This week in live poker, we witnessed a mix of history, drama and epic wins. The biggest story of the week was the historic victory of Montenegro’s Aleksa Pavicevic, who overcame a record field of 133 elite entrants in the 2025 Triton Poker Montenegro $200K no-limit hold’em invitational event to secure his first-ever live poker title and a life-changing $6,180,000.
The road to this historic win was a bit dramatic, especially during the three-handed play. However, one brutal cooler hand changed it in favour of Pavicevic. With blinds running 125,000/250,000, it was Seth Davies, Javid Ismayilov, and Pavicevic remaining to battle it out for the coveted triton title.
The Hand: Aces Vs. Kings – Pavicevic Is Behind Ismayilov
The hand in question was a massive ace-versus-kings cooler where the action began with Ismayilov. He picked up A♥A♦ in the cutoff and opened to 750,000 – a great move with a premium hand and perfect position. Davies, who held just 13 big blinds, quickly gets out of the way.
On the button, Pavicevic held K♦K♣, a premium and probably the only hand capable of keeping up with aces in terms of pre-flop strength. Leveraging the strength of his hand and position, Pavicevic three-bet to 1,750,000.
Action back to Ismayilov, who knowing that he held the nuts pre-flop, decided to go all-in and Pavicevic made the call. Just like that, the two biggest stacks got into a confrontation in a mammoth 145 big blind pot.
The Flop Is Safe For Ismayilov & Dangerous For Pavicevic
The flop brought 4♦4♠J♥. The flop looked quite safe for Ismayilov but dangerous for Pavicevic. If Pavicevic lost, he would have been left with just two big blinds, almost eliminating him from the real contention for the title.
The Brutal Turn K♥ Changes Everything
The brutal K♥ on the turn flipped the script, shifting the momentum in favour of Pavicevic. He made a set of kings, stunning everyone watching.
The River 3♣ Seals Ismayilov’s Fate
The 3♣ landed on the river, sealing Ismayilov’s fate, sending him to the rail and propelling Pavicevic into a massive 11:1 lead over Davies, who could not overcome Pavicevic’s mammoth chip lead even after scoring three early double-ups. The mountain of chips was simply too high to climb. He eventually finished runner-up for $4,190,000, while Pavicevic cruised to his first-ever live title in commanding fashion, winning him a career-high $6,180,000 and climbing to the top on the Montenegro All Time Money List.
Conclusion: Tournament Poker Is Both Brutal & Beautiful
This hand is a great example of how variance, timing, and resilience shape the trajectory of a tournament. It showcases the volatile nature of tournament poker – beautiful, brutal and unpredictable. Even pocket aces can’t guarantee you the win as they can fall victim to a cruel turn of fate like they did in this hand. Ismayilov was in good shape to win the title but the variance had other plans. For Ismayilov, it was a heart break but for Pavicevic it served as a turning point as he went from near-elimination to a staggering chip lead that ultimately propelled him to the Triton poker glory in Montenegro.
And for fans of the beautiful game, it was an unforgettable moment highlighting the fact that poker is not just about skill, it is also about timing, temperament and a little bit of luck – which is something that makes it so thrilling and exciting.
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Source: Triton Poker
