admin, Author at Paul Phua Poker

Most live poker tournaments are Bruce Banner. Triton is Bruce Banner after the gamma rays ate into his marrow. THE high stakes tournament series on the planet rose to another level with a 12-event series at the Maestral Resort & Casino in Budva, Montenegro.

The initial plan to hold ten events was bold, two more were added at the request of players whose only medicine for boredom seems to be a seat at a table surrounded by beasts determined to hunt them down and eat every last chip.

Those 12-events attracted 691-entrants (403 unique, 288 re-entries), $41,564,198 in prize money, and 12 people left with more than seven-figures in gross profit.

Let’s take a look at the numbers and the primary stories from the most ambitious and most exceptional Triton Poker Series in the tour’s short history.

There were many stars at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, but none burned brighter than Bryn Kenney. The New Yorker arrived on the Adriatic Coast irritated that the buy-ins were too low for a man of his stature. He’s not complaining anymore.

Kenney won two events, and what a pair to win taking down an HK$500,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed competition for $1.4m, and the HK$1m No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for $2.7m. All told, Kenney earned more money, gross, than anyone else throughout the series, with $4,145,235 ending up in his coffers before leaving early to play some online poker.

Bryn Kenney holding trophy and winning hand — Champion Bryn Kenney

It was another superb series for Mikita Badziakouski who was one of three previous Triton champions who added more titles to the resume. The Belarusian made money three times, and won an HK$750,000 Short-Deck event, for a combined haul of $2,912,467, taking him to the top of the Triton All-Time Money List with $11,778,001 in gross profit. Badziakouski has now won three Triton titles. John Juanda (2) and Daniel Cates (2) were the other repeat champions.

Triton’s co-founder, Paul Phua, had a sterling series cashing five times, earning $3,594,983. Phua holds the record for the most Triton ITM finishes (13), although he’s likely miffed that he’s still not got a blue baseball cap with the word ‘Triton Champion” stitched into the fabric.

One of the challenges for a tour like Triton is finding fresh blood given the stakes are so high, so it was refreshing to see new faces from the pro stables in Montenegro. Modern-day online legend Linus “LlinusLove” Loeliger competed in the No-Limit Hold’em events and took part in a live-streamed cash game. The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1, Alex Foxen, also made his debut, as did Jesus Cortes.

One of the most interesting appearances was from the UK pro, Max Silver, who arrived in Montenegro to compete in the Short-Deck events after playing them online and studying his arse off. Will more follow Silver’s lead? Triton will hope so.

It was also a fantastic series for the non-professionals. Leon Tsoukernik and Tony G both competed without much success, but the non-professionals from the East excelled with Quek Sheng, Hing Chow and Winfred Yu all winning titles.

Daniel Dvoress was another top, top performer in Montenegro, earning $2,717,155 in gross profit, tying with Phua at the top of the ITM finish list with five. And Danny Tang also made an impressive debut, leaving with $1,976,217 in gross profit after and an eighth in an HK$500,000 event and a second in the HK$1m event, two payscales he had never competed in before.

The next stop will be in London at the end of July where these lovely people will compete in a £1m buy-in event, the most expensive tournament in the history of the game.

Triton Montenegro Million Plus Winners (Overall)

1. Bryn Kenney – $4,145,235
2. Rui Cao – $3,611,031
3. Paul Phua – $3,594,983
4. Mikita Badziakouski – $2,912,467
5. Daniel Dvoress – $2,717,155
6. Arnaud Romain – $2,130,372
7. Danny Tang – $1,976,217
8. Sam Greenwood – $1,943,613
9. Peter Jetten – $1,865,303
10. Ben Lamb – $1,192,009
11. Kenneth Kee – $1,082,033
12. Ivan Leow – $1,060,282

Triton Montenegro ITM Finishes

1. Paul Phua/Daniel Dvoress – 5
2. Peter Jetten – 4
3. Rui Cao/Mikita Badziakouski/Sam Greenwood/Isaac Haxton/Jason Koon – 3

Triton Top Ten Earners

1. Mikita Badziakouski – $11,778,001
2. Jason Koon – $10,884,804
3. Bryn Kenney – $9,683,224
4. Paul Phua – $7,783,159
5. Rui Cao – $6,774,900
6. Peter Jetten – $6,605,911
7. Richard Yong – $$6,033,631
8. Wai Leong Chan – $5,946,225
9. Fedor Holz – $5,617,727
10. John Juanda – $5,334,133

The most endearing thing about the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series is the intimacy, and most heroes began the journey in the same way – a home game. Over time, you miss those days, and Triton brings them back at epileptic stakes.

Take the most recent in Montenegro. When the schedule first hit media’s white space, those paid to put pen to poker paper billed it as the most ambitious, most extensive and most expensive Triton tour to date.

Ten tournaments spread over a 13-day stew, only we got twelve, and the reason we had two additional events is because of that home game feel.

As we moved into the final day, with most of the sharks moving into deeper waters, those left behind demanded more action. Heads came together like a teddy bears picnic, and an HK$300,000 (US$38,000) buy-in event materialised out of the ether. It would be the first-ever No-Limit Hold’em/Short-Deck Mixed, and it would be a turbo.

