Peters, Chidwick and Soverel Win Big at 2018 Aria Fall Madness

The 2018 Aria Fall Madness tournament series has concluded its eight day run at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Four of its seven events had $10,000 buy-ins, while the remaining three were high roller affairs.

Making the biggest splash in terms of winnings was accomplished US pro David Peters, who finished the $50,000 event in 3rd place for $200,000, before going on to take down its $100,000 High Roller for a massive $1,104,000 payday. Sam Soverel also produced a memorable series having recorded two wins and one runner-up finish for $533,600, while the UK’s Stephen Chidwick notched up a tournament victory and placed runner-up in another for a combined $369,300 in earnings.

David Peters Wins $100k High Roller

The $50,000 High Roller attracted 25 entries, meaning just four players would see a return on their buy-ins. The world’s number one, Justin Bonomo, subsequently booked a 4th place finish worth $125,000, finishing one place below Peters. Austria’s Matthias Eibinger then went on to face Sam Soverel heads-up, and eventually claimed the title for $575,000, leaving Sam Soverel with a healthy $350,000 runner-up payout.

Having booked his first cash of the series, Peters returned to the action the following day to take part in its final event, the $100,000 no-limit hold’em super high roller. Once again, its field of 24 players saw just four places paid. This time around, however, Peters managed to outlast Benjamin Tollerene (4th/$240,000), Jake Schindler (3rd/$384,000), and Rick Salomon (2nd/$672,999) heads-up to end his series on a $1,104,000 high.

As a result, David Peters now moves up to number six on poker’s ‘All Time Money’ list on $27,815,923 in winnings. This places him above Antonio Esfandiari ($27,685,055) in 7th, and Phil Ivey ($26,267,283) in 8th, and within reach of a 5th placed Daniel Colman ($28,925,059).

Stephen Chidwick Wins $25k High Roller

Chidwick’s first taste of Aria Fall Madness success came at the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Having reached the final table, Byron Kaverman became the first player to see a return on his money following a 5th place finish ($26,400), followed by Brian Rast in 4th ($33,000). Jared Jaffee and Stephen Chidwick then battled it out for top honors, with the latter bowing out in a runner-up position worth $85,800, and Jared Jaffee claiming the event’s top prize of $132,000.

Chidwick went one better in the $25,000 High Roller event, though. The tournament drew just 21 players, and with three money places available, Jared Jaffee became its 3rd place finisher for $84,000. Stephen Chidwick subsequently beat Bill Klein heads-up to claim a first place prize of $283,500, while Klein received $157,500 for his impressive performance.

Stephen Chidwick‘s results further consolidates his number two position on the UK’s ‘All Time Money List’ with $18,544,693 in winnings. While nearest rival Jack Salter is a country mile behind on $7,138,391, Chidwick has made major strides narrowing the gap between himself and Sam Trickett ($20,840,004). Furthermore, Chidwick has earned $8,530,184 in 2018 alone, compared to Trickett who has won just $3,369,719 since the beginning of 2014.

Sam Soverel Wins Two $10k Short Deck Events

Meanwhile, Sam Soverel achieved the best results at 2018 Aria Fall Madness, and collected $533,600 from a couple of wins and one runner-up finish. The pro took down two $10,000 NLHE Short Deck events, earning $81,000 and $102,600 along the way.

Soverel’s runner-up finish at the $50,000 High Roller, however, earned him more than his two wins combined. As mentioned, Matthias Eibinger won the event for $575,000, while Soverel added a further $350,000 to his burgeoning bankroll.

2018 POY Leader Boards

Jake Schindler (8,647) is currently number one on the 2018 POY Leader Board, while Stephen Chidwick now moves up to number two on 8,045 points. Meanwhile, a third placed Justin Bonomo is on 7,332 points, although David Peters is not far behind on 6,877.