Alex Foxen & Monarch Clash Once Again in Poker Record $11m Pot
Alex Foxen and Ossi "Monarch" Ketola have locked horns in a second straight night of high-stakes cash game action at Triton Poker Series Jeju II, playing out an $11 million pot that now stands as the largest ever seen in televised poker history.
Ketola, a Finnish entrepreneur who made headlines last month after dropping $15 million to Dan “Jungleman” Cates at the Onyx Super High Roller Series in Cyprus, entered the early Tuesday morning session $9 million down to Foxen after the three-time Triton champion had dominated proceedings across the previous two nights.
However, Ketola would turn the tables on the future Hall of Famer, clawing back from that deficit to scoop the record-breaking pot and take the final match of the night. The result cut into his overall losses in South Korea, which had already included a $6 million setback against Wiktor "Limitless" Malinowski over the weekend.
The showdown has created huge buzz at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju II, even after YouTube removed the livestream for “violating Community Guidelines” before the $11 million hand was dealt.
Whether Foxen and Ketola return for a third meeting in the early hours of Wednesday remains uncertain, though talk around Landing Casino suggests a trilogy is on the cards.
Check out the historic hand on the Triton Poker stream below:
Brutal River Card Hands Foxen Record-Breaking Loss
The record-breaking hand began as Ketola, holding K♣J♥, raised to $150,000 from his $6.4 million stack. Foxen, with 8♦6♦, called from his collection of $5.4 million chips.
The flop of K♦J♦8♣ guaranteed action, giving Ketola two pair while Foxen picked up bottom pair and a flush draw. Foxen checked quickly, and after a pause, Ketola checked back.
The turn produced Foxen’s dream card, the A♦, completing his flush and making him a 9-to-1 favorite in what was then a $300,000 pot. Foxen led for $250,000, which Ketola opted to call with his two pair, building an $800,000 pot heading to the river.
If the turn was a dream for Foxen, the river was a nightmare. The K♠ gave Ketola a perfectly disguised full house after checking back the flop, overtaking Foxen’s flush in devastating fashion.
Foxen flicked in a $550,000 bet and Ketola tanked for around a minute, tossing in a time bank chip before announcing he was all-in for roughly $6.1 million.
Foxen leaned back in his chair, visibly bemused, as he tried to piece together Ketola's story. He asked if Ketola had “bluff[ed] again,” to which the Finn replied, “again?”
With $7,455,000 already in the pot, Foxen would continue the tabletalk, adding, “Or is this first time?” Ketola teased back, “I know you watched the hands in the toilet,” which the New Yorker denied.
After spending his time banks, Foxen made the ultimately fatal call, creating a $10,990,000 pot, the largest in televised poker history. Ketola would show him the bad news, before Foxen graciously offered a “GG” as Ketola claimed the spoils from the $12 million clash.
