Crushing Cooler Hits Near Bubble in WSOP’s Largest Buy-In Event Yet
Summary:
- Ben Tollerene flopped top set with aces against Joey Weissman’s set of kings.
- The massive hand occurred late on Day 2, with only 34 players left and 26 making the money.
- Tollerene now holds the biggest pot of the tournament; $1.96M awaits the winner.
One of the nastiest hands we’re likely to see all summer at the 2025 World Series of Poker unfolded during the $50,000 High Roller, this year’s priciest buy-in event so far.
It was a nightmare scenario: aces vs. kings, both players flopping sets, and everything going in the middle near the money bubble.
Brutal Clash on Day 2
The brutal clash occurred late on Day 2 of Event #32 with just 34 players remaining and 26 set to get paid. The hand took place at the tail end of Level 13 (15,000/30,000 blinds with a 30,000 big blind ante).
The action started with Andrew Lichtenberger opening to 60,000 from under the gun. Ben Tollerene then three-bet to 135,000 in the cutoff. From the small blind, Joey Weissman put in a cold four-bet to 340,000, forcing Lichtenberger to fold. Tollerene made the call, and the two went to a flop.
On a board of K♥ 9♣ 4♠, Weissman led for 160,000. Tollerene called. The A♠ peeled off on the turn, and Weissman bet again—this time for 500,000. Tollerene stuck around.
The river brought the 3♠, and Weissman, with just over 1.1 million behind, committed nearly all of it, betting 1,145,000. Tollerene quickly moved all in, and Weissman snap-called, only to be hit with the worst news possible.
Tollerene flipped over A♥ A♦ for top set.
Weissman stared down at his K♠ K♦, the second-best hand in poker, and realized his flopped set had been outdrawn.
Winner to Grab Close to $2 Million
“Cooler” doesn’t quite do it justice, as this was a demolition. Tollerene dragged the largest pot of the tournament to that point, and Weissman’s deep run was suddenly in jeopardy.
Only 29 players remained at the time of writing. With the bubble looming and the top 26 guaranteed at least $102,395, the tension is only rising.
The winner of the $50K High Roller will take home a massive $1,968,927 from the $8,122,500 prize pool.
Still in contention are some heavy hitters, including Alex Foxen, Shannon Shorr, Viktor Blom, Brock Wilson, Chino Rheem, and Jason Koon, each hoping to avoid the kind of soul-crushing cooler Weissman just endured.
