In this event, Alex Foxen outlasted fellow poker stars including Chris Hunichen, Dan Zack and Phil Ivey.
The 2022 WSOP Event #50: $250,000 Super High Roller is the biggest buy-in event of the summer, which was attended by 56 entrants and began on Thursday, June 23.
On Saturday, June 25, the final eight returned to determine who's the best and get their piece in the prize pool worth $13,944,000.
2022 WSOP Event #50: $250,000 Super High Roller
- From June 23 to 25, 2022
- Buy-in: $250,000
- Prize pool: $13,944,000
- Entries: 56
Alex Foxen started the third and final day as the chip leader. It took him just about five hours on his way to his very first gold bracelet, along with the $4,563,700 top prize, a new career-high in his poker journey.
Being one of the three players at the final table without a bracelet at the time, Foxen said:
"It really means a lot to me. It's kind of been a monkey on the back. I've always wanted a bracelet. I've had some close spots and always been disappointed ... this feels like a really special one to get my first in. To me, what means the most is consistent performance at the highest stakes. This is one of those, so it feels really good."
Before this win, Foxen had nearly $22 million in lifetime earnings, including a previous career-best $2,160,000 for finishing second place in the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl.
A former football tight end for Boston College, Foxen actually got his very first WSOP hardware back in 2012 when he won a WSOP Circuit ring at Harrah's New Orleans, albeit for a much more modest $22,421.
Earlier this year, Foxen married three-time bracelet winner Kristen Bicknell and was quick to credit her as a major factor in his success.
"I'm extremely lucky I have an incredible wife and incredible support. It's something that can't be overstated honestly, the amount it helps to have someone at home that to the utmost extent understands what I'm going through on a day-to-day basis and is there to talk hands all the time, and just to help me through the difficult times too, because. I'm definitely not immune to tilt and emotion. Having someone like Krissy, I can't express how lucky I am."
Final Table Action
Eight players returned on Saturday, June 25, to battle it out on the PokerGO live broadcast.
Current 2022 WSOP Player of the Year points leader Dan Zack was the first one sent to the rail after pitting his A-Q against Foxen's pocket tens. Zack flopped a queen but running cards gave Foxen a winning backdoor straight.
Next to go was fan-favorite Phil Ivey after shoving his short stack from mid position with Q-J only to run into the A-Q of Brandon Steven one spot over. The better hand held and Ivey had to settle for 7th place and take home the $597,381 prize money.
Martin Kabrhel was then left short after losing a flip with A-Q against the pocket eights of Sam Soverel. The two-time bracelet winner managed a double but then got his short stack all in preflop with K-2 suited only to run into Steven's pocket jacks. The fishhooks held and Kabrhel settled in 6th place.
Upon returning from a break, Soverel limped the small blind and snap-called off when Steven shoved the big blind with A-7. Soverel had two black kings in the hole but got unlucky when an ace appeared on the flop to end his tournament in 5th place for $1,001,142, the second seven-figure score of his career.
Defending champ Adrian Mateos was the next to go down when his K-10 failed to hold against A-6 of Chris "Big Huni" Hunichen. Mateos' defeat also ensured there would be a first-time bracelet winner in the tournament.
Afterwards, Foxen used his big chip lead to apply pressure by moving in from the small blind on Hunichen, who was in the big. "Alright, let's go," Hunichen said before calling off with A-7 only to see it go down in flames when Foxen's Q-3 paired the flop and turned into two pair.
This allowed Foxen to take a 9:1 chip lead into heads-up play against Steven, and it didn't take long for things to come to a head when the former flopped top pair and the latter bottom two pair. Steven got it in good but Foxen was not to be denied as he rivered a bigger two pair to seal the deal.
Foxen said after he won:
"I never lost the chip lead, I started chipping up right away. I found a few good spots, made a couple of good hands, won a big flip, and yeah, it was about as smooth as it could be. I haven't even looked at the schedule, I try not to look at what's next until I'm out of the tournament I'm in, but I think I'll probably wait until tomorrow to get into anything. Probably just go have a celebratory dinner and be ready to go tomorrow."
2022 WSOP Event #50: $250,000 Super High Roller - Final Table Results
|
Place
|
Player
|
Country
|
Prize
|
|
1
|
Alex Foxen
|
USA
|
$4,563,700
|
|
2
|
Brandon Steven
|
USA
|
$2,820,581
|
|
3
|
Chris Hunichen
|
USA
|
$1,931,718
|
|
4
|
Adrian Mateos
|
Spain
|
$1,367,206
|
|
5
|
Sam Soverel
|
USA
|
$1,001,142
|
|
6
|
Martin Kabrhel
|
Czech Republic
|
$759,362
|
|
7
|
Phil Ivey
|
USA
|
$597,381
|
|
8
|
Dan Zack
|
USA
|
$488,095
|
|
9
|
Henrik Hecklen
|
Denmark
|
$414,815
|
Source: https://www.wsop.com/tournaments/updates/?aid=2&grid=4943&tid=20350&rr=5
