 Bryn Kenney has emerged victorious in the €100k Super High Roller at PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®. The 30-year-old New Yorker beat a 61-entry field to scoop the title along with a whopping €1,784,500 first prize, the biggest reward of his career. This is Kenney's third seven-figure payday.
While Kenney has been a powerhouse in the highest buy-in tournaments all around the world, he celebrated his first major win here in the Le Sporting today.
"I'd never had a good trip in Monaco. It's nice to finally win the biggest tournament here," he said.
His triumph is emphasized by the fact that Kenney had already had a $100k Super High Roller title under his belt, from PCA 2016.
"It's got a friend," he said, pointing at the trophy to indicate his previous achievement. Kenney is the first player to take down two PokerStars sponsored $100k/€100k Super High Rollers.
Kenney now has more than $17 million in live tournament winnings and moves to the 15th place in the all-time money list. He's already racked up nearly $5.25 million since the start of this year. Kenney was phenomenal at PokerStars Championship Bahamas where he topped the tournament leaderboard, winning both $50k and $25k Single-Day event and cashing in six events for well over $1.7 million combined.
The champion entered the final day of the PokerStars Championsip Monte Carlo €100k Super High Roller as the chip leader, with the tournament just one elimination away from the money. Isaac Haxton bubbled, losing a race with ace-queen suited against pocket jacks of David Peters.
Kenney then gave up his lead to Viacheslav Buldygin as the Russian scored two consecutive knockouts, sending Sam Greenwood to the rail in eighth place (for €237,950) and Martin Kabrhel in seventh place (for €303,350).
However, Kenney would vault back to the pole position soon after, claiming a huge pot in a hand against Buldygin. Kenney's domination was even amplified when he eliminated Steffen Sontheimer (sixth for €380,700) as well as Ole Schemion (fifth €380,700) and David Peters (fourth for €630,600).
"It was very comfortable, I won nearly every pot I played, landsliding the table," he said.
After live satellite qualifier Daniel Dvoress departed in third place worth €832,800 (making a huge profit on his €10.2k investment), Kenney and Buldygin entered heads-up with Kenney holding a commanding six-to-one chip lead.
Before their battle kicked off, Buldygin reminded Kenney about his record in the final duels: "I have three heads-ups... at final tables. I lost them all."
However, Buldygin is tough to outlast, being one of the elite online heads-up specialists. He proved it during his fourth tête-à-tête appearance on the live scene. "He's one of the last players you want to play heads-up in the tournament," the champion complimented Buldygin.
Kenney wasn't entirely in control of the heads-up as his opponent managed to climb all the way up to more than a two-to-one lead. But Buldygin dropped back down after doubling Kenney, who retook the lead. They discussed a deal at the end of level 22 but Buldygin didn't like the numbers and play continued along the original payout structure.
It was all over after the two clashed preflop at around 6.30pm. Kenney held pocket deuces while Buldygin had king-queen. A third deuce on the flop pretty much sealed the win for Kenney, who could finally call his mother to tell her the good news.
Buldygin secured himself €1,290,800 for his runner-up finish. The 27-year-old from Yekaterinburg is now closing on $2 million in live earnings. He laddered 50 places higher on Russia's leaderboard with his today's reward, landing in 21st spot.
PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® €100,000 Super High Roller results:
1st - Bryn Kenney, USA, €1,784,500
2nd - Viacheslav Buldygin, Russia, €1,290,800
3rd - Daniel Dvoress, Canada, €832,800
4th - David Peters, USA, €630,600
5th - Ole Schemion, Germany, €487,715
6th - Steffen Sontheimer, Germany, €380,700
7th - Martin Kabrhel, Czech Republic, €303,350
8th - Sam Greenwood, Canada, €237,950
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Bryn Kenney has emerged victorious in the €100k Super High Roller at PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®. The 30-year-old New Yorker beat a 61-entry field to scoop the title along with a whopping €1,784,500 first prize, the biggest reward of his career. This is Kenney's third seven-figure payday.
