Gruissem smashed his way through a tough final table that included Joe Cheong and Paul Phua to win the WSOP APAC $50,000 High Roller for (AUD) $825,000.
Noted as a high roller specialist, Gruissem has made five final tables in tournaments where the buy-in was $20k or higher.
Gruissem survived a tough heads-up match against Cheong that saw the chip lead switch multiple times.
When asked why he enjoys playing high rollers so much Gruissem was blunt at first.
“You can win $800k in two days!” he said. “Isn’t that enough of an explanation?”
Gruissem went on to say there are actually a few more reasons he enjoys playing in high roller tournaments.
“You can play against the best players in the world. The table talk is a lot more fun than in the Main Event. Everyone doesn’t take it so seriously. I really enjoy it.”
Rettenmaier Bubbles the Final Table
German pro Marvin Rettenmaier, who won $2.5 million on the circuit last year, stone bubbled the tournament coming in seventh place, just missing out on the money.
Rettenmaier got unlucky to bust against Joe Cheong when he shoved with ace-king. Cheong called with jack-eight but ended up hitting a straight.
Everyone else in the tournament was guaranteed $115,000.
Gruissem and Cheong were arguably the most well known players at the final table but noted Asian players Paul Phua, Lo Shing Fung and Elton Tsang also made the money.
Hong Kong based Tom Hall was the first player to bust in the money coming in sixth place for $115,000.
Here’s a complete look at the final-table payouts:
1. Philipp Gruissem - $825,000 2. Joseph Cheong - $511,000 3. Paul Phua - $325,000 4. Lo Shing Fung - $225,000 5. Elton Tsang - $155,000 6. Tom Hall - $115,000Visit www.pokerlistings.com