The nature of the Triton Million – A Helping Hand For Charity tournament, which is taking place this week in London’s Park Lane Hilton, was always guaranteed to bring thrills, spills and heartbreak. And today, as the field of players who paid £1.05 million just to sit down was trimmed to its final eight, we enjoyed and endured it all.
For some, such as Vivek Rajkumar, pictured above, and Stephen Chidwick, there was nothing but glee. They have by far the two biggest chip stacks going into tomorrow’s final day, and are the favourites to win the £19 million first prize, the biggest ever awarded at a poker tournament.
However, if you ever mention today to the Russian pro Igor Kurganov, you should do so solemnly and from a long distance, for your own safety. Kurganov finished this tournament in 12th place, on the stone bubble, leaving with nothing to show for his work. The 11 players from whom he was estranged guaranteed themselves a minimum £1.1 million. It was the bitterest pill for Kurganov to swallow.
Kurganov was one of a small clutch of players whose hopes hung by a thread as the original starting field of 54 was whittled towards its top 20 percent. By that point, other superstars including Jason Koon, Sam Greenwood, Justin Bonomo, Nick Petrangelo and Christoph Vogelsang were also already on the scrapheap.
But then Kurganov’s pocket tens ran into the pocket jacks of Bill Perkins, and Kurganov was unable to find an outdraw when he really needed it most. It was actually Perkins who was officially under threat, with marginally fewer chips, but the hedge fund manager’s better hand remained more powerful and kept him alive. Kurganov was left only with shrapnel and lost it to Rajkumar moments later.
Perkins kindly agreed to donate 10 percent of his winnings from this tournament to REG charity, the foundation established by Kurganov and friends, and to whom he had made the same pledge. The donation will be in addition to the £2.7 million already heading to charitable concerns from this tournament, the result of the £50,000 entry fee going directly to charity.
After Kurganov’s departure, the original plan was then to lose two more players and set a final table of nine. But Hong Kong businessman Winfred Yu was quickly knocked out in 11th, collecting £1.1 million, before two more Asian stars went out almost simultaneously. Bryn Kenney knocked out Chin Wei Lim and Adams sent Wai Leong Chan home. It left us with only eight still in the hunt and a line-up for tomorrow as follows (in seat order):
1 – Timothy Adams, Canada, 5.735 million
2 – Bryn Kenney, USA, 5.54 million
3 – Alfred DeCarolis, USA, 5.455 million
5 – Vivek Rajkumar, India, 18 million
6 – Bill Perkins, USA, 2 million
7 – Stephen Chidwick, UK, 9.79 million
8 – Dan Smith, USA, 2.35 million
9 – Aaron Zang, China, 5.06 million
“I could not have scripted this better,” said Rajkumar, the leader. He admitted that he wasn’t sure if he was even going to play the event, but became a last-gasp registrant when Rick Salomon extended an invitation to him. “I had other commitments with family and stuff, but then I thought I’d come and play this awesome event.”
Coincidentally, Salomon was the first player out of the tournament, busting yesterday within two hours of it starting. But Rajkumar’s superlative show raises the prospect of that partnership bookending the entire tournament in hugely unlikely fashion. “It’s nuts,” Rajkumar said.
The two other partnerships of note are between Alfred DeCarolis and Chidwick, and Perkins and Smith. All four have made it to the final, guaranteeing a significant payday for all of them. Both Chidwick and Smith have a further incentive: either of them could overtake Justin Bonomo as poker’s all-time leading money winner if they he prevails tomorrow. The same applies to Bryn Kenney, who has made yet another final table on the Triton Series.
Play will begin tomorrow at 1pm when the stakes have never been higher. The players are also all now required to dress for the occasion — a prospect that will mean a last-gasp shopping trip for both Perkins and Rajkumar at least.
“Holy shit! I gotta get a suit!” Perkins said. These are different types of businessmen.
PAYOUT INFORMATION
Triton Million for Charity
Dates: August 1-3, 2019
Buy-in: £1.05 million
Players: 54
Prize-pool: £54 million
1 – £19 million
2 – £11.67 million
3 – £7.2 million
4 – £4.41 million
5 – £3 million
6 – £2.2 million
7 – £1.72 million
8 – £1.4 million
9 – Wai Leong Chan, China, £1.2 million
10 – Chin Wei Lim, China, £1.1 million
11 – Winfred Yu, Hong Kong, £1.1 million
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Photography by Joe Giron/PokerPhotoArchive