Poker Hall of Fame member Erik Seidel captured his ninth career World Series of Poker bracelet after winning GGPoker 2021 WSOP Online Event #11 ($10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller) for $977,842.
With the victory, Seidel moves into a tie for third all-time bracelets with the legendary Johnny Moss and sits just one bracelet win behind Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Johnny Chan. Seidel’s last WSOP gold bracelet win took place in 2007 when he won the live $5,000 Duece To Seven Lowball Championship for $538,835 of his now more than $37 million in career live earnings.
The final table was especially hard-fought as not only was the gold bracelet on the line, but the WSOP edition of the Super MILLION$ had nearly $1 million up top. Start of the day chip leader Francisco Benitez applied constant pressure while some of today’s best online pros including Thomas Mueloecker, Isaac Baron, and Rui Ferreira fought over six-figure sums.
It took just two hands before the first player fell. With the blinds at 80,000/160,000 (20,000 ante) Thomas Muehloecker opened from under the gun to 336,000 holding 
. When it folded to Rui Ferreira in the hijack, he moved all in for roughly 15 big blinds with his 
. Muehloecker took only a second to call, and Ferreira was flipping for his tournament life. The board ran out 
allowing Muehloecker’s pocket jacks to hold and ending Ferreira’s day before it got started in ninth place for $129,410.
Despite the quick elimination of Ferreira, the action at the final table slowed down considerably. It took nearly an hour for the next player to hit the rail. The blinds were up to 125,000/250,000 (30,000 ante) when a short-stacked Isaac Baron opened from under the gun to 1.25 million with 
, leaving himself with just over one big blind behind. In the cutoff, Chin-wei Chien flat called holding 
and the rest of the table let go of their hands. The flop came 
and Baron moved all-in for his final big blind and Chien snap-called. The turn was the 
, giving Baron some flush outs but the river came the 
and shipped the pot to Chien, as Baron, who started the day sixth in chips, exited in eighth place for $166,631.
Five hands later, former Super MILLION$ champion Claas Segebrecht found himself on the short stack and looking for help. After Erik Seidel opened from UTG+1 to 500,000 with 
, it folded to Segebrecht in the big blind with 
and he moved all-in. Seidel made the quick call and the flop came 
keeping Seidel’s pocket kings in great shape to hold. The effectively ended the hand improving Seidel to a set and leaving Segebrecht drawing dead to the 
river. It was a small river needle for Segebrecht who collected $214,557 for his seventh-place finish.
Thirty minutes later, the blinds had climbed to 175,000/350,000 (45,000 ante) when Norway’s Joachim Haraldstad put in a raise to 1.575 million with the 
, leaving himself with three big blinds behind. By this time, Fransicso Benitez had amassed a healthy chip lead over the field and moved all-in from the button with . Both the blinds released their hands and Haraldstad committed the rest of his stack. The flop came 
, keeping kickers in play. The turn was the , bringing some additional chop outs for Haraldstad. But the river came the 
, awarding the pot to Benitez and sending Haraldstad out in sixth place for a $276,268 payday.
Moments later, Chien moved all-in for nearly 3.9 million from the cutoff with 
and when it folded to Muehloecker in the big blind with the 
he made the call. The 
flop put Muehloecker in the lead with top pair and left Chien looking for running spades or one of the last two fours in the deck. The turn was the 
and the river was the , ending Chein’s run in fifth place for $355,728.
A tense four-handed battle was waged for the better part of thirty minutes as Benitez held the chip lead, Muehloecker was not terribly far behind, and both Seidel and Shyngis Satubayev were within striking distance with around 20 big blinds. With the blinds at 250,000/500,000 (60,000 ante), Benitez put in a raise to 1 million on the button with and Satubayev shoved all-in for more than 12 million holding . Seidel folded his 
and Benitez quickly called putting Satubayev’s tournament life at risk. The flop came 
, keeping the pocket queens in the lead. The turn fell the , reversing Satubayev’s outs from the final two tens to two queens to make a straight. But the river was 
and the cooler sent Satubayev to the rail in fourth place for $458,043.
Benitez held a roughly 2:1 chip lead over both Muehloecker and Seidel when, with the blinds at 300,000/600,000 (75,000 ante), he opened from the button to 1.2 million with the . After Seidel folded his small blind, Muehloecker shipped his 26 big blind stack all-in holding 
. Benitez made the call and Muehloecker saw that he was dominated. The flop came 
, keeping Benitez ahead. The turn was the , and Muehloecker needed a ten to survive. However, the river fell the and Muehloecker bid for a Super MILLION$ title ended in third place for $589,785.
Benitez had both the chip lead and momentum when heads-up play against Seidel started. But only a few hands into heads-up play, Seidel found a double when he coolered Benitez holding against the of Benitez. After than, Seidel built a chip lead of his own, taking a 2:1 advantage.
On the last hand, with the blinds at 350,000/700,000 (85,000 ante) Seidel limped the button holding and Benitez put in a raise to 2.8 million with the . Seidel took a few seconds and then shipped all-in and Benitez snap-called creating a monster pot of more than 52 million. The flop came 
, giving Seidel heart flush out while keeping Benitez with a small edge. The turn was the , but it was the 
river that helped Seidel come from behind in the hand to win it all. Benitez settled for runner-up and its $759,418 payday for second place, while Erik Seidel claims World Series of Poker bracelet number 9 and the $977,842 first-place prize.
WSOP Online Event #11 (Super MILLION$) Final Table
- Erik Seidel – $977,842
- Francisco Benitez – $759,418
- Thomas Muehloecker – $589,785
- Shyngis Satubayev – $458,043
- Chin-wei Chien – $355,728
- Joachim Haraldstad – $276,268
- Claas Segebrecht – $214,557
- Isaac Baron – $166,631
- Rui Ferreira – $129,410