The whole thing lasted eight hours, and when all was said and done, Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates had added a second Triton title to his ever-expanding list of impressive poker achievements.

Despite most of the players leaving for pastures new, the final event of the series still attracted 27-entrants (inc. 10 re-entries), and that’s not too far off the million buck prizepool mark.

Only three players would bank any money, and the man who came closest without smoking a cigar was Mike Watson, and he was as unlucky as a bear walking into a cave with the intestines of wild animals hanging from the roof just beyond his claws.

Watson got it in with QdJs on AsTs6s and was up against Td9h of Cates. The Jungleman had the lead; Watson had all the outs, and none of them leapt from the deck, sending Watson to the rail on the stone bubble.

That left three players at the top of their game, and six Triton titles between them. Rui Cao won his first title a few days ago, and he chose a big one taking down the HK$1m Short-Deck Main Event for $3.3m, but he couldn’t make it title #2. The Frenchman ran AdKc into the pocket aces of Cates to leave him on fumes, and then ran 8d2d into Koon’s AsQh in a hand of No-Limit Hold’em to see him go in third place for HK$ 1,560,000 (US$199,000).

Cao’s elimination left us with the rather tasty heads-up encounter of Jungleman versus Koon. This trip had been the quietest of Triton trips for Koon, and so he would have been eager to finish with a win. Also, had Koon won, he would have collected a record fourth title.

It wasn’t to be.

In the shortest heads-up imaginable, Koon and Cates clashed with the three-time Triton champ holding AhKh against the As6d of the Jungleman who sucked out on Koon to win the second Triton title of his career (Cates won an event in Manila back in 2016.)

The win was Cates’ sixth live tournament win, and his HK$ 3,930,000 (US$501,000) cash moves his All-Time Live Tournament Money needle to the $6.7m mark. Add that to the $11m profit he has claimed during his online cash game sessions, and the untold millions he has won playing live cash games, and it’s safe to say that Cates is one of the greatest players of his generation.

ITM Results

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

The next time we will see the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series will be in July when they roll into London for the first time, planning to set a new record with a £1m buy-in event.

Some fairies turn up in crusty old kitchens turning green lizards into coachmen, pumpkins into carriages, and mice into beautiful white mares. Then there are the fairies who whizz around the baseball cap of Bryn Kenney waving their wand, sprinkling him with crusher dust.

And the crusher keeps crushing.

A few sleeps shy of Kenney winning his first Triton Poker title, he has won another, only this one was considerably more significant.

Brynn Kenney holding up his 2 Triton trophies — Champion Bryn Kenney

Kenney has just conquered a 75 entrant (inc 31 re-entries) field to take the HKD 21,300,000 ($2,713,876) first prize in the HKD 1 million (USD 127,000) Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro Main Event. Incredibly that means, Kenney’s past three ITM finishes, since March, have all been seven-figure scores.

Take a gander.

2/48, HKD 2m Triton Main Event in Jeju for $3,062,513.

1/79, HKD 500k Triton NLHE 6-Max in Montenegro for $1,431,376.

1/75, HKD 1m Triton Main Event in Montenegro for $2,713,859

The win means Kenney extends his lead at the top of the 2019 Money List to $9,116,562 ($1m+ more than when he topped this list in 2017). He also moonshot passed Fedor Holz and David Peters landing in fourth place in the All-Time Money List with $34,799,434.

“I was in the zone, played well and crushed the table,” Kenney told Triton reporters after his win.

What next for the great man?

After five days of competing at the highest level for such long periods, he might take a rest, and that’s good news for everyone else.

“I’m just going to chill, relax, let my brain relax.”

The Action in a Nutshell

With four of the final table returning with stacks smaller than 20 big blinds the action was always going to be stock market floor crazy (Erik Seidel (8), Paul Phua (10), Sam Greenwood (14) and Jason Koon (18).

The first pot of the final table saw Phua move all-in holding pocket fours and Koon lost a flip with AcKc. Seidel then doubled through Eibinger AhTs v Ad4d, and it was both Koon and Eibinger who would leave first.

Jason Koon and Matthias Eibinger Out in 9th and 8th

Koon shoved the button for five big blinds with Ac7d, the defending champion Mikita Badziakouski moved all-in from the small blind with pocket eights, and Eibinger called in the big blind holding AdQh. A queen on the flop gave Eibinger the lead, but an eight on the turn and a big fat brick on the river gave Badziakouski Koon’s and Eibinger’s chips.

Erik Seidel Out in 7th

Badziakouski opened the button with AsTd and then called when Seidel shoved the small blind holding Qh9h. Seidel flopped a queen, but Badziakouski once again turned a better hand, this time a flush, and the New Yorker was out.

Paul Phua Out in 6th

Paul Phua was making his seventh final table, but unlike his Triton co-founder, Richard Yong, he had never managed to convert one into a win. Today, was no different. Phua doubled through Badziakouski when QJ outdrew KJ, and his A4 cracked Peter Jetten’s pocket kings when rivering the case ace, but like Achilles, he couldn’t escape the arrow in the foot shot from the bow of Bryn. Kenney limped the button with pocket queens, and Phua checked 7s4d in the big blind. Kenney flopped the top set, and Phua moved all-in with middle pair. Kenney snap-called and Phua was out.

