It wasn’t that long ago that ponytails were cool, denim wasn’t and winning a seven-figure score in a poker tournament was as rare as seeing a one-armed, albino sunbathing in the Las Vegas desert.
Today, seven-figure scores are handing out like kleenex in strange looking Soho cinemas thanks to the growth of high roller tournaments around the world of which the Triton Poker Series is the apex.
But one man was missing one when he woke up this morning.
Timothy Adams.
After two-days of scintillating stitch-breaking action, Adams topped a field of 48-entrants moving into the final day’s play of the HKD 2m (USD 250,000) Triton Poker Series Jeju Main Event after eliminating the powerhouse, Justin Bonomo, on the money bubble when the $44.6m man lost with JThh versus the Canadian’s queens.
And it was a big lead.
Final Table Chip Counts
1 – Timothy Adams, Canada, 5.33 million
2 – Bryn Kenney, USA, 3.21 million
3 – Isaac Haxton, USA, 1.235 million
4 – Peter Jetten, Canada, 820,000
5 – Dan Smith, USA, 810,000
6 – David Peters, USA, 595,000
What a final table.
Adams had begun the year well by winning an 18-entrant $50,000 buy-in event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) for $372,508, Bryn Kenney had taken down the Aussie Millions Main Event and a US Poker Open side event, and David Peters sauntered into Jeju as the newest US Poker Open Champion.
Peter Jetten.
Isaac Haxton.
Dan Smith.
The lineup was as ridiculous as the first two hands.
In hand one, Bryn Kenney opened the action with pocket kings, Isaac Haxton moved all-in for 25 bigs holding A9o, and Kenney gobbled him up. The Aussie Millions Champion hadn’t finished rebuilding his stack when we lost player two. The action folded to David Peters in the small blind, and the US Poker Open Champion moved all-in with A3o only for Peter Jetten to call and win with KTss in the big blind after flopping a king.
That scalp didn’t stop Jetten from leaving next when he flopped top pair holding Kh9h on KsQh5s, only for Kenney to turn up with pocket kings again. They got it in on the turn, and there was zero empathy for Apathy. Smith followed soon after when K8o lost to the A2 of Kenney, and we reached heads-up with only three and a half hours on the clock.
Adams and Kenney, who have been playing against each other since they were teenagers, carved out a deal that saw Kenney collect HKD 24,039,500, Adams pick up HKD 23,760,500, leaving HKD 4,000,000 to play for ensuring that both players would leave Jeju with new personal best ITM finishes.
The final hand was brutal for Kenney.
A4o usually bests 85o, even more so when the flop rains down 4d4s3s. But occasionally, two more fives emerge from the deck, and that’s what happened to create ‘the nastiest run out’ Bryn Kenney had ever seen, and the trophy was heading to Canada and not the USA.
The win, Adams sixth of his career, was his best by a country mile; not only a coveted seven-figure score but a $3m+ score to boot.
Final Table Results
1. Timothy Adams – $3,540,000*
2. Bryn Kenney – $3,060,000*
3. Dan Smith – $1,700,000
4. Peter Jetten – $1,300,000
5. David Peters – $1,040,000
6. Isaac Haxton – $803,000
*Denotes a heads-up deal