Montenegro Poker Archives

Jungleman Cates swings in to claim last-gasp Triton Montengro victory

True to form on the Triton Super High Roller Series, the completion of the pre-scheduled slate of tournaments did not mean the end of this festival in Montenegro. Where there are players, there is a game, and a last-minute turbo was added on the final day giving players one more chance to mix it up at the Maestral Resort, Budva.

This was a HKD 300,000 buy-in event, combining the players’ two greatest loves: short deck and full deck hold’em, alternating every six hands, with 25-minute levels. There were 27 entries including 10 re-entries and that produced a prize pool of HKD 7.86 million — as near as dammit to $1 million. There aren’t many places in the world where a last-minute event can build a seven-figure prize pool, but the Triton Series is one.

There also aren’t that many places in the world — the real world, at least — where you’ll find three titans of poker named Dan Cates, Jason Koon and Rui Cao engaged in a three-way scrap for heaps. Cates is best known as “Jungleman”, the online cash-game sensation (and sometime soft porn actor), while Cao sometimes goes by “PepperoniF” as he clashes with the best for the biggest online pots. Koon is a Triton Ambassador and three-time champion on this series, and the fact that it was those three left at the end gave an indication of how tough and prestigious these events are.

In a matter of about eight hours, it was all done and dusted and Cates posed for the winner’s picture this time. The week began for him writhing on a poker table with a harem of women in various states of undress. It ended with him sitting with in one hand, a trophy in the other, and another title, plus HKD 3.93 million ($501,000) to his name.

“Pretty good,” he said, when asked how it felt to become the latest Triton champion, earning his second title. But he was’t yet sure what the future held for him. “I didn’t think of that,” he said when asked how he was going to celebrate. “There’s a party. I guess I’ll go to that and see what happens next.”

With Jungleman, that could mean absolutely anything.

Cates beat Koon heads-up, although it only lasted one hand. Koon’s was outdrawn, ending this festival in some-way appropriate manner. “What a heads-up battle that was,” Koon chirped after watching his hopes of a fourth title vanish. “Good game, buddy,” he added. Koon took HKD 2.367 million ($302,000) for second.

Triton Ambassador Jason Koon has to settle for second

With only three places to be paid from this small field, the usual pre-bubble tension only really descended after Paul Phua had departed in fifth. Phua should look back on the week in Montenegro with fondness, having cashed a remarkable six times. But it was bittersweet for him as he still doesn’t have a title, and he could’t get one at the last opportunity either. He clung on with a short stack, but eventually he lost it.

Mike Watson, who became the actual bubble boy not long after, probably won’t remember this trip with any real enthusiasm. He’s been on the receiving end of more than his fair share of beats, and today went out on the bubble with to Dan Cates’s . It was a short deck hand and equities were close, but it’s another sickener for Watson. They got it in on the flop of , when Watson had tons of outs. But he shook his head resignedly as he missed, finishing a series in which he cashed only once, for HKD 850,000 ($108,306).

Another sickener for bubble boy Mike Watson

With the last three now assured a minimum of HKD 1.56 million ($199,000), the pressure eased. Cao was the first to bust in the money, losing a massive pot with to Cates’s aces. He couldn’t fully recover and eventually succumbed to Koon in a full-deck hand. We know it was full deck because Cao got his last shrapnel in with and lost to Koon’s .

The blinds were big and the stacks were shallow, so a titanic heads-up duel was always unlikely. But they got it all-in on the first hand, the dealer delivered the outdraw, and that was that for the festival.

We had close to 1,000 entries, a combined prize pool of more than $42 million, and 11 champions from 12 events. Steve O’Dwyer was the first, Cates was the last and Bryn Kenney won two.

All the reports are on the news page of the Triton website. We’ll see you in London in a couple of months.

Triton Montenegro Event #13 – Short Deck/NLHE Mix
Dates: May 17, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 300,000 ($38,000)
Entries: 27 (inc. 10 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 7,857,000 ($1,000,000)

1st: Dan Cates, USA — HKD 3,930,000 ($501,000)
2nd: Jason Koon, USA — HKD 2,367,000 ($302,000)
3rd: Rui Cao, France — HKD 1,560,000 ($199,000)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Brilliant Badziakouski claims third title, rises to top of Triton rankings

Late last night, as the poker room at the Maestral Resort & Casino, in Budva, Montenegro, emptied, only a handful of reporters, a security guard and one player remained. The tournament — the HKD 750,000 ($96,000) short deck — was long over for the night but that player, the Belarusian superstar Mikita Badziakouski, sat hunched over his phone, alone. He was watching the Triton Series live stream, on a 30-minute delay, and was desperate to know what had happened on the last two hands he played.

The truth was he had lost them both. He was out-flopped and maybe outplayed by Tan Xuan on the first, and on the second attempted to run a bluff against the same opponent and got raised off his hand. He will have learnt that Xuan had the nuts — Badziakouski was correct to fold — and then he went back to his room for some sleep to return at noon today to play on.

Flash forward another few hours, and Badziakouski is again the last player remaining in the room. But this time it’s because he is the champion, booking his third outright win on the Triton Series and adding another HKD 13.3 million ($1.73 million) to his name. Badziakouski may have struggled in the late stages last night but he was unstoppable today, racing up the counts and sitting at the top for hours, then knocking out four of his last five opponents to seal the deal.

He now leapfrogs Jason Koon at the top of the Triton Series all-time rankings and pushes his winnings on the series beyond $10 million.

The final hurdle today, from a field of 52 entries (including 23 re-entries) was the Canadian pro Sam Greenwood, who had also been heavily involved in the action at the end of Day 1. Greenwood scored an enormous double up with one of the last hands of the day, and that allowed him similar big-stack comforts today. But when only two were left, Badziakouski’s heads-up lead was too much and Greenwood had to settle for second, worth HKD 8.6 million ($1.118 million).

Sam Greenwood, left, and Mikita Badziakouski

It’s the penultimate tournament of this 11-event festival, and the third to name two millionaires. There are few more deserving than Badziakouski and Greenwood.

“This was the first time I went deep in a short deck tournament. I was losing for a long time in short deck. I’m happy to finally win,” Badziakouski said. “It feels great, obviously.”

The early going today was brisk and brutal — starting up again when it left off last night. There were 17 players who came back, but ten went within the first two levels. Goodbye Isaac Haxton, Richard Yong, Jesus Cortes, Timofey Kuznetsov, Ivan Leow, Sergey Lebedev, Michael Soyza, Wai Leong Chan, Winfred Yu and Daniel Dvoress. Every one of those players has had a story to tell from this year’s Triton Montenegro, but it was only as a bit part in this particular tournament.

Last seven (l-r): Sam Greenwood, Devan Tang, Mikita Badziakouski, Tan Xuan, Qiang Wang, Paul Phua, Andrew Robl.

It was also a bit part only for Devan Tang, but his elimination in sixth afforded him special bubble-boy status. Tang won a short deck event in Jeju in March, but he was eliminated when his pocket jacks lost to Andrew Robl’s pocket aces. They both flopped a set, but Tang couldn’t his another one-outer to survive. Robl, playing his first tournament of the week, and who had also been all in and survived on the bubble, was delighted.

