The first-ever Triton High Roller held in conjunction with the partypoker MILLIONS live tour has come to an end, and Aymon Hata survived a field of 47 entrants to capture the R 48,000,000 (USD 756,000) first prize, after beating Vladimir Troyanovskiy in heads-up action.
24 players survived a 37-entrant Day 1 field.
Patrik Antonius led the way with that chiselled chin of his.
Hata ended the first day sixth in chips.
Late registration remained open for a full two hours of Day 2, and a further ten entrants added USD 470,000 to the prize pool.
Let’s see how that whittled down to only one.
Level 9: 500/1000/1000 – Yaroshevskyy Busts Pateychuk; Antonius Takes Care of Machon.
Igor Yaroshevskyy had a great Day 1, and Day 2 began much the same way. The Ukranian star opened to 2,300, Andrey Pateychuk three-bet to 6,500; Yaroshevskyy called.
The Flop was 7h3h3s, and Yaroshevskyy check-called a 5,000 bet, before doing likewise on the 5c turn for another 16,00. The river card was the 4h, Yaroshevsky moved all-in, and Pateychuk made the call. Yaroshevskyy showed A2hh for the nut flush, and Pateychuk had to re-enter early.
Patrik Antonius also began brightly. The Day 1 chip leader eliminated Bartlomiej Machon after they both flopped two pairs on AhJs8c. The Finn’s AJo dominated the A8o of the Pole, and Machon had to re-enter.
Level 10: 600/1200/1200 – Ivey Eliminates Yurasov; Leow Coolers Passet; No Birthday Cake For Filatov
Phil Ivey’s pocket jacks took care of a short-stacked Dmitry Yurasov’s KQcc to send the Russian packing. Ivan Leow did the same to Abraham Passet AT>AK, all-in pre-flop with Leow flopping a ten to come from behind. And Shyngis Satubayev bust the birthday boy, Anatoly Filatov.
Level 11: 800/1600/1600 – Bord, Ivey & Chow Lose Bullets; Fast In And Out
Ivan Leow eliminated the former World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event winner, James Bord. Hing Yaung Chow sent Phil Ivey to the cash desk when his pocket tens spiked a third ten on the turn to beat pocket jacks. And then Chow fell victim to a cooler that saw him also dig deep into his jean pockets, after getting it in with pocket eights on 765r, only for Machon to be holding 98o, for the straight.
Patrick Antonius sent Fast into his wallet when the Germa’s pocket queens failed to beat AQo after an ace landed on the flop. Fast re-entered and quickly bust Pateychuk.
Level 12: 1000/2000/2000 – Hata Busts Lim; Fast Out; Hata Eliminates Satubayev.
Aymon Hata eliminated Chin Wei Lim after the pair got it in on an 8s5s4d flop with Lim holding 86cc for top pair and a gutshot, and Hata holding pocket fives for a sticky middle set.
Fast’s topsy-turvy competition ended when he lost a flip against Wai Kin Yong KJ<99 after Yong flopped a set. His compatriot Manig Loeser joined him in the ‘down in the dumps club’ after Ivan Leow eliminated him. And Hata continued to rock things at the top of the chip counts sending Satubayev to the rail QQ>AK.
Level 13: 1200/2400/2400 – Khoroshenin, Yong, Sinclair And Aldemir Bust.
Ivan Leow ousted Oleksii Khoroshenin QQ>22, all-in pre-flop. Paul Phua sent Richard Yong back to his suite AQs>AKo after rivering a flush, and then we lost the former November Niner, Jack Sinclair, after the Brit got it in with tens against the jacks of Vladimir Troyanovskiy, to condense this thing to two tables. Then a battle of the Germans saw Philipp Gruissem come from behind to eliminate Koray Aldemir KJo>ATo after binking a jack on the river.
Level 14: 1500/3000/3000 – Phua Busts Gofman; Antonius Eliminates Beh.
Aleksandr Gofman fell short of the money after his shove holding A4hh fell into the bearhug of Paul Phua’s AQcc. And then we lost Kok Weng Beh after he called a turn shove from Antonius, seeking the nut flush draw, with Antonius already holding the goods.
Level 15: 2000/4000/4000 – Leow Takes Two; Becker Busts; Yong Out.