Greenwood Out in 5th

Greenwood is another player putting poker players in prison for fun, and after this latest cash, ranks fourth in the 2019 Money List with $4,688,680 in live tournament earnings. It was another outstanding performance after coming fifth in the first event. And it was fifth again after Badziakouski eliminated him in this funky hand.

Greenwood limped the cutoff with AdQd and 11 big blinds, Danny Tang called with Ks5d in the small blind, and Badziakouski checked Kc9h in the big blind off 14 big blinds. The flop of Kd4s2c gave Tang and Badziakouski top pair. Both checked. Greenwood bet 120,000. Tang called, Badziakouski clicked it back, Greenwood burned through two-time bank chips before moving all-in, Tang folded, and Badziakouski called. Neither the turn nor the river came to Greenwood’s aid, and he was out.

Badziakouski Out in Fourth

Next, we lost the defending champion after the former back-to-back Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Main Event winner, became embroiled in a blind on blind turf war with Kenney, and pocket sevens beat AcJs in a sprint.

Jetten Out in Third

The elimination of Badziakouski turned the tournament into a man versus boys scenario with Kenney sitting behind a stack of 94 big blinds, and Tang (17) and Jetten (6) looking decidedly diminutive. Jetten, who was making his seventh Triton final table, and his second of this series, finished third once again, this time when Ks6h lost to the Th9s Kenney.

Heads-Up

87 – 7 Chip disadvantage.

Hardly a fair fight, right?

Kenney eventually took out Tang when QhJh turned a straight, but Tang was nonplussed – this was his first HKD 1 million buy-in event, and he left with $1.8m, the first seven-figure score of his career.

Here are the final table results.

Final Table Results

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)

The first of multiple seven-figure scores have been handed out at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, and it has gone to a man who almost didn’t turn up because the ‘buy-ins weren’t high enough.’

Speaking in a short interview, the day before Event #2: HK$500,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed, Kenney said he came to the event out of respect to the co-founders Richard Yong and Paul Phua, but was disappointed that there were no HK$2,000,000 buy-in events, and wasn’t sure he was going to compete.

Then he smelt the felt, heard the riffle of chips, and saw his hotel bathrobe and slippers and everything changed.

Kenney, defeated Daniel Dvoress, heads-up, to win the HK$11,230,000 (US$1,431,264) first prize, his third big win of the year after taking down the Aussie Millions Main Event, and a $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the US Poker Open in Las Vegas.

It’s also a sweet moment for Kenney after the punch in the gut he received in Jeju, finishing second to Timothy Adams in the HK$2,000,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.

The victory also means that Kenney has won more money playing live tournaments in 2019 than any of the other 7.5 billion souls that call this planet home, accruing $6,402,574, with six months of the year still to go (Kenney topped the 2017 Money List earning $8.5m).

The event attracted 79 entrants (inc. 34 re-entries), and at the end of Day 1, Short-Deck expert, Xuan Tan, finished on top of a pile of 24 people who had made it through to the final day.

The man situated in the 24th position was Daniel Dvoress, so it was an incredible performance for the Canadian to reach heads-up. Not that we should expect anything less from a man who finished 4th in the €100k and 8th in the €25k at the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Monte Carlo, recently.

By the time the final six parachuted onto the final table, Dvoress wasn’t the only player who had experienced a decent time in Monte Carlo. Sergio Aido, who won the €100k in that series, also made the cut. Joining him was Christoph Vogelsang (who finished 18th in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event), and two Triton Titans in Jason Koon and Ivan Leow who have 16 Triton final tables between them.

The first person to hit the rail was Christoph Vogelsang. The former Super High Roller Bowl winner, moved all-in for eight big blinds, holding pocket fours, and Jason Koon called and won in the big blind holding pocket sixes.

Koon may have taken the first scalp, but he couldn’t prevent Kenney taking his in a five-handed cooler that saw the winningest player in Triton Poker history get it in with pocket jacks versus the pocket kings of Kenney to kill his dream of a third title.

Aido exited in third when playing 60k/120k/120k he moved all-in for 1.44m holding Ah3c, and Dvoress called and won in the big blind holding Kd5c. We reached heads-up after Ivan Leow moved all-in on the button for 1.06m and JhTs, only for Dvoress to cut him up with pocket queens.

When heads-up play began, Dvoress enjoyed an almost 2:1 chip lead over Kenney, but the Aussie Millions Champ doubled-up to take a leave he never relinquished. The final hand saw Kenney come from behind to river a flush, to win the 19th live tournament of his career.

“I made a lot of really good value bets, really good bluffs, played really ferocious, feel real strong,” Kenney said after his win. “When you get in such a zone for a while, you can only really think about cards. I feel great, just because I only really care about how I play.”

