There was a moment at the end of the HKD 500,000 (USD 64,000) No-Limit Hold’em Short Deck, Ante Only event at the Triton Poker Series in Jeju where I thought, if I throw a peanut at David Peters, he will fracture into a million different pieces.
It was at the end.
Everyone had either gone to bed, or was sitting in the cash game, winning or losing enough money to take over a small country, and there was Peters, holding up the trophy, with a fake smile etched across his face so the photographers could get the snap.
After what seemed an age, he came down from the stage, and I asked him to describe the moment in the tournament when it turned in his favour, and he knew he would lock up a million bucks.
“My brain is so fried, I don’t remember,” said Peters.
Jet lag.
Starvation.
Uninterrupted, high octane concentration.
Whatever it was, this man was a zombie.
I decided to cut him loose, and he walked over to the bar with his girlfriend to celebrate his most recent million dollar win like you would celebrate hitting three numbers on the lottery.
Let’s press the rewind button.
The Backstory
14-players had made it through to Day 1 of the HKD 500,000 (USD 64,000) No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed. The buy-in was a new one for Triton’s 2018 tour. The previous buy-in was HKD 250,000 (USD 32,000) and the tour’s founder, Richard Yong, beat 35 entrants to win the HKD 3,046,000 (USD 388,024) first prize.
That was in Montenegro; this was Jeju.
By the end of registration, the field size swelled to 39, and one man was going to walk away with a silver trophy and an HKD 8,775,000 (USD 1,118,058) first prize.
The Guts
Day 2 begins with Cary Katz and Bryn Kenney joining from the off.
Level 10: 800/1600/1600
To @SamGreenwoodRIO NEVER, EVER THREATEN TEAM GERMANY AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A GROUP THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
— Dominik Nitsche (@DominikNitsche) July 23, 2018
The mild-mannered Greenwood reacted to Nitsche’s threat to his life, by ending his tournament life. The overnight chip leader extended his lead after a blind on blind confrontation with the German. Nitsche called after Greenwood put him all-in after limping from the small blind with a stack of 29,700 sitting behind. Nitsche was ahead with KQss, but Greenwood’s QdTs won the day, flopping a ten. Nitsche was left deliberating whether to rejoin the action. He never did, but don’t tell Greenwood.
Greenwood was on a roll. The next person to feel his wrath was James Chen, and once again it was a battle for the blinds. Chen limped from the small blind, Greenwood raised to 6,000, and Chen called. The flop was Ts3s2h, Chen checked, Greenwood bet 7,000, and Chen called.
The turn was the 7s, Chen led for 9,500, and Greenwood called.
The final card was the 3s, putting four spades on the board; Chen led out again for 15,000, and Greenwood put him all-in; Chen spewed forth a single time bank before calling. Chen held AhTc for top pair, and Greenwood showed down pocket queens (minus a spade) for the overpair. Chen was out, and soon enough, he was back in, joined by Yeu Wei Hsiang, Ivan Leow and Ying Jinghui.
Towards the end of the level, Bryn Kenney got short and got his last 12,800 into the middle holding A8cc versus the ATo of Cary Katz. The board held no salvation for Kenney, and he was sent to the rail but would return to make a proper fist of things.
Level 11: 1000/2000/2000
I found Nick Schulman in the restaurant pondering whether to play or not. It seems the magnetic lure of the poker table had a grip on him. He bought in. It didn’t last. The HKD 250,000 Short-Deck Champion lost a flip with AK not finding a partner on the flop, turn or river giving the pocket tens of Steve O’Dwyer reason to celebrate.
David Peters eliminated Luc Greenwood when the pair got it in pre-flop. Peters had QQ, and Greenwood was hoping for an ace or running hearts with AJhh. Greenwood did hit a jack on the turn, but a clear river sent him to the cash desk where he re-entered with a fresh looking 50,000 stack.
Level 12: 1000/2500/2500
JC Alvarado busted both Phil Ivey and Ivan Leow when the three of them got it in pre-flop. As has so often been the case this week, Ivey was ahead with pocket queens, Alvarado held A9o, and Leow held KTdd. The low 567 flop was good for Ivey, but the Ks gave Leow the lead, and the Ah passed that lead to Alvarado and the pair headed to the rail.
Kok Weng Beh then eliminated Yeu Wei Hsiang in another pre-flop all-in and call. Hsiang held pocket eights, and Beh showed down the pocket nines. Yeu did hit a set on the river, but it also handed his opponent a straight.
With that knockout, we were down to the final three tables.
O’Dwyer doubled through Alvarado when his pocket kings bossed the hell out of pocket tens. Mikita Badziakouski showed Alvarado how to do it when he eliminated Richard Yong TT>KK, after rivering a ten. And in one of the last hands of the level, Ying Jinghui eliminated John Juanda after he moved all-in with J8 and was picked off by Jinghui’s JTo.
Level 13: 1500/3000/3000
O’Dwyer eliminated the overnight chip leader, Sam Greenwood, when his pocket nines beat pocket threes, all-in, pre-flop. Jinghui followed up his Juanda elimination by taking the axe to Cary Katz. The PokerGo founder was ahead QQ>JJ, but Jinghui turned the third jack to send Katz packing.
