From the moment the 2024 World Series of Poker $250,000 Super High Roller reached six-handed play, Santhosh Suvarna spent the vast majority of his time as the shortest or second-shortest stack remaining in the field.
Ben Tollerene seemingly had an iron grip on the gold bracelet, pairing well-timed aggression with some stunningly advantageous runouts to build an almost insurmountable chip lead.
But Suvarna simply refused to go out. His pocket deuces made a full house to double. Then his 
somehow survived Tollerene’s 
despite a 
flop and 
turn. His stack swung wildly, up and down, but when he was at risk Suvarna simply could not lose. After busting Chris Hunichen, who capped an impressive week of his own by pushing his total earnings over two events to over $5.2 million with third place in this tournament (following a $100K High Roller victory), Suvarna quickly erased the rest of Tollerene’s lead and pulled even.
One flopped straight and a rivered 10 later, Suvarna was victorious. He defeated Tollerene heads up to win his second career WSOP gold bracelet and the $5.4 million first-place prize. He did so at a final table that also featured six-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus and WPT Champions Club member Taylor von Kriegenbergh.
“I have seen many tournaments were one big blind can win,” said Suvarna. “So [whether] I have more than 10 BBs, seven BBs, I’m not looking any player’s stack. I’m looking at my stack. I want to double up. I won three or four flips, so I did it.”
Suvarna won his first career bracelet back in November at WSOP Europe, in a €50,000 High Roller in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. But it pales in comparison to Suvarna’s victory on Sunday – his first win in Las Vegas, his biggest career cash and a comeback for the record books.
His navigation of one of the biggest buy-in event of the summer and one of the toughest field is made all the more impressive by the fact that Suvarna’s only been playing tournament poker for seven years, and seriously so for only two.
Suvarna jumped immediately into the world of high rollers and started showing results almost immediately on the Triton Super High Roller Series. After making a half-dozen final tables in his first year attending Triton events, Suvarna captured his first Triton win just over a year ago in Cyprus.
“I’m playing in Triton events with all or most of the world’s best players,” said Suvarna. “So daily, I’m learning, and their app also very good as I can check every hand and every player.”
Suvarna featured prominently in the biggest buy-in poker tournament of 2023, making the final table of the $1 million buy-in WPT Big One for One Drop. He finished just short of the money, in sixth place. Additionally, Suvarna has popped up in some of the biggest live streamed cash games in the world, including Hustler Casino Live, High Stakes Poker, and a WPT-branded cash game.
It’s unlikely you’ll see Suvarna chasing WSOP Player of the Year honors, chasing $1,500 No Limit titles or anything along those lines. But when there’s a high roller to be played almost anywhere in the world, you can trust that if Suvarna can make it, he’ll more than likely be there.
Sunday’s victory in the $250,000 WSOP Super High Roller was a crowning victory in his career, and the joy he felt in the aftermath while surrounded by friends was palpable. And even for a player who can comfortably afford these big buy-in events on a regular basis, Suvarna was overjoyed after completing his incredible comeback victory.
“I’m really so happy, and my dream’s come true,” said Suvarna. “Yeah, this is very big tournament.”