Monarch Beats Antonius in $20M Triton Heads-Up Match

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Adam Szabo
Adam SzaboiGaming Specialist & Content Writer

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Ossi "Monarch" Ketola at Triton Jeju II after winning $10 million from Patrik Antonius
Ossi Ketola Wins $10 Million

Ossi “Monarch” Ketola beat Patrik Antonius for $10 million in the Duel Heads-Up at Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju II on September 11, 2026. Each Finn put up $10 million, making a $20 million pool.

Roughly four hours later, Ketola had all of it – and Antonius had taken the biggest single-match defeat in the history of livestreamed poker.

This match offered many exciting moments. It had a $1.8 million bluff with five-high, a straight flush, and amazing poker plays that people will still be talking about for years.

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What Happened: The $20 Million Duel in Jeju

Two players, $10 million each, winner-takes-all. Nothing on a livestream has ever come close.

The match ran at Les A Casino in Jeju, South Korea, as part of the Duel Heads Up series that Triton is co-branding with Ketola’s own Duel brand. It streamed live on Triton Poker’s YouTube channel and the Triton Poker Plus app.

DetailInfo
DateSeptember 11, 2026
VenueLes A Casino, Jeju, South Korea
EventDuel Heads-Up, Triton SHR Series Jeju II
PlayersPatrik Antonius vs Ossi “Monarch” Ketola
Buy-in$10,000,000 each
Prize pool$20,000,000
Blinds$50,000 / $100,000
DurationJust over four hours of play
WinnerOssi “Monarch” Ketola

For most of those four hours, it was close. Antonius dipped to 6.1 million and climbed all the way back to level. At the 3-hour, 39-minute mark, he was down just $500,000. Then two hands took the other $9.5 million.

Want the background on Ketola’s past heads-up matches? Read our breakdown of Monarch’s multi-million dollar poker battles .

The Biggest Hands of the Match

Four hours of poker is a lot to sit through. So here are the hands that actually mattered – the biggest pots, the boldest bluffs, and the two that ended it. Each one below is taken straight from the stream, with the exact stacks, sizings, and equities shown.

Ossi Ketola bets $1.8 million with five-high as Patrik Antonius folds 73% equity
Ketola Five-High Bluff

The $1.8 Million Bluff With Five-High

Four hours of poker is a lot to sit through. So here are the hands that actually mattered – the biggest pots, the boldest bluffs, and the two that ended it. Each one below is taken straight from the stream, with the exact stacks, sizings, and equities.

The $1.8 Million Bluff With Five-High

Less than an hour into play.

Blinds were $50,000/$100,000. Ketola had $11.9 million on the button; Antonius had $7.8 million in the big blind.

Ketola raised to $250,000 with 5 2.
Antonius called with T 9. Pot: $500,000.

Flop: T A 6

Antonius flopped a pair of tens. Ketola had five-high and a backdoor spade draw.

Antonius checked. Ketola bet $350,000. Antonius called. Pot: $1,200,000.

Turn: 4

Now Ketola picked up equity he could actually use – a straight flush draw and a gutshot to the wheel. Still five-high. Antonius was still 73% in front with his pair of tens.

Antonius checked again. Ketola fired $1,800,000 into a $1,200,000 pot.

That is a 150% overbet on the turn, with five-high, on a board where an ace is staring at both of them.

Antonius folded.

The $4.2 Million Hero Call

Around 2 hours of play, Antonius was on the ropes at 6.9 million against Ketola’s 12.8 million. He needed a spot. He found the best one of his night.

There had not been a single three-bet pot in the game up to this point. Over two hours of poker, limps and single raises, nothing escalated preflop.

Antonius raised to $225,000 on the button with A 9.
Ketola three-bet to $1,000,000 from the big blind holding K 4.

This was the first three-bet of the night.

Antonius called the extra $775,000, dropping to 6.2 million behind. The pot was $2,000,000 before the flop, and he was a 62% favorite.

Flop: 3 J 2

Check, check. Ketola had picked up two diamonds. Antonius had ace-high.