ITM Finishes

Bryn Kenney, USA – HK$11,230,000 (US$1,431,264)
Daniel Dvoress, Canada – $7,430,000 (US$946,954)
Ivan Leow, Malaysia – HK$5,070,000 (US$646,172)
Sergio Aido, Spain – HK$3,820,000 (US$486,859)
Jason Koon, USA – HK$2,970,000 (US$378,527)
Christoph Vogelsang, Germany, HK$2,300,000 (US$293,135)
Richard Yong, Malaysia, HK$1,820,000 (US$231,959)
Danny Tang, Hong Kong, HK$1,410,000 (US$179,705)
Cheong Cheok Ieng, Macau – HK$1,080,000 (US$137,646)

Here are the remaining events:

#3 Tue May 7 – HK$100k – Short-Deck Ante-Only (Two-Day Event)*
#4 Wed May 8 – HK$1m Triton Montenegro No-Limit Hold’em Main Event (Three-Day Event)**
#5 Fri May 10 – HK$250k Short-Deck Ante-Only (Two-Day Event)*
#6 Sat May 11 – HK$200k Short-Deck Ante-Only Turbo (Two-Day Event)*
#7 Sun May 12 – HK$250k Pot-Limit Omaha (Two-Day Event )*
#8 Mon May 13 – HK$500k Short-Deck Ante-Only (Two-Day Event)*
#9 Tue May 14 – HK$750k Short-Deck Ante-Only (Two-Day Event)*
#10 Wed May 15 – HK$1m Triton Montenegro Short-Deck Ante-Only Main Event (Three-Day Event)*
* Indicates a 3:00 pm start
** Indicates a noon start

Day 2/3 Resumptions begin at noon.

Manig Loeser’s tail is wagging.

The German star has taken down the €5,300 buy-in PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Main Event, after an excruciatingly long final table that ended at 4 am.

From the outside-in, PokerStars enjoyed an incredible resurgent in popularity as players flocked to the French principality in their droves. There was so much money piled up inside the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort the organisers had to stick a flashing red light on the top to stop the planes from crashing into it.

I mean, come on, can you imagine having to stack it all up again.

Loeser overcame a 922-entrant field (the third largest in EPT Monte Carlo history), to win the €603,777 first prize. If you think that number is a tad low for such a big buy-in event, then it’s because the final three players cut a deal that left €78,061 to play for (who can blame them after nine hours of five-handed play).

It’s Loeser’s seventh live tournament victory, and his third in the past six months after winning a $25,000 at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic, and a 1,250-entrant $400 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Venetian, both in a dazzling December. Loeser also finished runner-up to Toby Lewis in the AUD 50,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions, so he came into the Monte Carlo with the scent of money sticking to his moustache.

It’s also Loeser’s second major win on the live circuit, after taking down the inaugural Triton Poker Series Main Event in Montenegro in 2017, winning $2,162.644. Loeser has decided against returning to the scene of his most significant win, in favour of heading to Kyrenia for the Merit Poker Classic where he will no doubt compete in the $5,300, $3M GTD Main Event, the $10,500 High Roller and $25,500 Super High Roller.

It’s also worth noting that Timothy Adams fell seven places short of winning his fourth major event in succession. Adams finished 8th after winning a $25k High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), the Triton Poker Series Jeju Main Event, and a €25k High Roller earlier on in this event. The odds on us having another back-to-back Triton Poker Series Main Event winner are high as Adams heads to Montenegro in search of more glory.

Final Table Results

Manig Loeser – €603,777*
Wei Huang – €552,056*
Viktor Katzenberger – €529,707*
Ryan Riess – €265,620
Nicola Grieco – €206,590
Luis Medina – €152,800
Rustam Hajiyev – €109,510
Timothy Adams – €78,030
*Indicates a three-handed deal.

Rainer Kempe Wins Another €25k Event.

It was a good day for the No-Limit Gaming (NLG) Stream Team as Rainer Kempe joined Loeser in the winner’s enclosure after taking down a 53-entrant (36 entrants and 17 re-entries) €25k High Roller.

Kempe is a man on form, and his win sees him move into the #2 in the Global Poker Index (GPI) World Rankings, and #3 in the 2019 GPI Player of the Year (POY) race. It’s his ninth win in the past 12-months.

The German star doubled up through David Peters QQ>AK when six-handed, and he never looked back eliminating Steve O’Dwyer in fifth place AK>A9, and David Peters in fourth KTo>A7s after flopping a king.

The three-handed play saw Kempe facing the Brazilian pairing of Andre Akkari and Joao Simao, but neither could stop his ascent. Kempe ousted Akkari when AK battered A2, and he coasted through the heads-up encounter with Simao – the final hand seeing his A6 besting J5.

Final Table Results

Rainer Kempe – €400,850
Joao Simao – €289,500
Andre Akkari – €184,520
David Peters – €139,980
Steve O’Dwyer – €108,170
Seth Davies – €82,710
Richard Yong – €66,800

Benjamin Pollak Prevents Koray Aldemir From Completing an NLG Clean Sweep

Benjamin Pollak prevented an NLG clean sweep, after beating Koray Aldemir in the heads-up phase of another €25k event. It’s the Frenchman’s tenth live tournament victory, with three of them coming in $25k+ buy-in events (He won the $50k at EPT Barcelona, and a $25k in the US Poker Open, last year).

