2025 Susquehanna High Roller!
The annual Cornell WSOP was rebranded this year as the Susquehanna High Roller, sponsored by Susquehanna International Group. The event occurred on April 13th, with a guaranteed prize pool of $2,500, it became the biggest freeroll tournament in Cornell Poker Club history. The rebrand and prize pool generated massive buzz across campus, drawing over 100 Cornellians to the felt. More than 40% of the field were Engineers, while only two Hotelies and two Architecture majors showed up to represent their schools. As expected, the event was dominated by seniors, many playing their last tournament before graduation. From wild three-way all-ins on the bubble to gutsy bluffs and miracle rivers, the 2025 Susquehanna High Roller cemented itself as a defining event in the Cornell Poker Club's legacy.
As the bubble approached, play tightened significantly as no one wanted to bust just short of cashing. A pivotal hand unfolded with 25 players left, just four away from the money. Minh Pham (PhamQuangMinh) open-jammed from under the gun for 16bbswith J♥️J♣️, Youngjin Yang (LaffeTaffe) re-shoved for 8.44bbs with A♦️K♦️, and Alex Zhang (bananabot123) put in his last 2.64bbs with A♥️A♣️.
Alex, dreaming of a full triple-up, had the preflop lead, while Minh and Youngjin battled for a side pot.
The board ran out:
Flop: 9♦️4♣️ K♠️
Turn: Q♠️
River: K♥️
In a stunning twist, Youngjin spiked trips on the river to scoop the entire pot, knocking out Alex in 25th place.
Shortly after, Ian Yang, Victoria Varkonyi (Winner of the Last Chance Satellite), and Christiaan Eikeboom (this year’s unfortunate bubble boy) were eliminated, setting the stage for the final 21 players to secure at least a min-cash.
With the pressure of the bubble gone and no additional pay jumps until 9th place, the pace picked up fast. But there was more at stake than just the payout; only the top 9 players would earn a coveted Susquehanna Final Table Hat, a reward nearly as prized as the cash itself. Blinds escalated and chips flew. After 4.5 hours of play, Joshua “The Lion” De Leeuw busted as the final table bubble boy, leaving us with the final nine:
Left to Right (Top): Minh Pham, Roddy Huang, Hayden Flynn, Alexander Baek, Peter Zheng
Left to Right (Bottom): Ajay Bagaria, Brandon Xu, Michael O'Donnell, Anson Choy
For Junior Alexander Baek, this marked an extraordinary third final table appearance in a row at the Cornell WSOP, a feat no other Cornellian has matched. However, he entered as the shortest stack, sitting on just ~5 big blinds.
As the final table kicked off, a rail quickly formed. On the very first hand, Alex picked up K♣️Q♠️ and got the rest of his stack in against Minh Pham’s A♥️J♠️. An ace on the flop sealed it, and Alex was the first to exit, finishing 9th.
Moments later, short-stacked Peter jammed with J♠️J♣️and was called by Anson holding A♥️9♥️. The flop and turn were clean for Peter, but the A♠️ on the river delivered a brutal knockout, sending him home in 8th place.
Hayden doubled up Ajay, keeping the short stack alive. Not long after, Minh was the next to tangle with Roddy, all-in with A♣️Q♣️ against Roddy’s 6♦️9♣️. Roddy, living up to his table image, continued pushing the action, but in this hand, Minh held and received a double up.
Still sitting on a healthy stack, Roddy ripped it all in from the cutoff, applying max pressure to the short stacks in the blinds. It folded around to Minh in the big blind, who went into the tank before ultimately open-folding Q♣️3♦️. Roddy immediately flipped over 5♠️9♦️(his favorite hand) and grinned.
The two short stacks decided it was time to clash, as Ajay and Mike went to battle with Mike holding A♦️9♠️, Ajay with 8♣️T♣️. A ten on the flop put Ajay ahead, but in classic final table fashion, the river brought the heartbreak: an ace, giving Mike the better pair and the full double up. That left Ajay with just a single big blind, the poker version of life support. Two hands later, déjà vu struck. Ajay flopped a pair, Mike rivered an ace, and just like that, Ajay was out in 7th place, likely wondering what he ever did to offend the poker gods.
At this point, it felt like every other hand was an all-in, but somehow, the short stacks just wouldn’t lose. Minh finally broke the streak, busting in 6th place, before chaos truly ensued.
In a massive three-way all-in, Mike (the big stack) had A♦️9♥️, Anson (short stack) woke up with A♥️Q♦️, and Roddy (middle stack) casually tabled A♥️K♣️. The board ran out clean, and Roddy scooped the full triple-up knocking out Anson in 5th place. Mike, who started the hand as the favourite, was suddenly scrambling.
Now the short stack once again, Mike found himself all in on a flop of A♥️K♥️9♣️while holding Q♣️9♥️. After being checked to, Brandon, with the larger stack, shoved, putting Mike to the test. Mike tanked for one of the longest moments at the final table before making the call.
But instead of running into A-K, he was relieved to see Brandon table J♠️8♣️, a pure bluff. The board ran out clean for Mike, and Brandon was left crippled. Just one hand later, Mike finished the job, sending Brandon to the rail in 4th place.
The rail watching over the final 3 players Hayden Flynn, Mike O’Donnel, and Roddy Huang
With three players left, Roddy kept up the pressure, raising from the small blind into Hayden’s big blind. The flop came 5♥️Q♣️8♠️, with the turn and river being complete bricks. They both checked the river, and Roddy turned over T♣️5♣️ for a pair of fives. Hayden showed A♥️4♠️ for ace high and shook his head as the pot — over 130k — was pushed Roddy’s way. The momentum continued, with Roddy now holding about 85% of the chips.
Roddy kept shoving to pressure the two short stacks, who continued folding until Mike finally made a stand with Q♣️8♠️. Roddy tabled A♥️T♦️, and the flop came ace-ten, sealing Mike’s fate as he exited in 3rd place. That left Roddy and Hayden heads-up, with Roddy holding over 90% of the chips.
It was then that Hayden revealed this was his first-ever tournament until now, the biggest game he’d played was a $20 buy-in with friends. Now, he needed the sun run of his life to climb back into contention... against a stone-faced Chinese man in a Triton tracksuit.
With the big blind ante looming large, Hayden soon found himself forced to put all his chips in the middle. Holding J♣️6♥️, he had no choice but to gamble. Roddy, sitting in the small blind (still having the option to fold for less than 1 big blind), looked down at 2♣️8♠️ and made the call.
In fitting fashion with how the final table had gone for him, Roddy flopped a deuce, enough to take the lead. No jack or six came on the turn or river, and just like that, Hayden’s run ended in poetic flames. He hit the rail in second place, leaving Roddy to claim the title.
The 2025 Susquehanna High Roller Champion, Roddy Huang!
Results
Roddy Huang
Hayden Flynn
Michael O’Donnell
Brandon Xu
Anson Choy
Minh Pham
Ajay Bagaria
Peter Zheng
Alexander Baek
Concluding Remarks
We want to express our deepest gratitude to all our volunteers from Cornell Poker Club, as well as all our amazing players who trusted the process and were willing to take time out of their day to compete! Without you all, this event would not have been possible!
Huge thanks to Susquehanna International Group for sponsoring the event and making the 2025 Cornell WSOP — now the 2025 Susquehanna High Roller — the biggest and most memorable in Cornell Poker Club history.
- Ian Yang ‘25 (Cornell Poker Club President)