Tang’s knockout was great news in particular for Paul Phua, the overnight short stack, who had again managed to cling on and cash again — his fifth of this festival and 12th overall, more than anybody. “Oh my god, Paul again?” said John Juanda as he dropped by the poker room to check on the latest.

Phua was potentially going to be the first man out in the money as he got his stack in with in a three-way coup. He was covered by Robl’s stack, but Robl’s was drawing thin. The other player, overnight leader Tan Xuan, had , and he was in even more trouble.

The board bricked out, which meant Phua all but tripled, but Xuan was knocked out. Even his big stack from yesterday wasn’t insurance against the short-stack buffeting, but Phua’s resurgence showed the possibilities on the other side of the coin. Xuan won HKD 2.7 million.

Although Robl survived that confrontation, he suffered what proved to be more than just a flesh wound. He had only 22 antes left and was plenty good enough to speculate it all against Mikita Badziakouski’s pocket nines. By the time they got the full stacks in, Robl had a pair of queens on the flop but Badziakouski then turned a nine and Robl was toast. His HKD 3,422,500 ($444,925) payout it probably not much more than a big blind in the cash games he’s been playing, but it was fun while it lasted.

“It feels good,” Robl said after he was knocked out. “It’s always disappointing to go out of tournament, but I never had any chips. Once the bubble went down that was a relief. In a tournament, especially a short deck tournament, you have to win your all-ins to make a final table. It’s always fun to win them.”

“Always fun” might be Phua’s motto at the poker tables too, and no one has played more this week than him. However, his trophy cabinet still remains empty as his tournament this time ended in fourth place. Phua got his stack of 2.125 million all in with pocket queens, but Badziakouski’s turned an ace to win. Phua added another…ah, he doesn’t care about that, it’s all about the trophy!

Paul Phua, in customary final table pose

Badizakouski was on a tear and Wang Qiang, aka Shanghai Wang, must have feared the worst when he got his chips all in with to be faced by Badziakouski’s . Although Wang was a decent favourite, Badziakouski couldn’t miss today. And sure enough, the turn won another one. Wang played exceptionally solid poker, but had to make do with HKD 5.7 million ($741,000).

Badziakouski had a near four-to-one chip lead when they got heads up — 316 antes to 81 — and it seemed a foregone conclusion. That was especially true when Badziakouski limped his button, Greenwood pushed for about 1.5 million, and Badziakouski called, quickly tabling to Greenwood’s . Greenwood, however, wriggled out of this trap thanks to a couple of queens on the board.

The remarkable comeback faltered again, however, and Badziakouski closed it out just after 6pm local time. This time his held against Greenwood’s and that was the end of that.

Triton Montenegro Event #10 – Short Deck
Dates: May 15-16, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 750,000 ($96,000)
Entries: 52 (inc. 23 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 38,122,500 ($4,860,000)

1st — Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus – HKD 13,300,000 ($1,729,000)
2nd — Sam Greenwood, Canada – HKD 8,600,000 ($1,118,000)
3rd — Wang Qiang, China – HKD 5,700,000 ($741,000)
4th — Paul Phua, Malaysia – HKD 4,400,000 ($572,000)
5th — Andrew Robl, USA – HKD 3,422,500 ($444,925)
6th — Xuan Tan, China – HKD 2,700,000 ($351,000)

Mikita Badziakouski and girlfriend Melika Razavi

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Juanda survives short deck turbulence to claim second Triton title

John Juanda today folded quad sixes at a final table of the Triton High Roller Series. It was a huge fold, even in short deck hold em, and it was wrong. His opponent, Sergey Lebedev, was on a bluff. Juanda was also drawing dead in a hand against Wai Kin Yong a little later, but rivered a chop to survive. About two hours after the quad sixes incident, Juanda was still at the table with Lebedev and Yong long gone, and there was a Triton trophy in Juanda’s hands. That’s short deck.

The 47-year-old Juanda, five times a WSOP bracelet winner, tonight sealed his second victory on the Triton Series, winning the HKD 250,000 ($32,000) buy-in short deck tournament at the Maestral Resort, Budvar, Montenegro, securing a HKD 4.72 million ($613,600) payday. He previously won the main event in Macau, but this tournament was every bit as tough.

In winning today he not only showed his extraordinary grittiness and obduracy, he also yet again denied Daniel Dvoress a Triton title, despite the Canadian having carried an enormous chip lead into the second and final day. Dvoress had more than half the chips in play six handed, but still couldn’t get over the line. Dvoress is having an exceptional trip to Montenegro, and has made five final tables. But his long hunt for outright victory persists as he added his second runner-up spot of the festival.

Dvoress got exceptionally unlucky in crucial spots, doubling up opponents who got it in with inferior hands. But short deck hold’em is a volatile game and this time it was Juanda who found the right path to the title.

“It feels great,” Juanda said. “Every time you win a tournament like this, it’s an amazing feeling.” He added that he has only been playing short deck for nine months. He’s a quick learner.

They came back today with 12 players, the survivors of an opening day in which 65 entries (including 29 re-entries) swelled the prize pool to HKD 15.275 million ($1.95 million). Dvoress had absolutely heaps while all the others had to risk all and hope to ladder up. (Juanda was actually Dvoress’s closest challenger, but had less than half of the leader’s chips.)

Jesus Cortes was first out, losing a flip with to Michael Soyza’s overcards. Then Isaac Haxton followed him out the door in 11th when his was behind Dan Cates’s . The same hand — accounted for Winfred Yu in 10th — and that brought us to the HKD 616,000 bubble. Next out would go home with nothing, while everyone else would be guaranteed around $80,000.

It’s been a bit of a breakout series this week for Danny Tang, who won his first $1 million-plus prize in the full deck main event. And here he went on to taste the pain of his first super high roller bubble. Tang shipped his short stack with and Sergei Lebedev called with . Tang didn’t hit and Lebedev, who rode his luck in the early stages of the day, chipped up beyond 2.5 million as Tang headed away. “Good game,” he said.

Tang’s departure meant yet another in-the-money finish for Paul Phua. It was his 12th, a record on the series, and now two more than anybody else. Phua had other commitments this afternoon, including welcoming a local mayor and hospital director to the tournament room to receive Triton’s latest gift, so in some ways it was for the greater good that he was knocked out in eighth.

It was fairly straightforward: jacks into queens, with Dvoress holding the bigger hand. For once there was nothing too exciting about the board and Dvoress’s queens held.

Last seven in latest short deck event (l-r): Peter Jetten, Michael Soyza, John Juanda, Wai Kin Yong, Daniel Dvoress, Sergey Lebedev, Daniel Cates

Michael Soyza then hit the rail in seventh, before Cates’s elimination in sixth was grim for him — a one-two punch that maybe owed a large part to his extreme tiredness having played tournaments all day and cash games all night for a week. He went multi-way to a flop holding and then opted to check the flop. That turned out to be disastrous as the free card came on the turn, which hit Peter Jetten’s . The river deepened the mire for Jungleman and he lost about two thirds of his stack.

