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.

Paul Phua, No 10

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

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

Jason Koon: Top of everything

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

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS

12BET is an online betting company specializing in sports betting and casino products. 12Bet became operational in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular online betting options throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

partypoker LIVE was created in January 2017 as a global poker tour, with the aim of bringing large field, high guarantee tournaments to players all over the world. Within just 12 months the partypoker LIVE tour has grown into the world’s largest ever poker tour and is guaranteeing over $70,000,000 in the 2018/2019 season.

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.

Rui Cao closes it out

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 AdJs and, with an ace on the flop, that was fine. However Kenneth Kee had AsKd 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.

Tong Siow Choon: Short stack, first out

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 JhTd and a call from Dvoress’s AcKs. 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 QcJc and nearly got it through, but Cao found a call with KdQc. It was a brilliant short-deck run-out, with plenty of options for Kee. But by the time all five cards were out — 7d9c9hTdJd — 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.

Kenneth Kee: Pride of Singaport

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 9sTs, Phua called with AcQs.

Dvoress will have loved the TdTh6h flop, but Phua then said: “Jack, king!” And like an order from Mount Olympus, the poker gods obliged. The Jc came on the turn and the Kh 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 AcKc. 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 AdTh6d7c 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 Kd7d. “Five outs.”

Phua tabled his pocket sixes, now a set, and the Jc 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.

A farewell from Arnaud Romain

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 AdQc for Phua and JcJh 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?

Rui Cao: smokin’

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

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS

12BET is an online betting company specializing in sports betting and casino products. 12Bet became operational in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular online betting options throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

partypoker LIVE was created in January 2017 as a global poker tour, with the aim of bringing large field, high guarantee tournaments to players all over the world. Within just 12 months the partypoker LIVE tour has grown into the world’s largest ever poker tour and is guaranteeing over $70,000,000 in the 2018/2019 season.

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.

A shell-shocked Sam Greenwood
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 AhQd, but Romain was sitting with KhKs. 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 Jh8s on a 7cTd9h 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.

Double for Isaac Haxton
Bubble boy Peter Jetten

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.

Guang Pu Lu: First out in the money

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 AcTs and beat Badziakouski’s AsQd. 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.

Another cash for Mikita Badziakouski

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 AhJd but lost the flip to Kee’s tens.

Timofey Kuznetsov: Out in ninth

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.

Isaac Haxton: Bad river

Haxton assumed short-stack duties, but he couldn’t get his AcQs to beat Phua’s AsKd 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

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS

12BET is an online betting company specializing in sports betting and casino products. 12Bet became operational in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular online betting options throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

partypoker LIVE was created in January 2017 as a global poker tour, with the aim of bringing large field, high guarantee tournaments to players all over the world. Within just 12 months the partypoker LIVE tour has grown into the world’s largest ever poker tour and is guaranteeing over $70,000,000 in the 2018/2019 season.

Short deck champ in Montenegro to earn $3.35m

The headline news on a fine May afternoon on the Adriatic Coast is that deep inside the Maestral Resort and Casino, Budva, Montenegro, a poker player will tomorrow win HKD 26.3 million ($3.35 million).

Registration closed at around 2.30pm today on the Triton Series Montenegro short deck main event, with 47 players contributing 98 HKD 1 million ($127,000) entries. It built a prize pool of HKD 92.12 million ($11.74 million), from which the top man will earn that staggering payout.

POSHKDUSD
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$3,400,000$433,174
9$2,630,000$335,073
10$2,300,000$293,029
11$2,300,000$293,029

Barring something miraculous in the smaller buy-in events next week, this will be the single biggest prize-pool of the 11-event series and will determine yet another major winner on the richest and most prestigious tournament series in the world.

Eleven players will be paid, with a “min-cash” redefining that term. The smallest payout is HKD 2.3 million ($293,000).

Players celebrated news of the enormous prize pool with a visit to an exclusive buffet — replete with goldfish and bubbling cauldrons of red liquid (not for consumption) — before settling back to play into the money tonight.

Buffet time!

They’ll play the final table tomorrow, at the same time as the first Pot-Limit Omaha event gets started on the Triton Series.

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.

Fulin Sun: Player #001

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

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS

12BET is an online betting company specializing in sports betting and casino products. 12Bet became operational in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular online betting options throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

partypoker LIVE was created in January 2017 as a global poker tour, with the aim of bringing large field, high guarantee tournaments to players all over the world. Within just 12 months the partypoker LIVE tour has grown into the world’s largest ever poker tour and is guaranteeing over $70,000,000 in the 2018/2019 season.

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.

The man, the menace: Bryn Kenney

“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.