Turn: Q

Check, check again. Ketola now had a gutshot to Broadway on top of the flush draw. Two streets, $2 million in the middle, and neither Finn nor Ketola wanted to be first in.

River: 9

Everything missed for Ketola. No flush, no straight, king-high and nothing else for Antonius, who had just rivered a pair of nines.

Ketola bet $1,100,000 into the $2,000,000 pot.

Antonius called.

The $4,200,000 pot was the biggest of the match so far, and it took Antonius from 6.2 million back up to 9.3 million. Ketola dropped to 10.8 million. Almost dead even again.

The $6 Million Pot

Seventeen minutes later, Antonius was in front. At the 2-hour, 40-minute mark, he had 10.1 million to Ketola’s 9.6 million. For the first time all night, the Hall of Famer was the chip leader.

Then Ketola three-bet him again, with junk again.

Antonius raised to $225,000 on the button with A 5.
Ketola three-bet to $1,000,000 from the big blind with Q 3.

Antonius called with 66% equity. Pot: $2,000,000.

Flop: T Q 2

Ketola flopped top pair with a backdoor flush draw and jumped to 83%. Antonius had ace-high and runner-runner draws.

Ketola bet $400,000. Antonius called. Pot: $2,800,000.

Turn: 6

Ketola checked. Antonius fired $1,550,000 at it with ace-high.

Ketola called. That is the whole hand right there – he checked top pair, let Antonius barrel into him, and just called.

River: K

Check, check.

The pot was $5,900,000. Ketola went to $12.7 million, and Antonius went down to $7.4 million.

Ketola four-bets to $1.8 million with king-four suited and Antonius folds nine-eight suited
Ketola Four-Bets King-Four Suited

Antonius Gets Four-Bet Off a Suited Connector

Five minutes later, the pattern had hardened. Ketola sat behind 12.7 million. Antonius was down to 6.1 million – barely a third of the chips in play.

Ketola raised to $250,000 on the button with K 4.
Antonius three-bet to $900,000 from the big blind with 9 8, building a pot of $1,150,000.

Ketola four-bet to $1,800,000. The pot swelled to $2,700,000. Antonius, with 6.1 million behind, folded.

Ketola was a 56% favorite with king-four suited. Antonius had 44% with a suited connector.

Antonius Fights Back to Level

From 6.1 million at his lowest point, he ground the match back to dead even. Around the 3 hour 39 minute mark, the chip counts read:

PlayerBig blindsChipsProfit/loss
Ossi Ketola105$10,500,000+$500,000
Patrik Antonius95$9,500,000-$500,000

Three and a half hours of poker for a $500,000 gap.

Ossi Ketola shoves $10.975 million with a straight flush as Patrik Antonius folds a straightKetola Straight Flush vs Antonius
Ketola Straight Flush vs Antonius

The Straight Flush Hand

This is the one. It starts at 4:15:42 on the stream.

Ketola had 13.1 million. Antonius was down to 6.5 million.

Antonius limped the button for $100,000 with K 9.
Ketola raised to $350,000 from the big blind with Q 9. Antonius called. Pot: $700,000.

Flop: Q 8 J

Ketola flopped top pair plus a straight flush draw (84%. Antonius had a gutshot (16%).

Ketola checked. Antonius bet $175,000. Ketola check-raised to $525,000. Antonius called. Pot: $1,750,000.

Turn: T

There it is. Ketola made the straight flush. Antonius made a king-high straight and was drawing dead – 100% to 0%.

Ketola checked again. Antonius bet $625,000. Ketola check-raised to $1,600,000. Antonius called. Pot: $4,950,000.

River: 3

Ketola moved all-in for $10,975,000. Antonius had 4.1 million behind, so calling meant the match, the $10 million, all of it.

He tanked. Then he folded.

Three hearts, and Antonius held none of them. His king-high straight was not the nut straight either – ace-king made Broadway. So he was folding a non-nut straight to an overshove on a three-flush board, for his entire stack, against a player who had been betting big all night. It is still a very hard fold.

The $4,950,000 pot took Ketola to 15.95 million and left Antonius with 4.1 million – 41 big blinds.

