H-84: $25,500 Super High Roller
Day 1 Completed
2021 GG Spring Festival
H-84: $25,500 Super High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2021 GG Spring Festival
Buy-in
$25,500
Prize Pool
$2,475,000
Entries
99
Level
32
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
Level 32
: 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante
Another high roller has ended in the GG Spring Festival, and it's no surprise that another top pro has emerged as champion. This time, it was longtime nosebleed player Sami Kelopuro who topped the field of 99 entries to add $574,878 to his bankroll in H-84: $25,500 Super High Roller.
Kelopuro was simply on fire from the bubble onward. Even a final table with the likes of Mike Watson — who struck gold in a different GGSF event --, Isaac Haxton, Nick Petrangelo, and Benjamin Rolle couldn't stop him from taking over near the end as he amassed a stack that dwarfed all the other players combined by the time it got short-handed.
From there, it was a matter of who could ladder to second — it turned out to be Wei Zhao — as long as Kelopuro could fade anything completely crazy happening.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sami Kelopuro | Finland | $574,878 |
| 2 | Wei Zhao | China | $440,696 |
| 3 | Isaac Haxton | U.S.A. | $339,952 |
| 4 | Nick Petrangelo | U.S.A. | $262,076 |
| 5 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | $202,040 |
| 6 | Benjamin Rolle | Germany | $155,575 |
| 7 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | $120,076 |
| 8 | Zhuang Ruan | Japan | $92,569 |
| 9 | Mike Watson | Canada | $71,363 |
While Kelopuro had the chip lead heading to the final table after Joao Vieira and Stephen Chidwick were among the few to make the money but fall before the final nine, it wasn't a prohibitive one. And it wasn't a knockout that would propel to take command.
Instead, an unusual hand developed where Kelopuro three-bet preflop and faced a four-bet from Haxton. Kelopuro peeled with the two players starting about 50 blinds deep. On the jack-high flop, Haxton went for a check-min-raise only to get shoved on and wind up tank-folding.
Armed with the lead again, Kelopuro ramped up the pressure and soon had more than half of the chips in play. He proceeded to bust Rolle and Matthias Eibinger to take 80 percent of the chips four-handed.
That sort of lead is tough to contend with, so while Zhao got the next two knockouts to give himself a fighting chance, it didn't take long before his thin value-shove with top pair ran into a rivered Kelopuro straight to end it.
Level 32
: 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante
With the board reading 
, Wei Zhao shoved all in on the river and Sami Kelopuro called since he had 
for the nuts. Zhao had been looking for value with 
and had to settle for a second-place payout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
9,900,000
1,966,000
|
1,966,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 32
: 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante
Isaac Haxton got it in for about 500,000 with 
and dominated the 
of Wei Zhao. However, Zhao turned a ten to bust Haxton.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 32
: 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante
Nick Petrangelo was down to about 250K and raise-called his stack with 
but ran into the 
of Wei Zhao. Zhao turned Broadway to seal it early.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
925,622
-195,734
|
-195,734 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level: 32
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 10,000
Level 31
: 35,000/70,000, 8,500 ante
Sami Kelopuro raised to 140K under the gun and called Matthias Eibinger's shove for about 500K.
Eibinger:
Kelopuro: 
The board ran 
, no help to Eibinger.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,934,000
1,023,416
|
1,023,416 |
|
Busted |
Level 31
: 35,000/70,000, 8,500 ante
Benjamin Rolle shoved in the cutoff covering everyone behind him. Wei Zhao called in the big blind for about 500,000.
Rolle: 
Zhao: 
The 
flop pulled Zhao ahead. The turn meant Rolle could win with an ace or a ten but the river was the 
.
Left with a little under 600K, Rolle got it in next hand with 
against big blind Sami Kelopuro and his 
. The board ran 
to leave the nines beaten.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,910,584
4,068,510
|
4,068,510 |
|
|
1,121,356
563,178
|
563,178 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level: 31
Blinds: 35,000/70,000
Ante: 8,500
Level 30
: 30,000/60,000, 7,500 ante
Nick Petrangelo raised to 450K and called the last 142K when Wei Zhao put him all in from the small blind.
Zhao:
Petrangelo: 
Petrangelo got an easy double as he flopped two more kings.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,289,806
-596,097
|
-596,097 |
|
|
||
|
|
558,178
-409,903
|
-409,903 |