Event #82: Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em

Spain's Adrian Mateos defeated Ben Heath in heads-up play to win Event #82: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em at the 2021 World Series of Poker. The highest buy-in of the 2021 series attracted 33 runners and generated a prize pool of $8,217,000, of which $3,625,362 went to Mateos for the win.

Mateos collected his fourth career WSOP gold bracelet and his sixth live cash of the 2021 WSOP.

$250,000 Super High Roller Final Table Results

Winner's Reaction

"It means a lot," Mateos said in a post-win media interview. "I have played some $100,000 tournaments and even the $1,000,000 buy-in, and I never won a big buy-in like this. So this was something I've had in mind, to win one of these."

Mateos came into the Day 3 finale with more than half the chips and a huge lead. He fought back after falling behind Heath in three-handed play then made quick work out of the young English pro in heads-up play.

"When I came here I knew that I was the favorite to win, but there were four other players to beat and it was a long wait yet. I was lucky enough and played well enough to win."

Mateos has had success in fields of all sizes, but the high roller tournaments with fewer runners present their own set of challenges for the Spanish pro.

"It's the same game, but it's different because you have to adapt. My game is a little bit different in a tournament with a lot of people compared to a small field. For me, it's more of a mental challenge to win these tournaments."

With four career bracelets and over $25 million in earnings, today's big win is a modest step towards the career goals of a 27-year old who still has a lot of his legacy ahead of him.

"The most important thing for me is feeling that I'm among the top tournament players and that I can compete with the best of the best."

With the second-place finish, Heath crosses $10 million in lifetime earnings. Relative newcomer John Kincaid took third place after ending Day 1 with one of the smaller chip stacks. Seth Davies finished in fourth and Keith Tilston rounded out the five finishers that survived the field to hit the pay window.

Final Table Action

Moves were made early on Day 3 and Kincaid found a quick double when he spiked the river to beat Tilston with two pair. Davies followed with a double through Kincaid when his ace-king outdrew pocket tens.

Before long, Tilston was headed for the rail after shoving with a suited ace-three that ran into Kincaid's ace-ten.

The three trailing players traded chips in their pursuit of Mateos and his lead. Heath got it in and won with pocket fours against Kincaid, while Mateos continued to apply pressure and gather chips. Mateos sat above 30 million after a few orbits of four-handed play with the remaining chips split evenly among the other three.

Davies was the next to go in fourth place when he shoved with ace-seven and failed to outdraw Heath's pocket pair of jacks.

Three-handed action continued on until Heath took his shot and jammed with a pair of threes against Mateos, who called with ace-jack. The threes held and Heath took over the lead, sending Mateos to second while Kincaid looked for a chance to spin up the short stack.

The chance came soon and Kincaid got it in with pocket nines, but Mateos was waiting with pocket aces and Kincaid was out in third place.

Heath came into heads-up play with a small deficit, and Mateos applied pressure early to widen his lead. The big moment came when Heath called a big river bet for the last of his chips. Mateos turned over a pair of queens and Heath flashed a pair of fives before heading for the exit in second place.

Congratulations to Adrian Mateos for winning his fourth WSOP gold bracelet in Event #82: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. Be sure to keep it here with the PokerNews live reporting team for updates on the remaining events at the 2021 World Series of Poker.

Adrian Mateos raised to 1,400,000 and Ben Heath called.

The flop was     and Mateos bet 800,000. Heath called and   came on the turn.

Mateos bet 2,600,000 on the turn and Heath called. The river was  .

Mateos continued for 10,700,000 on the river and Heath quickly folded.

Adrian Mateos	38,900,000	4,800,000
Ben Heath	10,700,000	-4,800,000

John Kincaid raised to 1,030,000 and Adrian Mateos three-bet to 2,700,000. Kincaid four-bet shoved for 12,000,000 and Mateos snap-called.

