A poker player's bold bluff wins the Onyx $25,500 Main Event and a $1.25 million prize.

Raoul Kanme won the Onyx High Stakes Series $25,500 Main Event, taking home $1,250,000. He turned the tide at the final table with a bold bluff, defeating Matthias Lipp to claim the title.

Raoul Kanme was heading for a seven-figure prize at the $25,500 Main Event final table, but at one point, he instinctively decided to take any risk.

He entered the final day as the chip leader and remained at the top for most of the time, but after losing a few hands, he decided to bluff his way through almost his entire tournament career against Matthias Lipp. The move paid off, and a few hours later, it was Lipp who became Kanme's heads-up opponent, allowing him to lift the trophy and win the $1,250,000 first-place prize.

This victory was achieved at the Onyx Club in the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel, Casino & Spa, where Kanme emerged victorious from a field of 255 entries, taking home the largest share of the $6,120,000 total prize pool and becoming the latest Onyx High Stakes Series Main Event champion.

“The past few months have been very stressful. I’ve put in a lot of effort. I’ve had a terrible year so far, and right now I just feel relieved,” Kanme said. “I’m certainly very happy, but ‘relief’ is the word I really want to use.”

However, when Kanme finally lifted the trophy, he was still thinking of someone else.

“I want to dedicate this trophy to my cousin,” Kanme said. “He was diagnosed with cancer about three or four months ago, and I’ve been thinking about him ever since. Just thinking about him gives me strength, and I wanted to dedicate this championship to him. I’m so glad I was able to do this. So cousin, you know who you are. This championship is for you.”

$25,500 Main Event Final Table Results

Kanme starts from the top

As expected, Fahredin Mustafov was the first to be eliminated after only a few hands after the cards were dealt, as he started the day with only a small number of big blinds, meaning Onyx will welcome a new Main Event champion.

Kanme then found the biggest chip boost, despite being at a disadvantage with Q against Anze Smajd's K. Kanme hit a full house on the flop, eliminating the Slovenian player in eighth place and giving Kanme a significant lead over the remaining seven players. Lipp then survived a coin flip against Italo Modena before eliminating him with a classic cold hand, helping him climb the chip leaderboard.

Austrian player Daniel Rezaei started the day in second place, the only player who could rival Kanme at the top, and even briefly overtook him. However, as Kanme continued to win the pots, Rezaei suddenly began to collapse.

Rezaei hit two pair on the flop against Aliaksandr Shylko, but Shylko hit a straight on the river and nearly doubled up. While Rezaei licked his wounds, the poker god decided it was his time, and Shylko was eliminated in a coin flip.

With five players remaining, Kanme appeared poised for a commanding lead, while the others battled for higher prize tiers. Manuel Fritz's chip stack dwindled significantly, primarily from smaller pots, and he consistently seemed destined for second place. Jordan Woodall's King of Spades sealed Fritz's final table run in fifth place, leaving Lipp, Woodall, and Shylko to battle Kanme for a seven-figure prize.

Kanme goes all in

At the time, betting on Kanme seemed foolish; he was brimming with confidence, winning every pot, probably already thinking about spending $1,250,000. However, the tides of poker turn quickly. After a heroic call to Shylko that backfired, Woodall doubled up, and Kanme found himself in a downward spiral, almost catching up with Lipp.

Then came one of the most memorable hands of the final table, and perhaps the most memorable hand of Kanme's poker career. Lipp raised, and Kanme (who had become silent and seemingly docile after losing a huge lead) defended his big blind with his suited King. With only a backdoor out on the flop, Kanme check-raised Lipp, then fired a blank on the turn, and finally went all-in on the river with just three big blinds more than Lipp.

In his post-match reflection on the hand, Kanme revealed that once Lipp bet on the flop, he had already decided that this was a hand he was going to fight to the bitter end.

"Once he bets, I think to myself, I'm going to check-raise him and then go all the way, no matter what," Kanme said. "I just felt like I was going to go all in."

"It was a gut feeling; I saw he was strong, but it was still a tough call decision for him. I'm glad I followed my gut feeling."

In the tournament's biggest pot, Lipp thought things through and ultimately chose to fold. Halfway through the massage, Kanme threw his cold bluff onto the table for the poker world to see, which gave him nearly half the chips on the table and seemed to be the spark that propelled him toward the finish line.

Kanme never looked back after that. With that momentum and continued aggressive play, he even forced Shylko to fold his top pair with another big all-in shortly before the dinner break.

Kanme later stated that this style was deliberate. "I kept believing, kept playing, kept creating action," he said. "Basically, I just wanted to win all the pots. I couldn't win them all, but I tried to."

Because it was "Fishy Friday" at the hotel buffet, Kanme's meal during the break seemed to have turned him into a shark; he quickly caught the scent of blood on the other three. Without hesitation, he began opening pots relentlessly, winning nine out of about ten pots without a showdown, leaving the others almost powerless to resist.

When resistance finally came, Kanme won the hand. Shylko called all-in with pocket tens against Kanme's QJ, but the flop of a J eliminated the Belarusian in fourth place. Just a few hands later, Woodall faced Kanme's pocket tens with AK, but the pair held, sending the Main Event heads-up.

Kanme completes the mission.

Lipp is now Kanme's last line of defense against the champion, but there are few signs of a comeback. Kanme continues to apply pressure, repeatedly going all-in and winning the blinds and ante, while Lipp's chip stack dwindles.

Shortly after, Lipp found a fighting hand and went all-in with K-3, only to find himself outmatched by Kanme's A-3. Neither player improved, and Kanme maintained his Ace-high lead, ending the final table.

After more than six levels of play, Kanme led the chip lead from the start of the day to become the champion of the $25,500 Main Event, winning $1,250,000, while Lipp finished as runner-up and won $800,000.

Kanme had visited Merit Royal Diamond many times but had little luck, making this victory all the sweeter.

"I've been here six or seven times, and I've lost every time," Kanme commented. "Now that I've won, I'll probably be back soon."

However, he won't be participating in any other tournaments this week. After months of travel and finally getting what he's been looking for, Kanme is ready to take a break from the poker tables.

"I'm done, man. I've been traveling since the beginning of the year. I'm never home for more than two or three weeks. I'm taking a break from playing cards for now. I need some time to reflect on everything."

"Now, it's vacation time."

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