button in SafariStraight Flush, Bad Beat Dooms Patrik Antonius in $20 Million Poker Match
Ossi "Monarch" Ketola just wanted to "feel something" by playing Poker Hall of Famer Patrik Antonius in a $20 million heads-up match, the largest ever in livestream poker history.
The Finnish high rollers certainly felt something with each buying in for $10 million, as the match turned in to quite an intense battle during the Triton Poker series in Jeju. Monarch, who hit a straight flush to help him win the competition, pulled off one of the gutsiest bluffs early in the game, risking $3 million with just six-high, a bet so strong it forced his opponent to fold top pair.
Antonius, a veteran grinder, may have found out he had been bluffed in that hand, and it perhaps impacted his future decisions. One such decision was to call off a six-figure river bet with queen-high, and it was the correct call because Ketola had eight-high.
Playing for a Record Pot
Monarch, however, held the lead for much of the early goings. But he ran into a brutal river card in a pot that reached $5.2 million after Monarch flopped bottom two pair only for Antonius to hit a stronger two pair on the river. That sent the Hall of Famer into a slight chip lead.
Action heated up even further shortly following the bad beat when Monarch, holding Q♦3♦, had top pair on a board showing 10♦Q♣2♥6♠. Antonius, who raised preflop with A♦5♦, continued his aggression through the flop and turn with ace-high, betting big and receiving calls. He finally gave up on the brick river, but lost a massive pot that brought Monarch back into nearly 2:1 chip lead.
Monarch, who lost $15 million in an infamous heads-up contest to Dan "Jungleman" Cates last year, continually tested Antonius, a more experienced poker player. To make matters worse for Antonius, he three-bet with 9♠8♠ on the ensuing hand only to be forced to fold to a four-bet against his opponent who was holding K♠4♠.
Antonius, in another hand, was able to extract maximum value on the river with top two pair when he raised to $1,125,000 million and received a call from a small pocket pair. The match took another turn when both players flopped a flush draw. Neither would hit the flush, but Ketola, stuck on six-high on the river, bet $3,000,000 into a pot of $2,200,000 and took it down against eight-high, another monster bluff that got through.
Monarch continually brought aggression, especially when in position. And then he hit the absolute dream hand.
Antonius, on the button with K♦9♠, limped for $100,000 preflop. Ketola, holding Q♥9♥, raised to $350,000 and received a call. The flop came out Q♠8♥J♥, but Monarch checked top pair and a straight flush draw. That induced his opponent to bet a gutshot straight draw for $175,000.
Monarch check-raised to $525,000, and the raise didn't scare off the action. The 10♥ completed his straight flush, so he checked again. Antonius, who turned a straight but was drawing dead, fired out $625,000 only to be check-raised again, this time to $1,600,000. Antonius couldn't fold his straight, so he called before the uneventful 3♣ hit on the river.
Ketola put him all in for $4.1 million, sending Antonius into the tank. The match would have ended if a call was made, but the poker legend ended up correctly deciding to fold.
Antonius would get it all in on the following hand preflop with A♦K♦ and was well ahead after Ketola four-bet jammed for $4.1 million with K♣J♣. But the J♠ hit on the turn to turn the weaker hand into the better hand to finish off the match.
Antonius lost $10 million, the biggest single-match defeat in livestream poker history.