The event pulled in 142 entrants (98 entries, and 44 re-entries), and there was a lot of heat at the final table. The aforementioned Aldemir came into this one on the back of a win and second in the US Poker Open, a third in the €25,000 at the Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge, and a runner-up in a €5k at the same event. Joao Vieira finished sixth in the €10,300, Daniel Dvoress placed fourth in the €100k, and Sergio Aido won that event for €1.58m.

It was tight.

Aldemir was one card away from taking the title after the pair got it in on AsKd7s2h with Aldemir ahead with top pair versus a flush draw only for Pollak to hit it on the river. The final hand was also fortuitous as Pollak made the call on Kh6h4h holding 9h9d, and Aldemir ahead with KsTc, only for the Frenchman to hit a third nine on the river.

Final Table Results

Benjamin Pollak – €705,840*
Koray Aldemir – €655,840*
Marton Czuczor – €364,460
Laszlo Bujtas – €300,340
Michael Addamo – €241,290
Sergio Aido – €188,980
Laurynas Levinskas – €141,730
Daniel Dvoress – €104,610
Joao Vieira – €80,990
*Indicates a heads-up deal

Before January, you had to go back to May 2017 to find a Hendon Mob entry with the name ‘Timothy Adams’ etched into the top spot. Of course, this doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been on top form – that’s not how this beautiful game works. It does mean that the Canadian has seen nothing but tombstones these past two years.

The run has ended.

Adams registered his third win of 2019 after winning the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) in Monte Carlo. It follows victories in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) $50,000 for $372,508, and a personal best score in the HKD 2,000,000 Triton Poker Series Jeju Main Event for $3.5m.

Let’s take a look at how he did it, from the final table down.

Kazuhiko Yotsushika eliminated Chan Wai Leong in eight place. With blinds at 10,000/25,000/25,000, the man from Japan opened to 55,000 and then called when Leong shoved for 12 big blinds. Leong was in good shape when it turned out his pocket eights were up against the Ks7s of his opponent, only for Yotsushika to suffocate him hitting runner-runner spades to eliminate the man from Malaysia with a flush.

Charlie Carrel was making his third final table of the series, and it was the man from the UK who was responsible for hacking the final table down to six players, calling a 26 big blind shove from Ali Reza Fatehi with pocket queens. The Iranian tabled AcJs, and unlike Yotsushika before him, failed to improve on either flop, turn or river.

Carrel made it a one-two after eliminating final table perennial, Isaac Haxton, after opening the button and then calling a 21 big blind shove holding AcTc. Haxton turned up with Js8s, and despite flopping a pair of eights and a flush draw, the turn and river provided nothing but a big freeze.

That hand sent Carrel to the summit of the chip counts like a missile, and after his QJo flopped a pair of queens to send Alex Foxen’s pocket nines to the rail in fifth place, it looked for all the world that he would last longer than his fourth-place finish in the €10,300, and sixth place finish in the €100k.

It wasn’t to be.

Timothy Adams won back-to-back hands against Carrel, knocking the Englishman down to 15 big blinds, and Adams swallowed them whole, calling a shove holding pocket sevens to beat A2. As in the €10k, Carrel would have to settle for a fourth-place finish.

With Adams taking control, Sean Winter laddered up nicely after the elimination of Yotsushika. Firstly, Winter doubled through the man when AK beat KQ, but his heads-up encounter with Adams would begin with the Canadian standing on top of a Game of Thrones sized wall after Adams eliminated Yotsushika when 9s7s beat KsTh after flopping a seven.

Heads-Up

Timothy Adams – 7,900,000

Sean Winter – 400,000

Winter needed something to happen quickly, and it did, doubling up three times in succession. Despite these victories, Winter still trailed Adams by 6m v 2.3m. Then in the first few hands of Level 21, it was all over, when the pair got it in with Adams holding Ks5s, Winter holding pocket sevens, and Adams flopped and turned trip fives to win the competition.

Here are the final table results.

Final Table Results.

Timothy Adams – €548,030
Sean Winter – €389,600
Kazuhiko Yotsushika – €255,080
Charlie Carrel – €196,290
Alex Foxen – €155,440
Isaac Haxton – €121,560
Ali Reza Fatehi – €95,660
Chan Wai Leong – €74,730

It’s kicking off in Austria at the moment.

The country’s Vice-Chancellor and head of the Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, has told media in Vienna that his party was fighting against “population exchange.”

Strache and his buddies are concerned that 16% of Austria’s population isn’t Austrian, and that figure will continue to grow until non-Austrians rule his part of the world.

I blame the German poker players who now call Vienna, home.

Together, the Vienna-based Germans and Austrians have created a poker armada of such strength and fortitude that they have Whatsapp Groups containing more members than Lex Veldhuis has Twitch followers.

Matthias Eibinger didn’t follow that route.

Today, the Austrian star can bend the ear of the world’s best, but Eibinger made his way to the top via an alternative and more solitary route open to those who wish to call the most liveable city in the world ‘home.’