The elimination of Katz gave us the final two tables.
Here were the top five chip counts.
1. Steve O’Dwyer – 425,000
2. Stephen Chidwick – 230,000
3. David Peters – 185,000
4. Chow Hing Yaung – 175,000
5. Ying Jinghui – 140,000
O’Dwyer put Alvarado on the wrong side of the rail when his KJo beat AJo after flopping a king. And then we lost two more when Bryn Kenney’s KQhh turned a boat to beat the straight of Kok Weng Beh, and Patrik Antonius had his aces cracked by the 98o of Chow Hing Yaung when the latter flopped two pairs to give Antonius a free evening to kick back his heels and think of Finland.
Level 14: 2000/4000/4000
Sergio Aido sends Lim Chin Wei off to find something else to do in this palace when his pocket queens faded an ace and a smattering of clubs during an all-in pre-flop fight.
Level 15: 2500/5000/5000
O’Dwyer continued his incredible fly swatting run by putting Ying Jinghui out of his misery when the pair got it in with O’Dwyer holding QTc, and Jinghui moving all-in pre-flop holding AQdd. O’Dwyer flopped two pairs, Jinghui turned a flush draw, but the river was clean for the bearded wonder, and we had a final table.
1. Steve O’Dwyer – 627,500
2. David Peters – 305,500
3. Chow Hing Yaung – 301,000
4. Luc Greenwood – 248,500
5. Stephen Chidwick – 195,000
6. Bryn Kenney – 167,500
7. Sergio Aido – 104,000
Level 16: 3000/6000/6000
The first player forcibly removed from the final table was Bryn Kenney. Chow Hing Yaung and Kenney saw a flop of AsJs9s in a three-bet pot with Kenney, the aggressor. Kenney then check-raise jammed, and Chow called.
Kenney: AcTs
Chow: AhJd
Kenney had top pair and the flush draw, but Chow was ahead with top two pairs, and it stayed that way until no more cards were flying out of the deck.
Then we lost the Spaniard.
Sergio Aido opened jammed the button holding JTs, and David Peters called with pocket sevens from the big blind, and they stuck.
Bubble time.
Level 19: 6000/12000/12000
The man with the position nobody wanted was Luc Greenwood.
Chidwick opened from the cutoff for 25,000 and Greenwood called from the big blind.
Flop: AdTh7h
Chidwick c-bet to 15,000, Greenwood moved all-in for 136,000, and Chidwick made the call.
Chidwick: AhTh
Greenwood: Kh9h
Greenwood had flopped the king-high flush draw, but Chidwick had him crushed with the nut flush draw and top pair. The flush did come in on the river, but it meant nothing to the bank account of Greenwood, who was out, with everyone else but him earning a minimum return on investment of HKD 1,950,000 (USD 250,000).
Then we were three-handed after O’Dwyer removed Chow Hing Yaung from the equation. The battle occurred pre-flop with Chow holding pocket nines, and O’Dwyer searching for an ace or a queen. O’Dwyer didn’t need to waste too many batteries in his flashlight, as he found the ace on the flop.
Level 21: 10000/20000/20000
O’Dwyer had one more Kapow in his hand before heads-up, this time the Global Poker Index (GPI) #1, Stephen Chidwick, feeling his power. The pair got it in with O’Dwyer ahead, holding pocket fours, and Chidwick, looking for some help with A3o. It never came. Chidwick was out, and O’Dwyer moved into the end zone to face Peters for the title, as he did during in Montenegro the last time Triton had a six-max event.
Heads-Up
O’Dwyer – 1.3m
Peters – 650k
Peters took the chip lead after forcing some value from O’Dwyer on a Kd9d3d5d4h board holding QhTd for the flush, and O’Dwyer called holding 7h7d for the inferior glow.
O’Dwyer came close to evening the stacks, but he never retook the chip lead, in a short and shrift heads-up encounter that went the way of Peters in the final hand.
O’Dwyer limped into the pot holding KcJh, Peters raised to 170,000 holding Qd8s, and O’Dwyer made the call. The flop was Td9h7c, and Peters went for it betting 200,000; O’Dwyer called. The river was the Js handing Peters the straight. Peters checked, O’Dwyer moved all-in, and Peters made the call to take the title and one million dollars first prize.
It was another deep run from O’Dwyer, who finished runner-up to Richard Yong in the smaller buy-in version of this event in Montenegro. For Peters, this was his 20th career title and his fourth seven-figure cash. It’s his third cash in a Triton Poker Series event including a runner-up finish to Fedor Holz in 2016 where he earned a record $2,699.752.
Here are the ITM results.
1. David Peters – HKD 8,775,000 (USD 1,118,215)
2. Steve O’Dwyer – HKD 5,850,000 (USD 745,477)
3. Stephen Chidwick – HKD 2,925,000 (USD 372,738)
4. Chow Hing Yaung – HKD 1,950,000 (USD 248,492)
The next event on the horizon is the HKD 1,000,000 (USD 127,000) buy-in Short-Deck, Ante-Only event taking place at 4 pm (local time) Saturday 28 July.