Not long after, Cates had , got his chips in and got a call from Wai Kin Yong’s . Yong rivered a straight to bust Cates and send him home with HKD 980,000 ($127,400).

With the usual hell-raisers now departed, Russia’s Lebedev again took on the mantle. He hit a chop on the river to keep hold of his big stack just before the bubble, and when the field was six-handed, he spotted a terrific opportunity for a bluff against Juanda. The board was out all the way, showing and Lebedev made a bet of 200,000 into a pot about four times the size. Lebedev only had so was playing the board, but Juanda wasn’t. He had in the hole, otherwise known as quads.

Juanda believed Lebedev, however, and let them go, obviously putting Lebedev on the case ace. It was a huge fold — I don’t think we’ve seen quads folded this week on the Triton Series — and Juanda will have been kicking himself when he watched it on the stream.

Despite all that, Lebedev still couldn’t build a huge stack and Juanda watched on as Peter Jetten sent Lebedev out. Lebedev shipped with , Jetten called with and there was nothing for Lebedev to get excited about. Lebedev’s first cash of this trip was worth HKD 1.25 million ($162,500).

It turns out that Lebedev’s chips were only really on temporary loan to Jetten, and they would eventually end up with Juanda. Jetten got his stack in as a 64 percent favourite with against Juanda’s on a board of . But the river was gin for Juanda and Jetten finished fourth for HKD 1.62 million ($210,600). That was his fourth final table of the week and ninth on the Triton Series.

The three-handed battled pitted two former champions, Yong and Juanda, against the week’s form player Dvoress. In a crazy hour or so of play, all three of them held the chip lead and all three of them was the short stack, before Yong became the next man out. The deck turned against him in a number of crucial spots and eventually he lost with against a resurgent Juanda’s .

Wai Kin Yong: Might have won, came third

“I think I’m pretty unlucky, I lost a few key hands and chopped once with Juanda when he was drawing dead,” Yong said when asked about the topsy-turvy three-handed battle. “But it’s fine. That’s why short-deck is fun.”

The heads-up players had about 80 antes apiece when they first got their chips in, chopping a pot with ace-queen each. But the final hand was a doozy, and demonstrated again how hard it is ever to win a hand, let alone a tournament, in this variant.

Daniel Dvoress burns through the time banks before calling

Dvoress was dealt and raised. Juanda had and called. They then saw the flop. Juanda had a flush and Dvoress had the nut-flush draw, plus an over-pair, and they gradually got the chips in.

Juanda checked, Dvoress bet 500,000 and Juanda called, bringing the turn. Both checked, and the came on the river. Juanda checked again, and Dvoress then bet 1.5 million — most likely a value bet with his two-pair. But Juanda sprung the trap and moved in for 9.2 million, a massive overbet into a 4 million chip pot. Dvoress spent three time-bank chips but then called, and saw the bad news.

Dvoress wins HKD 3.16 million ($410,800), while Juanda claimed HKD 4.72 million ($613,600).

Triton Montenegro Event #6 – Short Deck
Dates: May 14-15, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 250,000 ($32,000)
Entries: 65 (inc. 29 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 15.275 million ($1.95 million)

1st – John Juanda, Indonesia – HKD 4,720,000 ($613,600)
2nd – Daniel Dvoress, Canada – HKD 3,160,000 ($410,800)
3rd – Wai Kin Yong, Malaysia – HKD 2,150,000 ($279,500)
4th – Peter Jetten, Canada – HKD 1,620,000 ($210,600)
5th – Sergey Lebedev, Russia – HKD 1,250,000 ($162,500)
6th – Daniel Cates, USA – HKD 980,000 ($127,400)
7th – Michael Soyza, Malaysia – HKD 780,000 ($101,400)
8th – Paul Phua, Malaysia – HKD 615,000 ($79,950)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

Triton gives back: Company donates €30,000 ultrasound machine to Montenegro hospital

A lot of money changes hands on the Triton High Roller Series, but its co-founders Paul Phua and Richard Yong were clear of one thing from the start: the company is not interested in any profit. Any revenue generated away from the tables should be donated to various charitable causes.

This commitment was again underlined this afternoon at the Maestral Resort & Casino, Montenegro, when Phua greeted two special guests to the poker room and made Triton’s latest life-saving donation. In the presence of Petar Smolovic, the mayor of Bijelo Polje municipality, Phua handed a donation of €31,030 to Biserka Bulatović, the director of Bijelo Polje’s General Hospital.

That is the precise cost of a Hitachi Alokfa F37 ultrasound machine, a key piece of equipment for hospital that will help diagnose patients without the need for invasive procedures. The hospital has waited for 10 years for this particular piece of equipment, with Triton responding to a personal request from Mayor Smolovic.

“This donation is very important for us,” Mayor Smolovic said. “This donation will raise the level of medical services in my town. I would like to say thank you to Triton Poker, and especially Mr Phua.”

Dr Biserka Bulatovic, left, of Bijelo Polje General Hospital with Richard Yong and Paul Phua, Triton co-founders, Mayor Petar Smolovic, and Triton Ambassador Jason Koon

Bijelo Polje is a town in northeastern Montenegro, on the Lim river and close to the border with Serbia. Its 15,400-strong population will all benefit from the donation, which will be delivered immediately to the hospital.

“We have been waiting for this donation for 10 years,” Dr Bulatović said. “This amount of waiting tells you what it means to us. It will help a lot, especially patients with heart diseases. We are very happy.”

Dr Bulatović revealed that she had found out only yesterday that the donation was being made to the hospital. “It’s a very nice surprise,” she said. “I am happy today to be here. It means a lot to patients, but also it means a lot to doctors who will use this ultrasound machine.”

She continued: “Thank you in the name of the hospital, the citizens of Bijelo Polje and in my personal name. We wish you luck and prosperity in your future work.”

Phua received a gift of an official shield representing the municipality of Bijelo Polje and vowed that this would be the first of many donations made from Triton to the region.

“We hope that every year as we come back to host tournaments we can do something for your town,” Phua said. “We hope to do more in the future. I think it’s important that the money we make from poker, part of it is given back to the community, especially at the stops that we go to.”

Phua added: “The mayor has a special relationship with our company, and he requested that the hospital needed this badly. They’ve been waiting for 10 years to buy it. So why not let Triton sponsor it?”

Jason Koon and Paul Phua greet the dignitaries to the Triton High Roller Series. “I’ve played everywhere in the world, and this is the most beautiful place I’ve played,” Koon said.

In previous years, profits from the Triton Series have gone towards charitable causes in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau. Phua said that he wants to expand the reach of the charity into every community the tour now visits.

