Christoph Vogelsang won the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl with a come-from-behind victory over Jake Schindler. Vogelsang won a 5-hour heads-up showdown to become the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl champion.
The win was worth $6 million for Christoph Vogelsang, who collected his first live tournament victory. The 3rd Annual Super High Roller Bowl is the culmination of five events held at the Aria on the Las Vegas Strip.
Vogelsang Overcame 2:1 Chip Lead
To win the title, Christoph Vogelsang overcame a 2-to-1 chip disparity against Jake Schindler. When the heads-up competition began, Schindler had collected what seemed to be an overwhelming chip stack lead, having dispatched with several members of the final table.
In Vogelsang's case, it helped to be lucky at times. Twice, Jake Schindler seemed to have outplayed the eventual champion and had him on the ropes. Twice, the river card saved the German contender from a knockout on an all-in call. Jake Schindler likely will have nightmares about the final 5 hours of the Super High Roller Bowl.
Day 4: Stefan Schillhabel Bows Out
To begin the fourth and final day of the event, only three players remained. Jake Schindler held 10,670,000 chips, Christoph Vogelsand held 5,245,000 chips, and Stefan Schillhabel helped a mere 885,000 chips. With a big enough stack for only 15 big blinds, Stefan Schillhabel had to make margin calls.
Schillhabel built his chip stack to 1.4 million, but was knocked out of the tournament when he played ace-jack offsuit against Vogelsang's pair of queens. Though Schillhabel flopped a jack, he could not build from there, so he busted out of the tournaments. Schillhabel's 3rd place finish was worth $2.4 million in winnings.
Jake Schindler: 5:1 Chip Advantage at One Point
At one point, Jake Schindler held an almost 5:1 lead in the chip count. Schindler had 14,100,000 compared to only 2,700,000 for Vogelsang, and most observers would have bet on the American winning the top prize.
Vogelsang made an all-in call with four to a straight. He began the hand holding A-5 and added a 2 and 3 on the flop. Still, he was facing long odds on the river card, but the river gave him a 4 for the straight and a double-up moment.
The German underdog won on a river card a second time that provided a major shift in momentum. On the final hand, Jake Schindler held a flush draw. He moved all-in for $6.2 million, but failed to collect the final card he needed. Christoph Vogelsang became the second German player in a row to win the Super High Roller Bowl.
Super High Roller Bowl
Though the SHR Bowl is not a part of the World Series of Poker, it is the final major event before the 8-week WSOP launches. Because it has a $300,000 buy-in and only professional players, high rollers, and celebrities play in the event, the Super High Roller Bowl is considered a prestigious title to win.
This year, only 56 players entered the event. Aria and PokerGo played up the playing field in the months leading up to the event, as top names were announced over time.
