit hold'em. The poker world tuned in to the Ponakovs vs Ivey heads-up duel, which started with Ponakovs holding a 56%-44% chip lead. But Ivey would take a 2:1 chip lead after picking off a bluff to make it look like the eight-year bracelet drought for Ivey would possibly be coming to an end.
Ivey��s chip advantage was short-lived however as Ponakovs would strike back shortly after with two substantial hands that allowed him to regain the lead. Just a few minutes later, Ponakovs called Ivey on the turn with second pair against Ivey��s open-ended straight, which failed to connect on the river, and just like that, the brief but eventful heads-up battle was over and Ponakovs was the champion.
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Action of the Day
The day began with 23 survivors from Day 1 and eleven late entries added fuel to the fire with max late registration to create the 62-entry total. A few of the last-minute entries hit the rail within a few minutes, including Justin Bonomo and Alex Foxen, who could not get anything going.
From there the eliminations started to build rapidly as the blinds caught up to the short stacks and players were sent away at a steady clip. However, play would slow down substantially on the bubble, which would become a roller coaster affair as it took over 90 minutes to burst the money threshold.
Gregory Jensen dramatically stayed alive with a river queen to keep the bubble going. Seated next to each other, Koray Aldemir and Eric Worre would then get into a micro stacks war as both players were down to a couple of big blinds as Aldemir doubled with a single big blind at one point. Eventually, Aldemir would succumb as the bubble boy and Worre was eliminated shortly after but with $162,623 more in his pocket as he was taken out in tenth place.
Nick Petrangelo was next to go in ninth place after his jacks had been decimated by Jensen��s river queen to bring the field to the official final table and satart-of-day chip leader Masashi Oya was eliminated on the same hand in eighth place after he ran into some rough sledding just before the bubble to knock down his once large stack into a short one.
At this point, the decision was made to adjust the schedule and go ahead and finish the final table as opposed to the previously scheduled return for Day 3. Right after that decision, Mikita Badziakouski was felted in seventh place when Ben Heath found a flush on the river and then Talal Shakerchi followed him out the door shortly before the dinner break when his aces went up in flames to the quad kings of Ponakovs.
The players returned from dinner to the PokerGO streaming table in Bally��s. Michael Moncek was the first to go there as he made a successful parlay from his bracelet win in Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold��em to a huge payday here.
Hedge fund manager Jensen then exited in fourth place after he was able to ride his bubble survival all the way to the top four.
Heath was felled in third place when he never able to recover after his aces were cracked by Ivey��s flush to bring him from the three-handed chip leader to short stack, where he would soon depart at the hands of Ivey to set up the aforementioned heads-up match.
That wraps it up for the coverage of this thrilling high roller event. Stay tuned for more wire-to-wire 2022 World Series of Poker coverage as PokerNews does not miss a beat this summer.
In this Series
- 1 Can't Stop Kopp: Katie Kopp Wins First Bracelet of the 2022 WSOP
- 2 David Peters Wins 2022 WSOP Event #2: $100K High Roller Bounty for 4th Gold Bracelet
- 3 Scott Seiver Wins 4th Bracelet in 2022 WSOP Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout NLH ($320,059)
- 4 For a Higher Cause: Brad Ruben Wins 4th Bracelet in 2022 WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Dealer's Choice
- 5 Dan Smith Captures 1st Bracelet; Wins 2022 WSOP Event #6: $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 6 Norbert Szecsi Captures The Third Bracelet of his Career at the 2022 WSOP
- 7 Manig ''Ohio77'' Loeser Wins Second Online Bracelet in as Many Years
- 8 Amnon Filippi Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #7: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($252,718)
