Masashi Oya Wins WSOP Paradise $100,000 Ultra High Roller Championship for $2.9m

The latest mega-bucks multi-table tournament in The Bahamas is over. Costing $100,000 to enter, the WSOP Paradise festival’s 9^th event was an Ultra High Roller, and with players such as Nick Schulman, Danny Tang, Jason Koon and Danny Tang all making the final table, it was the Japanese player Masashi Oya who triumphed for a $2.94 million payday.

Making the Money

There were 111 entries in the $100,000 buy-in Ultra High Roller and among them, some of the biggest names in poker. Not all of them made a profit, but several stars of the felt made profit, with legends such as Rui Ferreira (14th – $173,000), Taylor von Kriegenbergh (12th – $189,500), and Justin Bonomo (11th – $216,000) all making the money places without surviving to the final day.

Ten began the last day showdown, and two players needed to bust before the official final table could begin. As it happened, the first to go was Leonard Maue (10^th for $216,000) whose exit saw the final nine convene at the final table. At that stage, Oya had the chip lead but a massive three-way all-in that reduced the field from nine to eight affected that. All-in with , Luc Greenwood was up against it pre-flop as also committing their chips were Ivan Luca with and Quan Zhou with . A board of meant Luca got a treble and Zhou missed out on the double elimination, but Greenwood was busted and the official final table was reached.

It didn’t take long for the Argentinian Luca to put those chips to good use, busting Danny Tang in eighth place for $336,000. The British-based Hong Kong player called Luca’s blind-on-blind shove, and while Tang’s was decent, he started the hand better than he finished it, as Luca’s overtook him on the flop and maintained its lead through the turn and river.

Schulman Shifted as Koon Rises

With seven players remaining, it didn’t take long before another big hitter was caught just shy of the fences. British high roller regular Ben Heath lost a big pot to Jason Koon before he exited the tournament as a victim of the eventual winner Masashi Oya. All-in with on a board of , Heath lost to Oya’s slow-played , and cashed for $430,000 as he busted in seventh place.

Next to go was Ivan Luca, who spiralled from the top of the leaderboard to the rail in a frighteningly short time for his post-match analysis. Luca shoved for just 15 big blinds with and was called by German player Leon Sturm with . The board of paid off the German and Luca’s stack was slid over to him as the Argentinian cashed for $555,000 in sixth place.

Nick Schulman had largely stayed out of the firing line in the opening levels of the final table, but he put himself in the crosshairs when he called off his stack of around 16 big blinds. He was right to do so too, as Jason Koon had shoved with with a slightly bigger stack. The board of gave Koon the pot and sent Schulman out of the event, as the American left for $731,000 in fifth place.

“Gamble!” for Glory

“I’m thinking about folding a straight. That’s obnoxious, isn’t it?”

With four men remaining, Quan Zhou’s chances took a fatal hit as the Chinese player lost to the Japanese champion-in-waiting. All-in from the small blind with , Oya waited for a call from Zhou in the big blind.

“Gamble!” said Zhou as he made the call with . He right to do so and the cards didn’t care, coming to give Oya a straight and send Zhou to the cash desk to collect $976,000.

Three-handed, it was the previously powerful Sturm who got caught in a storm. He lost a huge pot with top two pair to Oya’s rivered flush and having seen his stack decimated, he lost his final single big blind to Koon. Out for $1,3220,000, Sturm’s exit across those two hands helped Oya far more than Koon and the Japanese player entered the final heads-up battle with a lead of roughly three to one.

Oya had maintained that chip lead when, shortly after the final duel had begun, a board of precipitated a river war only one player could survive. Oya moved all-in and Koon was put to the test in agonizing fashion.

“I started the hand with 20 big blinds and I’m thinking about folding a straight,” Koon told his silent opponent. “That’s obnoxious, isn’t it? I hope we’re chopping… call.”

Koon showed for a straight but he lost to Oya’s better straight with . That meant sure Koon only won the $1.81 million runner-up prize, as Oya celebrated his bracelet winning cash of $2.94 million with his many friends.