Triton Super High Roller Series Archives - Page 4 of 6

Tan Xuan lands on top in $95K short deck musical chairs

Another day, another massive short deck event on the Triton Super High Roller Series, this time demanding an enormous HKD 750,000 ($96,000) buy-in and quickly building a prize pool of more than HKD 38 million ($4.86 million). That means that this time tomorrow, two more millionaires will be named, with the first prize weighing in at HKD 13.3 million (nearly $1.7 million).

All that money came from 29 unique players and 24 re-entries, only 17 of whom survived 11 levels of play. With six places paid, it’s going to be a tense few hours to kick off Thursday’s action, which will be the penultimate day on this two-week festival.

The chip lead changed hands four times within the last level, with Isaac Haxton being overhauled first by China’s Wang Qiang and then by Sam Greenwood. Then Qiang’s neighbour Tan Yuan, pictured top, leapfrogged them all with two big hands against Mikita Badziakouski, not long after he knocked out Danny Tang.

Greenwood’s big double up was the most dramatic moment: he made a call for his tournament life three hands from the close of play. Haxton shoved for his 2 million stack, covering everyone at his table. It was a classic big-stack bully move and Greenwood wasn’t buying it. He called with his and caught Haxton with . Haxton missed and so Greenwood flew to 1.95 million.

By that point, Qiang had also edged towards the top of the counts, finishing with 1.881 million, but all eyes should really have been on Tan, who bagged 2.186 million.

Tan finished second to Jason Koon in the short deck main event here in Montenegro last year for the biggest cash of his career — HKD 18.121 million ($2.3 million), and Randy Lew described him as “one of the most experienced short deck players there is”. He showed all those skills late on, when he ironed out Badziakouski, twice.

Tan called a three-bet with , flopped an ace, and let Badziakouski barrel into him with . Tan rivered two pair and put out a big bet, eventually forcing Badziakouski to fold.

On the next hand, Badziakouski tried to represent a flush on a board of , but Tan was the man who actually had it. His was the nuts.

Badziakouski was intrigued enough by the hands to sit behind at the end of play to watch it through on the stream, on a 30-minute delay. “This last hour of poker has been amazing,” Lew added in the commentary box.

The hand between Haxton and Greenwood took place on the same table as Triton cashing machine Paul Phua, who is eyeing his 13th in-the-money finish on the series he co-founded. Phua’s quest received a late boost when he knocked out Triton Ambassador Jason Koon, but there’s still a healthy contingent of the Triton family involved, with Richard Yong also going deep and making it into the second day.

Although it was mostly very familiar faces in the field today, there was one newcomer to action this week: Andrew Robl sat down to play a tournament after mostly focusing on cash since arriving in Montenegro. He needed to survive a late scare when he got his chips all in with and was dominated by Jesus Cortes’s . But the board made Robl a straight to double him up and give him 756,000 in the overnight counts.

Here’s how they line up for tomorrow’s noon re-start. The day two seat draw is alongside.

Name	Country	Chips	Seat
Xuan Tan	China	2,186,000	3-3
Samuel Greenwood	Canada	1,950,000	2-7
Qiang Wang	China	1,881,000	3-7
Sergey Lebedev	Russia	1,585,000	1-6
Ivan Leow	Malaysia	1,217,000	1-5
Isaac Haxton	United States	1,024,000	1-3
Daniel Dvoress	Canada	896,000	3-2
Devan Tang	Hong Kong	894,000	1-1
Michael Soyza	Malaysia	866,000	3-6
Andrew Robl	United States	756,000	2-3
Mikita Badziakouski	Belarus	648,000	1-7
Winfred Yu	Hong Kong	490,000	1-2
Timofey Kuznetsov	Russia	354,000	2-6
Wai Leong Chan	Malaysia	300,000	2-2
Jesus Cortes	Spain	256,000	2-1
Richard Yong	Malaysia	208,000	2-5
Paul Phua	Malaysia	193,000	3-5

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 — HKD 13,300,000 ($1,694,000)
2nd — HKD 8,600,000 ($1,096,000)
3rd — HKD 5,700,000
4th — HKD 4,400,000
5th — HKD 3,422,494
6th — HKD 2,700,000

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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Last-level rush sends Dvoress clear in latest Triton short deck

The Triton Series stop in Montenegro is deep into its second week, but there’s no sign of anything slowing down. This evening, the poker room of the Maestral Resort & Casino hosted the opening 12 levels of the HKD 250,000 short deck event and 65 entries crammed in.