- 9 Chad Eveslage Wins 2022 WSOP Event #8: $25,000 High Roller ($1,415,610)
- 10 Alex Livingston Wins 2022 WSOP Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud ($103,282)
- 11 Henry Acain Wins 2022 WSOP Event #5: $500 The Housewarming ($701,215)
- 12 Raj Vohra Wins His First Bracelet at the 2022 WSOP; Takes Down the $600 Deepstack
- 13 Ben Diebold Wins 2022 WSOP $10,000 Dealer's Choice 6-Handed Championship ($299,488)
- 14 Jake Schindler Wins First Bracelet and $1,328,068 in Event #12: $50,000 High Roller
- 15 First Time's the Charm: Michael Moncek Wins Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em
- 16 Frenchman Leo Soma Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #14: $1,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em ($456,889)
- 17 Dominick Sarle Wins 2022 WSOP Event #17: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($164,243)
- 18 Bryan Schultz Wins 2022 WSOP Event #18: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em ($330,057)
- 19 Stefan Lehner Wins First Bracelet in Event #16: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($558,616)
- 20 Denis Nesterenko Wins Event #20: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw ($108,250)
- 21 Tong Li Wins $1,467,739 and First Bracelet in Event #19: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
- 22 Adam Friedman Wins Fifth WSOP Gold Bracelet in Event #22: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
- 23 Brian Altman Captures His Maiden WSOP Bracelet in the Online $400 Ultra Deepstack
- 24 Christopher Chatman Flips to Win First WSOP Bracelet in Event #24: $1,000 Flip & Go
- 25 Rob Wazwaz Ships Event #25: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstacks For $358,346
- 26 Mike Jukich Wins the $1,500 Monster Stack at the 2022 WSOP For $966,577
- 27 K9 & Canine Lucky for Jonathan Cohen in Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship ($245,678)
- 28 Michael Simhai Hits the Mark in 2022 WSOP Event #27: Shootout NLH ($240,480)
- 29 Robert Cowen Wins Bracelets in Back-to-Back Years; Binks $50K PLO High Roller for $1.4M
- 30 Maxx Coleman Wins Elusive First Bracelet in the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 31 15 Years in the Making: Daniel Weinman Nabs 1st Bracelet in Event #30: $1,000 PLO
- 32 Nino Ullmann Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in the $3K NLHE 6-Max Event
- 33 Brian Hastings Captures Sixth Bracelet in Event #31: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship
- 34 Musician Steve Albini Wins (And Breaks!) Second Bracelet in 2022 WSOP $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
- 35 Lok Chan Wins 2022 WSOP Event #35: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet on First Trip to WSOP ($144,338)
- 36 Ali Eslami Takes Down Event #36: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $135,260 and Maiden WSOP Bracelet
- 37 Justin Pechie Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in the $1,500 Freezeout
- 38 Pedro Bromfman Is Triumphant in Event #38: $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship
- 39 Ramsey Stovall Wins First Bracelet In 2022 WSOP $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty ($191,223)
- 40 Matt "PmpknHead" Szymaszek Wins WSOP Online Bracelet Event #4: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max
- 41 Aleksejs Ponakovs Defeats Phil Ivey to Win Event #42: $100,000 High Roller for $1,897,363
- 42 Zack Wins Second Bracelet of the 2022 WSOP; $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship ($324,174)
- 43 David Perry Defeats Chris Moorman in the 2022 WSOP $500 Freezeout ($241,729)
- 44 Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! KFC Fan Kolev Wins 2022 WSOP Millionaire Maker ($1,125,141)
- 45 Phil Hui Mounts Comeback to Win Third Bracelet In $1,500 PLO at the 2022 WSOP
- 46 Andrew Yeh Rides to Victory in Event #44: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship ($487,129)
- 47 Frenchman Jonathan Pastore Wins 2022 WSOP Event #46: $5,000 6-Handed NLHE ($771,765)
- 48 First Bracelet for Cyprus; Menikos Panagiotou Wins 2022 WSOP Event #48: $1,500 Eight Game Mix
- 49 Alex Foxen Goes Wire-to-Wire in $250K Super High Roller on Way to Maiden Bracelet ($4,563,700)
