As Event 1 played to its Hungarian-influenced conclusion in Cyprus tonight, the second event on the week’s schedule played through its Day 1.
In that one, there were 51 entries of $100K apiece (with registration still open) and the familiar figure of Michael Addamo atop the overnight counts.
Chip leading Michael Addamo
Addamo has been on one of those streaks of late that sometimes occur in the high buy-in events. He even cashed the $50K here, before hopping into the $100K to bag the chip lead.
The Dutch pair of Tom Vogelsang and Teun Mulder are Addamo’s closest challengers at this stage, both of whom arrived slightly late to Cyprus but have hit the ground running.
The full stacks at this stage are as follows. Registration remains open for another hour on Day 2 before they play to a winner. There’s also an additional $50K Turbo event starting tomorrow at 4pm.
The Triton Poker Series always generates the best stories, and we saw a cracker in Cyprus tonight. The final two players in the first event of this week’s action — a $50K buy-in no limit hold’em event — were two friends, Andras Nemeth and Laszlo Bujtas.
They are both Hungarian. They were both playing their first ever Triton event. And, in fact, they were the first two players from Hungary ever to play on this series. And then they finished heads-up, with Nemeth beating his good friend to a first prize of $1.082 million.
Bujtas, who at 29 is 10 years younger than Nemeth, made do with $770,000. Both have every reason to be delighted with their debut performance on this tour.
“It wasn’t easy,” Nemeth said. “The final table was really tough. I was a little bit nervous at the start and I made a couple of … well, it was close but I made some not good decisions. Then when we got short stacked, it was all about who was going to win the first major all-in.”
He added: “It was surreal to play for the first time and to then get heads-up against one of my best friends in poker. I had to pinch myself.”
There were 36 players seated at the start of play today, including the Dutchman Teun Mulder, who became the final buy-in before registration closed. Organisers soon confirmed the near $4 million prize pool, including more than $1 million for first place.
With only 11 places paying, and some short stacks, the inevitable fast start swept plenty of players away — or, more precisely, to the second event of this week’s series, a $100K no limit hold’em tournament. (That one concludes tomorrow.)
The bubble approached rapidly and burst before the dinner break, with the Belorussian Triton favourite Mikita Badziakouski falling in 12th place. He had only a tiny stack and an ace in the big blind, which made it a mandatory call after Michael Soyza shoved all-in from the small blind.
Mikita Badziakouski bursts the bubble
Unfortunately for Badziakouski, his couldn’t outdraw Soyza’s and Soyza, celebrating his birthday, locked up a cash for himself — as well as the other 10. Badziakouski was bounced short of another $100K payday.
Soyza’s joy was relatively short lived as he slipped away in ninth ($113,000), joining Michael Addamo (11th – $99,000), Eng Siang Ewe (10th – $99,000) and Sam Greenwood (eighth – $147,000) in departing before the final table.
Sam Greenwood: Day ended in eighth
But then the last seven (officially an “unofficial” final table in a six-max event) took some dinner and then their seats again to play to the first champion of the week.
Last seven (l-r): Jason Koon, Tommy Kim, Stephen Chidwick, Andras Nemeth, Laszlo Bujtas, Phil Ivey, Elton Tsang.
It wasn’t long before the first elimination: Stephen Chidwick perished in seventh after flopping a set of twos on a ten-high board. The only problem for the British player was that Elton Tsang’s turned a flush. Chidwick, already the leader on the UK money list, added a further $188,000.
Stephen Chidwick: Seventh
After Chidwick’s departure, stack sizes were short and there was every chance of a swift conclusion, particularly as the length of the levels was also reduced. However, the tournament then went through one of those periods where every single all-in player doubled up and the chip lead rotated through almost all of the remaining contenders.
“This is a really cool final table,” Jason Koon said after he doubled up Tsang. Tsang, who led overnight, had been left short after doubling up at least three others, including Koon.
As it turned out, those two became the next two eliminations. Tsang had built back to second in chips, but perished at the hands of the leader, Nemeth. Tsang was disappointed, but there was nothing he could have done. It was simply one of those days. He took $240,100 for sixth, after losing with to Nemeth’s .
