Martin Kabrhel raised to 1,700,000 from late position and Dan Smith pushed all-in for his remaining 5,900,000 from the big blind. Kabrhel made the call.
Dan Smith: A?Q?
Martin Kabrhel: 10?6?
Smith went in with the best hand and the covering suit, but the 8?4?6? flop would deliver Kabrhel the lead.
Smith would be unable to catch back up on the 8? turn and the K? river, sending him to the payout desk, but not before expressing his displeasure with the polarizing antics of Kabrhel.
"Good luck, most of you. I hope you get barred," said Smith while gesturing to Kabrhel.
"What does it mean?" replied Kabrhel.
"Banned," clarified Smith.
"Why?" asked Kabrhel.
"Your antics are the worst of anybody I've ever met. Everyone else is a great player."
"Somebody must be worse," noted Kabrhel, which marked the end of the conversation.
Smith followed that up with more explanation in his bustout interview with @nataliedbode here: https://t.co/9HZ5gRL4hz
Artur Martirosian opened to 1,200,000 with J?10? from under the gun before Chris Brewer raised to 4,000,000 with A?J? from the button. This left Brewer with 200,000 and Martirosian called.
Brewer put in the last of chips on the Q?J?7? flop and Martirosian called.
Brewer was ahead thanks to his ace kicker and he raked in the double-up following the 4? turn and 2? river.
Alex Kulev raised to 1,200,000 from the button with 10?8? and Chris Brewer moved all-in for 6,900,000 with A?J? from the small blind, prompting Kulev to fold.
In the next hand, Dan Smith raised to 1,300,000 from middle position with 8?8? and was called by Chance Kornuth in the big blind with A?8?.
Kornuth check-folded the 10?4?Q? flop to a 900,000 bet from Smith.
Smith would pick up K?K? and raise to 1,300,000 from middle position in the very next hand, with Chris Brewer picking up J?J? in late position. Brewer put in a three-bet of 3,600,000, almost half of his remaining stack of 9,300,000.
But it wouldn't end there. Artur Martirosian looked down at Q?Q? from the big blind and moved all in over both players for 10,700,000. Smith would deliberate for a moment before making the call.
Brewer was able to sniff out the trouble and got out of the way.
The A?5?8? flop kept Smith in the lead, but with Martirosian halfway out the door, the Q? on the turn pulled him right back in and catapulted him into the lead in the hand.
The J? left Smith unimproved and Martirosian got the full double-up.
Artur Martirosian opened to 1,000,000 with 6?6? from under the gun. Chance Kornuth looked down at Q?Q? in the big blind and made it 3,400,000. Martirosian quickly folded.
On the next hand, Dan Smith opened to 1,150,000 from under the gun. Kornuth then jammed as the big stack from the small blind. Martirosian folded in the big blind and Smith called off his 7,450,000 stack.
Dan Smith: A?K?
Chance Kornuth: 7?7?
Smith paired up on the K?10?6? flop and held out to double following the J? turn and 6? river.
David Peters moved all in preflop from late position for his remaining 2,775,000 and was called by Chance Kornuth in the small blind.
David Peters: A?9?
Chance Kornuth: A?8?
Peters was in the lead heading into the flop, but the equity would shift after the dealer rolled out a 3?2?4? board, giving both players straight outs to chop, but also giving Kornuth an ace-high flush draw.
The J? on the turn was good for Peters, but the 3? on the river would complete the flush for Kornuth and send high-stakes regular Peters to the payout desk.
A brutal end for @dpeterspoker17 in the @WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller who finishes in 7th place.
Brandon Steven jammed for 1,725,000 from under the gun and Martin Kabrhel called to put last year's runners-up at risk of elimination.
Brandon Steven: K?6?
Martin Kabrhel: AxJx
Kabrhel made trips on the J?J?5? flop but Steven had some hope with his flush draw. The 7? turn and 9? river completed the runout and Steven was eliminated.
Chris Brewer raised to 750,000 from the hijack and Artur Martirosian called from the big blind.
Brewer continued for 800,000 on the 9?7?2? flop and was called. Brewer sized up to 2,500,000 on the K? turn and again his opponent stuck around, after Martirosian used up a time bank.
The 10? completed the board and Martirosian moved all in. Brewer, the shorter stack with 2,675,000 behind, had a small chuckle to himself before calling for his tournament life.
Martirosian had a pair of nines with his J?9? but Brewer had top pair with his K?Q?.
Chance Kornuth raised to 600,000 from early position and was called by Steven Veneziano on the button.
The dealer rolled out the 4?A?3? flop and Kornuth put out a hefty 1,200,000 bet, which Veneziano called.
Kornuth then bet out enough to put Veneziano all-in on the Q? turn in the form of 6,000,000, and after using one of his time banks, decided on the call.
Steven Veneziano: A?10?
Chance Kornuth: A?4?
Veneziano would need to catch up to the two pair of Kornuth, but the 6? river would send him to the payout desk to collect his biggest ever recorded tournament score.
The previous two days of Event 40: $250,000 Super High Roller at the 2023 World Series of Poker have provided much delight to stream viewers and railbirds as a small collection of poker's biggest names and VIPs have been battling it out in the biggest buy-in event of the summer.
In addition to the high level of poker being played, the tournament has also thrown several curveballs.
Firstly, unknown poker player Dustin Bailey bagged the Day 1 chip lead to the surprise of himself and many. Bailey talked his wife and kids into coming out to Las Vegas and persuaded them to let him play in the $250K for Father's Day.
Overnight more drama unfolded when Andrew Robl sent out the below tweet regarding polarizing figure Martin Kabrhel.
How is Martin Kabrhel not banned from the WSOP? He makes any tournament no fun for anyone and on top of it I’ve seen him mark cards in every tournament I’ve ever played with him. https://t.co/AK9XmxSJrr
— Andrew Robl (@Andrew_Robl)
Plan for Day 3
The 69-entry field that generated a prize pool of $17,181,000 has been whittled down to nine players, with play getting underway at 2 p.m. local time inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Those who remain have already made the unofficial final table and have locked up a minimum payout of $478,663, but of course, all eyes will be on the $5,293,556 set aside for the winner.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize (USD)
1
$5,293,556
2
$3,271,666
3
$2,279,038
4
$1,632,005
5
$1,202,318
6
$912,022
7
$712,953
8
$574,899
9
$478,663
Coming into Day 3 as the chip leader is three-time bracelet winner Chance Kornuth, who is the only player with a stack greater than 20 million. Kabrhel bagged second-best and Artur Martirosian rounds out the top three chip counts.
As mentioned, play begins at 2 p.m. local time and PokerNews will be bringing you all the live updates from the tournament floor. At 4 p.m., the updates will briefly pause as cards-up coverage will be available on PokerGO. The stream is expected to start at 5 p.m. and updates will be in sync with the broadcast so no action is spoiled.
$250,000 Super High Roller Unofficial Final Table
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Steven Veneziano
United States
6,775,000
23
2
Chris Brewer
United States
8,525,000
28
3
Martin Kabrhel
Czech Republic
18,400,000
61
4
Brandon Steven
United States
3,225,000
11
5
Chance Kornuth
United States
22,450,000
75
6
Artur Martirosian
Russia
18,225,000
61
7
Dan Smith
United States
7,800,000
26
8
Alex Kulev
Bulgaria
12,600,000
42
9
David Peters
United States
4,925,000
16
As always, be sure to keep it locked in with PokerNews to find out the conclusion of this exciting event.