Ketola's king-jack pairs the turn to beat Antonius' ace-king and end the $20 million match
The Final Hand: AK vs KJ

The Final Hand

The very next hand.

Ketola raised to $250,000 on the button with K J.
Antonius three-bet to $850,000 from the big blind with A K.

Ketola shoved. All $15,925,000 of it, against a man with four million.

Antonius called off his last $4,075,000. Pot: $8,150,000.

PlayerHandEquity
Patrik AntoniusA K71%
Ossi KetolaK J28%

After more than four hours, Antonius finally had the best hand at the moment it mattered. Dominated opponent, 71%, one card class ahead.

Flop: 5 9 Q – still ace-high in front.

Turn: J Pair of jacks for Monarch.

The river 7 changed nothing.

Ketola to $20,000,000. Antonius to zero.

No hard feelings. Antonius and Ketola embrace at the table seconds after the $20 million match ends.
No Hard Feelings

How the Chips Swung

Stream timeKetolaAntoniusState of play
~0:10$10.0M$10.0MFirst hand dealt
0:56$9.8M$7.3MThe five-high bluff
2:23$10.8M$9.3MFirst three-bet pot, Antonius’ hero call
2:40$9.6M$10.1MAntonius takes the chip lead
2:40$12.7M$7.4MKetola wins the $5.9M pot
2:45$12.7M$6.1MAntonius at his low
3:39$10.5M$9.5MBack to level
4:15$13.1M$6.5MStraight flush hand begins
4:18$15.95M$4.1MAntonius folds to the shove
4:22$20.0M$0Jack on the turn, match over

See how Ketola handled his previous duel in our article on Ketola vs Malinowski .

Why This Match Matters

Poker records get thrown around loosely. This one is real.

  • Biggest televised heads-up match ever – $20 million in play, beating anything previously streamed.
  • Biggest single-match loss on stream – Antonius dropped $10 million, and $9.5 million of it went in the final 45 minutes.
  • Monarch’s second nine-figure-adjacent headline in two years – he won a record $10.99 million pot against Alex Foxen at this same festival last year.
  • Duel Heads Up is now the format to watch – the replay passed 265,000 views in its first 19 hours on Triton’s YouTube channel. Triton has found a product that does numbers, and Ketola is the draw.

It also lands days after Ketola took $6 million off Wiktor Malinowski. He is running hot, and he is not slowing down.

Who Is Ossi “Monarch” Ketola?

Monarch is not a tour pro. He is a Finnish businessman – the founder behind Duel Casino and CSGOEmpire – who plays the biggest cash games in the world because he wants to.

What you need to know:

  • Won a record $10.99 million pot against Alex Foxen at Triton Jeju in 2025
  • Beat Wiktor Malinowski for $6 million days before the Antonius match
  • Plays fast, bluffs enormous, and is not scared of a $10 million buy-in
  • Co-brands the Duel Heads Up format with Triton Poker

Curious what he is actually worth? Check our Ossi Ketola net worth profile .

See our Duel Casino promo code page to see what Ketola crypto casino has to offer.

What’s Next for Both Finns

No cooling-off period here. Antonius and Ketola were both due at the tables again the very next day.

Both signed up for the $200,000 Triton Invitational – the first Invitational ever held in Asia. So the man who just lost $10 million and the man who just won it sat down in the same field 24 hours later.

The Triton Jeju II festival runs through the rest of the schedule with more Duel Heads Up matches expected. Keep an eye on our poker news section for every result.

Antonius vs Ketola: Quick Summary

CategoryResult
WinnerOssi “Monarch” Ketola
Ketola profit$10,000,000 (collected the $20,000,000 pool)
Antonius loss$10,000,000
Deciding handK J beat A K all-in preflop, jack on the turn
Biggest momentKetola’s T turned straight flush vs Antonius’ king-high straight
Record setBiggest single-match loss in livestreamed poker history
About the Editor
Adam Szabo
Adam Szabo

Since early 2025, I've covered iGaming promotions, online poker platforms, and player stories for SoMuchPoker. I discovered poker at 14 during the poker boom, and I've played cash games, online tournaments, and live events ever since.

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