Bryn Kenney once again proved that to win in poker you need a healthy balance of skill, intuition and luck. Kenney most recently showcased his superiority in this combination by winning the Triton Series Montenegro Main Event for HKD 21,300,000 (USD 2,713,876), just two months after finishing as runner-up in the Triton Jeju Main Event.
And it wasn’t the only tournament in this 11-event festival that Kenny took down. Just a few days earlier he won Event #2, the HKD 500,000 (USD 63.704) 6-max event for a HKD 11.23 million (USD 1.43 million) payday. These two scores catapulted Kenny past Fedor Holz and David Peters to now sit in 4th position in the all-time money list with almost USD 35 million.
It was a star-studded final table, as you would expect at this high roller series and it came finally down to Bryn Kenney and Hong Kong’s Danny Tang to face it off heads-up. Kenny came into the heads-up with a 10-1 chip lead, but Tang did not go without a fight. He was pained by heavy toothache, so couldn’t engage in any fun table talk, but he still managed to chip up nicely again to over 20BB at some point. But it wasn’t meant to be and he was defeated by an ever-crushing Kenney.
The HKD 1 million (USD 127,000) Main Event ran from 7th to 9th May and had 75 entries, including 31 re-entries. This generated a prize pool of HKD 70.5 million (USD 8.98 million).
Main Event results:
1 – Bryn Kenney, USA, HKD 21,300,000 (USD 2,713,876)
2 – Danny Tang, Hong Kong, HKD 14,100,000 (USD 1,796,509)
3 – Peter Jetten, Canada, HKD 9,600,000 (USD 1,223,155)
4 – Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus, HKD 7,260,000 (USD 925,011)
5 – Sam Greenwood, Canada, HKD 5,650,000 (USD 719,878)
6 – Paul Phua, Malaysia, HKD 4,400,000 (USD 560,613)
7 – Erik Seidel, USA, HKD 3,460,000 (USD 440,846)
8 – Matthias Eibinger, Austria, HKD 2,680,000 (USD 341,464)
9 – Jason Koon, USA, HKD 2,050,000 (USD 261,195)
Another success for Hong Kong
Danny Tang had not been able to create a miracle by beating Kenney out of a massive chip deficit in the Main Event but can be proud of a strong runner-up finish for HKD 14,100,000 (USD 1,796,498). Fellow Hong Kong player Winfred Yu, however, took down his first Triton title in the HKD 100,000 (USD 12,740) short-deck event during this high stakes tournament series.
Yu is best known for his role introducing poker and specifically short-deck hold’em to the high rollers of China, Malaysia and the Philippines, so he can be attributed with the success of the game in these regions in recent years.
“I’m very excited,” Yu said. “It’s my first Triton championship. Last year I came fourth in the short-deck main event, this time I got the job done.”
The Short-Deck Ante Only event had 70 entries (including 28 re-entries) which created a HKD 6.58 (USD 838.350) prize pool. Winfred Yu came out victorious from a final table that included high stakes crushers like Ike Haxton, Steffen Sontheimer and Leon Tsoukernik. Yu is taking home HKD 2,040,000 (USD 260,000) as a reward.
1 – Winfred Yu, Hong Kong – HKD 2,040,000 (USD 260,000)
2 – Isaac Haxton, USA – HKD 1,370,000 (USD 174,551)
3 – Peter Jetten, Canada – HKD 920,000 (USD 117,217)
4 – Leon Tsoukernik, Czech Republic – HKD 700,000 (USD 89,185)
5 – Steffen Sontheimer, Germany – HKD 540,000 (USD 69,000)
6 – Ihor Shkliaruk, Ukraine – HKD 420,000 (USD 53,510)
7 – Tam Tek Lon, Macau – HKD 330,000 (USD 42,044)
8 – Jordi Urlings, Netherlands – HKD 260,000 (USD 33,126)
All winners so far
HKD 250,000 (USD 31.852) No Limit Hold’em – 8-Handed Turbo (Event #1)
– 34 entries, 11 re-entries
– Prize pool: HKD 10,575,000 (USD 1,348,078)
– Winner: Steve O’Dwyer for HKD 3,708,784 (USD 472,788)
HKD 500,000 (USD 63.704) No Limit Hold’em – 6-Handed (Event #2)
– 45 entries, 34 re-entries
– Prize Pool: HKD 37,130,000 (USD 4,732,589)
– Winner: Bryn Kenney for HKD 11.23 million (USD 1.43 million)
HKD 100,000 (USD 12,740) Short Deck No Limit Hold’em – Ante Only (Event #3)
– 42 entries, 28 re-entries
– Prize Pool: HKD 6.58 million (USD 838.350)
– Winner: Winfred Yu for HKD 2,040,000 (USD 260,000)
HKD 1,000,000 (USD 127.408) No Limit Hold’em – Triton Montenegro Main Event (Event #5)
– 44 entries, 31 re-entries
– Prize Pool: HKD 70.5 million (USD 8.98 million)
– Winner: Bryn Kenney for HKD 21,300,000 (USD 2,713,876)
HKD 250,000 (USD 31.852) No Limit Hold’em – Turbo (Event #12)
– 22 entries, 15 re-entries
– Prize Pool: HKD 8,972,500 (USD 1,143,270)
– Winner: Henrik Hecklen for HKD 3,410,000 (USD 434,500)
Article by Christin Maschmann
