Juan Pardo Leads Final 4 in Super High Roller Bowl IX

The marquee event of the 2024 Super High Roller Series resumed from the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa in North Cyprus, with Day 2 of the $306,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl IX.

The 12th largest field in Super High Roller Bowl history of 24 entrants saw just 14 players survive into Day 2. Following a full day of action, only four players remain with Spain's Juan Pardo holding the chip lead with 3,500,000 in chips. He leads the final four players, including Seth Davies (2,025,000 in chips), Leonard Maue (995,000 in chips), and Jeremy Ausmus (690,000 in chips). The final four players are guaranteed $750,000 in prize money and 225 PGT points, and reaching heads-up play will secure the final two combatants $1,900,000 in prize money and 450 PGT points. The eventual Super High Roller Bowl IX champion will collect the $3,206,000 first-place prize, 600 PGT points, and the Super High Roller Bowl championship ring.

Sam Greenwood would be the first player at risk when his straight and flush draw was against Ausmus' nut-flush draw. Greenwood rivered a pair and shot up the leaderboard, while Ausmus was now among the short stacks. Alex Kulev was then at risk with king-ten against Ausmus' king-queen-suited. Greenwood then played a huge pot against overnight chip leader Maue when he called a three-bet and continuation bets, before moving all-in on the river with seven-high after his straight and flush draw missed. Maue folded his ace-high, and Greenwood was now the feature table chip leader.

Thomas Santerne made a river fold for his tournament life with two pair against Greenwood's full house, while Santhosh Suvarna lost a flip with pocket deuces against Maue's ace-nine to be the next to hit the rail. Benjamin Heath was the next to be eliminated when he shoved all-in on an eight-high flop with top pair and Santerne bet-called with pocket queens. Heath picked up a flush draw on the turn, but after the river blanked out, Heath was eliminated.

The outer table saw the eliminations of Martin Kabrhel and Lewis Spencer, before a now short-stacked Ausmus doubled with ace-eight against the ace-three of Greenwood. While Greenwood and Maue were playing a 75-big blind pot, with Maue riveting the best hand, Bryn Kenney was eliminated on the outer table in ninth place to leave just one more elimination needed to reach the final table of seven. Following an Ausmus open with ace-queen, Greenwood three-bet his pocket nines. Ausmus shoved, and Greenwood called all-in. The queen-high board struck Ausmus, and Greenwood was eliminated in eighth place to set the final table of seven, with Dejan Kaladjurdjevic holding the chip lead ahead of Maue.

Early at the final table, Pardo would call all-in on the turn with top pair, king-kicker. However, Ausmus had him out-kicked with an ace and on the cusp of moving into the chip lead, but a rivered king sent Pardo up the leaderboard as Ausmus tumbled down. Patrik Antonius would be the first elimination at the final table when he was all-in with the nut flush against Seth Davies' two pair. Pardo had chipped away and moved himself into the chip lead before playing a pot against the previous chip leader Kaladjurdjevic to put a stranglehold of dominance over the remaining players. On the river, Kaladjurdjevic bet big with just ten-high, and Pardo called with third pair and scooped the pot to sit with a chip stack of nearly double his nearest rival.

Kaladjurdjevic then took another step back when he flopped a pair and flush draw out of the big blind against Pardo's set. Pardo found two streets of value and soon possessed nearly half the chips in play. Frenchman Santerne moved all-in from under the gun with queen-ten for his last ten big blinds, and Davies looked him up with pocket kings. Davies held with his pair, and with Santerne out in sixth place, Super High Roller Bowl IX was now on the money bubble.

Ausmus and Kaladjurdjevic then flip-flopped spots on the leaderboard after Ausmus made a huge call on the river to pick off Kaladjurdjevic's bluff. Now down to 14 big blinds, Kaladjurdjevic moved all-in with ace-deuce from the small blind and Maue called with pocket fives. The board bricked out for Kaladjurdjevic, and he was eliminated on the money bubble as Pardo, Davies, Maue, and Ausmus all progressed to the final day of Super High Roller Bowl IX with a guaranteed $750,000 in prize money.

Super High Roller Bowl Final Table Lineup

The conclusion to Super High Roller Bowl IX is scheduled for Sunday, August 25, at 12 p.m. local time, with every hand being livestreamed on PokerGO.com from 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET.

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