These matches have generated enormous interest across the poker world, but they haven’t come without controversy. Ossi Ketola has described his approach as part of a broader marketing strategy — one that has, disturbingly, included the use of racist language on his social media platforms and live streams, under the banner of ‘freedom of speech.’ While the poker on display is undeniably newsworthy, the wider context surrounding Ketola’s behavior cannot be ignored or condoned. Poker.Org condemns the use of racist language in any form. Read our full statement here.
The divisive Ossi Ketola arrived in Jeju, South Korea this week to continue his series of nosebleed-stakes heads-up matches against the game's top players. With many of the best poker minds in the world on hand, Ketola had no shortage of prospective opponents to battle. After taking a loss in two matches against Wiktor 'Limitless' Malinowski, Ketola set his sights on Alex Foxen.
On Sunday, Ketola emerged from the first match as the victor, taking $2 million off Foxen in short order. It wasn't over there, however, as the two agreed to run it back for $5 million apiece. With the help of favorable card distribution, Foxen made quick work of Ketola to take a $3 million lead in the overall clash.
Ketola wasn't ready to call it quits just yet, however, as he challenged Foxen to another match the following day– this time for $6 million apiece.
Foxen continued to play well – and run even better – as he coasted to another win. With a $9 million hole to contend with, Ketola was in danger of losing another eye-watering sum in the wake of his $15 million loss to Dan 'Jungleman' Cates in August.
Ketola wasn’t done yet. He challenged Foxen to a rematch — and this time, the tides began to turn.
Foxen loses biggest hand ever, YouTube pulls stream
When Ketola returned to the felt for the second $6 million battle, his style of play took on a new shine and aggression was the name of the game. After whittling Foxen down to a little less than $2 million, Ketola dealt the killing blow with 
against his opponent's 
. With all of the chips in the middle preflop, the 
runout left Foxen drawing dead on the turn and, just like that, the momentum had shifted in Ketola's favor.
It was nearly 4:00am in Jeju when Ketola and Foxen agreed to run it back for one final $6 million match and it didn't take long for the deciding hand to arrive. Along with it came the biggest hand ever broadcast.
By this time, YouTube had pulled the stream for "violating YouTube's Community Guidelines." No explanation was given beyond this, but it meant a lot of viewers missed out on the huge hand, that played out on Kick and Twitch.
You can watch it play out below.
Ketola took control early on, establishing a slim chip lead over his opponent. With 
, Ketola raised to $150,000 from the button and Foxen defended his big blind with 
. The two players watched on as the dealer spread the 
flop – an action board as Ketola connected with top two pair while Foxen found a pair and a flush draw. In the face of a check from his opponent, Ketola opted to check back, disguising his hand.
The 
turn completed Foxen's flush, and he fired a $250,000 bet into the $300,000 pot. While Ketola's hand strength shriveled to a degree on the turn, his two pair was heavily underrepresented, and he made the call to see the 
river. It was the perfect card for Ketola as he improved to an incredibly well-disguised full house. Foxen went for value, betting $550,000 into the $800,000 in the middle.
Ketola took a few seconds to decide on a raise size and eventually settled on all of it. When Ketola verbalized his all-in raise, a wry smile spread across Foxen's face. After utilizing several time banks, Foxen announced a call and rolled over his flush in what had become a $10,990,000 pot – only to see the bad news as Ketola revealed his full house.
The two talked about a potential rematch on Tuesday night. But with momentum on his side, will Ketola raise the stakes even higher?