Ivan Leow sent a short-stacked Wai Leong Chan to the rail when his ATo bested K2o all-in pre-flop, and then became a real force in the competition eliminating Igor Yaroshevskyy when his pocket sixes turned a set to beat the Ukranian’s rockets. And we also lost Johannes Becker after Wai Kin Yong and Patrik Antonius’ AQ chopped KJ into two bite-sized chunks.
Yong didn’t last much longer though. The two-time Triton Champ got it in with A3o against the pocket queens of Konstantin Uspenskii, and pocket nines of Hata. Uspenskii’s hand held up to double through Hata, and the tournament waved bye-bye to Yong.
Unofficial Final Table
1. Ivan Leow – 663,500
2. Konstantin Uspenskii – 525,000
3. Paul Phua -240,000
4. Vladimir Troyanovskiy – 228,000
5. Patrik Antonius – 220,500
6. Bartlomiej Machon – 148,500
7. Timothy Adams – 139,000
8. Philipp Gruissem – 121,500
9. Aymon Hata – 119,500
Level 16: 2500/500/500 – Gruissem Busts Machon.
Three people would leave with the inside of a flat tyre, and the first was Bartlomiej Machon after the Pole got it in with AQ versus the AK of Philipp Gruissem.
Level 17: 3000/6000/6000 – Paul Phua Double, Double, Double.
Timothy Adams doubled through Paul Phua AK>AT. Phua then doubled through Hata AA>KQs, and Gruissem AJ>74cc.
Level 18: 4000/8000/8000 – Phua Busts Adams; Hata Climbing.
Phua opened to 16,000 with AQo, and Adams defended the big blind with ATcc. The flop was AJ8r, and Adams check-called a 20,000 Phua bet. The turn was the 9h, and Adams moved all-in. Phua called, and a community card later the Canadian was out.
Then Hata doubled through Leow AJo>KK after flopping an ace.
Level 19: 5000/10000/10000 – Leow Bubbles.
Phua opened to 125,000, and Leow shoved his last 143,000 into the middle from the button Antonius did likewise for 172,000, and Phua made the call.
Antonius: QcQh
Phua: JdJh
Leow: AsTh
The ace never got out of bed, and Antonius tripled up to 497,000, Phua moved down to 306,000, and Leow was out on the bubble.
Level 20: 6000/12000/12000 – Antonius Busts Gruissem.
A short-stacked Gruissem moved all-in holding A9o, and Antonius nailed him to the cross with AJo.
Level 21: 8000/16000/16000 – Antonius Busts Phua; Hata Busts Antonius and Uspenskii.
Phua moved all-in holding pocket nines, and once again Antonius was waiting with a great big hammer – this time pocket kings – and Phua was out in the fifth spot. Then Antonius followed him out of the casino entrance.
Troyanovskiy opened to 37,000 from under the gun holding AKo, Antonius defended the small blind with 76hh, and Hata came along for the big blind ride holding A4hh.
Flop: Th3h3s
The action checked to Troyanovskiy who bet 50,000, Antonius moved all-in for 408,000chasing his flush, Hata moved all-in for slightly more with the same idea in mind, and Troyanovskiy got out of the way.
Turn: 9h
Hata hit the nut flush, and only the 8h would have saved the Finn, but it didn’t come out to play.
And then Hata took a big lead into a heads-up battle with Troyanovskiy after eliminating Uspenskii. The Russian moved all-in holding K8ss, and Hata called and won with pocket queens.
Heads-Up Chip Counts
Aymon Hata – 1,581,000
Vladimir Troyanovskiy – 775,000
Troyanovskiy played well during heads-up, but never closed the gap. The final hand saw the Russian get it in with J7o, and Hata called and won with K4cc.
The victory was Hata’s first of his career and his second most significant score after finishing third in the $100,000 High Roller at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $1,247,230.
Here are the ITM results:
1. Aymon Hata – R 48,000,000 (USD 756,000)
2. Vladimir Troyanovskiy – R 31,860,000 (USD 501,795)
3. Konstantin Uspenskii – R 22,500,000 (USD 354,375)
4. Patrik Antonius – R 15,000,000 (USD 236,250)
5. Paul Phua – R 10,500,000 (USD 165,375)
6. Philipp Gruissem – R 17,500,000 (USD 118,125)