Isaac Haxton Wins Second Career Super High Roller Bowl Title

Isaac Haxton emerged victorious in the Super High Roller Bowl VIII, topping a field of 20 entries in the $300,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament to earn $2,760,000. He became just the third player to ever win multiple SHRB titles, having taken down this same event back in 2018 for 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 with half the chips and continue to run good after that,” Haxton said to PokerGO’s Natalie Bode after coming out on top. “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 putting together one of the most impressive runs ever recorded in 2023. He has made 20 final tables so far this year, accumulating more than $12.5 million in earnings across those scores, more than any other player on the circuit, including 2023 World Series of Poker main event champion Daniel Weinman.

Along the way he 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 earned 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 2023 POY race standing presented by Global Poker. Haxton also secured 550 PokerGO Tour points. With 2,297 in total, he now sits just three points behind Weinman in the PGT season-long standings.

The turnout for this event built a prize pool of $6,000,000 that was ultimately split amongst the top four finishers. 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.

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 33 from the cutoff against the AK of Stephen 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 two World Series of Poker 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 the K-10 suited of Andrew Lichtenberger. The action began with Lichtenberger raising K10 from the button. Brewer three-bet out of the small blind with AA. Lichtenberger four-bet jammed and Brewer snap-called off his 28 big blind stack. The board ran out K43A7 to give Lichtenberger a flush and the pot.

This was not the first time that Brewer has 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, which was shoved from the button into the two short stacks in the blinds.

Jason Koon and Chidwick were virtually tied for third place in the chip counts when four-handed action began, with Chidwick having less than a big blind advantage to start. Koon would ultimately be the first to hit the rail. His final hand began with him raising from the cutoff with KK. Lichtenberger defended his big blind with J10. The flop came down K97 and Lichtenberger checked. Koon continuation bet with top set and Lichtenberger called with his 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. The hand in question kicked off with Lichtenberger raising from the button with Q8. Chidwick defended his big blind with Q6. The Q73 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 headed the the cage to collect his $960,000 in prize money.

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. He has won five titles this year, with 22 final-table finishes and nearly $8.1 million in POY earnings accumulated as he’s gone. The British poker pro also has a chance to defend his title in the PGT Player of the Year, with the 258 points he secured in this event moving him into fourth place on that leaderboard.

It took less than 90 minutes of play to cut the field from six players to two. Heads-up play lasted over four hours, with plenty of swing 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 A7. Lichtenberger, who began the hand 2ith 3,160,000, three-bet to 500,000 from the big blind holding KK. Haxton called and the flop came down 332. 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, securing the pot for Haxton. Lichtenberger was left with just a handful of big blinds.

A few minutes later, Haxton shoved from the button with 107 and Lichtenberger called all-in with 93. The board ran out 7426Q 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.

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

Photo credits: PokerGO / Antonio Abrego.

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