Jason Koon: Long-shot didn’t hit

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 4d4c and Koon looked him up with AcKc. 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 AhTs beating Eibinger’s Ad4d, 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 Ac7d. Badziakouski, with a comfortable chip lead, found 8c8s in the small blind and shoved to isolate, but Eibinger found AdQh 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 Qh9h after a button open. Badziakouski called with AsTd 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).

Erik Seidel: One double, but then out

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 QhJh against Badziakouski’s KdJc, hitting a queen, and then almost immediately shoved again with 8c8h. He got no callers.

There was time for someone else to quickly double-up — Greenwood hitting with Ad2d to beat Kenney’s 5c5d, but then it was back to Phua and another double. Phua had 1.11 million and three-bet pushed with Ah4h. Peter Jetten snapped behind with KcKd, 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
Paul Phua: Aaaacccceeee!

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 AcTd. 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 7s4d. 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.

Paul Phua: One last shove

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 AdQd, which immediately had the commentators purring. Danny Tang had Ks5d in the small blind, and he called, with Badziakouski then checking his option behind, sitting with Kc9h and a 14 BB stack.

The flop was a super-interesting 2cKd4s. 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.

Sam Greenwood: Gone

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 AcJs and Kenney had 7c7s, 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).

A broken Mikita Badziakouski
The tamed beast departs

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.

Peter Jetten: Third this time

But Jetten’s event eventually ended in third when his Ks6h lost to Kenney’s Th9s. 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 JhQh 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.

End of the line for Danny Tang

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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Hecklen bests Foxen in late-night Triton showdown

He had to wait a long time for it, but Denmark’s Henrik Hecklen secured his first title on the Triton Super High Roller series in the early hours of Friday when he beat Alex Foxen heads up to win the unscheduled Event #12 in Montenegro.

The tournament was a last-minute addition to the 10-event schedule, requested by Canadian pro and Triton Jeju champion Timothy Adams. With full deck hold’em giving way to short deck (and Pot Limit Omaha) for the remainder of this festival, Adams was among a handful of players who fancied one more chance at a major payday playing the game they have mastered. They arranged a HKD 250,000 ($32,000) buy-in turbo event — and quickly amassed 37 entries.

With five players set to be paid, and the likes of Isaac Haxton, David Peters, Rui Cao, Linus Loeliger and Igor Kurganov already laid to waste, they watched Ivan Leow, Michael Soyza and Steve O’Dwyer depart in ninth, eighth and sixth, respectively, to bring them to the bubble. (It was particularly rough on Leow, who was in for five bullets.)

Adams then enjoyed some home-field advantage when his KsTd flopped top pair of tens to beat Jun Wah Yap’s AhKd, and that took them into the money.

It was around 2.20am local time, and players were given the option of bagging and returning the next day to play. But they opted to close it out and so began a brief battle that resembled a North American home game. Three Canadians — Adams, Daniel Dvoress and Mike Watson — went up against a lone American, Foxen, and Hecklen, the ringer from Europe.

They dispensed with the Canadians first: Watson (5th – HKD 850,000), Dvoress (4th – HKD 1,052,500) and Adams (3rd – HKD 1,460,000) hit the rail, leaving Foxen and Hecklen heads-up. Foxen had only ten big blinds when they got it all in pre-flop at around 3.30am, with Hecklen’s AhKs beating Foxen’s Kc3c.

Alex Foxen: Last-gasp cash

Hecklen has played at a couple of Triton stops, without previously troubling the cashiers on his way out of the room. Meanwhile Foxen, on his Triton debut, had also found the action tough this week. However Foxen took HKD $2.2 million ($280,286) for his second-place finish and Hecklen $434,444 alongside his trophy.

That’ll give them both slightly fonder memories of Montenegro than before — and they should thank that man Adams for the chance.

Event #12 – “The Tim Adams Invitational”
Date: May 9, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 250,000 ($32,000)
Entries: 37 (inc. 15 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 8.972 million ($1.14 million)

1 – Henrik Hecklen (Denmark) HKD 3,410,000 ($434,444)
2 – Alex Foxen (USA) HKD 2,200,000 ($280,286)
3 – Timothy Adams (Canada) HKD 1,460,000 ($186,008)
4 – Daniel Dvoress (Canada) HKD 1,052,500 ($134,091)
5 – Mike Watson (Canada) HKD 850,000 ($108,292)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Badziakouski eyes Triton three-peat after dominant day in Montenegro

A squalling storm broke out across the Adriatic coast today, barreling tyrannous waves onto the cliffs outside the Maestral Resort, Budva. Though everyone was warm and safe amid the five-star luxury inside, there was similar commotion in the poker room, where the Triton Series Montenegro Main Event played into the money and took grand leaps towards finding its latest champion, who will earn more than $2.7 million.