John Kincaid:   
Adrian Mateos:   

The board ran out       and Mateos took down the pot with aces full of queens, sending Kincaid to the rail in third place for $1,370,575.

Adrian Mateos	29,300,000	14,600,000
Ben Heath	20,300,000	-1,300,000
John Kincaid	0	-13,200,000

Adrian Mateos raised to 800,000 from the button and John Kincaid called from the big blind.

The flop was     and Kincaid bet 600,000. Mateos called and the turn was  .

Both players checked the turn and   came on the river.

Kincaid bet 1,000,000 on the river and Mateos quickly got away from it.

Adrian Mateos	23,900,000	-800,000
John Kincaid	14,400,000	-100,000
Ben Heath	11,200,000	1,000,000

Adrian Mateos opened to 600,000 on the button and John Kincaid called from the big blind. The flop came     and Kincaid checked to Mateos who continued for 425,000. Kincaid check-raised to 3,000,000 and Mateos called.

The turn brought the   and Kincaid quickly shoved all in for 6,850,000. Mateos asked for a count but decided to fold as his clock was running out of time.

The players are now heading on their first 15-minute break of the day.

Adrian Mateos	24,700,000	-3,600,000
John Kincaid	14,500,000	3,700,000
Ben Heath	10,200,000	-200,000

Adrian Mateos opened to 600,000 on the button and John Kincaid called from the big blind. The flop came     and Kincaid checked to Mateos who continued for 550,000. Kincaid check-raised all in for 7,725,000 and Mateos quickly sent his cards to the muck.

On the next hand, Kincaid raised to 700,000 on the button and Ben Heath defended from the big blind. The flop fell     and Heath checked to Kincaid who bet 450,000. Heath check-raised to 1,175,000 and Kincaid shoved all in for over 9,000,000 which got a snap-fold from Heath.

Adrian Mateos	26,200,000	-1,200,000
John Kincaid	12,100,000	3,900,000
Ben Heath	11,100,000	-2,700,000

The action folded to Seth Davies in the small blind who ripped all in for his last 2,650,000. Ben Heath instantly called from the big blind to put Davies at risk.

Seth Davies:   
Ben Heath:   

The flop came     which boded well for Heath's pair of jacks. The   on the turn left Davies drawing to just three aces in the deck. It was the   on the river and Davies was eliminated in fourth place.

Ben Heath	8,400,000	2,600,000
Seth Davies	0	-2,700,000

On the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Sarah Herring, Jeff Platt and Chad Holloway come to you from the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP)!

They recap the 2021 WSOP $10,000 Main Event, which was won by Koray Aldemir, and highlight other recent bracelet winners including Brian Hastings, Chad Himmelspach, and David Moses.

They also offer an interview with actor and new WSOP Master of Ceremonies Vince Vaughn, as well as one with new Poker Hall of Fame inductee Eli Elezra. Also, hear the crew discuss rumors concerning the WSOP's upcoming move to the Las Vegas Strip and what the future may hold for the aforementioned Poker Hall of Fame.

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Ben Heath shoved for 4,180,000 and John Kincaid was the lone caller from the small blind.

Ben Heath:   
John Kincaid:   

The board ran out       and Heath's fours survived to give him a key double.

Ben Heath	9,000,000	4,700,000
John Kincaid	7,000,000	-4,800,000

John Kincaid opened to 550,000 in the cutoff and was called by Adrian Mateos on the button and Ben Heath in the big blind. The flop came     and Heath checked to Kincaid who continued for 550,000. Mateos quickly folded but Heath called.

The turn brought the   and both players checked to the   on the river. Heath led out with a bet of 625,000 and Kincaid threw in a call. Heath showed    for just queen-high while Kincaid held    for the only pair.

Adrian Mateos	26,100,000	-500,000
John Kincaid	11,800,000	2,600,000
Seth Davies	7,200,000	-200,000
Ben Heath	4,300,000	-2,000,000