Ben Tollerene Wins 2024 Poker Masters $25,200 Finale

Ben Tollerene has won the final event of the 2024 Poker Masters. The longtime high-stakes player, known to many by his screen name ‘Ben86’, topped a field of 68 entries in the $25,200 buy-in high roller to earn $510,000 and his tenth recorded tournament title.

Tollerene now has more than $16.1 million in career earnings accrued across 126 in-the-money finishes. This was his fourth final-table finish of the year, including a runner-up finish in the $250,000 buy-in event at the World Series of Poker this summer for a career-best score of $3.5 million.

This latest victory conveyed 504 Card Player Player of the Year points upon Tollerene. He now sits in 140th place in the 2024 POY standings presented by Global Poker.

Tollerene also earned 306 PGT points, enough to finish in sixth place in the series-long standings despite no prior cashes during this eight-event festival. Jim Collopy had already locked up the 2024 Poker Masters Purple Jacket before the last day of this final event began.

The final day began with seven players remaining and bracelet winner Andrew Licthenberger atop the leaderboard. Victoria Livschitz was the first to fall. She got her last 7 big blinds in preflop with K-Q trailing the A-Q suited of World Poker Tour champion Taylor von Kriegenbergh. Both players ended up with a pair of queens on the river, but von Kriegenbergh’s kciker played to earn him the pot. Livschitz secured $68,000 as the seventh-place finisher. She now has nearly $2.1 million in recorded live earnings.

Filipp Khavin got his last few big blinds in with pocket fours racing against the K-Q suited of fellow short stack Sam Soverel. The board brought both overcards for Soverel, giving him two pair for the win. Khavin headed home with $93,500 for his sixth-place showing.

Soverel, who was adorned in the Purple Jacket he won in 2019, was still the shortest stack heading into five-handed despite scoring that knockout. The two-time bracelet winner was not the next to fall, though. Bracelet winner Aram Zobian’s pocket tens were cracked by the pocket nines of von Kriegenbergh, who flopped a set and held from there.

Zobian managed to get his last 14 big blinds in with pocket aces leading the pocket kings of von Kriegenbergh, but once again the better pair failed to hold up. A king-high runout ended Zobian’s run in fifth place ($127,500). The 2018 WSOP main event sixth-place finisher now has more than $7.2 million in lifetime earnings. He also climbed to 18th place in the POY standings thanks to this, his 13th final-table finish of the year.

Soverel soon followed, getting his last 8 big blinds in with 108 facing the AJ of von Kriegenbergh. Soverel had a chance to triple up, as he had raised for all but one 5,000 chip and received a call from Tolleren’s K before von Kriegenbergh shoved to isolate. The board came down 9425K and ace high was enough to eliminate Soverel in fourth place ($170,000). Soverel’s career earnings now sit at $23.7 million.

Lichtenberger slid down to the bottom of the chip counts as three-handed play continued. He got all-in with AA on a K109 flop. He was leading the QQ of Tollerene, but the Q rolled off on the turn to leave Lichtenberger in need of help on the river. The 7 completed the board and Lichtenberger settled for $229,500 as the third-place finisher. He now has more than $21.9 million in lifetime cashes to his name.

Heads-up play began with Tollerene holding 6,415,000 to the 3,790,000 of von Kriegenbergh. The gap was narrowed in the early going, and the two hung around even for a bit before von Kriegenbergh picked off a big bluff to give himself a healthy lead. A classic preflop race turned things around yet again. von Kriegenbergh raised to 250,000 from the button with AK. Tollerene three-bet shoved for 3,975,000 (just shy of 40 big blinds) with 77. A quick call was made by von Kriegenbergh and the board ran out 96645 to give Tollerene the double-up into a 3:1 lead.

That clash left von Kriegenbergh with just over 23 big blinds. He was able to chip up a bit, but soon all-in with KJ trailing the A6 of Tollerene, who three-bet shoved over a button open for 26.5 big blinds effective. After von Kriegenbergh made the call, the flop came down Q83 to give von Kriegenbergh a king-high flush draw to go with his two live cards. The 5 turn improved neither player, though, leaving von Kriegenbergh in need of help heading into the last card. The 10 changed nothing, though, and von Kriegenbergh was eliminated in second place ($331,500). This payday increased his lifetime earnings to nearly $6.8 million.

Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:

Here is a look at the final top 10 in the series points race:

Photos credits: PokerGO / Antonio Abrego.