Chris Moneymaker Wins Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro Kickoff Event

Almost 21 years after his win within the 2003 World Collection of Poker essential occasion helped set off the poker increase of the early 2000s, Chris Moneymaker as soon as once more discovered himself hoisting the {hardware}. This time across the 48-year-old topped a discipline of 163 entries to emerge victorious within the 2024 Triton Poker Tremendous Excessive Curler Collection Montenegro $25,000 GG Million$. He walked away with the trophy and the highest prize of $903,000.

This was the third-largest payday on Moneymaker’s resume, trailing solely the $2,500,000he secured as the principle occasion champion and the $2,030,000 he was awarded for a fifth-place end within the 2023 $250,000 Triton London Luxon Invitational. The Poker Corridor of Famer now has almost $7 million in lifetime match earnings underneath his belt.

“I wasn’t going to lose at present. I may have put it in with any hand and I’d have gained. I ran pure,” he advised Triton reporters after popping out on prime. “I hit a three-outer, a six outer. I believed to myself, ‘You understand what, that is going to be 2003. I’m not going to lose any extra palms at present.’”

Along with the cash and the title, Moneymaker additionally scooped up 1,092 Card Participant Participant of the Yr factors with this win. This was his second POY-qualified rating of the 12 months, having additionally positioned sixth in a $500 thriller bounty occasion on the Moneymaker Poker Tour Palm Seashore cease in February. He additionally not too long ago closing tabled the ACR Poker Venom on-line occasion, ending sixth out of a discipline of 5,045 whole entries, incomes $382,007 for that deep run.

The sizable turnout for this occasion constructed a prize pool of $4,075,000 that was cut up amongst the highest 27 finishers. Loads of massive names made the cash, together with Aram Oganyan 923rd), Nick Petrangelo (twenty first), Patrik Antonius (seventeenth), Phil Ivey (14th), Hossein Ensan (thirteenth), Justin Saliba (twelfth), and Byron Kaverman (tenth).

The ultimate desk started with Moneymaker within the lead and Biao Ding in second chip place. Isaac Haxton ran pocket nines into Ding’s pocket jacks to complete ninth ($91,300). Morten Klein then ran Q-J into the A-7 suited of Brian Kim to hit the rail in eighth place ($110,500).

The subsequent two eliminations each featured pocket threes. Lewis Spencer held them towards Moneymaker’s pocket nines within the first conflict, with the bigger pair holding to ship Spencer packing in seventh place ($153,000). 4-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos then obtained all-in with pocket jacks main the pocket threes of Brian Kim. A 3 on the river gave Kim a set and the knockout.

Mateos earned $209,500 because the sixth-place finisher. This was already his seventh final-table end of the 12 months, with greater than $2.3 million in POY incomes accrued throughout these scores. The Spaniard now sits in seventh place within the 2024 POY rankings introduced by International Poker.

One hand after eliminating Mateos, Kim gained one other massive all-in with A-Q racing towards the pocket jacks of Danilo Velasevic. An ace on the flip was sufficient to ship earn Kim one other knockout, whereas Velasevic took residence $272,000 because the fifth-place finisher.

Moneymaker doubled into the chip lead when his Ok-9 suited bested the pocket queens of Kim due to a king on the river. Kim bounced again a bit when his A-Ok held towards the A-10 suited of Ding, who earned $341,000 for his fourth-place exhibiting. This was his sixth closing desk of the 12 months, with almost $4.6 million in POY earnings and a couple of,870 factors gathered alongside the best way. He now sits in twelfth place on the POY leaderboard.

Igor Yaroshevskyy bowed out in third, getting his final 4 massive blinds in with Q-3 going through Moneymaker’s A-8. Moneymaker held to enter heads-up play towards Kim with roughly a 5:3 chip lead. Yaroshevskyy was awarded $419,000 for his podium end.

It took simply three palms for Moneymaker to shut out the win. He opened with A10 from the button and referred to as Kim’s three-bet shove for simply shy of 30 massive blinds. Kim was in bother with A8. The board ran out 109384 to offer Moneymaker prime pair, prime kicker for the win. Kim cashed for $609,000 because the runner-up. This was his second closing desk of the 12 months, having additionally positioned third in a $50,000 occasion on the Triton Jeju cease in March for $954,000. He now sits inside the highest 50 within the POY rankings.