Twenty nine of them were re-entries (it seems deep pockets are still amply filled) and by the end of the night only 12 players were left. Daniel Dvoress is the huge leader in the hunt for the HKD 4.72 million ($613,600) first prize, the heaviest segment of the HKD 15.275 million ($1.95 million) prize pool.

Dvoress’s presence at the top of the counts was the result of a late knockout bonanza. He was all-in and under threat with about two hours left in the day, but having survived that, he went crazy in the last level. When they went down the last three tables, Dvoress had 2.4 million chips. But he finished the day with 5.525 million, more than a quarter of all the chips in play.

Dvoress sent both Ben Lamb and Luc Greenwood to the rail in the same hand — Dvoress’s beating Greenwood’s and Lamb’s — vaulting him to the top of the counts. Dvoress then won another monster to eliminate Kenneth Kee, all of this after he had also sent Sam Greenwood home. Dvoress’s invitation to the Greenwoods’ for Christmas is revoked.

Kenneth Kee: Left speechless and chipless

This has been a great trip for Dvoress already, in which he has made four final tables. They have grossed him about $2.3 million, though a first title is still missing. There’s still a lot of play in this one even to reach the money (eight are paid) but Dvoress has done everything he can to put that elusive trophy in reach.

Triton Ambassador Jason Koon was knocked out on the last hand of the day

Others still in the hunt include John Juanda, Wai Kin Yong, Peter Jetten, Dan “Jungleman” Cates and, of course, the irrepressible Paul Phua. But Triton Ambassador Jason Koon was knocked out on the last hand of the day, bring us to our last two tables.

Play resumes at 12pm Wednesday, when players will return with the following stacks to the following seats. They’ll also be starting another short deck event, with a HKD 750,000 buy-in, at 3pm.

Day 2 chip counts/seating assignments:

Daniel Dvoress	Canada	5,525,000	1-1
John Juanda	Indonesia	2,465,000	2-6
Wai Kin Yong	Malaysia	1,760,000	1-6
Daniel Cates	United States	1,705,000	1-7
Sergey Lebedev	Russia	1,425,000	2-7
Michael Soyza	Malaysia	1,390,000	2-1
Peter Jetten	Canada	1,355,000	1-2
Paul Phua	Malaysia	1,215,000	1-5
Danny Tang	Hong Kong	1,140,000	2-3
Isaac Haxton	United States	725,000	1-3
Jesus Cortes	Spain	400,000	2-2
Winfred Yu	Hong Kong	395,000	2-5

Payout schedule:

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 – HKD 4,720,000 ($613,600)
2nd – HKD 3,160,000 ($410,800)
3rd – HKD 2,150,000 ($279,500)
4th – HKD 1,620,000 ($210,600)
5th – HKD 1,250,000 ($162,500)
6th – HKD 980,000 ($127,400)
7th – HKD 780,000 ($101,400)
8th – HKD 615,000 ($79,950)

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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Chow makes chops of Lamb, wins PLO’s Triton debut

The Triton High Roller Series introduced pot-limit Omaha to its roster of games here in Montenegro this week, and the event’s 22 players produced the kind of tournament that will have cheerleaders of the four-card game singing its praises while detractors will still yearn for much shorter decks.

It was gritty, it was tactical and it dragged on in places. But it also featured some spectacular pots and crowned a very fitting champion: Malaysia’s Hing Yaung Chow, who applied himself to his task with extraordinary patience and daring. He rose from the middle of the pack overnight to beat two-time WSOP November Niner and all-games wizard Ben Lamb heads up and claim his first Triton title, worth HKD 2,640,000 ($343,200).

