How an unknown poker player almost got free entry to the WSOP $100k High Roller event

Phillipp Mellon, a poker player with no live tournament record, won the WSOP $120 satellite tournament and almost won a free seat in the WSOP $100,000 PLO High Roller event.

A player with no live poker tournament record entered the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $100,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha event almost for free.

Phillipp Mellon doesn't even have a personal page on The Hendon Mob. He appeared on Tuesday, along with only five other players, when the high-stakes tournament kicked off at 1 p.m. Pacific Time. He sat down to compete against top players like Alex Foxen and Eelis Parssinen—both 2026 bracelet winners. Jason Koon (currently a Poker Hall of Fame inductee) also registered shortly after the event began.

How poker players get into high roller tournaments

Mellon did not enter this tournament through sponsorship. Almost no poker player can find a sponsor for a $100,000 buy-in event without tournament results. Instead, he earned his entry in the most incredible way possible.

This bracelet dreamer, chasing a life-changing prize—as Kevin "Kevmath" Mathers described on Twitter—started by participating in and winning a $120 first-step satellite in Horseshoe Las Vegas. This victory earned him a seat in the $850 second-step satellite, which he also won. Mellon then moved on to the third step, a $7,500 satellite, where he won a seat in the $100k PLO.

Mellon, who is from Miami, Florida, declined the interview. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as an organ transplant coordinator/registered nurse and a partner at T-1 Med LLC.

Mellon battled these pros for about four hours. But midway through the first day of the tournament, he ultimately lost to Sergio Martinez Gonzalez—hit two pair on the flop but ran into top-tier triplets. So he ended up turning $120 into $0, but he has a story to tell and an experience to share—playing in a six-figure buy-in tournament—something most poker players will never have the chance to experience.

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