Double Knockout or Aces vs. Aces?

The stakes at the World Series of Poker are always sky high, but they don’t get much bigger than the Big One for One Drop. Every decision is magnified, millions are on the line, and highlight reel hands seem to be the norm. Those highlight worthy hands got us thinking, was Fedor Holz’s 2018 double knockout more memorable than 2014’s aces vs. aces between Cary Katz and Connor Drinan?

Yes and no.

When Katz crushed Drinan’s $1,000,000 One Drop dreams, Lon McEachern called the hand “the worst beat in the history of tournament poker.” He wasn’t wrong. 98% of the time, aces should just chop the pot and life should go on. The stars, or hearts, were aligned though and Drinan was flushed out of the Big One.

The difference between that cooler and the one that eliminated Rick Salomon from the 2018 $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop, is that this year’s cooler happened at the final table. When Drinan was eliminated in 18th place, more than two tables remained and even Katz wasn’t guaranteed anything other than a good story. Katz eventually cashed, but Holz’s rivered set set him up for a deep run and another massive seven-figure score.

Watch both hands and tell us which Big One for One Drop beat is more memorable before checking out more high stakes action on PokerGO.