On Monday evening in Cyprus, the Onyx Club Super High Roller Series $102,000 NLH Invitational drew to a conclusion. With an invitation-only entry structure, 44 pairings of invitees and their selected professionals took to the felt in pursuit of the $2,000,000 first-place prize, but after three days of high-level play, only nine remained in the hunt.
Phil Ivey's elimination of Mikita Badziakouski in 10th place saw the Poker Hall of Famer start the final table second in the chip counts, behind only Rob Yong. Jamil Wakil and Dejan Kaladjurdjevic weren't far off from the top spot while Matt Moss, Rahul Byrraju, Jesse Lonis and Markos Ladev were tightly clustered on middling stacks. Maher Nouira rounded out the chip counts as the short stack.
The Lonis show
Throughout the entirety of the final table, it was the Lonis show. Of the eight players eliminated, seven fell by the wayside courtesy of Lonis as he marched his way to the win in a show of complete and utter dominance.
Ladev, the first to go, felt the brutality of tournament poker after getting his chips in way ahead with 
against Lonis' 
in a four-bet, preflop all-in clash. The 
runout improved both players, but it was Lonis who was left hauling in the chips as his broadway straight downed Ladev's rivered set in dramatic fashion.
Yong notched the second elimination of the final table when his 
held up against Byrraju's 
on a 
runout. Lonis reestablished the pecking order with his elimination of Kaladjurdjevic in seventh place. After raising with 
, Lonis called off an all-in from the short-stacked Kaladjurdjevic and held against the Montenegrin's .
Moss felt the wrath of the American next as he moved all-in with 
in the face of a raise from Lonis. After a considerable tank, Lonis called it off with and his king-high remained best across the 
runout and Moss hit the rail in sixth place.
With a commanding chip lead, Lonis looked to be running away with the title, but a late surge from Ivey threatened his victory. Then, a blind versus blind confrontation with Wakil saw Lonis resume control.
In the face of a limp from Wakil, Lonis checked his option from the big blind with 
and connected with an open-ended straight draw on the 
flop. Wakil, with , checked once more to Lonis who fired a bet. On the turn Lonis added a flush draw to his arsenal and continued to barrel. Wakil made the call once again to bring in the 
river – completing Lonis' flush draw.
Lonis moved all-in for more than double the pot and Wakil went into the tank, visibly pained by the decision. After burning through several time bank chips, he made the call – only to see the bad news as Lonis rolled over the winner.
Not even Ivey can stop Lonis
Nouira snatched the chip lead, along with most of Yong's chips, in a top pair versus top pair clash that left the latter with just fumes. Lonis then finished the job when Yong moved all-in with 
. With 
in the big blind, he quickly called to put his opponent at risk. On the 
flop, Yong was left drawing thin, but the turn provided outs. The 
river failed to improve him, though, and Lonis notched his sixth elimination at the final table.
It was a blind versus blind confrontation that saw Ivey hit the rail. With the covering stack, Lonis moved all-in from the small blind with and Ivey called it off with 
. The 
runout left Lonis' ace-nine high best and Ivey's run ended in a third-place podium finish.
With a slim chip disparity between Lonis and Nouira – slightly in favor of the former – a heads-up deal was struck and the two players returned to the felt to battle for the trophy and the title. It didn't take long for the deciding hand to arrive.
In the face of a raise from Nouira on the button, Lonis defended his big blind with and connected with top pair as the dealer spread the 
flop. Nouira, with 
, held the superior kicker and continued with a bet. Lonis quickly fired in a check-raise and his opponent came along.
The turn improved Lonis to a sneaky two pair and he wasted no time in moving all-in. Nouira called just as quickly. With only a few outs to fade, Lonis was one card away from the title and the river confirmed his victory.
Onyx Club Super High Roller Series $102K Invitational Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse Lonis | $1,745,625* |
| 2 | Maher Nouira | $1,704,375* |
| 3 | Phil Ivey | $1,080,000 |
| 4 | Rob Yong | $856,000 |
| 5 | Jamil Wakil | $670,000 |
| 6 | Matthew Moss | $520,000 |
| 7 | Dejan Kaladjurdjevic | $400,000 |
| 8 | Rahul Byrraju | $310,000 |
| 9 | Markkos Ladev | $250,000 |
*denotes heads-up deal
Images courtesy of Oleg Novruzov/Onyx Club/Merit Poker Live