And it’s not done him any harm.

This week, Eibinger picked up his third €50,000 High Roller title after beating 58-entrants (36 -unique, 22 re-entries), and he’s only been racking up live tournament scores in the past three years.

Eight people would finish in the money, with Daniel Dvoress taking a missile to the gut, finishing in ninth place after a three-way all-in that also saw Seth Davies exit in eight (albeit with €112,540 to show for his troubles). Alex Foxen was the conqueror of that pair when his pocket aces battered pocket queens and AK, and the Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1 would prove to be a samurai sword in the side of everyone at the final table until Eibinger put him in his place.

After ridding the final table of Dvoress and Davies, Foxen took out Michael Soyza QTo>J7o, and then the Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel KT>KJ after rivering a straight. Triton Poker Series regular, Wai Leong Chan’s ATo beat Alexander Uskov’s KTo when all-in pre-flop, and then Foxen was at it against, eliminating Ben Heath in a flip with AQ slapping pocket fives across the face so hard they ended up on the wrong side of the rail.

A heads-up confrontation between Foxen and Eibinger fell into the cement after the Austrian eliminated Chan QTo>86hh.

Heads-Up

Foxen – 3,220,000

Eibinger – 2,580,000

It wasn’t a marathon, more of a sprint.

With blinds at 30,000/60,000/60,000, Eibinger limped into the pot and then paid the 255,000 that Foxen demanded to see a flop. The dealer placed Td7s7c onto the felt. Eibinger called a 555,000 Foxen check-raise. The turn was the 7h, and Eibinger called a 465,000 Foxen bet. The final card was the Kc, and Foxen checked, Eibinger moved all-in, and the American mucked his cards.

That hand gave Eibinger a 2:1 chip lead, and he had them all when the pair got it in with Foxen hoping that pocket fours would outsprint AJ, only for a second jack to land on the flop to give Eibinger the win.

Eibinger has now earned more than $6m playing live tournaments, and this was his fourth victory, with all of them coming in $25k+ events. We should also extend a hat tip to Foxen who finished fifth in the €25k Single-Day High Roller.

Here are the final table results.

Final Table Results

Matthias Eibinger – €844,080
Alex Foxen – €610,550
Wai Leong Chan – €393,900
Ben Heath – €298,240
Alexander Uskov – €230,710
Jean-Noel Thorel – €180,070
Michael Soyza – €143,490
Seth Davies – €112,540

It’s been an absorbing week in Spanish sport. Former Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas suffered a heart attack, former Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez announced his plans to retire after 21-years in the game, and Sergio Aido won the €100,000 Super High Roller at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) in Monte Carlo.

It’s a little too early to call Aido a legend (only Carlos Mortenson deserves that status in Spain). However, with $10.5m in live tournament earnings, his first big high roller win under his belt, and the ability to bend the ear of Adrian Mateos then maybe there is a Fairy Godmother waiting in the wings ready to wave a magic wand above his head.

It was a remarkable win for Aido, who began the final table sitting behind a stack of seven big blinds, but two quick double ups gave him enough chips to start swinging. The first to donate was Mikita Badziakouki. The double Triton Poker Series Main Event winner, was way ahead with AK versus A9 only for the deck to come to Aido’s rescue when a second nine landed on the flop. Next Aido beat the starting day chip leader, Daniel Dvoress after AQ beat pocket fives in a flip.

Charlie Carrel was making his second final table of the series after finishing fourth in the €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em event, but the man with supernatural poker powers was unable to turn 9c5c into a world beater, and Aido sent him to the rail in sixth place.

The next player to fall was Badziakouski. After falling short, the Belarusian stuck his last few chips into the pot with 6c3c, and Jesus Cortes put them on his plate and ate them with a little help from AhQh.

Then we lost two Canadians thanks to back-to-back pocket kings.

First Aido’s pocket kings hammered the Ad9h of Dvoress, and then the most significant prong in the Greenwood Trident exited stage left. It was a fantastic run for the defending champion, but his AT couldn’t beat Aido’s pocket Kings when all the chips went into the middle.

That left us with an all Spanish heads-up with the new boy Cortes impressing once again after his third-place finish in the $100,000 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas. He would have his work cut out in this one with Aido’s 10,735,000 looking like a Bang & Olufson against the transistor radio of 2,265,000.

The duel lasted three hands before Aido had all of the chips when KcQh beat 9s2d to take the €1,589,190 first prize.

It’s the seventh live tournament victory for Aido, and the fourth time he has reached a final table in Monte Carlo (including a ninth in the 2017 €50,000). Aido sits third in the Spanish All-Time Money List with $10,542,720. Carlos Mortenson has $12,106,336, and Adrian Mateos has $17,301,912.

Here are the final table results.

Final Table Results

Sergio Aido – €1,589,190
Jesus Cortes – €1,147,750
Sam Greenwood – €731,530
Daniel Dvoress – €554,950
Mikita Badziakouski – €428,830
Charlie Carrel – €327,930
Wiktor Malinowski – €264,860

Prince Albert II (a proper prince, and not a stud through the tackle) of Monaco will award Michael Douglas with the Crystal Nymph career honour during the Monte Carlo Television Awards in June.