PREVIOUS TRITON DONATIONS INCLUDE:

2016 – Single event in partnership with Project Pink Philippines
Tournament: HKD $100,000 Triton Charity Event
Organisation: Project Pink Philippines
Mission: A support group for breast cancer patience and their family members, raising fund and building awareness.
Triton donation: PHP 1,150,000 (approx. HKD 100,000 / USD $24,000)

2017 – Portion of the proceeds from all Triton events of 2017 awarded to charities during the Triton SHR Series Macau 2017

Lar De Nossa Senhora da Pehna – Caritas de Macau
Triton donation: HKD 1 Million

Healthy HK (Founded by Eric Tsang, Actor & Film Director; Represented by Michelle Yim, Actress)
Mission: Care for the elderly and healthcare
Triton Donation: HKD 1 million

Caring for Children Foundation
Mission: Care for children
Triton Donation: HKD 500,000

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Quek takes turbo on Triton debut, Phua and Jetten still looking

The short deck turbo at the Triton Series Montenegro lived up to its billing tonight as a field of 64 entries gathered in double-quick time and the HKD 12.032 million ($1.53 million) prize pool was all cashed out before anyone went to bed.

It also meant a first Triton title for 28-year-old Quek Sechariah Sheng, in his first tournament on the series, denying the multiple-cashing Paul Phua and Peter Jetten their first title. It must have been particularly galling for those two. They have 21 cashes between them on the Triton Series, with Phua recording his record-breaking 11th. But then in walks Quek and wins at the first time of asking, leaving the Jetten and Phua mantlepieces empty. They finished second and third, respectively.

“I’m still a little bit shaky,” Quek said after wrapping up the title in his preferred short deck variant. “That’s why this game is so good for beginners. Everybody has a chance.”

Quek Sechariah Sheng: “Everyone has a chance”

He went on to describe his job as a poker agent, arranging poker games in Bangkok, Thailand, his adopted home. He has watched short deck grow in popularity in the games he has arranged, and said that stood him in good stead. “When you watch your players every day, you learn things,” Quek said. “Some of them gave me tips.”

Phua actually probably won’t be that upset. He knows that he might have been knocked out on the bubble, but instead scored a bubble-up, and led for a long period when the tournament moved into its money stages and then when it was short-handed.

By that point all of Sam and Luc Greenwood, Mike Watson, Ike Haxton, Jason Koon, Mikita Badziakouski and Tom Dwan, among others, were all already laid to waste, many of them having re-entered more than once. David “Raptor” Benefield also found his name on the list of the fallen having had his aces cracked by Daniel Dvoress to burst the bubble.

David Benefield has his eyes on the door

In fairness to Dvoress, he already had two pair with his on a flop of when the money went in and Benefield’s black aces couldn’t hit any of his six outs.

Last night’s champion Rui Cao went out in eighth, pocketing HKD 480,000 ($61,151), but unable to add to his trophy haul. That brought them down to the last seven and a final table, with some familiar faces around it.

Dvoress, Kenneth Kee, Wai Leong Chan, Peter Jetten and, of course, Phua have all been to at least one final table at this festival in Montenegro. Only Quek, of Singapore, was a newcomer to the deep stages of a Triton tournament, and this was his first event.

Final table players: Gabe Patgorski, Paul Phua, Peter Jetten, Daniel Dvoress, Wai Leong Chan, Sheng Sechariah Quek and Kenneth Kee

The minute the final table began, Phua found the ignition switch on his steam-roller. Dvoress, who lost a big pot to double up Jetten when beat , came out on the wrong side of his latest battle with Phua.

Dvoress hit a huge draw with and a flop. Patgorski had top and bottom pair with his and Phua had . Dvoress got his money in then and both players called, and even though Dvoress then made his straight on the turn, the river made Phua his higher straight. (Patgorski folded on the turn.)

One last glance at a sick run-out for Daniel Dvoress

“The final table part feels great,” Dvoress said in his bust-out interview, but his tone revealed the truth that all the near misses continue to sting.

Although Patgorski was able to survive the hand that knocked out Dvoress, he bought himself only a temporary stay of execution. Not long later, Phua finished the job when he flopped top and bottom pair with and Patgorski’s flush draw missed. (In fact, Phua turned a boat.)

Phua then sent Wai Leong Chan home in fifth. This time they got it all in on a flop of . “I’m ahead,” Phua said, and showed his to Chan’s (Phua had correctly called Chan’s hand). The turn was blank and the river sealed it for Phua.

Having knocked out three opponent without encountering so much as a tiny bump in the road, Quek then did what no one else could and doubled through the dominant chip leader. Quek didn’t keep hold of all the chips for long, because he then doubled up Kenneth Kee’s short stack. And then Kee doubled up through Phua. Jetten then joined the party and doubled up through Quek.

Though the doubling looked like it might go on forever, the short-deck gods decided to play a cruel trick on Kee. He got his last chips in, under-calling Quek’s shove, with . Quek had and Kee was looking good after the flop. But then the turn teased an outdraw, which the river delivered. Kee took HKD $1.292 million ($167,960).

By this point, the poker room had filled with some of the world’s pre-eminent cash game stars — Tom Dwan, Timofey Kuznetzov and Dan Cates were on the sidelines, waiting to restart their high-stakes battle with Phua and friends. But the boss was still hunting a maiden Triton trophy, and those luminaries had to wait.

That wait was actually longer than everyone expected. Three-handed play was one of those passages that sometimes come around in a poker tournament where nobody seems to bust. Phua lost an enormous one to double up Jetten — Phua’s losing to Jetten’s , for nearly 5 million chips — but then Phua doubled up twice to find a workable stack once more.

He then flopped the nut flush with and doubled up back into the chip lead, but he gave it up again when Quek’s hit the flop and beat Phua’s tens. There was time for one more double up of ever-shortening stacks — Phua’s beating Jetten’s — but then Quek said “I got a good feeling about this” when he had Phua under threat once again with to Phua’s and this time the run-out favoured the big stack.

“I’ll try again,” Phua said. He wins HKD 1.7 million ($221,000) for this one.

Phua had barely departed the stage when all of the chips went in again. And the shortest heads-up battle possible — one hand — was complete when Quek’s held against Jetten’s .

Jetten said he had been looking forward to playing heads up, but with the clock ticking past 4am, he will probably settle for HKD 2.5 million ($325,000) and a chance to sleep while it’s still dark.

One suspects Quek will be up for quite some time — and will be joining those games he arranges a bit more regularly now.

A towelling down for a triumphant Sechariah Sheng

Event #7 Short Deck
Date: May 14, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 200,000 ($25,000)
Entries: 64 (inc. 28 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 12.032 million ($1.533 million)

1st: Quek Sechariah Sheng – HKD 3,700,000 ($481,000)
2nd: Petter Jetten, Canada – HKD 2,500,000 ($325,000)
3rd: Paul Phua, Malaysia – HKD 1,700,000 ($221,000)
4th: Kenneth Kee, Singapore – HKD 1,292,000 ($167,960)
5th: Chan Wai Leong, Malaysia – HKD 980,000 ($127,400)
6th: Gabe Patgorski, USA – HKD 770,000 ($100,100)
7th: Daniel Dvoress, Canada – HKD 610,000 ($79,300)
8th: Rui Cao, France – HKD 480,000 ($62,400)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Millions tune in as Phua hits cash No 10

Everyone at the Triton Series Montenegro this week has been talking about numbers. The live stream, which broadcasts across multiple platforms across the world, has been breaking records, and today someone decided to add everything up.