- 50 Simeon Spasov Completes Come-From-Behind Win in Event #49: $2,000 NLH ($527,944)
- 51 Joao Simao Takes Down Second Bracelet For $686,242 In $5,000 No-Limit Hold��em/Pot-Limit Omaha
- 52 WSOP Rookie Kijoon Park Wins Event #52: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed ($219,799)
- 53 William "swaggyb" Corvino Captures First Bracelet in the $600 Online Deepstack Championship
- 54 Eric Smidinger Full of Emotion After Winning 2022 WSOP Seniors Event ($694,909)
- 55 James Todd Wins 2022 WSOP Event #54: $500 Salute to Warriors ($161,256); $74,809 Raised for USO
- 56 Written in the Stars: Paul Hizer Outlasts the Field in the 2022 WSOP Colossus ($414,490)
- 57 Martin "115FTW" Stoyanov Wins The $500 WSOP Bracelet Turbo Deepstack
- 58 Patrick Leonard & Espen J?rstad Win 2022 WSOP Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team ($148,067)
- 59 Lawrence Brandt Wins $1,500 PLO8 After Gruelling Final Day ($289,610)
- 60 Shota Nakanishi Wins His First Bracelet in Event #60: $10,000 Short Deck ($277,212)
- 61 Tamas Lendvai Wins Event #57: $600 Deep Stack Championship No-Limit Hold'em ($299,464)
- 62 Do It for Dari: Dash Dudley Wins 3rd WSOP Gold Bracelet for Daughter After Coming Back from 3BB Short Stack
- 63 Dan Cates Makes History; Wins Back-to-Back $50,000 Poker Players Championship ($1,449,103)
- 64 Come Back Kid: Massoud ��CBK�� Eskandari Wins First Bracelet in Super Seniors for $330,609
- 65 Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $10K PLO-8 Championship ($611,362)
- 66 Konstantin Angelov Wins 2022 WSOP Event #64: $600 PLO Deepstack ($199,466)
- 67 Nacho Barbero Takes 2022 WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty Bracelet Back to Argentina
- 68 Austria's Jessica Teusl Wins 2022 WSOP Ladies Championship ($166,975)
- 69 Young Sik Comes From Behind To Win The Mini Main Event For $594,189
- 70 Sean Troha Completes Comeback and Wins the $10K PLO Championship ($1,246,770)
- 71 Quincy Borland Crowned Champion of Event #68: $1,000 Million Dollar Bounty ($750,120)
- 72 Bradley Anderson Wins 2022 WSOP Event #72: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo ($195,565)
- 73 Daniel Strelitz Wins His Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #73: $1,500 Razz
- 74 Harry "timexCNT" Lodge Wins His First Bracelet in the $7,777 Lucky 7's Online High Roller ($396,666)
- 75 Pei Li Crowned Champion in Event #74: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha ($190,219)
- 76 Yevgeniy "Kazak132" Minakrin Wins Online Event #9: $1,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship ($238,315)
- 77 Former Professional StarCraft Player Jinho Hong Wins Poker Hall of Fame Bounty
- 78 Julien Perouse Captures Bracelet In Online $3,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller 8-Max ($324,767)
- 79 Mike Allis Potentially Going Out on a High After Winning the One Drop ($535,610)
- 80 Canada's Sebastien Aube Takes Down Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold��em ($499,636)
- 81 Gregory [Removed:372] Wins 2022 WSOP Event #75: $777 Lucky Sevens ($777,777)
- 82 Romans Voitovs Wins 2022 WSOP Event #80: $600 Mixed NLH/PLO ($158,609)
- 83 Julien Martini Wins His Fourth Bracelet In Razz Championship for $328,604
- 84 Mo Arani Wins Event #81: $5,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em ($665,459)
- 85 Richard Alsup Wins Event #82: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack ($272,065)
- 86 Jo?o Vieira Outlasts Lander Lijo to Win Second WSOP Bracelet ($1,384,415)
- 87 Espen Jorstad Wins 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000
- 88 Michael Wang Stages a Heads-Up Comeback to Win His Second Bracelet
- 89 Lawrence Brandt Wins Second Bracelet of 2022 in $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. ($205,139)
- 90 Gianluca "InMyHouse" Speranza Claims Maiden Golden Bracelet
- 91 Jaspal Brar Tops Field In Event #88: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em For First Gold Bracelet ($190,731)
- 92 Minh Nguyen Saves Bad Summer w/ Victory in 2022 WSOP $1,500 The Closer ($536,280)
- 93 Gregory Jensen Wins 2022 WSOP Event 86: $10,000 6-Handed Championship ($824,649)
- 94 Benjamin Kaupp Wins Tournament of Champions to Close Out 2022 WSOP ($250,000)