HK$500,000 Short Deck Ante-Only
Day 1 Completed
2018 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju
HK$500,000 Short Deck Ante-Only
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju
Buy-in
500,000 HKD
Entries
44
Level
15
Blinds
0 / 0
Ante
40,000
Leow Leads Koon, Dwan and Co. into the Final Day
Level 10
: 0/0, 10,000 ante
The HKD 500,000 Short Deck Ante-Only brought a turnout of 44 entries including multiple re-entries from several players. The field dwindled to nine remaining contenders after the first 10 levels of play. They're still a few places away from securing a payday with the top five positions paid. The winner will walk away with more than $1 million, taking the HKD 8,470,000 top-prize along with the title.
Ivan Leow min-cashed the HK$100k event earlier today and he is now in good shape to make it two-for-two in Jeju. Leow had a strong finish, taking a huge pot off Rui Cao on the very last hand to establish himself as a huge chip leader. Leow limp-raised with pocket kings and Cao called with ace-jack. Leow hit the top set on the flop but Cao took the lead on the turn where he completed a Broadway. The river, however, paired the board and Leow won a large pot to soar to 3,645,000. He is far ahead of Devan Tang who is currently second with 2,430,000.
The two biggest stars in the remaining field follow in the rankings as Triton Montenegro HK$1 million Short Deck event champ Jason Koon lies in third place (1,720,000) while high stakes cash game phenomenon Tom Dwan sits in fourth with 1,275,000.
Koon managed to hold onto his belongings after the tournament got down to the last table. The random reshuffle brought very different environments on each table. Koon observed that his table boasted 10 million in chips from a total of 13.2 million. But he avoided any big collisions and steadily cruised through, unlike Romain Arnaud and Ben Lamb who have been dispatched in 11th and 10th place, respectively.
Dwan's path to his end-of-day chip count was similar, although he was able to collect some chips in the last level to improve his field position ahead of the final day. But the most entertaining parts of Dwan's appearance came shortly after he entered the event, midway through Day 1. He instantly lost his first bullet but then got it in with ace-jack of hearts against queen-jack of Mikita Badziakouski. Dwan flopped a flush and made six-card Royal Flush on the river to celebrate a sweat double.
Dwan was able to continue on the same bullet for the remaining period and found a bag. There was a period when he got seated right next to Phil Ivey. While they didn't have any major confrontation, Dwan took part in a hand that saw Ivey getting involved in a giant cooler which saw him leave the tournament.
Ivey flopped a jack-high straight but Lamb made a superior straight at the same time. Alan Sass joined the all-in contest with a pair of queens and a lucky runout helped him to scramble out of trouble as he finished with the same straight as Lamb to chop Ivey's stack.
But Sass surely wasn't the player who would dwell on luck during Day 1. He fired no less than six entries to the tournament and would need to make it to the podium to settle in green numbers. There's some hard work ahead of Sass as he parked in sixth place with 800,000 in his bag.
But as the opening HK$100k Short Deck event proved, anybody can get on a winning spree in this high-variance discipline. So make sure to come back to PokerNewson Thursday, July 26 at 2 p.m. local time to see how it unfolds.
Day 2 seating chart and chip counts:
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Tom Dwan | United States | 1,275,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Chan Wai Leong | Malaysia | 635,000 |
| 1 | 3 | Alan Sass | United States | 800,000 |
| 1 | 4 | Gabe Patgorski | United States | 795,000 |
| 1 | 5 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 555,000 |
| 2 | 1 | Ivan Leow | Malaysia | 3,645,000 |
| 2 | 4 | Rui Cao | France | 1,245,000 |
| 2 | 5 | Devan Tang | Hong Kong | 2,430,000 |
| 2 | 6 | Jason Koon | United States | 1,720,000 |
End of Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 10
: 0/0, 10,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,645,000 | |
|
2,430,000 | |
|
1,720,000 | |
|
||
|
1,275,000 | |
|
1,245,000 | |
|
800,000 | |
|
795,000 | |
|
635,000 | |
|
555,000 | |
|
|
||
Leow Takes Down a Monster From Cao on the Last Hand of the Nught
Level 10
: 0/0, 10,000 ante
Ivan Leow limped in from the cutoff with 
. Rui Cao was on the button and he raised with 
to 95,000. Leow then re-raised, making it 300,000 and Cao called.
The flop was 
and Leow checked his top set. Cao checked behind and the two saw the 
on the turn. There, Leow decided to fire, making it 325,000. Cao, who made a straight now, just called.
On the 
river, Leow filled up and he set the trap by checking. Cao put out a bet of 700,000 and Leow just called with his second nut full house. This prompt some skepticism from the table, but he took down the pot anyways to assume the chip lead in the last hand of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,645,000 | |
|
|
1,245,000 |
Dwan Wins a Family Pot
Level 10
: 0/0, 10,000 ante
All five players on the secondary table made it to the 
turn where Mikita Badziakouski and Tom Dwan checked to Chan Wai Leong who fired 60,000. Alan Sass called and so did Gabe Patgorski. Badziakouski was the only one who wasn't interested in seeing the river while Dwan stuck around for the 
.
The final betting round was checked and Dwan tabled for a jack-high straight, prompting three mucks from his remaining opponents. He raked in the pot and improved to 950,000 or so.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
950,000
123,000
|
123,000 |
Lamb Falls to Leow
Level 10
: 0/0, 10,000 ante
Devan Tang limped under the gun and Ivan Leow raised to 175,000 in the hijack. Ben Lamb three-bet shoved for 545,000 out of the cutoff and the action stopped at Tang. He asked Leow how much did he play and he got 2 million. Tang eventually let his hand go and Leow slid forward a pile of chips to put Lamb at risk.
Lamb: 
Leow:
The 
board brought no help for Lamb who could only hope for an ace when the 
appeared on the turn. The river sent Lamb packing and he tapped the felt before heading from the stage.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,600,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Cao Eliminates Arnaud
Level 10
: 0/0, 10,000 ante
Rui Cao raised in the first position and called when Romain Arnaud jammed out of the cutoff for around 350,000.
Arnaud: 
Cao:
Arnaud couldn't prevail on the 
board and Cao finished with quad tens to dispatch his fellow countryman in 11th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,900,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
Busted |
Lamb Bluffs Off Most to Tang
Level 10
: 0/0, 10,000 ante
After limps from Ben Lamb and Rui Cao, Devan Tang made it 130,000 on the button with 
. Lamb called with 
while Cao folded.
The flop was 
and both players checked to the on the turn. On the turn, Lamb led out with a bet of 200,000 and Tang called.
The river was the and this time Lamb moved all in with a covering stack for about 555,000 effective. Tang didn't waste much time calling and doubling up with his rivered straight.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,800,000
1,800,000
|
1,800,000 |
|
|
545,000
-955,000
|
-955,000 |
|
|
||
Level: 10
Blinds: 0/0
Ante: 10,000
Phua Eliminated by Koon
Level 9
: 0/0, 8,000 ante
In a hand shown on the stream that took place earlier in the level, Paul Phua put out a bet of 79,000 on a flop of 
. Koon then three-bet enough to put Phua all in and Phua called.
Paul Phua: 
Jason Koon:
The board completed with the and the 
and Koon's set held up, allowing him to take down the pot and sent Paul Phua to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,800,000
1,348,000
|
1,348,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
|
||