HK$500,000 6-Max Event
Day 1 Completed
2018 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju
HK$500,000 6-Max Event
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2018 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju
Buy-in
500,000 HKD
Entries
39
Level
23
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
40,000
Sam Greenwood Snatches Chip Lead Right at End of Day 1
Level 9
: 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
The first no-limit hold'em event at 2018 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju attracted some of the players who skipped the Triton Hold'em (Short Deck) events and took to the felt for the first time here in South Korea. The field looked more as a traditional portfolio of the high stakes tournament get-together with regulars from Europe and North America hopping into the HK$500k 6-Max.
Sam Greenwood was one such player, joining the six-handed battles along with his brother Luc. While the Greenwood brothers play high buy-in events all around the world, they haven't been too active in recent months. The taxes for Canadians basically shut the door for them to play in the United States where the vast majority of the poker action takes place during summer time.
But they arrived in Jeju and even spent a significant part of the day sitting next to each other. As is usual for the Greenwoods, they aren't the type of players who would first scope the field before jumping in. They were among the first three players to register. Then they waited until the tournament got enough entrants to kick off.
"The field is about what I expected. I know that recreational players in Asia show up late. They have the registration open for two levels more. I think it's a slightly different scene here," Sam Greenwood said.
Eventually, the field grew to 25 entries through the first nine levels but as Greenwood noted, it's likely that the total number will increase tomorrow with the registration running until the start of level 12. Unlimited re-entries are allowed through the registration period but that shouldn't be something Sam Greenwood would need to worry about.
He finished the day with the biggest stack, claiming the pole position on the very last hand of the night. Greenwood found pocket aces on the button and three-bet over Elton Tsang's open from the cutoff. He ended up in a dream spot as Tsang fired back with a massive 68-blind four-bet shove with ace-five.
That particular situation didn't require the calibre of skills Greenwood possesses, but it was the hand that allowed him to stack 191,700 ahead of Day 2. Widely regarded as one of the best tournament players in the world, Greenwood is now surely the hottest favorite to take down the title.
It's still a long way to go, though, and the 14-strong list of survivors includes a truly outstanding lineup. The top five features the likes of David Peters (145,500), Stephen Chidwick (111,700), Mikita Badziakouski (110,500) and Steve O'Dwyer (100,900). All of these players have been the driving forces of the high rollers around the globe in the past few years.
They will be accompanied by all-time legends Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey and John Juanda so make sure to tune back to PokerNews live coverage on Friday, July 27 at 2 p.m. local time as the star-studded battles continue at Triton Jeju.
End of Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 9
: 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Day 1 has concluded with 14 players remaining. Late registration will remain open for the next two levels so the field might still increase tomorrow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
191,700 | |
|
145,500 | -7,500 |
|
111,700 | 28,700 |
|
110,500 | 3,500 |
|
100,900 | -2,100 |
|
99,000 | 1,500 |
|
93,600 | 600 |
|
67,900 | |
|
67,400 | 8,400 |
|
65,400 | 35,400 |
|
58,000 | -3,000 |
|
53,500 | -19,500 |
|
40,100 | -9,900 |
|
34,600 | -81,400 |
Greenwood Wins a Monster Pot With Aces on the Last Hand
Level 9
: 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
On the last hand of the day, Elton Tsang opened the cutoff to 3,100 with 
but his neighbor Sam Greenwood looked down at 
. Greenwood three-bet to 9,000 and David Peters peeled 
in the small blind. He decided to fold but JC Alvarado found king-queen in the big blind but he also avoided the temptation to cold four-bet and let his hand go.
Tsang, however, stuffed in all his 81,100 and Greenwood had a slam dunk call to make.
"Rebuy!" Tsang said when he saw Greenwood show the bullets.
The board of 
propelled Greenwood to a massive chip lead as he finished with 192,000 in chips. Tsang will most likely rejoin the field tomorrow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
191,700 | 82,700 |
|
Busted |
Full House for Chen
Level 9
: 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
With action caught on the turn reading 
, Steve O'Dwyer checked with 
and James Chen bet 4,400 with the bottom two, holding 
.
O'Dwyer called and Chen spiked a full house on the 
river. He got one more shell from O'Dwyer who paid 12,000, helping Chen to improve to 73,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
103,000 | -2,000 |
|
|
73,000 | 30,900 |
Greenwood Wins With Jacks
Level 9
: 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Sam Greenwood peeled 
under the gun and he made it 3,000 to go. Big blind Elton Tsang accepted his bid, calling with 
.
Tsang check-called 2,500 on the flop of 
and the turn saw Tsang check again. Greenwood checked back and the completed the board. Greenwood fired 7,000 and Tsang escaped as he managed to fold his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
109,000 | -12,000 |
Cold-Four From Peters
Level 9
: 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Sergio Aido made it 2,700 in the cutoff with , earning a flat-call from Elton Tsang who had 
on the button. Sam Greenwood squeezed to 18,000 out of the small blind with 
but David Peters woke up with 
in the big and he cold four-bet to 39,000. Aido and Tsang got out of the way but Greenwood burned three timebanks before he was able to release his hand.
Meanwhile, Dominik Nitsche returned to the secondary feature table after re-entering.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
153,000 | 10,000 |
|
|
50,000 | 50,000 |
Level: 9
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 1,200
Nitsche Dusts His First Bullet
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Mikita Badziakouski completed in the small blind with 
, trying to trap Dominik Nitsche who started with just 12 big blinds. Nitsche checked his 
and flopped the bottom pair on 
. Badziakouski led out 3,000 and Nitsche jammed for 10,500. Badziakouski instantly called. Nitsche picked up a flush draw on the turn but he couldn't get there on the and lost his first entry.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
107,000 | 23,000 |
|
|
Busted |
O'Dwyer Scoops With Pair of Deuces
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Dominik Nitsche raised the cutoff to 2,000 with 
and Steve O'Dwyer found in the big blind. He opted to call and see the flop, which fell 
. Nitsche bet 1,500 in position and O'Dwyer check-raised to 4,400. Nitsche called.
The 
turn didn't help Nitsche but O'Dwyer had still just the bottom pair so he slowed down, checking. Nitsche checked back and bricked out on the 
river. Both players checked and O'Dwyer claimed the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
105,000 | 39,000 |
|
|
13,000 | -9,400 |