Lamb had seemed set for this one right from the off, when he dominated proceedings on the opening day and bagged the overnight lead. But Chow set to his task and overcame multiple setbacks when opponents doubled through him today. He simply then re-focused and ground away again until finally, at the end of an eight-and-a-half hour final, he had all the chips. It was his first outright tournament win from his third Triton final table.

The final hand played out between two super short-stacked heads-up opponents, the result of levels escalating as everyone clung on to life. In the end, Lamb’s couldn’t hold against Chow’s when they got their last 20 or so blinds in on the flop.

Chow rivered a straight and all the Malaysians in the room, who had poured over to watch his winning moment, erupted in jubilation. They then hung around for Chow’s winner’s photo too.

“I’m very happy,” Chow said, adding that it meant a lot to his countrymen here in Montenegro. “First trophy of all the Malaysian players.”

Final table players (standing l-r): Wai Leong Chan, Henrik Hecklen, Mike Watson, Isaac Haxton; (sitting l-r): Ben Lamb, Robert Flink, Viacheslav Osipov, Hing Yaung Chow, Gabe Patgorski

Nine players made it through the opening day, but the bubble was still some way off when they came back this afternoon. The final featured some of the game’s very best alongside those for whom PLO is far from their preferred game. The viewers on the live stream were also intrigued by the four-card variant; hold’em tends to rule supreme.

Mike Watson’s elimination in ninth offered the kind of evidence a few short-deck regulars might need to be convinced of the merits of PLO. On a flop of , Watson’s had middle set and a couple more pairs for good measure, but he was still only a 60 percent favourite over Henrik Hecklen’s . Hecklen’s flush draw seemed the most likely method for him to win the pot, but he ended up doing it an even harder way, hitting the on the river for a straight. Goodbye SirWatts.

Short-deck specialist Gabe Patgorski was next to leave, still short of the money, but his elimination will make sense even to hold’em-only fans. Patgorski four-bet pushed with into Ben Lamb’s . That was kings into aces, Omaha style, and the aces held.

Chow’s charge now began in earnest, when he sent Swedish online cash-game beast Robert Flink out in seventh. This one played tricky through the pre-flop and flop betting rounds, but by the time there were four cards on the board — — Flink had two pair and a couple of big draws with , while Chow had similar, with , but did not want the draws to hit. The river was the blank Chow was looking for and Flink was mincemeat.

With six left and five due to be paid, the action was necessarily circumspect. But the period of tension ended with another pair of aces being cracked, this time Chow flopping a set of eights with his and getting it in on a flop of , with Haxton admitting “That’s not what I wanted to see.” Haxton needed to hit running cards or one out with his . He missed. Haxton took the edge off busting the wrong side of a HKD 660,000 ($85,800) bubble by hopping immediately into the HKD 200,000 short deck.

Five became four when Wai Leong Chan became the second player in succession to bust with aces, and his were the most emphatically cracked. Although he only had 830,000 chips, he was a two-to-one pre-flop favourite to double with against Lamb’s . However the dealer put the flop out there, and Lamb’s kings slaughtered Chan.

Within half an hour, we were another man down as Hecklen’s tournament came to its conclusion. Hecklen picked up his first Triton cash on this stop in Montenegro, and made it nothing less than a first-place finish in the hastily arranged Event #12. His second in-the-money finish was worth “only” HKD 820,000 ($106,600), however, and he had his own tale of a big hand cracked.

Hecklen had when he was all in for his last seven blinds. Chow’s was a significant dog, and didn’t improve much on flop or turn. But a third queen fell on the river consolidating his chip lead and eliminating Hecklen.

Chow had a significant chip lead when three-handed play started. His 64 big blinds were more than double what Osipov (15 BBs) and Lamb (13 BBs) had combined. Lamb, however, doubled up to move back into contention, and he then knocked out Osipov in third.

Osipov got his chips in good, sitting with and the flop of on the table. But Lamb had loads of outs with his and the turn was one of them. Lamb’s straight held as Osipov whiffed his river outs. Osipov had only one previous cash on his Hendon Mob page, from a €1,000 buy-in event more than 10 years ago. But this third place was worth HKD 1.13 million ($146,900).

