Isaac Haxton’s Hot Streak Continues, Wins Second Super High Roller Bowl Title

Isaac Haxton was the last nosebleed-stakes crusher standing in the Super High Roller Bowl VIII, topping a field of 20 entries in the $300,000 no-limit hold’em tournament to earn $2,760,000. He became just the third player to ever win multiple SHRB titles, joining three-time champion Justin Bonomo and two-time title winner Timothy Adams.

Haxton’s first SHRB win came back in 2018, with him besting 36 entries to pocket nearly $3.7 million. His two victories in this nosebleed-stakes event account for the two largest paydays of his storied career.

“It feels great. That was a tough collection of players to beat. Obviously, it helps to come in [to the final table] with half the chips and continue to run good after that,” Haxton said to PokerGO’s Natalie Bode. “I feel great. I’m very happy to win this tournament. It’s one of my favorites.”

Haxton now has more than $44.7 million in recorded tournament earnings to his name, enough to place him tenth on poker’s all-time money list.

The 38-year-old poker pro is currently amidst one of the most impressive runs ever recorded. Five of Haxton’s ten career seven-figure cashes have been recorded this year, with 20 final tables, accumulating more than $12.5 million in earnings. That’s more than any other player on the circuit so far this year, which includes 2023 World Series of Poker main event champion Daniel Weinman.

Haxton has collected seven titles this year, accounting for nearly 44 percent of his lifetime total of 16. Among those was his first WSOP bracelet, which he was awarded as the champion of the $25,000 buy-in eight max event.

His most recent victory saw him earn 360 Card Player Player of the Year points, bringing his total to 8,132. As a result, he has climbed to third place in the POY race. Haxton also secured 550 PokerGO Tour points. With 2,297 in total, he now sits just three points behind Weinman, who is leading the PGT season-long rankings.

Setting The Stage

The 20-entry turnout for this event was the third-lowest in the 16-event history of the SHRB, with only the 2019 SHRB London (12 entries) and the 2020 SHRB Australia (16 entries) attracting fewer entries.

By the time that registration closed on day 1, the prize pool had grown to $6 million. Only the top four finishers would make the money, with a min-cash being worth $600,000.
It took two full days of action inside the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas to narrow the field from 20 entries down to six.

Just 12 contenders advanced from day 1 action, with two-time bracelet winner Nick Petrangelo atop the chip counts and bracelet winner Andrew Lichtenberger close behind. The eight players that fell before day 2 were Jonathan Jaffe, Alex Foxen, Orpen Kisacikoglu, Talal Shakerchi, Adrian Mateos, Bill Klein, Seth Davies, and Dan Smith.

Kristen Foxen was the first to fall on day 2, with her K-6 suited dominated by Haxton’s K-Q. She was joined on the rail by three-time SHRB champion Justin Bonomo, whose flopped set of eights was bested by the turned ten-high straight of Petrangelo. Bonomo could not find a board pair on the river and the field was whittled to ten.

PokerGO founder and SHRB London champion Cary Katz was left on fumes after losing a big pot to Lichtenberger and was soon sent packing. Paul Jager’s elimination in ninth place prompted the remaining eight players to converge onto a single table.

The next big clash saw Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu call all-in preflop with A-Q leading the A-4 of Haxton, who had shoved from the big blind over Negreanu’s small blind limp. Haxton flopped bottom pair to move ahead, but Negreanu picked up the nut flush draw. The turn brought an ace, leaving Negreanu additional outs to double up. A blank showed up on the river, though, sending the tournament’s defending champion home in eighth place.

Petrangelo slid to the bottom of the counts as the day wore on. Eventually, he picked up pocket kings and got all-in against the A-K suited of Stephen Chidwick. He was roughly a 2:1 favorite to double up, but an ace on the turn spelled the end of his run in seventh place.

The final six played on for a bit before bagging up for the night, with Haxton sitting on 3,005,000 while no other player had over a million.

From Six To One

Six hopefuls came into day 3, but only four would make the money. That meant that two players who returned for day 3 would leave empty-handed, setting up a pressure-packed $600,000 money bubble. It didn’t take long for that tension to dissipate, though, as the first two eliminations were recorded within an hour of cards getting in the air.

The first saw poker’s all-time money leader Bryn Kenney get his last 14 or so big blinds in preflop with pocket threes from the cutoff against the A K of Chidwick, who was in the big blind. Kenney remained ahead through the flop and turn, but a king on the river ended Kenney’s run in sixth place.

Like Haxton, Chris Brewer has also been red-hot on the high-roller circuit in 2023, accruing nearly $11.2 million in POY earnings across 22 final-table finishes with five titles won. Among those trophies were Brewer’s first two WSOP gold bracelets.

