Ben Tollerene Defeats Viktor Blom for partypoker Powerfest High Roller Title
Partypoker has been making huge investments over the last couple of years, including the signing of various big name pros. They are slowly beginning to rise as a legitimate challenger to PokerStars’ dominance of the online poker world.
A sign that partypoker is becoming a premier place to play for online pros was the recent Powerfest Super High Roller where three of the game’s biggest names made the final table with Ben “CowEyed” Tollerene and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom battling for the top prize.
High Roller Post $3.17 Million Prize Pool
Outside of PokerStars, it is usually hard to pull off a $25,500 High Roller Event. When partypoker announced a $25,500 High Roller during their Powerfest series, some figured that the event might pull off 60 entries max.
The event exceeded expectations with 127 entries and a massive prize pool of $3.17 million. There were 12 players paid and the winner received $846,772.50.
Three big names of poker made the final table of the event. Partypoker Ambassador Fedor Holz made the final table along with Ben Tollerene and Viktor Blom.
CowEyed Beats Isildur1 Heads Up for Title
With three big names at the final table, railbirds lined up to watch this exciting final table. Newly signed Ambassador Fedor Holz was looking to take down the title but was only able to manage a 7th place finish. He still earned $185,420 for his time. We can call that a nice signing bonus.
As play continued through the final table, it was clear that CowEyed (Tollerene) and Isildur1 were both to battle heads-up for the title. The pair are old rivals, battling at the highest limits over at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
Ultimately, it was an ill-timed bluff by Isildur1 that would give CowEyed the title. In the championship hand, Tollerene flopped trips and sat back hoping that Blom would make a mistake. That mistake came on the river when Blom decided to bluff-shove with Queen-high.
Tollerene had actually improved to full house on the river and made the snap-call to take the title. Viktor Blom finished in 2nd place, but still earned a hefty $529,272.50 prize.
Ben Tollerene is the $25,500 Powerfest High Roller Champion. He earned $846,772.50 for the victory and helped to establish partypoker as a solid option for high stakes pros to practice their craft.
Tollerene’s victory in this event was the second largest online tournament score of his career. His largest score came back in 2015 when he took down $51,000 Super High Roller 8-Max at the World Championship of Online Poker at PokerStars. That victory earned him $851,000.
Tollerene has over $2.5 million in earnings at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker according to PocketFives.com. This score will push him well over $3 million in earnings. His total earnings are unknown as he does not have his partypoker username linked to PocketFives. Regardless, this victory helps to further establish Tollerene as not just a premier high stakes cash players but also as an elite online tournament player.
Photo: Neil Stoddart, Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.