Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates Wins $15M in the Biggest Televised Poker Game Ever

Dan “Jungleman” Cates just pulled off one of the wildest days in poker history — dropping the single biggest televised pot ever played, but still walking away with a cool $15 million in profit.

The high-stakes marathon went down Tuesday at the Onyx Super High Roller Series in Cyprus, where Cates squared off against Finnish esports entrepreneur Ossi Ketola, better known as “Monarch.” Over six nosebleed-stakes heads-up matches with buy-ins ranging from $1 million to $6 million apiece, the two smashed records, swung through brutal coolers, and left thousands of stunned viewers glued to the live stream.

Breaking Records at the Onyx Club

It’s crazy to say, but the opening €1 million matches were, practically, the warm-up. Cates won the first, Ketola struck back in the second, and then the real fireworks began with $3 million on the table each — where Ketola found himself on the good end of two brutal coolers.

First, Ketola opened to $100,000 on the button with K-K and Cates flatted with 7-7. The flop came K-Q-Q, giving Ketola a full house and leaving Cates in rough shape. Ketola bet $75,000 and Cates called. The turn 7 put Cates into an even deeper trap with a smaller full house. With $350,000 in the middle, Ketola fired $150,000, Cates raised it to $400,000, and Ketola called. The river brought another queen, and Cates shoved for $825,000 — nearly everything he had left. Ketola called and tabled the winner to drag a $2.8 million pot.

The very next hand it happened again. Cates raised with Q-8, Ketola defended with Q-J, and the flop came queen-high. Cates hit two pair by the turn and bet big, but Ketola had turned the better two pair. Another seven-figure swing and suddenly Ketola was in charge. Cates shook his head, muttered “I’m angry,” and walked away from the table for a minute.

The blinds went up to $25,000/$50,000 for the €5 million duels, and Cates steadied himself. In Match 4 he snapped off a $750,000 river bluff from Ketola with nothing but king-high, winning a $2 million pot. He went on to win that match, then backed it up by dominating Match 5 as well, catching value in smaller pots and pushing Ketola down to crumbs before closing it out.

By the time they reached Match 6, the buy-ins had climbed to $6 million with $30,000/$60,000 blinds — the round that produced the biggest televised poker pot ever. Cates opened with A♥8♣, Ketola three-bet to $450,000 with A♣J♣, and Cates called. The flop came 7♣5♣2♦, giving Cates a flush draw and Ketola top pair. Cates bet $400,000, Ketola called. The turn 4♥ made Cates continue with a bet of $700,000, Ketola called again. By the river, $5.2 million sat in the middle when the 9♦ fell. Ketola then check-jammed his $2.53 million, making the pot $7.7 million — the largest ever shown on stream. Jungleman thought it over while chewing on a breadstick, then folded.

Even after losing that monster, the Jungleman pulled up his socks and later called Ketola’s $1.4 million river bet holding Q-Q on a, not so great, board for pocket queens, beating Ketola’s K-K for a $4.8 million swing. You could say that hand broke Monarch’s last resistance.

The session went on for nearly 12 hours. And unexpectedly, the final hand wasn’t anything spectacular – Ketola shoved with Q♥3♥, Cates called with A♦8♥, and Jungle’s ace-high held to mark the end of the biggest streamed heads-up battle in history.

Results and Aftermath

Across the six heads-up matches, nearly $28 million hit the table. The two opened with $1 million buy-ins and split the first two matches. Ketola pulled ahead in the $3 million round, but Cates came storming back. He won the next three, including the $6 million finale that produced the biggest televised pot ever seen.

When it was all over, Cates had taken four of the six matches and finished with about $15 million in profit. Ketola, who had already dropped millions in earlier sessions against Kayhan Mokri, left Cyprus down roughly the same amount over two days.

Match Results

• Match 1 – $1,000,000 buy-in – Winner: Jungleman
• Match 2 – $1,000,000 buy-in – Winner: Ossi Ketola
• Match 3 – $3,000,000 buy-in – Winner: Ossi Ketola
• Match 4 – $5,000,000 buy-in – Winner: Jungleman
• Match 5 – $5,000,000 buy-in – Winner: Jungleman
• Match 6 – $6,000,000 buy-in – Winner: Jungleman

Cates’ $15 million haul was bigger than the first-place prize at this year’s WSOP Main Event, and the matches drew one of the largest online audiences ever for a streamed cash game.