Poker Player Hits Royal Flush (Against Aces & Kings Full) in Tournament w/ $1.8M Prize Pool
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There have been plenty of crazy hands at the 2025 World Series of Poker. Just think back to Michael "Texas Mike" Moncek a few weeks ago, when he moved all in blind and somehow ran into aces, kings, queens and jacks.
But the wildest hand of the summer, where one player made a Royal Flush against not one but two full houses, might not have happened in Las Vegas at all. Instead, it took place thousands of miles away in the ancient Spanish city of Malaga, where the €1 million guaranteed PokerStars Open is underway.
Simons Scoops with Royal Flush in Barely Believable Hand
PokerNews live reporter Richard Hayes was at the host venue Gran Madrid, Casino Torrequebrada and reported:
A pot of around 75,000 had developed on a completed board of K♦10♣K♠A♣J♣, in a three-way hand between Krysztof Zapolski, Bobby Simons and Ricardo Martos.
Zapolski led out with a bet of 42,000, and was met with a raise from Simons to around 95,000, with about 60,000 behind. Ricardo Martos then rejammed for around 340,000, covering both players.
"Wow!" said Zapolski as soon as Martos jammed, looking to the heavens. He thought it through for around a minute, before announcing he was all-in, covering Simons, who quickly got the rest of his stack into the middle.
Zapolski tabled A♥A♠ for aces full of kings, but Simons said "Royal flush" and tabled K♣Q♣. Martos couldn't believe his K♥J♠ for the lower full house was in third.
Simons scooped a monster pot as the entire table took photographs of the barely believable hand. Zapolski took the side-pot to stay in it.
That wasn't the only cooler to take place on the tournament's Day 2. Marciano Rodriguez held J♣8♣ and Andrii Hrilberh had 9♠9♦ on 10♣9♥6♣9♣7♣, Hrilberh turning quads and Rodriguez binking a two-outer on the river. Rodriguez jammed for 420,000 on the river and unsurprisingly had a customer in an epic cooler.
Normally, taking a beat like this would be a reason to celebrate, likely triggering a bad beat jackpot. But in this case, the hand took place in a tournament—not a cash game—so no such payout was in play.
Back in April, the second largest BBJ in poker history hit inside Quebec, Canada's Casino du Lac-Leamy poker room. A king-high straight flush beat quad tens to trigger the CAD $2.5 million (approximately $1.81 million USD) jackpot.
The player with quads took home CAD $1,005,421 (~USD $726,000), while the straight flush earned CAD $502,711 (~USD $363,000). The six remaining players at the table each received CAD $84,000 (~USD $60,000), and the 38 others in the room pocketed CAD $13,000 (~USD $9,400) apiece.
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Rodriguez Leads Chase for $279K First Place Prize
Rodriguez, the recipient of the chips in the straight flush against quads hand, will start Day 3 with a significant lead over the field. He continued to stack chips from the aforementioned hand, and is the only player over the two million mark, where 82 players from the 1,636 entry field.
The tournament, which sports an €1,570,560 prize pool (~$1,810,026), is already in the money, with 240 places paid.
The remaining 82 players have locked up €3,300, but will have their eyes set on the €241,860 (~$278,737) top prize and PokerStars Open trophy. Simons, who hit the Royal Flush, busted late on in Day 2, finishing 85th.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marciano Rodriguez | Spain | 2,760,000 | 230 |
| 2 | Joel Haapio | Finland | 1,670,000 | 139 |
| 3 | Marios Zerevoudis | Greece | 1,520,000 | 127 |
| 4 | Linda Nguyen | Norway | 1,305,000 | 109 |
| 5 | Franklin Hincapie | Sweden | 1,275,000 | 106 |
| 6 | Giacomo Beneforti | Italy | 1,270,000 | 106 |
| 7 | Adem Agoudjil | France | 1,210,000 | 101 |
| 8 | Vasile-Voinita Soica | Romania | 1,100,000 | 92 |
| 9 | Teo Assuncao | Switzerland | 1,065,000 | 89 |
| 10 | Simone Demasi | Italy | 1,030,000 | 86 |
The players will return at noon local time on June 21 to Level 21, with blinds of 10,000/15,000, with a 15,000 big blind ante, with the clock set to 60-minute levels. It is expected a minimum of ten levels will be played in Day 3.
