Sam Soverel Triumphs in NAPT $10K High Roller
After three action-packed days, the $10,300 High Roller at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) festival has come to a close. The event drew a strong field of 170 entrants, creating a prize pool of $1,328,900. A total of 23 players made the money, each securing a minimum cash of $19,150.
On Day 3, 13 players returned, and it was Sam Soverel who emerged victorious, claiming the top prize of $385,750 after defeating Nicholas Seward in an intense heads-up battle.
$10,300 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Soverel | United States | $385,750 |
| 2 | Nicholas Seward | United States | $241,100 |
| 3 | Barry Woods | United States | $172,200 |
| 4 | David Coleman | United States | $132,450 |
| 5 | Valentyn Shabelnyk | Ukraine | $101,900 |
| 6 | Adam Adler | United States | $78,400 |
| 7 | Danny Wong | United States | $63,700 |
| 8 | Brian Altman | United States | $53,100 |
| 9 | Ryan Hohner | United States | $44,250 |
Soverel is no stranger to the high roller scene and has now surpassed $24,000,000 in career tournament earnings. Despite entering Day 3 with a commanding chip lead, Soverel’s day was a bit of a roller coaster. When asked about his mindset heading into the final day, he humorously confessed, "I don’t know, I didn’t sleep much last night, kind of partied a bit, I don’t know how I played, I think I made a couple mistakes." He then added, "But it worked out in the end."
Soverel started Day 3 with 1,630,000 chips but lost his chip lead early after a big hand against David Coleman. Coleman made a four-bet to 290,000 with just 10,000 behind, and Soverel called. After the players checked through to the river, Soverel bet, putting Coleman all in. When Coleman called, it was revealed that Soverel had just six-high, while Coleman’s ace-high was good to take the pot and double him up.
Final Table Action
When Soverel reached the final table, he was still second in chips with 1,295,000. However, after the eliminations of Ryan Hohner, Brian Altman, and Danny Wong, Soverel's stack began to dwindle. At one point, he found himself down to just 540,000, becoming the second-shortest stack of the remaining six players.
The chip leader coming into the final table was Nicholas Seward, and he built on that lead early. However, his momentum came to a halt when he ran into a brutal blind-vs-blind cooler against Coleman. Seward six-bet jammed with ace-king suited, only to run directly into Coleman's pocket aces. Once the aces held up, Coleman seized the chip lead.
Adam Adler, the clear short stack of the final six players, was the next to be sent to the payout desk. Right behind him in fifth place was Valentyn Shabelnyk, who found himself in a similar predicament after losing a significant portion of his stack to Barry Woods. Woods' victory in that hand allowed him to overtake the chip lead shortly after.
The eventual champion, Soverel, began to gain real momentum after a pivotal hand against Coleman. After Coleman opened on the button, Soverel three-bet all in from the big blind with ace-seven sutied, and Coleman snap-called with pocket jacks. The board ran out, and while Coleman hit a set of jacks on the river, the same card gave Soverel a straight, sending Coleman home in fourth place.
Seward then regained the chip lead after winning a massive flip with his ace-queen suited against Woods' pocket eights. The flop was clean for Woods, but Seward turned a queen, securing the pot and claiming over half the chips in play.
Seward decided to put his newly accumulated chips to work and turned his pocket fives into a massive bluff against Soverel, which proved to be a pivotal hand in the tournament. Soverel opened on the button, and Seward called from the small blind. Seward called a bet on the flop, both players checked the turn. On the river the board looked like A♣A♥2♥J♥8♦ and Seward opted to check-raise Soverel’s bet of 280,000 to 1,320,000. After using several time bank cards, Soverel made the call and revealed J♦7♥.
The call shifted the chip lead in Soverel’s favor, marking a critical turning point in the tournament. When asked about the hand, Soverel said, “I don’t know, I just think he has a lot of king-x with the king of hearts, he has a lot of pairs with a heart. And I think a lot of his value hands he would just bet.” He then added “I just didn’t believe it, to be honest.”
Shortly after, Soverel extended his lead and set up a heads-up battle with Seward by taking the rest of Woods chips. The decisive hand saw Soverel's king-jack best Woods' ace-three when the board ran out, securing the pot and eliminating Woods in third place.
Heads-Up Play
Soverel entered heads-up play with a commanding chip lead, holding approximately 6,500,000 of the 8,500,000 chips in play. However, Seward wasn't going down without a fight. Soverel chipped away at Seward’s stack, eventually reducing him to just three big blinds. But Seward managed to find a crucial double up.
After a few small pots exchanged between the two, Seward got another key double up, this time with pocket aces. Soverel had flopped top pair, and the two got all the chips in on the flop. When the river fell, Seward's aces held firm, and he saw his stack surge, near his peak during heads-up play. However, the comeback story came to a scorching halt, just a couple of hands later.
The decisive hand came when Soverel limped in on the button, and Nicholas Seward checked his option in the big blind. The flop came down 8♠K♣10♠, and Seward check-called a bet of 120,000. The turn brought the 6♣, and Seward again check-called, this time for 800,000.
As the river came the A♦, Seward checked to Soverel once again. Soverel wasted no time, moving all-in for Seward’s remaining 1,200,000. Seward spent several moments in the tank, contemplating his decision. Eventually, he made the call. Soverel showed K♥9♠ for a pair of kings, which was enough to secure the pot, and the title.
Seward revealed 10♥4♦ and tossed his hand into the muck, conceding the win to Soverel. With that, Soverel claimed the title of the $10,300 High Roller at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour, taking home $385,750 and adding yet another victory to his impressive poker resume.
That concludes PokerNews coverage here at the NAPT festival at Resorts World Las Vegas. But be sure to follow for live coverage from tournaments all around the globe.