Elton Tsang rode the roller coaster before busting sixth
Koon was similarly helpless with a sub 10-big blind stack. At this point, it was really just about laddering up if possible, and taking it on the chin if not. Koon lost with to Bujtas’ . There was not much he could have done about that either.
Jason Koon’s fun tournament ended in fifth
If there was ever proof that this had turned into the kind of tournament where there wasn’t a whole lot of player agency, the next person out was Phil Ivey. Plenty of poker observers are convinced that Ivey has the ultimate magic touch, capable of turning any situation to his profit.
But not this one. He had the micro stack four-handed and it was soon in the middle. He was next to the payouts table, collecting $387,100, when his lost to Bujtas’ .
Phil Ivey made the final on his return to Triton Series
At this point, the only player who could upset the Hungarian party was South Korea’s Tommy Kim, who was also a first-timer on the Triton tour. But the gods seemed to have decreed the European battle and Nemeth knocked out Kim in third when his pocket fours made a straight to beat Kim’s pocket sevens.
That was harsh, but Kim picked up $503,000, which is also a fine payday for a newcomer.
Tommy Kim couldn’t beat the Hungarians
Nemeth referenced all of the major hands — those winners against Tsang and Kim in particular — when he gave a quick post-tournament interview. There was also not much he could do about any of that, but was delighted to end up on the right side of it. It was a pretty swift affair against Bujtas too. Nemeth had and Bujtas had .
Everything went in, and Bujtas finished second. He collected $770,000 and left Nemeth as the millionaire.
Lazlo Bujtas’ defeated heads upA very happy Andras Nemeth
It’s Nemeth’s largest ever live cash, but one suspects he’ll improve on it pretty soon, particularly if he continues to play on the Triton Series. There are five more events to come this week alone. Follow all the action in the usual places.
TRITON CYPRUS SPECIAL EDITION EVENT 1: $50K SIX-HANDED NLHE
1 – Andras Nemeth, Hungary, $1,082,000
2 – Laszlo Bujtas, Hungary, $770,000
3 – Tommy Kim, South Korea, $503,800
4 – Phil Ivey, USA, $387,100
5 – Jason Koon, USA, $307,000
6 – Elton Tsang, Hong Kong, $240,100
7 – Stephen Chidwick, UK, $188,000
8 – Sam Greenwood, Canada, $147,000
9 – Michael Soyza, Malaysia, $113,000
10 – Eng Siang Ewe, Malaysia, $99,000
11 – Michael Addamo, Australia, $99,000
A lot of incredibly talented poker players were eliminated from Event #1 of the Triton Series Cyprus Special Edition in the early levels of play today, but there was barely any fuss made about any of them.
Timothy Adams, Christoph Vogelsang, Daniel Dvoress, Nick Petrangelo and Teun Mulder were all among those who departed in silence, having burned off their last $50K buy-in. But they simply sat around for an hour or so, maybe grabbed a bite to eat, before getting right back into the action in Event #2, another no limit hold’em tournament, where the buy-in is $100,000.
The absence of drama is perfectly standard in events like this, but it’s also normal that the elimination of Mikita Badziakouski, which just happened here in the Crystal Cove Resort, was a good deal more charged. That’s because Badziakouski was the bubble boy, the final player eliminated before the money kicked in.
At Triton events, when the money kicks in, it really kicks in. A min-cash in this tournament is $99,000. It meant that Badziakouski was the last player to miss out on what is essentially a six-figure payday.
Event 1 bubble boy: Mikita Badziakouski
The hand in question happened on the feature table, shortly after the full tournament redraw when only 12 players were left. That random sorting of the remaining field put the two shortest stacks in the room — Badziakouski and Siang Eng Ewe — on the same table, while all the monster stacks headed to the floor. We kind of knew at that point that, barring any ridiculous cooler or some ICM suicide, stream viewers would see the final penniless bustout up close.
It turned out to be a tragedy in two acts. Firstly, Badziakouski opened a pot, perhaps only the third since the redraw, but then folded when his fellow short-stack Siang Eng Ewe shipped from the big blind. That left the Belorussian crusher with only nine big blinds.