Over the course of the festival’s first seven days, the streams have been viewed 62 million times on one of Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Zhibo TV, Doupai TV, Xing Lang Ti Yu, the Triton website or embedded wherever else.

That’s a lot of people who have been listening to the wit and wisdom of Randy Lew, Joe Stapleton and David Tuchman in English, or Haoxiang Wang and Celina Lin in Chinese, while enjoying the skills of the world’s best players.

The streams will continue to run through Friday, so there’s every chance 100 million views is in sight.

Meanwhile at the tables, plenty of other landmarks have been reached.

Today at the short deck main event final, Paul Phua recorded his 10th in-the-money finish in Triton Events. There have only been 34 tournaments, and Phua hasn’t played all of them. He’s got about a 33 percent cash rate, which is sensational.

The other player with 10 cashes is Triton Ambassador Jason Koon, but in contrast to Phua, Koon has three outright titles too. That puts Koon at the top of every list going. He has grossed more, has won more titles and is tied for in-the-money finishes.

Gross Cash Top 10

Jason Koon USA $10,577,094
Mikita Badziakouski Belarus $10,049,001
Bryn Kenney USA $9,683,224
Paul Phua Malaysia $6,912,209
Rui Cao France $6,509,700
Peter Jetten Canada $6,070,311
Richard Yong Malaysia $6,033,631
Wai Leong Chan Malaysia $5,733,025
Fedor Holz Germany $5,617,727
David Peters USA $5,167,402

Most ITM Finishes

10 Jason Koon, Paul Phua
9 Peter Jetten
8 Mikita Badziakouski, Ivan Leow, Wai Leong Chan
7 Richard Yong, Isaac Haxton
6 Bryn Kenney, Devan Tang, Steve O’Dwyer, Sergio Aido

Multiple title winners

Three: Jason Koon
Two: Mikita Badziakouski, Bryn Kenney, Fedor Holz, Ivan Leow, Wai Kin Yong

Koon is also largely responsible for keeping the United States at the top of the list if we order success on the Triton Series by countries. Malaysia is the second most successful, with Canada and Germany also in the top four.

But fifth in the overall country tables, we find Belarus and that’s an achievement of particular note. So far, only one Belarusian has played on the Triton Series, which means the country’s totals — $10 million gross, two titles and eight in-the-money finishes — are all the work of the sensational Mikita Badziakouski.

Mikita Badziakouski: Top five on his own

Country totals

USA — Gross: $44,917,385 Titles: 12 ITM: 61
Malaysia — Gross: $31,504,138 Titles: 6 ITM: 50
Canada — Gross: $17,485,503 Titles: 1 ITM: 25
Germany — Gross: $14,094,949 Titles: 5 ITM: 20
Belarus — Gross: $10,049,001 Titles: 2 ITM: 8

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Cao gets the cream and denies Phua in Triton short deck main event

No discussion of high stakes poker cash games is complete without mention of London-based Frenchman Rui Cao. He has been one of the most feared and respected operators both live and online for several years, and is now known to be spending plenty of time in Asia where the stacks are deep, pots are huge and only the strongest survive.

But Cao as a tournament player? Not so much. By his own admission, the 32-year-old struggles with the late-stage dynamics, and until today his Hendon Mob did not show a single first-place finish. But, yes, that was until today. Because at 6.30pm tonight at the Maestral Resort & Casino, Budva, Montenegro, Cao raised the first tournament trophy of his career.

He chose a good time too to break his duck: the short deck main event on the Triton Super High Roller Series, where the buy-in was HKD 1 million ($127,000) and the first prize a magnificent HKD 26.300 million ($3.35 million). To claim the spoils he needed to defeat a man named Paul Phua heads-up–and Phua is not just any old opponent.

Phua is the co-founder of the Triton Series and instrumental in bringing together the very best players to play for the highest stakes and the most prestigious titles. The only thing missing for Phua is a victory of his own. He has a record 10 in-the-money finishes on the series, and had seemed to be on a roll to the ultimate prize. But Cao was not in sentimental mood and prevailed from a long but one-way duel.

Paul Phua, and the trophy still out of his reach

Cao came second in the full deck main event this time last year in Montenegro, but this time he was No 1. “He played perfect,” Randy Lew, in the commentary booth, said. No one disagreed.

“First time I ever won a tournament, and this is a good one,” Cao said. “So I’m happy.”

The day began in orderly fashion: photographs, one or two early shoves, and then a trimming of the field from the bottom up.

Final table players (l-r): Ming Zhong Liu, Paul Phua, Daniel Dvoress, Tong Siow Choon, Rui Cao, Kenneth Kee, Romain Arnaud

The returning short-stack Tong Siow Choon got his last 20 antes in with and, with an ace on the flop, that was fine. However Kenneth Kee had and turn and river bricked out.

“Good run, Malaysia,” Phua said to his departing countryman. Choon won HKD 4.4 million ($560,578), not quite as much as he managed for third place in the equivalent short deck event in Jeju in March, but still the second biggest cash of his career.

Next out was Ming Zhong Liu, another Hong Kong-based businessman visiting Montenegro with some friends and partners, who decided to have a stab at the short deck main event. It was a wise choice. Although he departed in sixth, busting to Daniel Dvoress, his three days investment returned him HKD 5.62 million ($716,010). Liu’s last hand involved a shove with and a call from Dvoress’s . Phua had folded the same hand as Liu, and there was no catching up.

Ming Zhong Liu: A worthwhile trip to Montenegro

Dvoress earned himself some breathing space with that pot, which put Kee under some pressure. He open-pushed under the gun with and nearly got it through, but Cao found a call with . It was a brilliant short-deck run-out, with plenty of options for Kee. But by the time all five cards were out — — Cao had a straight.

Kee explained his shove in his post-elimination interview. “I’m in it to win it,” Kee said. “It’s pretty standard. Rui made a good call and I busted out.” Kee won the same event in Jeju last season, and made a pledge to return again for the rest of the short-deck events at this festival.

“Singapore is proud of you,” Phua told Kee as he made his way from the tournament floor.

With four left, Dvoress was something of an odd man out. All of Cao, Arnaud and Phua are short-deck specialists, usually to be found playing the monstrous cash games from which the variant originated. Dvoress, however, is a full deck tournament expert who had graduated from the online game to the live arena and is now a fixture at super high roller events across the world.

And so, to put it bluntly, the short deck experts conspired to remove him. There was nothing underhand about it — all was played totally within the rules — but after Dvoress three-bet shoved all-in with , Phua called with .

Dvoress will have loved the flop, but Phua then said: “Jack, king!” And like an order from Mount Olympus, the poker gods obliged. The came on the turn and the completed the straight.

“Sorry my friend, I run like God,” Phua said. Dvoress won HKD 9.07 million ($1,155,554), and pushed his week’s gross returns past $2 million.

Daniel Dvoress becomes a victim of Phua’s godlike run

Phua was on a roll, but this was still far from a foregone conclusion with two French cash-game beasts still between him and a maiden title. Cao put his tournament on the line with pocket kings and scored a double through Phua and his . That left his countryman Arnaud as the relative short stack, and he got involved in a tricky pot against Phua that built to a crescendo on the turn.

