There was a time when Sam Trickett was to live tournament players what otters are to crabs. But then Trickett packed his bags, headed off to the realm of the live cash games, and the tournament world rarely heard from him again.
Well a few days ago, Trickett turned back time to win the 58-entrant Event #2: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event at the partypoker MILLIONS Super High Roller Series in Sochi, Russia.
It’s Trickett’s first live tournament victory since 2013 when he earned £10,000 for winning a partypoker event at Old Trafford, Manchester (Trickett donated the entirety of his winnings to charity), and his all-time live tournaments winnings edge closer to the $22m mark.
Chalk and cheese.
Let’s see how he took it down.
The Nutshell Results
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Chin Wei Lim – 295,000
Seat 2: Timothy Adams – 480,000
Seat 3: Adrian Mateos – 750,000
Seat 4: Ivan Leow – 2,830,000
Seat 5: Paul Phua – 405,000
Seat 6: Phil Ivey – 475,000
Seat 7: Sam Trickett – 1,250,000
Seat 8: Artur Martirosyan – 705,000
Seat 9: Matthias Eibinger – 435,000
The action on this vivacious looking table was immediate and effective for the prodigious talents of Matthias Eibinger. The Austrian doubled through Artur Martirosyan when his pocket nines outpaced the AsQs of the Russian.
Chin Wei Lim was the first player pushed into a quagmire from which he never returned. Phil Ivey did the pushing when he called a shove from Lim and AJo, holding KsQs. Ivey rivered the nut straight.
Then we lost the recently crowned Global Poker Awards (GPA) Industry Person of the Year.
Eibinger opened to 70,000 from the hijack seat, and both blinds made the call with Ivan Leow in the little with KsJh, and Paul Phua in the large with Jd3d. Proving the dealer wasn’t a librarian, the action-filled flop of Jc9h7d hit the felt, and Leow called when Phua moved all-in (Eibinger folded), and his king-kicker made all the difference.
Adrian Mateos doubled through chip leader, Leow, when pocket tens beat AK.
Then Ivey hit the rail.
The one-time undisputed master of poker opened with queens, and then called when Eibinger moved all-in holding KdTd. A ten on the flop improved Eibinger’s hand, and a king on the turn improved it even further. Ivey found zero solaces on the river and left the competition with the only saving grace; he didn’t have to take a winner’s photo.
The only Russian at the final table exited next.
Martirosyan got his final 180,000 into the middle holding JcTc, and Sam Trickett called and won with Ad4h. Ace-high, good.
Timothy Adams doubled when pocket tens dodged kings, sevens, and diamonds to beat the Kd7d of Leow. Then Leow exacted revenge of the worst kind when he opened with 6c5c, and Adams defended his big blind with Kd7s. The flop of Ks8d6s fell out of the deck to give Adams top pair, and Leow bottom pair. Both players checked. Then Leow turned two-pairs when the 5d hit the turn, by which time all of the chips went into the middle, and Adams never saw them again.
Then we lost the incredible talents of Adrian Mateos.
The Spaniard first doubled through Eibinger when AQ beat jack-trash and then handed all of those chips to Trickett when he defended his big blind against a Trickett raised, hit top pair with king-trash only to run into a pair of aces.
Trickett would take a 4,030,000 v 3,225,000 chip lead into heads-up against Leow after eliminating Eibinger in the third position. It was a blind on blind battle with Trickett holding JhTh and Eibinger with Kh4h. Eibinger maintained his lead when they both flopped top pair, but the ace on the turn and queen on the river gave Trickett a straight.
The heads-up play saw Leow take the lead before Trickett snatched it back.
Then this happened.
With blinds at 40,000/80,000, Leow opened to 250,000, on the button holding AhQh, and then called when Trickett ripped it in with Ad4s. Bad shape for Trickett, but he caught up quickly adding a flush draw to his arsenal with two cards to come. The Td didn’t help Trickett, but the 6s did, and Trickett, not Leow, earned the Event #2 title.
ITM Results
- Sam Trickett – $435,000
- Ivan Leow – $290,000
- Matthias Eibinger – $203,000
- Adrian Mateos – $145,000
- Timothy Adams – $116,000
- Artur Martirosyan – $87,000
- Phil Ivey – $72,500
- Paul Phua – $58,000
- Chin Wei Lim – $43,500