We don’t have any nymphs competing in the €100k Super High Roller at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo, but we do have a few fine actors, and like Douglas, one of them will leave with the delightful problem of fitting a golden trophy into a Louis Vuitton suitcase.

Day 1 of the richest buy-in of them all saw 48-entrants compete, and four more made the final count 52 after Charlie Carrel, Matthias Eibinger and Jesus Cortes re-entered, and Mikita Badziakouski bought in for the first time at the start of Day 2. It seemed a smart move with three of the four making the final table.

Day 2 consisted of ten levels, and poker had a chokehold on the best in the business for 13-hours. At that time we had a final table of nine with Daniel Dvoress leading the way after experiencing a pheasant in the mouth of a hound type of day.

Here is the highlight reel.

Level 9: 3k/6k/6k

The Global Poker Index (GPI) #1, Alex Foxen, fell first when his pocket sevens failed to beat the pocket tens of Ali Reza Fatehi. The Iranian didn’t have a chance to wallow in that victory before Dvoress sent him to the rail, and he had company. Fatehi got it in on the turn holding the jack of diamonds on AdTd2d7d, Kazuhiko Yotsushika was also all-in holding the queen of diamonds, and Dvoress took every slice of pizza with the king of diamonds.

Fatehi wasn’t the only Iranian losing his life in Level 9. Ahadpur Khangah bluffed off his stack to Luc Greenwood with the Canadian sitting on a full house to leave the competition shorn of all mention of Iran.

Khangah wasn’t the only player willing to bluff with all of his chips on the line. Ivan Leow did the same thing, and like Greenwood, the Day 1 chip leader, Wiktor Malinowski, was also sitting on a full house.

Charlie Carrel had a wonderful day, beginning by dispatching the Winamax Pro, Adrian Mateos to the rail when ATs came up against AA and the kitchen sink.

Level 10: 4k/8k/8k

888Poker’s ambassador, Dominik Nitsche, left the competition when Ike Haxton’s AJ got there on the river in a race against pocket fives. Nick Petrangelo eliminated Orpen Kisacikoglu AT>QJ after an ace landed on the flop, and Sean Winter also lost his footing and fell fatally, although we don’t know who pushed him.

Level 11: 5k/10k/10k

There was only one elimination in Level 11, but it was significant with Bryn Kenney falling to Matthias Eibinger when AQ failed to find any help on the board against QQ.

Level 12: 6k/12k/12k

The deadly David Peters left the contest when Jc9c walked into the Hulk like KK of Stanley Choi. Haxton’s sublime looking JcTd lost to Sergio Aido’s AcKc to end his hopes, and Petrangelo fell in a three-way pileup that saw Jesus Cortes gather enough chips to make a run at this thing, hitting a straight on the river with Dvoress, the other loser in the hand.

Then Carrel eliminated two players when his AhKh found an ace on the flop to beat Jean-Noel THorel’s JsTc and Choi’s pocket nines when all-in pre-flop. We were down to 15-players, and Aido had the chip lead.

Level 13: 8k/16k/16k

Luc Greenwood eliminated Richard Yong when 88 beat A7dd.

Level 14: 10k/20k/20k

Cortes eliminated Seth Davies QQ>88, and Dvoress began battering people, starting with Eibinger, sending the Austrian home TT>AQhh.

Level 15: 10k/25k/25k

Timothy Adams fell to Dvoress next when a turned straight extracted full value from a flopped middle set.

Level 16: 15k/30k/30k

Then Dvoress eliminated the dangerous O’Dwyer after his set of fives pulled every chip from a pair of queens on a 5c6s3d8cJh runout. The final elimination of the day saw the reigning champion, Sam Greenwood, eliminate Michael Soyza when KsQs beat pocket eights after a king on the flop and a queen on the river led to our final table.

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Jesus Cortes – 1,515,000
Seat 2: Daniel Dvoress – 3,865,000
Seat 3: Sam Greenwood – 1,960,000
Seat 4: Charlie Carrel – 1,340,000
Seat 5: Sergio Aido – 430,000
Seat 6: Luc Greenwood – 675,000
Seat 7: Mikita Badziakouski – 1,405,000
Seat 8: Koray Aldemir – 950,000
Seat 9: Wiktor Malinowski – 1,360,000

Payouts

€1,589,190
€1,147,750
€731,530
€554,950
€428,830
€327,930
€264,860

Wiktor Malinowski EPT Monte Carlo — Image by Danny Maxwell

The Monte Carlo Bay Casino & Resort is stocking the champagne. Corks can’t wait to pop. The high rollers invade like a gale force wind ploughing through a town made of matches. The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) is in town, and Day 1 of the €100,000 Super High Roller is like a bun in the oven.

The first day attracted 33-players, and 48-entrants, meaning a Dan Bilzerian glut of bullets, and with registration open until the start of Day 2, expect that number to grow.

So who arrived via the upmarket corner street Thai restaurant?