By that point, the board showed and Arnaud moved in. Phua thought for a while, vocally of course, before slamming down his chips. “Oh, flush draw,” Phua said when he saw Arnaud’s . “Five outs.”

Phua tabled his pocket sixes, now a set, and the river was a blank. “One French down, one to go,” Phua said. Arnaud shook his opponents’ hands and found himself HKD 11,800,000 ($1,503,367) richer.

Cao had a slight advantage over Phua heads up — 281 antes to 209 — and the Frenchman also had the more laissez faire attitude towards the prospect of playing for the trophy. Phua was putting some pressure on himself. “After three years, I still haven’t got a title,” Phua told Marle Cordeira, Triton host. “If it goes on, I’ll be embarrassed.”

Paul Phua and Rui Cao begin heads-up play

As we now know, he still hasn’t got a title, but there’s really no need to be embarrassed. Cao with a deep stack is a formidable opponent, and he continued to win all the major pots that mattered. Most significant of all of them was the final hand, where they got all the chips in with for Phua and for Cao.

A queen fell on the flop, but Cao made a straight on the turn. They shook hands, nodded in mutual respect and Phua then left the stage. With three more short deck events on the schedule this week, as well as the PLO, which has just started, there’s still every chance he’ll grab his Triton title here in Montenegro.

And why not another for Cao as well?

Triton Series Montenegro Short Deck Main Event
Dates: May 10-12, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 1 million ($127,000)
Entries: 98 (inc. 51 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 92.12 million ($11,736,640)

1 – Rui Cao, France – HKD 26,300,000 ($3,350,725)
2 – Paul Phua, Malaysia – HKD 17,100,000 ($2,178,608)
3 – Romain Arnaud, France – HKD 11,800,000 ($1,503,367)
4 – Daniel Dvoress, Canada – HKD 9,070,000 ($1,155,554)
5 – Kenneth Kee, Singapore – HKD 7,200,000 ($917,309)
6 – Ming Zhong Liu, Hong Kong – HKD 5,620,000 ($716,010)
7 – Tong Siow Choon, Malaysia – HKD 4,400,000 ($560,578)

Eliminated ITM on Day 2

8 – Isaac Haxton, USA – HKD 3,400,000 ($433,174)
9 – Timofey Kuznetsov, Russia – HKD 2,630,000 ($335,073)
10 – Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus – HKD 2,300,000 ($293,029)
11 – Guang Pu Lu, Canada – HKD 2,300,000 ($293,029)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Phua on fire to lead short deck main event final

A late-night elimination frenzy sent Paul Phua to the top of the leader board in the Triton Series Montenegro short deck main event, leaving the series co-founder in pole position of the seven players hunting a first prize of 26.3 million ($3.35 million).

Phua plays poker with the enthusiasm of a devil-may-care newcomer, shouting in cards, slamming his chips on to the felt, celebrating or commiserating at the highest volume in the room. Spectators gather around him during every pot he plays — and so do chips. Phua made the final table of the full deck main event, finishing sixth, and now he’s back again with his eye on an even bigger prize here at the Maestral Resort, Budva, Montenegro.

He is one of two Malaysians at the final table, with two French players, and one representative each from Singapore, Canada and Hong Kong.

Final table line-up
Paul Phua, Malaysia – 7,960,000 (Seat 2)
Arnaud Romain, France – 6,280,000 (Seat 8)
Rui Cao, France – 6,275,000 (Seat 6)
Kenneth Kee, Singapore – 4,760,000 (Seat 7)
Daniel Dvoress, Canada – 2,060,000 (Seat 3)
Ming Zhong Liu, Hong Kong – 1,335,000 (Seat 1)
Tong Siow Choon, Malaysia – 730,000 (Seat 5)

Phua knocked out Isaac Haxton in eighth, not long after he had sent Mikita Badziakouski to the rail in 10th, dispensing with two of the global game’s most celebrated talents. By that point, this 98-entry tournament was already approaching its final stages, with the ultimate destination of the HKD 92 million ($11,736,640) prize pool on the line.

Phua, left, accounted for both Badziakouski, middle, and Haxton

The series of eliminations pushed Phua ahead in the chip counts of even Arnaud Romain, who won an enormous pot against Canadian pro Sam Greenwood just before the bubble to vault him to the chip lead, which he held until the day’s very last hand.

Until the collision with Romain, Greenwood had been the man to catch. He had earlier knocked out Triton Ambassador Tom Dwan, making a straight flush to crack aces, and then sent a bedraggled Tony G out the door. Tony G was one of a handful of players who had joined a massive cash game into the wee hours, before returning for the tournament restart at noon. He had been looking for another long session until Greenwood took care of him, in a pot that gave Greenwood the overall chip lead.

Romain tells Phua about his newly-acquired chips

It was an extraordinary moment, then, when Greenwood became the man out in 13th thanks to the massive hand with Romain. Greenwood almost certainly expected folds from all but the very top of Romain’s range when he limp-three-bet shoved with , but Romain was sitting with . Greenwood lost the hand and was left with only 55,000, which his countryman Daniel Dvoress snaffled on the next hand.

All of Haxton, Dvoress and Peter Jetten were short stacks on the bubble, but the former doubled through Badziakouski before Dvoress stole a few blinds and antes with a shove. Jetten could not repeat the trick, despite flopping a straight with his on a board. He was not out of the woods against Rui Cao’s top two pair, however, and a third ten on the river gave Cao a full house and sent Jetten out.

Jetten came third in yesterday’s full deck main event, and has made heaps on the Triton Series. But falling the wrong side of a near $300,000 bubble will sting anyone.

With the pressure of the money bubble now relieved, action loosened up slightly. Guang Pu Lu, who was one of only two players with more than 1 million chips at the start of the day, departed in 11th, losing a flip to Kenneth Kee, and then it became Badziakouski’s turn to leave.

It’s a measure of Badziakouski’s standing on the Triton Series that two cashes in back-to-back main events will probably feel like a disappointment. He felt he could have gone further than fourth yesterday (losing a massive flip to the winner Bryn Kenney) and today he couldn’t get past Paul Phua. Earlier in the day, Phua had made quad sevens to double up through his Belarusian benefactor, and Phua finished the job when he rivered a straight with and beat Badziakouski’s . They got the money in when Badziakouski had flopped top pair, but it ran out well for Phua. It was tenth this time for Badziakouski and HKD 2.3 million.

Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov had also played pretty much all of last night in the massive cash game (to be screened at a later date) and a little after 11pm, he was freed to either get some rest or head back to the cash tables when he was also knocked out by Kee. Kuznetsov got his short stack in with but lost the flip to Kee’s tens.

Kee won the HKD 1 million short deck event in Jeju last July for $2.9 million, only five days after finishing as runner up in the HKD 100,000 event at the same stop. He’s back again at the final table with a big stack. He’s another short deck master.

Haxton assumed short-stack duties, but he couldn’t get his to beat Phua’s on what would prove to be the last deal of the night. Haxton was knocked out in eighth for HKD 3.4 million ($433,174) and leave us with the seven who will return tomorrow to play to a champion.