Registration closed after two levels, capping our field at 75 entries (including 31 re-entries), each of which cost HKD 1 million ($127,000). And once the $9 million prize pool was assured, the wrecking began, with the great and the good of global poker smashed into tiny pieces.

Wrecker in chief was a very familiar figure. Mikita Badziakouski is quiet, polite and diminutive, but he is a menace of the highest order at the poker tables. Many experts name the Belarusian in the top five tournament players in the world, and his domination on the Triton Series bears it out. He has won two titles already, worth $2.5 million and $5.3 million, including this very tournament last year. And there he is again atop the leader board with only nine players now remaining. Badziakouski signed for a stack of 4.74 million, the most in the room.

The fierce and focused Mikita Badziakouski

Badziakouski actually took a back seat for the night’s most dramatic hand: a three-way all-in pre-flop confrontation between Danny Tang, the overnight chip leader, Paul Phua, the Triton co-founder, and Alex Foxen, the current GPI No 1 ranked player in the world. Phua had the most chips, but his AsKd was behind Tang’s AhAd and Foxen’s KhKc.

The best hand held up, which was great news for Tang. He vaulted back into contention after sliding all the way down the pecking order through the previous nine hours. Phua was cut back (increasing Badziakouski’s overall lead) and Foxen was knocked out. It’s been a baptism of fire for him on the Triton Series.

Danny Tang thanks the heavens
Bad news for Alex Foxen

As Badziakouski and Jason Koon began calculating and discussing the percentages of each of the hands, getting it pretty much precisely right, of course, the tournament entered its bubble phase. Erik Seidel was the short stack, but is in possession of the patience and the instincts of the very best. Meanwhile all of Dan Cates, Peter Jetten and the recently dissected Phua were also just about clinging on.

Erik Seidel

Something had to give and, to the great dismay of Playboy bunnies across the world, it was their new favourite son Jungleman who hit the rail. He made a big bluff against Matthias Eibinger, firing with 7c3c at a board of 6dJd5hJhQc. Eibinger thought about it but called with his Qd6s.

After Seidel then doubled, Cates was left in further strife and got it in with AsQd. Eibinger again had his number, however, and his pocket queens sent Cates out with nothing.

Tough times for Dan Cates

 

With everyone now assured a pay-day, they convened around the final table and requested to play a couple of levels more than what was originally scheduled. All of these guys are very accustomed to precisely these circumstances: there was Triton Ambassador Jason Koon again; there was Phua still; there was Bryn Kenney, fresh from his victory a couple of days ago.

Final Table players in Triton Montenegro Main Event (standing l-r): Matthias Eibinger, Danny Tang, Mikita Badziakouski, Jason Koon; (sitting l-r): Erik Seidel, Bryn Kenney, Sam Greenwood, Paul Phua, Peter Jetten

Although this extra period of play saw some significant chip movement, mostly away from Sam Greenwood’s stack and into Badziakouski’s, no one fresh hit the rail. That meant they will return nine-handed tomorrow to play to the champion, with Badziakouski again the favourite.

His visage already peers from two banners in the Triton Series lobby. It may be time to call in the printers again, same design please.

Final table chip counts

Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus – 4.74 million
Peter Jetten, Canada – 3.34 million
Danny Tang, Hong Kong – 3.26 million
Bryn Kenney, USA – 2.54 million
Matthias Eibinger – 1.945 million
Jason Koon – 1.070 million
Sam Greenwood – 669,000
Paul Phua – 575,000
Erik Seidel – 450,000

Confirmed payouts

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 – HKD 21,300,000 ($2,713,876)
2 – HKD 14,100,000 ($1,796,509)
3 – HKD 9,600,000 ($1,223,155)
4 – HKD 7,260,000 ($925,011)
5 – HKD 5,650,000 ($719,878)
6 – HKD 4,400,000 ($560,613)
7 – HKD 3,460,000 ($440,846)
8 – HKD 2,680,000 ($341,464)
9 – HKD 2,050,000 ($261,195)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS

12BET is an online betting company specializing in sports betting and casino products. 12Bet became operational in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular online betting options throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

partypoker LIVE was created in January 2017 as a global poker tour, with the aim of bringing large field, high guarantee tournaments to players all over the world. Within just 12 months the partypoker LIVE tour has grown into the world’s largest ever poker tour and is guaranteeing over $70,000,000 in the 2018/2019 season.

