How would you prepare for a $10,300 NAPT High Roller finale with $385,750 on the line? Most players might opt for some last-minute study and a solid night’s sleep. But for eventual champion Sam Soverel, the approach was anything but typical.
After a night of soaking in the Las Vegas nightlife, Soverel didn’t exactly rock up to Resorts World for the final day of the 2024 PokerStars North American Poker Tour bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. However, his previous night’s antics didn’t stop him from topping the 170-entry field as the American defeated Nicholas Seward in heads-up play to capture the top six-figure payout and High Roller trophy.
Soverel entered Day 3 with a commanding chip lead over the 12 other competitors and like NAPT Main Event champion Nick Marchington, he went wire-to-wire to capture the lion’s share of the $1,328,900 prize pool.
“I didn’t sleep much last night, kind of partied a bit,” Soverel confessed in his winner’s interview. “I don’t know how I played; I think I made a couple of mistakes, but it worked out in the end.”
$10,300 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Soverel | United States | $385,750 |
| 2 | Nicholas Seward | United States | $241,100 |
| 3 | Barry Woods | United States | $172,200 |
| 4 | David Coleman | United States | $132,450 |
| 5 | Valentyn Shabelnyk | Ukraine | $101,900 |
| 6 | Adam Adler | United States | $78,400 |
| 7 | Danny Wong | United States | $63,700 |
| 8 | Brian Altman | United States | $53,100 |
| 9 | Ryan Hohner | United States | $44,250 |
Final Table Action
When Soverel reached the final table, he was second in chips with 1,295,000. However, after the eliminations of Ryan Hohner, Brian Altman, and Danny Wong, Soverel’s stack began to dwindle. He was down to just 540,000 at one point, becoming the second-shortest stack of the remaining six players.
The chip leader coming into the final table was runner-up Seward, who built on that lead early. However, his momentum stopped when he ran into a brutal blind-vs-blind cooler against David Coleman. Seward six-bet jammed with ace-king suited, only to run directly into Coleman’s pocket aces. Once the aces held up, Coleman seized the chip lead.
Adam Adler, the clear short stack of the final six players, was the next to be sent to the payout desk. Right behind him in fifth place was Valentyn Shabelnyk, who found himself in a similar predicament after losing a significant portion of his stack to Barry Woods. Woods’ victory in that hand allowed him to overtake the chip lead shortly after.
Soverel began to regain his momentum after a clash against Coleman. The latter opened on the button, Soverel three-bet all in from the big blind with ace-seven suited, and Coleman snap-called with pocket jacks. While Coleman hit a set of jacks on the river, the same card gave Soverel a straight, sending Coleman home in fourth place.
Seward then regained the chip lead after winning a massive flip with his ace-queen suited against Woods’ pocket eights. The flop was clean for Woods, but Seward turned a queen, securing the pot and claiming over half the chips in play.
Seward put his newly accumulated chips to work and turned his pocket fives into a massive bluff against Soverel, which proved pivotal in the tournament. Soverel opened on the button, and Seward called from the small blind. Seward called a bet on the flop before both players checked the turn. On the river, the board looked like A♣A♥2♥J♥8♦, and Seward opted to check-raise Soverel’s bet of 280,000 to 1,320,000. After using several time bank cards, Soverel made the call and revealed J♦7♥.
The call shifted the chip lead in Soverel’s favor, marking a critical turning point in the tournament.
“I don’t know, I just think he has a lot of king-x with the king of hearts”, Soverel explained when talking about the hand. “He [Seward] has a lot of pairs with a heart. And I think a lot of his value hands, he would just bet. I just didn’t believe it, to be honest.” he grinned.
Shortly after, Soverel extended his lead and set up a heads-up battle with Seward by taking the rest of Woods chips. Soverel’s king-jack bested Woods’ ace-three when the board ran out, securing the pot and eliminating Woods in third place
Heads-Up Play
Soverel entered heads-up play with a commanding chip lead, holding approximately 6,500,000 of the 8,500,000 chips in play. However, Seward wasn’t going down without a fight. Soverel chipped away at Seward’s stack, eventually reducing him to three big blinds. But Seward managed to double-up.
After a few small pots exchanged between the two, Seward got another key double, this time with pocket aces. Soverel had flopped top pair, and the two got all the chips in on the flop. When the river fell, Seward’s aces held firm. However, the comeback story came to a scorching halt a couple of hands later.
The final hand came when Soverel limped in on the button, and Seward checked. The flop came down 8♠K♣10♠, and Seward check-called a bet of 120,000. The turn brought the 6♣, and Seward again check-called, this time for 800,000.
As the river came the A♦, Seward again checked to Soverel. The big stack wasted no time, moving all-in for Seward’s remaining 1,200,000, who was forced to spend several moments in the tank contemplating his decision. Eventually, Seward made the call. Soverel showed K♥9♠ for a pair of kings, which was enough to secure the pot and the trophy.
Seward revealed 10♥4♦ and tossed his hand into the muck, conceding the win to Soverel. With that, Soverel claimed the title of the $10,300 High Roller, adding another victory to his impressive poker resume, which now boasts more than $24 million in total live earnings.