One more word about Phua: he played in last night’s titanic cash game too. Rumour has it, it wrapped at about 5am. Phua might be in his mid 50s, but there’s no one in this game with more stamina, and skills too.

Triton Series Montenegro Short Deck Main Event
Dates: May 10-12, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 1 million ($127,000)
Entries: 98 (inc. 51 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 92.12 million ($11,736,640)

1 $26,300,000 ($3,350,725)
2 $17,100,000 ($2,178,608)
3 $11,800,000 ($1,503,367)
4 $9,070,000 ($1,155,554)
5 $7,200,000 ($917,309)
6 $5,620,000 ($716,010)
7 $4,400,000 ($560,578)

8 – Isaac Haxton, USA – $3,400,000 ($433,174)
9 – Timofey Kuznetsov, Russia – $2,630,000 ($335,073)
10 – Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus – $2,300,000 ($293,029)
11 – Guang Pu Lu, Canada – $2,300,000 ($293,029)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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No 1 Sun beams bright in Montenegro, leads short deck main event

As one main event finishes, another begins on the Triton Series.

Tonight in Montenegro, inside the poker room of the Maestral Resort, Bryn Kenney completed the job on the full deck main event, winning $2.7 million and his second trophy of the week. But over his shoulder, the short deck version was just getting started, and it will certainly be even bigger.

A last-minute change of schedule was necessary to accommodate the arrival to Montenegro of a charter plane carrying a valuable cargo short deck poker aficionados. They had only a couple of days and they wanted to play big, so the HKD 1 million event was brought forward and got under way at 3pm.

There was time for six levels and 69 entries (46 uniques; 23 re-entries), meaning the prize pool is already at HKD 65 million ($8.25 million). It will only grow larger tomorrow as registration is open for another two hours. The poker room was as busy at it has been all week, and 38 players were still there at the end.

Tournament room fills for short deck main event

Fulin Sun was the man out front. You could say he had put all of his better known opponents in the shade. The man from China, with no recorded cashes on the western poker databases, bagged 1.35 million chips, which was a good deal more than everyone else in the room. If his chip count wasn’t enough to demonstrate his enthusiasm, Sun was also the first player to register for the tournament, booking him ticket No 1. It sat beside his ever growing stack all day, and he’ll come back tomorrow as No 1 in the leader board too.

Sam Greenwood, Isaac Haxton, Mike Watson and the Triton Ambassadors Tom Dwan and Jason Koon also reached for a bag tonight. They find themselves in the chip-counts below. Of the established stars, Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov had the most successful time of it. He finished with 893,000. Dwan, by contrast, needed a late triple to finish with his 202,000.

Timofey Kuznetsov: Telling some short deck truths

The chart below shows name, country, count and the seat draw for day two. That starts at noon, and they’ll play all the way to a final table. Please join us then.

Fulin Sun	China	1,350,000	3-5
Guang Pu Lu	Canada	1,007,000	7-6
Timofey Kuznetsov	Russia	993,000	8-7
Arnaud Gilbert Romain	France	780,000	6-7
Wei Hsiang Yeu	Malaysia	780,000	7-5
Jun Wang	China	772,000	2-1
Tong Siow Choon	Malaysia	735,000	1-1
Ming Zhong Liu	Hong Kong	712,000	1-5
Rudoy Mikhail	Israel	704,000	7-1
Qiang Wang	China	665,000	2-6
Xuan Tan	China	664,000	5-6
Daniel Dvoress	Canada	658,000	3-2
Furkat Rakhimov	Russia	628,000	5-2
Isaac Haxton	United States	623,000	5-3
Rui Cao	France	598,000	2-3
Johnson Juanda	Indonesia	575,000	5-1
Samuel Greenwood	Canada	549,000	8-5
Seng Yee Ivan Leow	Malaysia	541,000	8-1
Dejan Pustoslemsek	Slovenia	540,000	1-2
Jochanan Robert Flink	Sweden	529,000	7-3
Kenneth Wee Kiang Kee	Singapore	526,000	1-7
Jesus Cortes	Spain	504,000	6-3
Wei Seng Paul Phua	Malaysia	475,000	1-6
Yan To Chan	Hong Kong	470,000	8-2
Jason Koon	United States	459,000	6-2
Max Silver	England	440,000	6-5
Sergey Lebedev	Russia	433,000	2-7
David Benefield	United States	430,000	8-3
Benjamin Lamb	United States	417,000	7-7
Thomas Anthony Dwan	United States	402,000	3-3
Ka Wing Winfred Yu	Hong Kong	345,000	3-7
Michael Watson	Canada	322,000	3-1
John Gabriel Patgorski	United States	310,000	8-6
Peter Jetten	Canada	308,000	3-6
Christopher Michael Soyza	Malaysia	281,000	5-7
Seng Chen Richard Yong	Malaysia	194,000	2-2
Daniel Cates	United States	132,000	6-6
Wai Kin Yong	Malaysia	128,000	2-5

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Brilliant Kenney shines again, takes Montenegro Main Event and $2.7m

A Triton Series final table featuring Jason Koon, Mikita Badziakouski and Bryn Kenney is truly the moment that three immovable objects meet three irresistible forces and still none can be sure of success. No other trio of players are so commonly referred to as “beasts” (a compliment in this context) and no other trio are as likely to find themselves battling still at the end of a Super High Roller event.

The HKD $1 million Main Event at Triton Montenegro booked all of those superstars for its showdown today, and they duly hogged most of the headlines as a HKD 70.5 million ($8.98 million) prize pool was carved between them and six others.

With so many viable candidates for victory (none of the other six are slouches either) it perhaps came down to the controllers of poker karma to point to Kenney as the champion. Badziakouski won two Main Events last season, Koon crushed the short deck both here and in Jeju. And today it was Kenney’s turn, runner up in South Korea in March, to pick up the major title, only a matter of three days since he won his first Triton tournament in the same room at the Maestral Resort, Budva.

“Very good,” Kenney said when asked how he was feeling at the end of his latest success. “I mean, tired, but really strong. I just really was in the zone, played very well, crushed the table, had a few things go my way, it’s always the best.”

He admitted that his session here in Montenegro had taken it out of him and that he was looking forward now to winding down. “I’m just going to chill, relax, let my brain relax,” Kenney said. “It’s now five days in a row thinking at a high level, so I need a few days to get back to normal.”

Kenney’s latest triumph was worth HKD 21.3 million ($2.7 million approx), and actually came after both Koon and Badziakouski had long departed for pastures new. Koon never really managed to challenge today, whereas Badziakouski was crushed by Kenney and lost a tournament-defining flip to bust in fourth. Kenney was left to do battle heads-up with Danny Tang, and ended up taking all the plaudits for yet another uncompromising display.

Danny Tang first to congratulate Bryn Kenney

Kenney never put so much as a toe out of line, while finding angles of attack that so many others would miss. “He has the nature and the nurture,” said Joe Stapleton on the live stream commentary.

