Justin Bonomo Wins 2018 Super High Roller Bowl

Justin Bonomo has emerged victorious in the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl $300,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, defeating a field of 48 total entries to capture the championship ring and the $5,000,000 first-place prize. Incredibly, this win came only just over two months after Bonomo took down the Super High Roller Bowl China for another $4.8 million. He has made a total of 13 final so far in 2018, winning six titles and cashing for more than $13.8 million along the way.

“It doesn’t feel like real life. It feels like I can’t lose… I almost said no matter what I do, but the truth is, I have really been trying my hardest and playing my A-game non-stop,” Bonomo told Card Player after coming out on top. “The Super High Roller Bowl is definitely the most prestigious tournament of the year, so this has to be the biggest win of my career.”

As a result of this win, Bonomo has climbed into third place on the all-time money list, with career live tournament earnings of $31,927,630. Only Poker Hall of Fame members Daniel Negreanu ($38,377,607) and Erik Seidel ($34,567,415) have cashed for more.

“The all-time money list is definitely not a clear ranking of the best player in the world right now, but it still means a lot,” said Bonomo. “Some guys say, ‘Oh, that’s just all about who plays the most high rollers.’ Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, Phil Hellmuth, but the people playing these high rollers are the best players in the world, and that’s why we are at the top of the list. Sure, somebody who plays more of these events will have an advantage [at accruing earnings], but it really does entail competing against the best players in the world nearly every single day, and I am proud of how I’ve done.”

Bonomo likely mentioned Hellmuth by name because the all-time WSOP bracelet leader made some comments regarding regulars of the high roller scene after being eliminated from this event on day 1, saying, “There is a ‘fraternity’ of players that travel around and play in all the high rollers. I respect them, but they think they are the best in the world, and I think there are 50 or 60 of 100 players that are better than they are that just don’t travel around the world playing.”

The final day began with Mikita Badziakouski as the chip leader, with Bonomo and Negreanu essentially tied for second place. Jason Koon scored the first knockout of the day when he picked up pocket queens against Nick Petrangelo’s pocket tens in the first hand dealt. The queens held up and Petrangelo was eliminated in sixth place, taking home $900,000. Defending champion of this event Christoph Vogelsang fell tantalizingly short of winning the event for the second straight time, finishing in fifth place for $1,200,000.

Mikita Badziakouski knocked Vogelsang out, but he ran a bluff against the turned straight of Daniel Negreanu to fall to the shortest stack during four-handed play. He hit the rail in fourth place when his top pair ran into the top pair and higher kicker of Bonomo. The Belarusian earned $1,600,000 for his impressive run.

Bonomo continued to add to his stack by winning a key pot against Jason Koon, who had started the day in the middle of the pack but fought his way into the chip lead during four-handed play. Koon raised from the button to 135,000 with the K9 and Bonomo three-bet to 500,000 with the KQ. The flop was a disaster for Koon, bringing the KQ9 to give both players two pair. All of the chips ended up going in after a turn of 5 and Koon failed to hit one of the two remaining nines to come from behind. Bonomo soared into the chip lead, while Koon fell to the short stack. Koon has won two high roller titles in recent weeks, cashing for over $4.6 million. He was ultimately eliminated in third place, adding another $2,100,000. He now has more than $19 million in career earnings.

Bonomo took nearly a 4-to-1 chip lead into heads-up play against Daniel Negreanu. Poker’s all-time money leader did his best to fight back, but in the end he got all-in on a flop of 976 holding the 87, only to find that he had run into the 99 of Bonomo. The turn brought the K and the river the 6, giving Bonomo a full house to earn him the pot and the title. Negreanu took home $3 million as the runner-up, bringing his lifetime earnings to more than $38.3. This was the second-largest score of his career.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded in this event:

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