Chris Brewer Bags WSOP Gold and $5,293,556 in Super High Roller

Chris Brewer scooped and his maiden WSOP bracelet last night when he defeated Artur Martirosian heads-up to win the $250k Super High Roller.

There were 69 entries at a whopping $250k per head by the time late registration ended, meaning a $17,181,000 prizepool and a $5million+ top prize, with five spots paying out 7-figures.

Among the runners at the biggest buy-in event of this year’s WSOP were legendary figures such as Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Chance Kornuth, Brian Rast, the Foxens, Justin Bonomo and Jason Koon.

Jason Koon gets a refund and a little extra

The Triton Poker ambassador received the call that his wife had gone into labour with their second child, a full refund for Jason and a potential Father’s Day present he’d never forget.

“Prior to the end of registration in event 40 with more than a starting stack, entrant Jason Koon requested a void and refund so as to accompany his wife to the hospital who had gone into labor,” the WSOP told PokerNews.

They added: “Request was granted. Issuing a refund before the end of registration is clearly within the discretion of tournament officials and common practice at WSOP. We wish Jason Koon and all our WSOP dads a happy Father's Day.”

Ivey Bubbles the Money

For Ivey, it was a painful miss as he got his 20BB stack in from the button only to find Czech pro Martin Kabrhel with queens in the big blind...

Phil Ivey: A♥ 3♥
Martin Kabrhel: Q♠ Q♣

Flop: J♥ 7♠ 7♦
Turn: 6♠
River: 3♠

The final table of nine included David Peters and Dan Smith, with Chance Kornuth in the driving seat and Ivey’s conqueror Kabrhel close behind in the chip counts.

Card Marking and Poker’s Most-Hated Player?

An example of his readiness to start an argument and upset his opponents in whatever way possible was seen in 6-handed play...

...and, of course, Smith’s hopes were then ended by the Czech provocateur...

Smith: A♦ Q♦
Kabrhel: 10♦ 6d♦

Flop: 8♣ 4♣ 6♥
Turn: 8♥
River: K♠

The live updates revealed Smith’s distaste with his colleague: “Good luck, most of you. I hope you get barred,” gesturing towards 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.

Kornuth’s exit was a rollercoaster, with Kabrhel again unable to keep his mouth shut at the end...

Kulev’s run was ended by Martirosian in a classic race, the flop a rather brutal blow to the Bulgarian’s dreams of WSOP gold...

Alex Kulev: Q♥ J♦
Artur Martirosian: 8♥ 8♣

Flop: 8♦ K♠ 4♥
Turn: 5♠
River: 6♥

...and then, finally, it was Kabrhel’s turn to hit the rail, bowing out in 3rd when his short-stack shove ran into Martirosian’s big slick, the Czech pro taking the 2nd-biggest score of his career to extend his lead as his nation’s top live tournament moneywinner.

Heads-up saw some back-and-forth as Brewer overturned a 2:1 chip deficit, then handed some back only to win a race for a huge double. The end arrived in unlikely fashion, ace versus ace but runner-runner giving Brewer his first piece of WSOP gold jewellery...

Artur Martirosian: A♦ K♠
Chris Brewer: A♥ 7♦

Flop: K♥ 9♠ 5♠
Turn: 8♠
River: 6♦

Final results

“I can't believe I won it,” said Brewer afterwards, his victory vaulting him ahead of Doug Polk and Mike Matusow in the all-time earnings category.