There was only around 50 blinds between them when Lamb and Chow went heads up. Lamb had the lead, but Chow’s relentless aggression put him into a two-to-one lead when the first opportunity to end it came along. Chow flopped a set with , but Lamb flopped a bigger one with . That put Lamb back ahead.

Heads up between Ben Lamb and Hing Yaung Chow

But once again, Chow chipped back up and re-took the lead. Lamb has played PLO across the world, in some of the biggest games, but rarely will he have come up against such a force. True to form, the last hand involved a big pair cracked — that’s Omaha — but few will deny Chow this title. Lamb had to make do with HKD 1.706 million ($221,780).

Event #8: Pot Limit Omaha
Dates: May 11-12, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 200,000 ($25,500)
Entries: 37 (inc. 15 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 6,956,000 ($886,347)

1st – Hing Yaung Chow, Malaysia, HKD 2,640,000 ($343,200)
2nd – Ben Lamb, USA, HKD 1,706,000 ($221,780)
3rd – Viacheslav Osipov, Russia – HKD 1,130,000 ($146,900)
4th – Henrik Hecklen, Denmark – HKD 820,000 ($106,600)
5th – Wai Leong Chan, Malaysia – HKD 660,000 ($85,800)

Photography by Joe Giron/www.pokerphotoarchive.com

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Lamb leads slaughter in Triton’s PLO debut

The first Pot Limit Omaha tournament ever to be played on the Triton Super High Roller Series kicked off in Montenegro today, with 22 players finding the HKD $200,000 ($25,500) buy-in, and those players adding 15 re-entries too.

That meant a total prize pool of HKD 6.956 million ($886,347), with HKD 2.64 million ($343,200) for the winner. Five places will be paid.

When Day 1 came to a conclusion after 11 levels, the the two-time WSOP final table player Ben Lamb was leading the way with a stack of 1.727 million. Lamb rocketed into the lead during the earliest exchanges of the day, becoming the first man through 1 million and the first man through 2 million too. He was never under much threat, even though Gabe Patgorski’s late double up nibbled a few hundred thousand from him.

Meanwhile Hing Yaung Chow, Wai Leong Chan and late entrant Viacheslav Osipov enjoyed late surges up the leader board. All finished within a few blinds of Lamb.

Osipov knocked out Michael Soyza, and also took a huge pot from Luc Greenwood in the penultimate level of the day. Meanwhile Chan took care of the other Greenwood, Sam, and Chow finished the job on Luc to end the night. Chan has 1.597 million, Chow has 1.575 million and Osipov has 1.528 million.

The day ended with nine players, but they’re still all very deep stacked. The average will be 62 big blinds when they return for Day 2 at noon tomorrow, and no one is guaranteed a place in the money. We will have the thrill of an $85,000 bubble to kick us off.

Here are the full chip counts for the remaining players, in order of their seating assignments for tomorrow. The payout schedule follows.

Seat 1: Wai Leong Chan, Malaysia – 1,597,000
Seat 2: Henrik Hecklen, Denmank – 1,040,000
Seat 3: Ben Lamb, USA – 1,727,000
Seat 5: Robert Flink, Sweden – 965,000
Seat 6: Viacheslav Osipov, Russia – 1,528,000
Seat 7: Hing Yaung Chow, Malaysia – 1,575,000
Seat 8: Gabe Patgorski, USA – 1,024,000
Seat 9: Isaac Haxton, USA – 938,000
Seat 10: Mike Watson, Canada – 706,000

Event #8: Pot Limit Omaha
Dates: May 11-12, 2019
Buy-in: HKD 200,000 ($25,500)
Entries: 37 (inc. 15 re-entries)
Prize pool: HKD 6,956,000 ($886,347)

1st – HKD 2,640,000 ($343,200)
2nd – HKD 1,706,000 ($221,780)
3rd – HKD 1,130,000 ($146,900)
4th – HKD 820,000 ($106,600)
5th – HKD 660,000 ($85,800)

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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