Michael Watson is now one in every of simply seven gamers on the planet with 4 or extra Triton Poker Tremendous Excessive Curler Sequence titles. The World Poker Tour champion and two-time European Poker Tour predominant occasion winner from Canada secured his fourth Triton title by topping a area of 154 entries within the $30,000 buy-in no-limit maintain’em eight max occasion on the ongoing pageant in Montenegro. Watson was awarded $1,023,000 for popping out on high, which elevated the 40-year-old Toronto resident’s profession earnings to greater than $27 million.
Watson is now tied with Fedor Holz and Wai Kin Yong for third place on the Triton titles leaderboard. Solely ten-time champion Jason Koon and five-time champions Mikita Badziakouski, Phil Ivey, and Danny Tang have secured extra trophies on the tour.
“Each time you come to a Triton cease you need to come away with a trophy,” Watson informed Triton reporters. “You need to get a win. It feels actually good to get one in maintain’em now, which I hadn’t achieved both. Simply need to maintain including.”
This was certainly Watson’s first victory in an ordinary no-limit maintain’em match on the tour. His first win got here in a $50,000 quick deck occasion on the 2023 cease in Vietnam. He then took down a $30,000 pot-limit Omaha occasion in North Cyprus later that spring. His third title got here in a $25,000 quick deck occasion on the Triton Jeju cease this March. He now has greater than $10.4 million in Triton earnings throughout 30 in-the-money finishes.
This was Watson’s third general title and ninth final-table end of the 12 months. This newest win earned him 1,008 Card Participant Participant of the Yr factors, bringing his complete to 4,044. In consequence, he surged up the rankings and landed in second place on the 2024 POY leaderboard introduced by International Poker.
The 154-entry turnout for this match constructed a prize pool of $4,620,000 that was cut up amongst Watson and 26 others who made the cash. Amongst people who cashed have been Mikita Badziakouski (twenty fourth), latest kickoff occasion winner Chris Moneymaker (twenty third), Dylan Linde (twenty second), Punnat Punsri (twenty first), Adrian Mateos (fifteenth), Fedor Holz (14th), Patrik Antonius (eleventh), Hossein Ensan (tenth), and Stephen Chidwick (ninth).
The official closing desk started with Watson within the lead after sending Chidwick to the rail. Daniel Rezaei (eighth – $125,000) was dispatched by Morten Klein early on the closing desk. Leon Sturm quickly adopted, together with his Ok-7 suited operating into the pocket queens of Kiat Lee. The German bracelet winner earned $173,000 because the seventh-place finisher.
Sirzat Hissou (sixth – $238,000) was knocked out subsequent, together with his flopped journeys operating right into a turned straight for David Yan. The New Zealander additionally scored the following knockout, profitable a basic preflop race with pocket nines in opposition to A-Ok to finish Klein’s run in fifth place ($309,000).
Regardless of forcing these two eliminations, Yan was in the end the following to go to the rail. His A-Ok was unable to carry in opposition to the Ok-Q suited of Lee, who spiked a queen on the flop and held from there to slender the sphere to 3. Yan earned $387,400 for his fourth-place displaying.
Lee quickly gained one other key all-in regardless of trailing preflop, together with his A-7 outrunning the pocket jacks of Biao Ding. An ace-high runout despatched the chips to Lee, whereas Ding headed residence in third place ($475,000). This was his seventh POY-qualified closing desk of the 12 months. With 3,542 complete factors, he’s now the seventh-ranked participant within the 2024 standings.
Lee, who had 22 prior cashes in Triton occasions for over $7 million however had but to win a title, entered heads-up play with roughly a 3:1 chip lead over Watson. The Canadian finally scored an enormous double-up, getting all-in with a nine-high straight in opposition to the highest pair of Lee to double into an enormous lead. On the very subsequent hand, Lee received all-in for his previous few blinds with Q-6 racing in opposition to pocket fives for Watson. Lee flopped an open-ended straight draw, however Watson improved to high set. The flip gave Lee a flush draw as nicely, however a brick on the top introduced the match to an in depth. Lee walked away with $691,000 because the runner-up finisher.
Here’s a take a look at the payouts and POY factors awarded on the closing desk:
Place
Participant
Earnings
POY Factors
1
Michael Watson
$1,023,000
1008
2
Kiat Lee
$691,000
840
3
Biao Ding
$475,000
672
4
David Yan
$387,400
504
5
Morten Klein
$309,000
420
6
Sirzat Hissou
$238,000
336
7
Leon Sturm
$173,000
252
8
Daniel Rezaei
$125,000
168
Photograph credit: Triton Poker / Joe Giron.
