2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 30
$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
Entries: 25
Prize Pool: $1,212,500
August 4-5, 2022
David Peters started the day as the clear short stack in the $50,000 Super High Roller, with only 12 big blinds. But he pulled in a few small pots early and some key pots later to take the chip lead and win the title and the trophy in a heads-up deal with runner-up Byron Kaverman.
“It feels great, especially coming in short,” said Peters. “I was able to chip up early, and a lot of things went well today.”
The first elimination came about 90 minutes into the day, when Krishna Lawrence got it all in preflop with 
against the 
of Peters. Lawrence paired his ten on the flop, but Peters turned a club flush to knock out Lawrence. Lawrence earned $97,000 for his fifth-place finish.
Four-handed play would last for the next three hours.
“We were super deep four-handed,” said Peters, “so we were playing a lot of small pots. I was just able to pick my spots well and chip up.”
Byron Kaverman was chipleader for most of that stretch, and there was one key pot during that Peters considered a turning point.
“I got a nice big river check-raise in with the queen-high flush versus Byron,” said Peters. “We checked all the way down, and then he bet big on the river. He bet 70K, I raised to 330K, and he called. That was the big turning point, especially taking chips away from him and adding them to my stack.” (Click here for the full write-up of that hand.)
But they couldn’t play four-handed forever, and eventually, Sergio Aido shoved 
from the button, and Peters woke up in the big blind with 
. Aido never caught up, and finished fourth to earn $133,375.
The next hand, Elio Fox shoved 
from the button, and this time it was Kaverman who called from the big blind with 
. The board came nine high with no clubs, and Fox was sent home in third place with $194,000.
At that point, Peters had a small 1.3-to-1 lead over Kaverman, and the average stack was worth a whopping 98 big blinds. They agreed to an ICM deal to end the tournament right there, splitting the prizepool. Kaverman earned $380,580 for his runner-up finish, and Peters added $407,545 to his more than $40 million in career tournament earnings.
“It was a battle,” said Peters. “With this very deep structure, it could have gone all night if things went a little differently. But it was fun.”
As chipleader, Peters was awarded the title and the trophy, which is his third trophy from Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, which Peters praised in his interview.
“It’s a great environment,” said Peters, “and a lot of friends always come to this stop. There’s great weather, great food and restaurants. This is one of my favorite stops.”
Final Results:
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David | Peters | $407,545* |
| 2 | Byron | Kaverman | $380,580* |
| 3 | Elio | Fox | $194,000 |
| 4 | Sergio | Aido | $133,375 |
| 5 | Krishna | Lawrence | $97,000 |
*denotes heads-up deal
, and Fox turned a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. Kaverman won the pot with his ace to eliminate Fox in third place.
, and he needed to improve to stay alive against Elio Fox’s 
in the big blind.
