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NEWS

Mikalai Vaskaboinikau wins the Onyx $50,500 High Roller Championship.

Onyx High Stakes Championship | Mikalai Vaskaboinikau narrowly entered but defied expectations to win the title and take home $450,000.

International news
International news /

    On August 17, 2026, the $50,500 High Roller Championship, one of the highest buy-in levels in the Onyx High Roller Series, concluded at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Northern Cyprus. Belarusian star Mikalai Vaskaboinikau defeated Russian cash game expert Alexey Borovkov to claim the championship and the $450,000 prize. The most dramatic aspect of this victory was that Vaskaboinikau almost didn't even participate. With late registration closing soon, he realized he only had about two minutes left to register and rushed to the venue to take his seat. The 18-player tournament created an $864,000 prize pool, and this player who almost missed the tournament became the only one to lift the trophy. The 18-player high roller event only awards prizes to the top three, with a bubble value of $164,000. Although the $50,500 High Roller Championship only had 18 players, the prize structure was extremely steep, with only the bottom three making it into the money. The third-place winner will receive $164,000, which is equivalent to more than three times the purchase amount; the fourth-place winner will receive nothing. Tournament Data: Onyx High Roller Championship Buy-in $ 50,500 Entries 18 Total Prize Pool $ 864,000 3 Players in the Money: Champion Mikalai Vaskaboinikau ($ 450,000), Runner-up Alexey Borovkov ($ 250,000), Third Place Rob Yong ($ 164,000) Onyx $ 50,500 High Roller Championship Final Results Ranking Player Country/Region Prize 1 Mikalai Vaskaboinikau Belarus $ 450,000 2 Alexey Borovkov Russia $ 250,000 3 Rob Yong United Kingdom $ 164,000 Vaskaboinikau's championship journey didn't start well after a narrow entry and early setbacks, seemingly on the verge of elimination. Early on, he held pocket pairs below board strength and fired three consecutive shots at Aleksejs Ponakovs. However, Ponakovs eventually completed a straight down-the-door Broadway, taking a large number of chips from Vaskaboinikau and quickly pushing him into the short stack. The situation became so dire that Vaskaboinikau began discussing with friends what to do if he were eliminated soon. But the final result was completely the opposite; he not only didn't leave early, but...

Izzy Einsidler defeated KK and QQ in a three-way sweep with AA in the Potomac Summer Poker Open.

Potomac Summer Poker Open | AA vs. KK vs. QQ, three players go all-in, Einsidler tops set, narrowly avoiding a flush.

International news
International news /

  On August 16, 2026, an extremely rare pre-flop clash of strong hands occurred at the Potomac Summer Poker Open in Maryland, USA. In the $400 40/40 event, three players held pocket Aces, pocket Kings, and pocket Queens, resulting in a three-way all-in. Izzy Einsidler, who initially held a significant advantage, hit a top set on the flop, but the turn gave Henry Black a flush draw, and he only managed to triple his hand on the safe river. This $400 40/40 event was a two-day tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of 40,000. For Einsidler, having the strongest starting hand of the night, AA, against KK and QQ in a three-way all-in was a dream come true, but the board kept the hand suspenseful until the river. A pivotal hand involving three top-tier starting hands collided at 500/1,000 blinds and a 1,000 ante in the big blind. Henry Black, in the HJ position, raised to 2,000, and Izzy Einsidler, in the BTN position, with A♠A♥, 3-bet to 6,500. Einsidler, a live player from Virginia, has accumulated $25,491 live tournament winnings, according to PokerNews. While AA against KK seemed unusually rare, George Karmires in the small blind then 4-bet all his chips with Q♦Q♣. Black didn't back down and immediately shoved all in again; Einsidler, with the fewest chips of the three and pocket aces, had no room to fold and called immediately. All-in hand: Izzy Einsidler A♠A♥ Henry Black K♣K♦ George Karmires Q♦Q♣ This was a rare situation in Texas Hold'em where the strongest three pocket pairs clashed directly, with Einsidler holding a clear advantage pre-flop. The flop came an Ace, giving Einsidler a top set and further extending his lead: A♦ 3♣ J♣. Einsidler hit an Ace on the first community card, upgrading his pocket Aces to a set of Aces, the top set on the board. At this point, Black's pocket Kings and Karmires' pocket Queens were significantly behind, especially Karmires, who was almost ready to accept elimination, even standing up and picking up his backpack before the community cards were fully dealt. However, the real crisis came on the turn. The 7♣ fell, and Black suddenly got a flush draw. The turn card was 7♣. The board now showed three clubs: A♦ 3♣ J♣ 7♣. Since Black held K♣, his previously almost uncompetitive pocket kings suddenly gained a crucial outlet – if another club appeared on the river, he could use K♣ to complete a flush and overtake Einsidler.

Paulius Vaitekunas wins the Onyx High Roller Series Bounty Tournament

Onyx High Roller Series | Paulius Vaitekunas wins after over 3 hours, taking home $52,200 in a 7-player bounty tournament.

International news
International news /

    On August 16, 2026, the Onyx High Roller Series concluded at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Northern Cyprus. The $10,200 Bounty event attracted only seven players, but the pace was incredibly fast. Lithuanian player Paulius Vaitekunas, who only entered at Level 4, ultimately won the tournament in just over three hours, taking home $52,200. For Vaitekunas, this was arguably the fastest-paced live tournament he had ever played. He noted that he joined at Level 4, and the tournament ended at Level 11; compared to players who started from the beginning, he actually played for more than an hour less. Seven players competed for the title, with the winner taking home $32,200. This $10,200 Bounty featured a fairly straightforward reward structure. Since only 7 players participated, the regular prize pool of $32,200 was not distributed among multiple rankings but was entirely reserved for the final champion. In addition, each elimination earned an additional $5,000 bounty. Tournament Data: Tournament: Onyx HRS; $10,200 Bounty; 7 Players; Regular Prize Pool: $32,200; Bounty per Elimination: $5,000; Champion: Paulius Vaitekunas; Champion Regular Prize: $32,200; Champion Elimination Bounty: $15,000; Retained Bounty: $5,000; Total Champion Earnings: $52,200. Vaitekunas eliminated 3 opponents, earning an additional $15,000 bounty. He also retained his own $5,000 bounty as the last survivor, bringing his total earnings to $52,200. Vaitekunas entered at Level 4 and immediately claimed the first bounty. The tournament started with only 5 players, but two more joined at Level 4, bringing the final number to 7. Vaitekunas was one of those two late entrants. Despite his late entry, he became the first to claim the bounty. Vaitekunas eliminated German veteran Manig Loeser in 7th place, immediately taking home the $5,000 bounty, essentially recouping nearly half his buy-in cost shortly after entering the tournament. Meanwhile, Moussa Ahmad lost to Aleksandr Kirichenko in a pre-flop challenge, becoming the next player to leave. After the five players returned, the tournament officially entered the Winner-Take-All mode. At the end of the break, only 5 players remained, and no other players chose to delay their entry. This confirmed that the $32,200 regular prize pool would be entirely won by the last survivor. From this point onward, in addition to the champion's prize, every...

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