He was not able to extend his incredible streak with a cash in this event, though, as his pocket aces were cracked by Andrew Lichtenberger. The action began with Lichtenberger raising K 10 from the button. Brewer three-bet out of the small blind with A A. Lichtenberger four-bet jammed and Brewer snap-called off his 28 big blind stack. The board ran out K 4 3 A 7 to give Lichtenberger a flush and the pot.

This was not the first time that Brewer had been eliminated on the direct money bubble in this tournament. He was also knocked out on a $1,008,000 bubble in the SHRB VI back in 2021, with his A-Q losing to a flush made by Justin Bonomo’s 10-4 suited. Despite his stellar year, Brewer remains perhaps the unluckiest player on the high roller circuit over the last few years.

Jason Koon would ultimately be the first to hit the rail in the money. His final hand began with him raising from the cutoff with K K. Lichtenberger defended his big blind with J 10. The flop came down K 9 7 and Lichtenberger checked. Koon continuation bet with top set and Lichtenberger called with his double gutshot straight draw.

The turn brought the 8 giving Lichtenberger a jack-high straight. Lichtenberger check-called again and the 3 completed the board. Lichtenberger checked a third time and Koon bet 415,000, leaving himself just 5,000 behind. Lichtenberger moved all-in and Koon called off his last chip.

He was shown the bad news, earning $600,000 for his fourth-place showing. Koon now has more than $51.4 million in career tournament earnings, good for fourth on poker’s all-time money list.

Koon also earned 180 POY points for his efforts. He has now made 14 final tables this year, with five titles won and nearly $9 million in POY earnings accrued along the way. His 6,200 in total points is good for eighth on the POY leaderboard heading into the final quarter of the year.

After busting Koon, Lichtenberger also ended Chidwick’s quest for his first SHRB title. Lichtenberger raised from the button with Q 8 and Chidwick defended his big blind with Q 6. The Q 7 3 flop gave both players top pair. After a pair of checks the 8 rolled off on the turn, giving Lichtenberger queens and eights. Chidwick bet and Lichtenberger called. The 5 on the end saw Chidwick bet again. Lichtenberger moved all-in over the top and after some thought, Chidwick called off his stack with top pair. Lichtenberger showed him the bad news and Chidwick collected $960,000 in prize money for his third-place showing.

Chidwick now has more than $54 million in career earnings, placing him third on the career earnings leaderboard. His podium finish in this event saw him add 240 POY points to his total.

The two-time POY award winner is well situated for a run at a third, with his 8,259 points placing him second in the standings. The 2023 Poker Masters Purple Jacket winner has earned five titles this year, with 22 final-table finishes and nearly $8.1 million in POY earnings. The British poker pro also has a chance to defend his title in the PGT Player of the Year race, with the 258 points he secured in this event moving him into fourth place on that leaderboard.

While it took less than 90 minutes of play to cut the field from six players to two, heads-up play lasted more than four hours, with plenty of swings along the way. Lichtenberger held 3,220,000 (129 big blinds) to Haxton’s 2,780,000 (111 big blinds) when action resumed.

Haxton overtook the lead and pulled away in the early going, stretching his chip advantage to more than 5:1 before Lichtenberger mounted a comeback, winning a big pot with pocket aces to regain the lead. Haxton quickly bounced back from that hand, winning plenty of small and medium pots as he edged back in front and began to pull away again.

With his back against the wall, Lichtenberger found a hero call for his tournament life with second pair on a scary board. Haxton could only produce ace high and the two top players once again found themselves more or less on even footing.

Blinds were at 25,000-50,000 with a big blind ante of 50,000 when the decisive hand of the heads-up clash was dealt. The action began with Haxton raising to 175,000 on the button off of a 2,840,000 stack with A 7. Lichtenberger, who began the hand with 3,160,000, three-bet to 500,000 from the big blind holding K K. Haxton called and the flop came down 3 3 2. Lichtenberger’s 550,000 continuation bet was met with an all-in move for 2,340,000 from Haxton. Lichtenberger quickly called with his overpair to set up a massive showdown for essentially all of the chips in play.

The Q on the turn completed Haxton’s flush draw, leaving Lichtenberger in need of a king or three on the river. The 6 rolled off the deck instead, pushing the pot to Haxton. Lichtenberger was left with just a handful of big blinds.

A few minutes later, Haxton shoved from the button with 10 7 and Lichtenberger called all-in with 9 3. The board ran out 7 4 2 6 Q and Haxton made a pair of sevens to lock up the title. Lichtenberger took home $1,680,000 as the runner-up, the second-largest payday of his career. He now has nearly $17.7 million in lifetime earnings. ♠