2022 Triton Madrid: Michael Addamo claims two titles; Paul Phua, Chin Wei “Webster” Lim, and Henrik Hecklen among champions

The popular Triton Poker series has always been the epitome of premium poker events with its history of festivals a definite stop for the industry’s biggest players. This season’s festivities in Casino Gran Via, Madrid, Spain is once again a whirlwind affair for high roller enthusiasts with a total of thirteen events on schedule featuring its classic games of No Limit Hold’em, Short Deck, and Pot Limit Omaha. Buy-ins per usual, are in the higher range amounting to €20,000 through €150,000 leaving many amateurs unable to compete. Running until tomorrow, tournament crushers such as Michael Addamo, Henrik Hecklen, Mikita Badziakouski, Tom Dwan and Chris Brewer have so far captured coveted Triton titles and sizeable payouts.

Two wins for Michael Addamo

Australian pro Michael Addamo has been hot in the tournament scene for a long time running, snagging the biggest titles and wins throughout the recent years. In spite of his success, it was this month’s festivities where Addamo claimed not just his first Triton title but also his second. Right off the bat, the 28-year old pro took down Event #1: €20,000 NLHE for €478,000 and five days later bagged Event #7: €75,000 NLHE 8-Handed for a much bigger score of €1,152,086. Clinging his two trophy haul, Addamo secured a total of €1,630,086 in winnings having defeated Michael Soyza and Stephen Chidwick in heads up play respectively.

For the opening event, nine remaining players returned for the final day with the Australian pro at the top of the list for a significant chip lead. However by seven-handed play, Addamo’s stack had dropped down to fewer than ten big blinds and had to be cautious of his all-in spots. After a double up from Heung Wayne, Addamo cruised towards a heads up battle as a near 2:1 underdog against Malaysian pro Michael Soyza. All it took was one flip for Addamo to take the lead and seize the title not long after, leaving his opponent for a runner up finish and €332,000 in prizes.

Triton Madrid – Event #1: €20,000 NLHE 8-Handed
Date: May 13-14, 2022
Entries: 90 (inc. 34 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,800,000

1st – Michael Addamo, Australia – €478,000
2nd – Michael Soyza, Malaysia – €332,000
3rd – Tommy Kim, South Korea – €219,500
4th – Heung Wayne, Hong Kong – €172,000
5th – Paul Phua, Malaysia – €138,500
6th – Rob Yong, UK – €108,000
7th – Danny Tang, Hong Kong – €85,600
8th – Fernando Garcia, Spain – €66,600
9th – Morten Klein, Norway – €50,400

The four-time bracelet winner again showcased his prowess in the sport as seen for another time in Event #7: €75,000 NLH 8-Handed for an impressive winning streak. The Australian pro similarly held a huge chip lead upon entering the final table where one player was set to exit empty-handed. After sending Fedor Holz to the rails as the bubble, two more contenders Tony G and Jason Koon fell into the hands of Addamo as he made his way to three-handed play as still, the chip leader. With stacks flying back and forth, second runner-up Seth Davies was the first to go after running pocket threes to Stephen Chidwick’s pocket tens. The two remaining players then agreed to do an ICM deal with Chidwick taking the biggest prize of €1,291,414. Addamo then quickly snagged the title shortly after and collected the trophy along with the Player of the Series points.

Triton Madrid – Event #7: €75,000 NLH 8-Handed
Dates: May 18-19, 2022
Entries: 63 (inc. 23 re-entries)
Prize pool: €4,725,000

1st – Michael Addamo, Australia – €1,152,086*
2nd – Stephen Chidwick, UK – €1,291,414*
3rd – Seth Davies, USA – €661,500
4th – Daniel Dvoress, Canada – €500,500
5th – Laszlo Bujtas, Hungary – €387,500
6th – Jason Koon, USA – €302,000
7th – Tony G, Lithuania – €241,000
8th – Ben Heath, UK – €189,000
*Denotes deal was made

Paul Phua and Chin Wei “Webster” Lim crowned champions

Asia’s runners likewise bagged significant feats with Malaysian founder Paul Phua capturing his first Triton title in Event #2: €30,000 NLHE 7-Handed after 19 recorded cashes in the premium series. Following the exit of 8th placer Phil Ivey, the final table was formed with Phua second in chips just next to Thailand’s Kannapong Thanarattrakui. While it was a matter of fate or skill, Phua’s aggression in this event’s final table paid off greatly as he sent one player after the other to the rails. In the end, it was him against American pro Erik Seidel for the title and the €740,400 top payout. No amount of experience for the nine-time bracelet winner helped him secure the win as the cards fell for Phua who clinched his long-awaited win after beating his largely decorated opponent.