Last-hand short-deck fireworks blast Jetten to lead over Tsoukernik

 

The first short deck hold’em event of the 2019 Triton Series Montenegro is under way — and an explosive final hand of the evening offered further evidence why this variant is so beloved of the game’s gamblers and thinkers alike.

Until the very last deal of a 12-level day, Czech casino owner Leon Tsoukernik had made the tournament his own, building a stack of more than 5 million (from a starting 300,000) when pretty much nobody else crossed the 3 million mark. However he then found Peter Jetten in particularly obdurate mood, re-raise shoving over Tsoukernik’s open and putting his entire 2.2 million stack on the line.

Tsoukernik had JcTs in the hole, a super-strong hand in short-deck, and was put through the wringer, evidently unsure whether he might even be a favourite against pocket aces. (Short-deck does all kinds of odd things to established poker probabilities.)

Leon Tsoukernik: Couldn’t resist a last-hand call

Tsoukernik couldn’t resist and slammed in a call, learning he was up against Jetten’s KhKs. Tsoukernik flopped a straight draw, but the turn and river were blanks, and that rocketed Jetten up to 4.445 million and the chip lead. Tsoukernik can rebuild tomorrow from 2.92 million.

Those two are still strong favourites to make the money. Eleven players remained at the close of play and eight will cash, so they will quickly enter bubble play on the resumption. The full payouts schedule is below.

As is customary on the Triton Series, plenty of players fired, missed and reloaded on multiple occasions today. Of the 70 total entries, 28 were re-entries. John Juanda and Michael Soyza had four each, and both are out now for good. Tsoukernik was on his first bullet, while Jetten had two.

Jetten’s closest challenger is Tek Lon Tam, from Macau, whose tournament resume is blank at present, suggesting a cash game player taking a stab at these high buy-in events offered by Triton. Tam had 2.925 million, a single chip ahead of Tsoukernik, with Steffen Sontheimer one further place back.

Tek Lon Tam: A rare trip to the tournament tables

Triton’s short-deck specialist Paul Phua has started in Montenegro as he finished in Jeju, with another deep run. Winfred Yu, best known as the organiser of many of Asia’s biggest cash games, also enjoyed this opening flight and bagged 2.225 million. The full counts of the final 11 are below.

Paul Phua: the king of short-deck
Winfred Yu: Nothing to see here

Although the tournament has the smallest buy-in of the 10-event festival, the 70 entries at HK$100,000 apiece built a prize pool of HK$6.58 million (US$838,000 approx). It allowed a few of the more circumspect players a chance to test their skills at this variant, with players from across Europe, Asia and North America taking their seats. If they like it, there will be plenty of other chances to sample short deck here in Montenegro. Events #6, #7, #9 and #10 are short-deck, while Event #11 is the short-deck main event and has a buy-in ten times the size of this one.

This tournament plays to its champion tomorrow, with HK$2.04 million on offer to the winner. The full deck hold’em Main Event also gets under way, with a HK$1 million (US$127,500 approx) buy-in, and the poker room at the Maestral Resort will likely be full as a result.

Although the tournament has the smallest buy-in of the 10-event festival, the 70 entries at HK$100,000 apiece built a prize pool of HK$6.58 million (US$838,000 approx). It allowed a few of the more cautious players a chance to test their skills at this variant, with players from across Europe, Asia and North America taking their seats.

The tournament plays to its champion tomorrow, with HK$2.04 million on offer to the winner. The full deck hold’em Main Event also gets under way, with a HK$1 million (US$127,500 approx) buy-in, and the poker room at the Maestral Resort will likely be full as a result.

Overnight chip counts:

 

1 Peter Jetten Canada 4,445,000
2 Tek Lon Tam Macau 2,925,000
3 Leon Tsoukerik Czech Republic 2,920,000
4 Steffen Sontheimer Germany 2,605,000
5 Ka Wing Winfred Yu Hong Kong 2,225,000
6 Shkliaruk Ihor Ukraine 1,605,000
7 Isaac Haxton United States 1,365,000
8 Wei Seng Paul Phua Malaysia 895,000
9 Samuel Greenwood Canada 870,000
10 Jordi Urlings Netherlands 600,000
11 Wei Lim Chin Malaysia 545,000

Confirmed prize pool/payout information:

Event #3 – Short Deck Ante Only
Dates: May 7-8, 2019
Buy-in: HK$100,000 (US$12,750 approx)
Entries: 70 (inc. 28 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$6.58 million (US$838,000 approx)

1 – HK$2,040,000 (US$260,000)
2 – HK$1,370,000 (US$174,551)
3 – HK$920,000 (US$117,217)
4 – HK$700,000 (US$89,185)
5 – HK$540,000 (US$69,000)
6 – HK$420,000 (US$53,510)
7 – HK$330,000 (US$42,044)
8 – HK$260,000 (US$33,126)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS

12BET is an online betting company specializing in sports betting and casino products. 12Bet became operational in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular online betting options throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

partypoker LIVE was created in January 2017 as a global poker tour, with the aim of bringing large field, high guarantee tournaments to players all over the world. Within just 12 months the partypoker LIVE tour has grown into the world’s largest ever poker tour and is guaranteeing over $70,000,000 in the 2018/2019 season.