Play resumed at noon today, only about 12 hours after an extended day two session concluded. The additional couple of hours of play last night, during which no one was eliminated, meant only that the stacks shallowed out coming into today’s final straight. Erik Seidel’s eight big blind stack was under most pressure, but Paul Phua (10 BBs), Sam Greenwood (14 BBs), Koon (18 BBs) and even Matthias Eibinger (32 BBs) can’t have felt comfortable.

“It’s a long shot,” Koon admitted in a pre-game interview when asked of his chances for victory.

The Triton Ambassador’s odds slimmed even further during the very first pot of the final table. Phua, the Triton co-founder, pushed all-in under the gun with and Koon looked him up with . Fours are supposedly unlucky around the gaming tables of Asia, but on this time they gave Phua a lifeline. The board made Phua a straight, doubled him up, and cut Koon to the quick.

When Seidel doubled on the very next hand, with beating Eibinger’s , Koon was now bottom of the pack. Eibinger was also now vulnerable, and the next meaningful skirmish accounted for both of them.

Koon shoved his button, for five big blinds, with . Badziakouski, with a comfortable chip lead, found in the small blind and shoved to isolate, but Eibinger found in the big blind.

“It’s tricky because ace-queen here is usually the best hand against both opponents,” Randy Lew said in the commentary booth. Eibinger used a couple of time-bank chips before agreeing with that assessment. He called off.

It initially seemed to be precisely the right decision as a queen appeared on the flop. But an eight came on the turn to make Badziakouski a set and send two sharks out in one fell swoop. “Having a flip against Mikita is never a good feeling,” Eibinger chuckled afterwards. “Even though the queen on the flop was good, it wasn’t over, as we have all observed. I had high hopes going into the day, but sometimes it goes quick.”

Matthias Eibinger quickly joined Koon on the rail

Koon added of Badziakouski: “He’s a beast. This might be number three for him.”

At that point, title No 3 was far from assured, but knockout No 3 followed very quickly. This time, it was Seidel who had the misfortune of tangling with Badziakouski, pushing all-in from the small blind with after a button open. Badziakouski called with and although Seidel flopped a queen, Badziakouski turned a diamond flush and Seidel’s race was run.

Having laddered up two spots, Seidel can’t have been too disappointed with the way things panned out. He took HKD 3.46 million ($440,814).

With Seidel on the rail, Phua was now the most senior player at the table, but he has the gamble of someone many decades younger. He doubled up with against Badziakouski’s , hitting a queen, and then almost immediately shoved again with . He got no callers.

There was time for someone else to quickly double-up — Greenwood hitting with to beat Kenney’s , but then it was back to Phua and another double. Phua had 1.11 million and three-bet pushed with . Peter Jetten snapped behind with , and Phua, who flopped a flush draw, rivered the case ace. (Greenwood had folded one.) “Aaaacccccceeeee!” a delighted Phua said.

Paul Phua sees Sam Greenwood fold an ace

To this point, it had been nothing but plain sailing for Badziakouski, but it’s only ever a matter of time until Kenney comes to any party. He started his ominous rise through the ranks when he flopped two pair after raising under the gun holding . Badziakouski defended his big blind and flopped a straight draw, but he didn’t get there and yielded the lead to Kenney.

With six hanging around for the best part of three levels, the tournament really shallowed out event more. They pushed chips here and there — Badziakouski lost some more to Kenney; Jetten doubled back through Phua — and it seemed clear that the next elimination might bring a few of them in quick succession.

With the short deck main event starting in the same room, Phua knew that he would still be able to find action even if his full deck participation ended. He was therefore able to laugh without a care in the world when he fell headlong into a trap laid by Kenney.

Kenney limped the button with pocket queens, and Phua checked his big blind with . Kenney flopped top set and Phua shoved with his middle pair. Kenney called and Phua was done. He took his HKD 4.4 million ($572,000) straight over to the other tournament.

Greenwood was next out, but the hand that sent him home was a good deal more complicated. Hopefully we’ll get this one dissected properly in due course, because it was “next level poker”, according to Lew in the commentary box.

It started with Greenwood in the cutoff with a 11 big blind stack. He limped with , which immediately had the commentators purring. Danny Tang had in the small blind, and he called, with Badziakouski then checking his option behind, sitting with and a 14 BB stack.

The flop was a super-interesting . Both Tang and Badziakouski had flopped top pair, and checked. But then Greenwood bet 120,000, the minimum. Tang called and Badziakouski made it even more interesting when he clicked it back, a check-raise.

Greenwood then used up two time-bank chips before moving all-in, representing one hand only: pocket aces. Tang was a believer and folded. Badziakouski also thought Greenwood was on aces — he said as much — but considered himself to be pot committed. Badziakouski called, saw the hand, and said: “Ohh, nice.”

Greenwood whiffed turn and river and went out in fifth, winning HKD 5.65 million ($734,500), but he went out in one of the “coolest, weirdest hands”, according to commentator David Tuchman.

The prepared script now dictated that Tang and Jetten hit the rail, leaving the big stacked Badziakouski and Kenney to battle to the death. But poker rarely follows what has been pre-ordained. Instead the dominant pair did their jousting in a blind-on-blind encounter with both players probably thinking the other was simply trying to flex his muscles.

As it was, Badziakouski had and Kenney had , and short-stacked Tang and Jetten looked on with nothing but glee as they got it all in. Badziakouski couldn’t hit and Kenney smashed him out. The three-peat hopes were ended as Badziakouski took HKD 7,260,000 ($925,011).

Kenney’s three-handed chip-lead was enormous. He had 94 big blinds, while Tang had 17 and Jetten six. Kenney simply open-pushed every opportunity, and the other two had to fold. Jetten once found pocket sevens and doubled up, but was still the tiny stack. he found pocket eights and doubled again, but was still tiny. Similarly Tang managed to chop one when he and Kenney had rag aces.

But Jetten’s event eventually ended in third when his lost to Kenney’s . And though Tang turned in a determined heads-up performance against the odds, he couldn’t overcome an 87-to-seven chip disadvantage.

Danny Tang: Having fun with the super high rollers

He survived perhaps longer than many would have expected, but then lost when Kenney’s turned a straight. This was Tang’s first HKD 1m buy-in event, and he was outstanding too, taking HKD 14,100,000 ($1,796,509) for his efforts.

But there’s no shame in losing to Bryn Kenney. If you haven’t done it yet, you just haven’t been playing long enough.

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

Triton Montenegro Main Event
Dates: May 7-9, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 1 million ($127,000 approx)
Entries: 75 (inc. 31 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 70.5 million ($8.98 million)

1 – Bryn Kenney, USA, HKD 21,300,000 ($2,713,876)
2 – Danny Tang, Hong Kong, HKD 14,100,000 ($1,796,509)
3 – Peter Jetten, Canada, HKD 9,600,000 ($1,223,155)
4 – Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus, HKD 7,260,000 ($925,011)
5 – Sam Greenwood, Canada, HKD 5,650,000 ($719,878)
6 – Paul Phua, Malaysia, HKD 4,400,000 ($560,613)
7 – Erik Seidel, USA, HKD 3,460,000 ($440,846)
8 – Matthias Eibinger, Austria, HKD 2,680,000 ($341,464)
9 – Jason Koon, USA, HKD 2,050,000 ($261,195)

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