High Roller of the Year: Poker Masters Movers

The High Roller of the Year race is off and running. Each week, Poker Central is your home for the results, stats, and stories from the world’s biggest events. From the first ARIA High Roller Series to the 2019 Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Central is High Roller of the Year headquarters. 

After a post-summer break in the action, Poker Masters reignited the High Roller of the Year race. Plenty of points were up for grabs throughout the seven-event series and a handful of players cashed in. Deep runs and wins from ARIA High Roller regulars gave the top-five a makeover, save for the top two spots. While Cary Katz and Sam Soverel held their positions, David Peters, Jake Schindler, and Ali Imsirovic booted Adrian Mateos, Ben Tollerene, and Justin Bonomo.

The top-five is shown below and a compete High Roller of the Year leaderboard can be found here.

Going Up

Despite failing to win the Purple Jacket, David Peters’ Poker Masters vaulted him into immediate High Roller of the Year contention. 650 points, thanks to Event 1 and $100,000 Main Event wins, moved Peters into the top-three and the former GPI Player of the Year is now just a couple cashes away from taking the overall lead heading into the final stretch of 2018.

Poker Masters winner Ali Imsirovic also moved up and finished the highest stakes week of the year inside the top-five. While Imsirovic doesn’t have Super High Roller Bowl experience, the rest of last week’s movers do. Jake Schindler (4th – 670 points) finished 2nd in 2017, while Dan Smith (7th – 600 points), Koray Aldemir (8th – 565 points), and Isaac Haxton (9th – 555 points) have all played in multiple editions of the $300,000 buy-in event.

Going Down

A handful of players were Poker Masters no-shows, but Adrian Mateos and Ben Tollerene were the only missing players that entered Poker Masters in High Roller of the Year contention. Mateos fell from 3rd to 6th, while Tollerene tumbled from 4th to 14th. Thanks to some summer success, neither are out of Super High Roller Bowl spot touching distance. If they miss or fail to cash through next few ARIA High Roller Series, that could change if players at the top of the leaderboard continue to accumulate points.

Bowl Breakdown

Experience aside, Imsirovic would likely not turn down a Super High Roller Bowl seat if he finishes the year in the High Roller of the Year top-five. With only 660 points and one complete High Roller Triple Crown series under his belt, that is a big if. Imsirovic will likely need to double his total through the rest of the High Roller of the Year season, but the Poker Masters champion is an interesting player to watch over the next few months.

Steffen Sontheimer, who won the inaugural Poker Masters in 2017, was not selected for in the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl lottery and was then passed over by ARIA. Sontheimer was eventually added after Andrew Robl elected not to play. That means that Poker Masters success does not guarantee a seat in the year’s biggest event. High Roller of the Year success does though and if we continue to see Imsirovic compete, it will at least be a sign he intends to compete for a Super High Roller Bowl seat.