Belarusian poker pro Mikita Badziakouski has won event #18: $100,000 buy-in short deck event of the 2024 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju, defeating a 34-entry field to earn $1,153,000 and his fifth Triton title. This was Badziakouski’s first Triton win since his €50,000 no-limit event victory in Madrid in the spring of 2022. He came close to victory several times, but his determination finally paid off in South Korea. With the latest win, he took his total live earnings to a whopping $52,786,368.
This was the first victory and third final-table finish of the year for Baziakouski. “Back in Cyprus (in 2022), I got second twice and I wasn’t really caring about winning another one,” Badziakouski told Triton reporters. “But then I went to London and Monte Carlo and didn’t get close. And by that time I’ve really been wanting to win one. I’m really happy.”
The event saw only the top six finishers finish in the money. The second and final day of the event began with 10 players remaining. Isaac Haxton, Kiat Lee, Daniel Dvoress, and Sam Greenwood exited the event empty-handed.
Wu Xiao was the first player to finish in the money, earning $240,000 for his first cash on the tour. Koon’s run concluded when he shoved with 9-7. He was up against pocket aces for Triton co-founder Paul Phua, which held.
Phua held pocket aces again in the next hand. They held up against the A-Q of two-time Triton champion Winfred Yu whose run ended in fourth place ($391,000). Up next, Sun Ya Qi’s chips went into the middle with his pocket tens trailing the pocket aces of Badziakouski. The bigger pair held up through the river and Qi was ousted in third place for $510,000.
In heads-up, Badziakouski had a 3:1 chip lead over Phua, who was hunting for his second title on the tour. While Phua was able to overtake the chip lead at one point, Badziakouski edged back in the game to win the title.
Finally, his Ac Jc held up against Ad 7d of Phua.The board came down 10d 8d 6s 8s Qs and Badziakouski faded Phua’s flopped flush draw to win the pot as well as the title. Phua earned $800,000 as the runner-up, boosting his live career tournament earnings to more than $30.1 million.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
1 – Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus – $1,153,000
2 – Paul Phua, Malaysia – $800,000
3 – Sun Ya Qi, China – $510,000
4 – Winfred Yu, Hong Kong – $391,000
5 – Jason Koon, USA – $306,000
6 – Wu Xiao, China – $240,000
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Image Credit: Triton Poker