Siang Eng Ewe: Short-stack survivor
He was in the big blind himself soon after and action folded around to Michael Soyza in the small blind. Soyza is celebrating his birthday today, and enjoyed a glass of champagne, a cake and some sparklers during the most recent tournament break. But he was looking for some cash to really make this one to remember. It was soon in his own hands.
With a stack of around 1.2 million, Soyza looked down at and moved all-in. Now all he needed was Badziakouski to find something with which he’d be prepared to risk it all. The in Badziakouski’s hand passed the test. He called and was at risk for his final 355,000.
Action concluded without incident on the outer table, so the dealer was able to put the on the most meaningful flop. That connected with nobody.
“I’m not asking for too much, just a deuce,” Badziakouski said. “A sweat.”
The turn was pretty good for him, giving him four extra outs. But four is an unlucky number among Asian gamblers, and it didn’t appear here to bail out Badziakouski. The river was the .
Michael Soyza returned from birthday celebrations to burst the bubble
There was a smattering of applause as Badziakouski got up from the table and made his way over to the $100K event. (Yep, he jumped straight in that one.) Badziakouski has won three Triton Series events prior to this, and sits pretty at fifth in the all time Triton rankings, with $11.8 million earned on this series.
But he won’t be adding to it just yet. Badziakouski is now getting used to life as the most recent bubble boy instead.
Registration closed at 1pm today on the first event of the Triton Series Special Edition in Cyprus — and the headline speaks for itself. Despite the $50K buy-in representing the smallest event on the schedule, the tournament winner will bank more than $1 million.
It bodes very well for the remainder of the festival, where bigger buy-ins will mean prize pools will necessarily escalate too.
But back to this first event: the total number of entries hit 82, including 37 re-entries. There was a flurry of those on the second morning, with players eliminated yesterday digging deep to remain in the hunt.
The tournament also welcomed Teun Mulder to the fray. The Dutchman missed the opening day but bought in at the last minute to become the 45th unique player in the event. The prize pool therefore crept close to $4 million. The full payout schedule is below — and you’ll see that a min-cash is worth a buck short of $100K, i.e., twice a buy-in.
Teun Mulder: Last-gasp entry
TRITON CYPRUS SPECIAL EDITION EVENT 1: $50K SIX-HANDED NLHE
The world of Super High Roller poker is close-knit and familial. Everybody tends to know and respect everybody else. It is far from a closed shop, however, and newcomers are always welcome, whether they originate in the poker or the business community.
The evidence for that is plain to see here in Cyprus, where 15 players sat down in the opening $50K no limit hold’em event who had never before played on the Triton Series.
A number of them are familiar faces in other Super High Roller events, including Jake Schindler, Ali Imsirovic, Rok Gostisa and Chris Brewer, who typically play the high buy-in tournaments in the United States, with great success.
Chris Brewer: One of 15 newcomers to the Triton family
But we also saw for the first time the Hungarian duo of Andras Nemeth and Laszlo Bujtas, plus fellow Europeans Johan Guilbert, of France, and the Russian pair Artur Martirosyan and Viacheslav Buldygin. Barak Wisbrod became the first Israeli to play on the Triton Series.
But Triton Series is of Asian origins, and it’s good to see another handful of players appearing from that continent playing for the first time too. Siang Ewe Eng and Loon Ling Tien are Malaysian; Tommy Kim is from South Korea; William Tjokroprawiro is from Indonesia; and Bong Lo Kai is from Hong Kong.
All are very welcome and no doubt good things are in the offing too.
NEWS FLASH! ADDITIONAL TOURNAMENT ADDED
By Triton standards, the schedule here in Cyprus was fairly sedate, with four tournaments spread over six days. But it didn’t take too long for that to change, with organisers this morning adding a fifth event.
A $50K NLHE Turbo will start on April 4, at 4pm, and play to a winner that night. Registration for this event will end at completion of Level 8 (approx 7:00pm) with unlimited re-entries up until that point.
With 20 minute levels, this one should move along briskly. But it’ll still mean a late night — and a huge prize pool, no doubt. The Short Deck events will start as scheduled the following day.