The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1, Alex Foxen is in the house, as is the defending champion, Sam Greenwood, and the recent Triton Poker Series Jeju Main Event winner, Timothy Adams.

Talking about Triton, the tour’s founder, Richard Yong is involved as are Triton regs Ivan Leow and Wai Leong Chan. The Aussie Millions Main Event winner, Bryn Kenney is also tangled in this expensive knot, as is the Super High Roller new boy, Jesus Cortes.

When it comes to players in form, look no further than Seth Davies and Michael Soyza.

Seldom do you see someone new enter a cauldron of this intensity. It happened in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in January when Jesus Cortes finished third in the $100,000 and second in the $25,000, and it’s happened again in the principality.

Wiktor Malinowski, 24, made his debut in Day 1 of this event and finished with more chips than 27-foes who made it through to the second day. Malinowski told PokerNews that he’s no stranger to competing at high stakes, as he frequents the highest stakes online, but his appearances in the live realm are as sparse as tweakers in Tescos calmly buying packets of tea.

The Pole’s one cash to date came in 2017 when he finished 187/1204 in the inaugural partypoker MILLIONS UK; the year that Maria Lampropulos became a millionaire.

He’s in prime position to follow her lead.

Let’s take a look at the highlight reel.

The Nutshell Action

Level 3: 1k/1.5k/1.5k

The Spaniard, Jesus Cortes, eliminated Jean-Noel Thorel AK>AJ. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Michael Addamo, eliminated Daniel Dvoress AK>AQ, and Ahadpur Khangah, also lost a life. All three players re-entered.

Level 4: 1k/2k/2k

The defending champion, Sam Greenwood, had an expensive afternoon, buying in three times. The Canadian lost his first bullet after firing it into the bulletproof vest of Malinowski after flopping two pairs with Qh9h on Qc9d2s versus the pocket aces of the Pole, only for the board to pair on the turn. The money went in on the river.

Level 5: 1k/2.5k/2.5k

Steve O’Dwyer eliminated Stanley Choi in a cooler than saw the pair both get it in with Big Slick, only for O’Dwyer to score a four flush knockout. Choi re-entered.

Level 6: 1.5k/3k/3k

Fresh from his deep run in the €10k event, where he finished fourth, Charlie Carrel started well, sending Thorel to the rail for the second time when pocket jacks beat AJ. The Frenchman bought in for the third time. Other stars to lose a casing in this level were David Peters and Sam Greenwood.

Level 7: 2k/4k/4k

Bryn Kenney’s goal in poker is to own the All-Time Money spot and to do that you need to win events like this. The Aussie Millions Champ began brightly sending Nitsche to the rail 99>AT, Khangah coolered Cortes 88>QQ, after flopping an eight, and the Winamax star, Adrian Mateos also lost a life fighting the demons in this level.

Level 8: 2k/5k/5k

Richard Yong sent the in-form Orpen Kisacikoglu packing when KK bettered AK, and then Christoph Vogelsang, Koray Aldemir and Daniel Dvoress also accrued extra thinking time on the wrong side of the rail.

Dvoress and Vogelsang rebought, but the German’s second bullet lasted as long as a blind barber when he failed to hit his flush draw against Soyza’s set. Chan lost his first life, as did Matthias Eibinger after Khangah’s pocket sixes gobbled up the Austrian’s short stack and Qd4d.

The soon to be crowned chip leader, Malinowski, eliminated Carrel when ATo beat the pretty looking QdTd, and O’Dwyer eliminated Joao Vieira when AdQd found a diamond flush on the turn against pocket sevens.

Here is the end of day chip counts.

End of Day Chip Counts

Wiktor Malinowski – 1,042,000
Ahadpur Khangah – 985,000
Isaac Haxton – 953,000
Sergio Aido – 880,000
Michael Soyza – 813,000
Luc Greenwood – 758,000
David Peters – 530,000
Jean-Noel Thorel – 480,000
Steve O’Dwyer – 480,000
Sam Greenwood – 480,000
Dominik Nitsche – 458,000
Nick Petrangelo – 454,000
Ivan Leow – 428,000
Bryn Kenney – 410,000
Koray Aldemir – 331,000
Sean Winter – 308,000
Christoph Vogelsang – 258,000
Kazuhiko Yotsushika – 250,000
Adrian Mateos – 242,000
Richard Yong – 218,000
Daniel Dvoress – 213,000
Orpen Kisacikoglu – 207,000
Seth Davies – 182,000
Ali Reza Fatehi – 175,000
Alex Foxen – 162,000
Stanley Choi – 133,000
Timothy Adams 132,000
Michael Addamo – 101,000

Previous €100k Monte Carlo Winners

2012: Justin Bonomo (45 entrants) €1,640,000
2013: Max Altergott (49-entrants) €1,539,300
2014: Dan Colman (62-entrants) €1,539,300
2015: Erik Seidel (71-entrants) €2,015,000
2016: Ole Schemion (61-entrants) €1,597,800
2017: Bryn Kenney (61-entrants) €1,784,500
2018: Sam Greenwood (46-entrants) €1,520,000

Thanks to PokerNews for the updates.