Triton Madrid – Event #2: €30,000 NLHE 7-Handed
Dates: May 14-15, 2022
Entries: 93 (inc. 37 re-entries)
Prize pool: €2,790,000

1st – Paul Phua, Malaysia – €740,400
2nd – Erik Seidel, USA – €514,800
3rd – Isaac Haxton, USA – €340,300
4th – Kannapong Thanarattrakui, Thailand – €266,500
5th – Ben Heath, UK – €214,800
6th – Daniel Dvoress, Canada – €167,400
7th – Mike Watson, Canada – €132,500

Another win was recorded for Malaysia as Chin Wei “Webster” Lim stole the spotlight in Event #8: €50,000 Short Deck Ante-Only. The budding variant popular across the region saw a final table filled with Asian contenders and Lim leading the pack of seven. After falling short in 5th in the first Short Deck event of the series, Lim was back in action looking for another chance at a title. With a huge stack and a hot run of cards, Lim seemed unstoppable as he eliminated Phil Ivey, Elton Tsang, Winfred Yu and lastly, Bjorn Li in quick succession, bearing good run outs to secure the victory and €855,000 in winnings.

Triton Madrid – Event #8: €50,000 Short Deck Ante-Only
Dates: May 19-20, 2022
Entries: 57 (inc. 24 re-entries)
Prize pool: €2,850,000

1st – Webster Lim, Malaysia – €855,000
2nd – Bjorn Li, Hong Kong – €618,500
3rd – Winfred Yu, Hong Kong – €399,000
4th – Elton Tsang, Hong Kong – €302,000
5th – Wai Kin Yong, Malaysia – €233,700
6th – Phil Ivey, USA – €182,400
7th – Ryan Yum, Hong Kong – €145,400

Henrik Hecklen takes down Triton Main Event

Bagging the largest score of the festival was Danish pro Henrik Hecklen who emerged triumphant in Event #9: €100,000 NLHE Main Event for €2,170,509 in profit. With a Triton title already under his belt, Hecklen captured his career-best win even after a heads-up deal with runner-up Orpen Kisacikoglu. Hecklen’s journey to a second Triton trophy was a challenging one as he started the final day middle of the pack.

Final table play ran nearly an hour before the first casualty was seen. Canada’s Sam Greenwood exited in 9th as initial chip leader Kevin Paqué cracked his pocket kings with pocket eights. With the blinds adding on to the pressure, it appeared to be a lot of pre-flop play with stacks slowly evening out. By the first break of the day, the lead shifted to Latvia’s Aleksejs Ponakovs, who ended up giving Hecklen the first of four winning all-ins enough to make his way through the heads up duel. In the end, the battle for the trophy was against Turkey’s Kisacikoglu with €80,000 and the Jacob & Co watch to play for, following an ICM deal. Not long after, Hecklen sealed the deal with pocket kings for the win as both players happily took home payouts of over €2 million.

Triton Madrid – Event #9: €100,000 NLHE Main Event
Dates: May 20-22, 2022
Entries: 93 (inc. 34 re-entries)
Prize pool: €9,300,000

1st – Henrik Hecklen, Denmark – €2,170,509*
2nd – Orpen Kisacikoglu, Turkey – €2,016,491*
3rd – Kevin Paqué, Netherlands – €1,134,000
4th – Aleksejs Ponakovs, Latvia – €888,000
5th – Sam Grafton, UK – €716,000
6th – Patrik Antonius, Finland – €558,000
7th – Bruno Volkmann, Brazil – €440,500
8th – Alfred DeCarolis, USA – €344,000
9th – Sam Greenwood, Canada – €260,500
*Denotes deal was made

Other Winners

Event #3: €20,000 Short Deck Ante-Only
Dates: May 15-16, 2022
Entries: 62 (inc. 26 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,240,000
Winner: Chris Brewer, USA – €372,000

Event #5: €25,000 Short Deck Ante-Only
Dates: May 16-17, 2022
Entries: 68 (inc. 32 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,700,000
Winner: Rui Cao, France – €497,000

Event #6: €50,000 7-Handed NLHE
Dates: May 17-18, 2022
Entries: 101 (inc. 45 re-entries)
Prize pool: €5,050,000
Winner: Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus – €1,340,000

Event #10: €50,000 NLHE Turbo
Dates: May 21, 2022
Entries: 37 (inc. 9 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,800,000
Winner: Laszlo Bujtas, Hungary – €630,000

Event #11: €25,000 Pot Limit Omaha
Dates: May 22-23, 2022
Entries: 34 (inc. 9 re-entries)
Prize pool: €850,000
Winner: Tom Dwan, USA – €290,000