It took Danny Tang 53 attempts at Triton Series events until he won his first title. But just two months and 10 tries later, he is the latest double champion on this prestigious Super High Roller series.
Tang just won the $50,000 NLH Turbo event at Triton North Cyprus, banking $545,000 in the process.
“Happy birthday, mum!” Tang shouted at the jib camera, which swung around to capture his winning moment. It came just before midnight, with the Main Event taking place on neighbouring tables, and after Tang down Santhosh Suvarna heads-up to claim this victory and put him among the multiple champions.
“I love $50Ks,” Tang said, referencing the buy-in for this event. His previous title actually came in a $25K buy-in short-deck tournament, which he rattled through like it was a turbo in Vietnam. Now he’s a no limit hold’em champ too, and was delighted with the outcome.
“What’s the jackpot?” one supporter asked from the rail, after Tang had sealed the deal. Tang didn’t even know. It wasn’t about the money. All of Kiat Lee, Elton Tsang and Punnat Punsri joined the winner’s photo, and Tang enjoyed every moment.
He did it despite battling an outbreak of gout that has plagued him this week, spreading from one foot to the next and back again, and causing him great pain to walk. Perhaps that was why he stayed at the table as long as he could.
TOURNAMENT ACTION
With 32 entries, including 12 re-entries, action was frenetic from the outset. The key number here was six: that’s how many places would be paid, which meant there was no point hanging around until you were at the last table. Only then did things slow a little.
Both Igor Yaroshevsky and Santhosh Suvarna were very short, but a couple of double-ups ended up putting them to the top of the counts. And then Danny Tang got involved in a skirmish with Jonathan Jaffe that Tang didn’t like at the outset, but which left him smiling like the cat that got the cream by the end.
Tang open-pushed with pocket 10s for 16 BBs. He was then faux outraged when when Jaffe snap-called. Tang seemed to think he should have waited for some drama. Jaffe turned over his pocket jacks and was ahead of Tang. But after the dealer put a ten on the flop, the domination flipped and Jaffe was knocked out on the bubble.
Dao Minh Phu’s tournament had been something of a cakewalk until the final table too, but he was responsible for one of Yaroshevsky’s double-ups and so was left short for the first time. When he was all-in and at risk, he was immediately eliminated. Suvarna did the damage with pocket nines to Phu’s 
.
Phu was the first player to be paid. He earned $111,000.
Ding Biao has enjoyed a phenomenal trip to North Cyprus this time, winning one tournament and cashing another. He was at the final table of this one as well, but he couldn’t make it the double. After Suvarna opened from under the gun, Biao called from the big blind with 
and a tiny stack.
The pair saw a flop of 
and Bioa, with his pair, now ripped in his final handful of blinds. Suvarna snap-called.
“Wow! Top set!” the table cooed. Suvarna’s pocket jacks were very pretty in the circumstances, and although chop outs appeared when a fourth spade came on the turn, the river was an off-suit three. It was all over for Biao, who took another $144,000 for fifth.
It goes without saying that stacks were short at this point, none shorter than Brian Kim. However, he found a good spot for a potential triple up and got his chips in. The potential was not realised.
The hand in question began with an open raise from fellow shorty, Yaroshevsky, on the button. Suvarna then moved all in from the small blind. Kim burnt through about three time banks before deciding to commit his last six big blinds, but the result wasn’t what he was looking for.
Yaroshevsky folded and Suvarna tabled his 
. Kim was behind with his 
. Both players hit their kicker on the flop, but Suvarna stayed better. Kim was out in fourth for $184,000.
Yaroshevsky was again the short stack, but he doubled up again with pocket nines against Suvarna’s pocket fours, and it brought the stacks remarkably even. Yaroshevsky and Tang had 27 big blinds each, while Suvarna had 26. Not much play in it, but it was anyone’s game.
Tang started going through the gears. In one delicious pot, Yaroshevsky opened to 160,000 (big blind was 80,000) from the button and both Suvarna and Tang called in the blinds. They then saw a flop of 
and, after two checks, Yaroshevsky continued for 200,000. Suvarna called but now Tang found a check-raise to 580,000.
That gave Tang a decent filip, and Yaroshevsky never really recovered. He got his last chips in as a three-bet jam with 
but Tang wasn’t at it with his open. He had 
, called and won. Yaroshevsky won $240,000 for third.
Suvarna versus Tang heads up pitted two players who had already won one Triton title. Tang won his in Vietnam a few months ago; Suvarna won his at the beginning of this event. Tang took a 60 BB to 20 BB lead into the last phase of play, with the third important factor here being the clock.
They only played one hand before they slipped into the next level, and it was 47 BBs to 17.
Most pots stayed on the small side at the beginning of heads up play, but then came a whopper. Tang completed from the small blind and Suvarna checked. The flop was innocuous. It came 
. Suvarna check-called Tang’s bet of 150,000.
The 
fell on the turn and Suvarna checked again. Tang bet 375,000 and Suvarna suddenly moved all-in for 1.5 million.
Tang pondered for a moment, but then put out the calling chips. Suvarna showed 
, which was now a double-gutter. But Tang had 
for top pair.
“A picture and we win,” Tang said. The dealer delivered. The river was the 
and Tang was the champion again. Suvarna banked $376,000 and came up just short of a second win. But tonight the night belongs to the family Tang.
Event #12 – $50,000 NLH Turbo
Dates: May 21, 2023
Entries: 32 (inc. 12 re-entries)
Prize pool: $1,600,000
1 – Danny Tang, Hong Kong – $545,000
2 – Santhosh Suvarna, India – $376,000
3 – Igor Yaroshevsky, Ukraine – $240,000
4 – Brian Kim, USA – $184,000
5 – Ding Biao, China – $144,000
6 – Dao Minh Phu, Vietnam – $111,000
Photography by Joe Giron/Poker Photo Archive