Xuan takes early lead as Event #2 promises first millionaire

The Triton Series Montenegro slipped quickly into top gear at the Maestral Resort in Przno today as 45 players took their seats to play the second event of a 10-tournament series, no limit hold’em six-max. Between them they amassed 79 entries of HK$500,000 (US$63,733 approx) apiece. That created a prize-pool of HK$37.130 million (US$4.73 million) and ensured we’ll quickly be naming our first millionaire of this high buy-in festival.

The winner, to be decided on Tuesday, will take HK$11.23 million (US$1.43 million) — and get his visit to Adriatic coast off to the best possible start.

After 12 levels of play today, China’s Tan Xuan took the overnight chip lead, bagging 1.876 million from a starting stack of 200,000. Xuan was the first man registered for the tournament, and clearly likes playing in Montenegro. He recorded the biggest result of his career this time last year when he finished second to Triton Ambassador Jason Koon in the short deck main event, and he is already the man to catch in this one.

Erik Seidel: A menacing figure in second place

Of course, he’s got a super high quality field already breathing down his neck. Xuan’s closest challenger is Erik Seidel, who bagged 1.308 million, but all of Koon, Alex Foxen, Igor Kurganov, Sergio Aido, Christoph Vogelsang, Bryn Kenney and recent Triton Jeju champion Timothy Adams are in the mix.

Steve O’Dwyer: The first man in a “Champion” cap

Steve O’Dwyer, who won the first event of the week today and dedicated it to his mother on her birthday, also joined the fray, as did every one of his beaten final-table opponents: Isaac Haxton, Linus Loeliger, Beh Kok Weng and Sam Greenwood.

The full counts for the 24 players who survived are as follows. Everyone else will need to wait until 3pm tomorrow for another chance. That’s when Event #3 beckons the short-deck demons to the Maestral Resort to play their favourite game for HK$100,000 per entry. Join us then.

CONFIRMED PRIZE POOL:

Triton Montenegro Event #2: 6-Max Hold’em
Dates: May 5-6, 2019
Buy-in: HK$500,000
Entries: 79 (inc. 34 re-entries)


Landing Pages

POSPRIZE HKDPRIZE USD
1$11,230,000$1,431,264
2$7,430,000$946,954
3$5,070,000$646,172
4$3,820,000$486,859
5$2,970,000$378,527
6$2,300,000$293,135
7$1,820,000$231,959
8$1,410,000$179,705
9$1,080,000$137,646

CHIP COUNTS/DAY 2 SEAT DRAW

1Xuan TanChina1,876,0003-2
2Erik SeidelUnited States1,308,0005-5
3Cheok Ieng CheongMacau1,291,0001-5
4Wai Leong ChanMalaysia1,129,0002-1
5Christoph VogelsangGermany1,111,0003-1
6Jesus CortesSpain1,027,0003-5
7Max SilverEngland978,0005-1
8Ivan LeowMalaysia775,0005-3
9Bryn KenneyUnited States767,0003-4
10Jason KoonUnited States743,0001-1
11Beh Kok WengMalaysia601,0005-6
12Winfred YuHong Kong585,0001-3
13Richard YongMalaysia504,0002-5
14Lucas GreenwoodCanada477,0002-3
15Alex FoxenUnited States432,0002-2
16Linus LoeligerSwitzerland324,0001-4
17Danny TangHong Kong313,0002-4
18Samuel GreenwoodCanada298,0005-4
19Steve O DwyerUnited States280,0001-2
20Antanas GuogaLithuania275,0003-3
21Mikita BadziakouskiBelarus264,0002-6
22Sergio AidoSpain224,0001-6
23David PetersUnited States125,0005-2
24Daniel DvoressCanada111,0003-6

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12BET is an online betting company specializing in sports betting and casino products. 12Bet became operational in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular online betting options throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

partypoker LIVE was created in January 2017 as a global poker tour, with the aim of bringing large field, high guarantee tournaments to players all over the world. Within just 12 months the partypoker LIVE tour has grown into the world’s largest ever poker tour and is guaranteeing over $70,000,000 in the 2018/2019 season.

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com