It has been 33 long months since Triton Poker last assembled a group of elite poker players to play the best high-stakes poker series on the planet. But the painful waiting is now finally over.
Today at the Merit Crystal Cove Resort & Casino, in Girne, Cyprus, Triton Series made its return — and it was as if we had never been away.
The opening event of a four-tournament festival played through its first 10 levels, with 75 entries (including 31 re-entries) of $50,000 apiece. That means there is already more than $3.5 million in the prize pool, for what is the smallest buy-in event on the schedule.
Registration is still open until the start of Day 2 tomorrow, so the prize pool hasn’t stopped growing yet.
Despite the absence, there was everything we have come to know and love — the best players demonstrating their full range of skills — plus an exclusive live stream, with cards-up coverage and expert commentary.
A great number of familiar faces returned to the felt, but there were were also at least 13 players making their first appearance at a Triton event, from at least 11 countries. All are likely to stay for the full week, which culminates in a $125K short-deck event on April 6.
But to focus again on today’s action: the chip leader at this stage is one of our old timers: Hong Kong’s Elton Tsang. Tsang was bouncing along steadily for most of the day until he won a huge pot on the feature table in the final level. His benefactor was the US-based Bosnian player Ali Imsirovic, who was returning to Cyprus after winning in the Super High Roller Bowl here last time.
Elton Tsang
But after both Tsang and Imsirovic made two pair, kings and jacks, they got it all in. Tsang had an ace kicker, which beat Imsirovic’s eight.
“He ended up donating all his chips to me,” Tsang said. But even though he maintained the chip lead to the end of the day, Tsang refused to believe he had anything locked up yet. “It’s still too early,” he said, when asked if he was confident he could win it.
In a field where almost everybody is a superstar, it’s difficult to pull out other names to highlight. But all poker fans will have been delighted to see Phil Ivey show up for Day 1 action — and bag the only other million-chip stack in the room. (Starting stack was 200,000.) Ivey has one Triton title to his name, from Montenegro in 2018, so he’s about due another.
Phil Ivey
Among the Triton debutants is Russia’s Artur Martirosian, who has won on the European Poker Tour and has heaps of online accolades. Martirosian is trying to continue that form on the Triton tour and has started healthily. He sits in third. Full chip stacks for the remaining 34 players appear at the bottom of this post.
Artur Martirosan
Play resumes at 1pm tomorrow, at which point registration will close and we’ll have the final figures for this tournament. But three hours later, the $100K buy-in no limit hold’em event gets started, promising all of the same but doubled.
Triton Poker Super High Roller Series 2022, Bali – A Helping Hand for Charity from February 17th to March 1st, 2022.
Set against a backdrop of Bali’s lush scenery and rich heritage, the event is set to showcase to its audiences what the beautiful island has to offer. Known to many as Land of the Gods, Bali captivates through its pure natural beauty of colourful ceremonies, looming volcanoes and iconic terraced rice fields – a true paradise to behold.
We are thrilled to finally be back and plan to continue delivering exclusive coverage of our highly anticipated season kick-off to our growing audiences across multiple platforms and look forward to presenting the thrills and excitement our tournaments have to offer. We are always working tirelessly to continue to innovate our live poker tournaments, bring exclusive and exhilarating poker entertainment anytime, anywhere all the while channeling meaningful charitable initiatives to the less fortunate.
The 2022 season starts off with our partnership with Jacob & Co as the Exclusive Official Timekeeper for the highly anticipated line-up.
Catch our unparalleled live coverage on our official Triton Poker Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook channels and on our soon-to-be-launched app – Triton Poker Plus.Further details are available here for more information.
couldn’t outdraw Soyza’s 
and Soyza, celebrating his birthday, locked up a cash for himself — as well as the other 10. Badziakouski was bounced short of another $100K payday.
turned a flush. Chidwick, already the leader on the UK money list, added a further $188,000.
to Nemeth’s 
.
to Bujtas’ 
lost to Bujtas’ 
.
and Bujtas had 
.
on the most meaningful flop. That connected with nobody.
.
