The biggest buy-in event of the 2025 WSOP started today, but if you were expecting glitz and glamor, you’d have been sorely disappointed.
The Super High Roller started life in the corner of the Paris Ballroom, and if you didn’t know who these players were, or you didn’t see the $250,000 buy-in on the tournament screen, you might’ve walked right past them without a second glance.
Starting stacks of 1.5 million meant these players were 500 big blinds deep at the start, and with one re-entry and late registration open until 2.15pm tomorrow, this is a ride that won’t really get wild until tomorrow.
Santhosh Suvarna won this event last year, for a monster score of $5,415,152. He was back today for a potential back-to-back. Daniel Negreanu turned up about 4.30pm and went to work. Martin Kabrhel followed him in. If anyone can create energy in a room, it’s him.
Even to these players, a $250,000 buy-in isn’t trivial. For Jesse Lonis, one of the very best players in the world, it marked his highest buy-in ever. He went in thinking he was going to win it.
Across the hall, one of the smallest buy-ins of the series was playing. The $500 Salute to Warriors had a smaller rail but a much bigger field, with 3,937 players all dreaming of winning the same bracelet that would be awarded to the winner of the Super High Roller. It’s the beauty of the WSOP. There’s something for everyone.
Players continued to register for the $250K. Kristen Foxen and Michael Moncek were two of the fresh stacks.
But, as one Foxen entered, another – Alex – departed. By WSOP standards, the players were set for a very reasonable end time of 9pm today, but Kabrhel still found time to eliminate his new buddy, who he’s taken to calling “Foxy.”
A lot has been said about Kabrhel, but he has real energy. He was up and down today, pacing the floor, looking at the other tables, constantly talking — “Nice call Jason [Koon], very good call” — then back to his seat where “Mikey” (Michael Moncek) was getting most of his attention.
There seems to be a different attitude towards him from the other players, who seem more accepting and more willing to engage. That’s a good thing. He’s a unique player who brings something genuinely different to every tournament he plays in. And the railbirds love him.
On a board reading , Kabrhel theatrically announced all in by stating, “Three million!” to defending champ Suvarna, who was nursing a short stack. He elected to keep that intact and folded. “If you ever need anything from me, I’m here for you,” said Kabrhel.
By the end of the night, the rail was three deep, but there was still time for Kabrhel to add to his stack.
“You want to bust?” he asked Moncek. “Or double,” Moncek nodded. “I don’t want to bust you,” replied Kabrhel. “I have other targets on this table.”
On a flop of , Moncek bet 55K.
“55K?” said Kabrhel. “That’s nothing.” He called to the turn, and both players checked. On the river, Kabrhel started up again.
“Go all-in or fold,” Kabrhel said. “Or check. Just muck your hand.”
Moncek checked. “I think it’s time, Mikey,” Kabrhel said, looking at his chips. “I won’t move all-in because I like you,” he added before announcing, “2.5 million” — most of his chips and way more than Moncek had.
Moncek called and flipped over for a straight. Kabrhel showed for a bigger one. “GG Mikey,” Kabrhel said as he started stacking his chips. “Good luck next bullet.”
That was enough to give Kabrhel the overnight chip lead, but he still had enough energy to hijack the end-of-night Negreanu vlog update. You can watch that tomorrow, along with the action from Day 2 of the Super High Roller, on a special free YouTube stream of the action. It could be quite a show.
The $250K Super High Roller restarts at 12pm on Monday, with 38 players and two levels of late reg remaining.