$8,000 Main Event
Day 3 Completed
$8,000 Main Event
Day 3 Completed
It's been quite the year for American poker player Alex Anton. Since April, he has added five six-figure scores to his The Hendon Mob page, captured two WSOP bracelets, and won a coveted Triton Super High Roller Series trophy in Jeju.
His hot streak appears to continue at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa, as Anton decimated the competition on a short Day 3 of the Triton ONE North Cyprus $8,000 Main Event, ending the afternoon with 62,100,000 in his stack, worth over 100 big blinds and enough for a sizable chip lead when the final table with the 9 remaining contenders commences.
Anton doubled with pocket aces early in the day and went on to provide one-third of the eliminations on Day 3, including a double knockout. If the chipleader goes wire-to-wire on the final day, he will walk away with the $1,320,000 first-place prize, his first seven-figure score.
However, the remaining competition from the starting field of 1,006 entries is fierce. Mohamed El-Wely maintained his second place on the leaderboard after a roller-coaster day, and will start the battle for the major prizes of the $7,316,600 prize pool with 43,700,000. Meanwhile, Day 2 chipleader Yiwen Yuan, the final woman standing, burst the final table bubble, and she rounds out the podium with 31,100,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Anton | United States | 62,100,000 | 104 |
| 2 | Mohamed El-Wely | Mauritania | 43,700,000 | 73 |
| 3 | Yiwen Yuan | China | 31,100,000 | 52 |
| 4 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 27,900,000 | 47 |
| 5 | Raoul Kanme | Netherlands | 25,100,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Zhuoqun Zhang | China | 20,500,000 | 34 |
| 7 | Paulius Vaitiekunas | Lithuania | 18,500,000 | 31 |
| 8 | Aleksei Istomin | Russian Federation | 13,200,000 | 22 |
| 9 | Thore Boedefeld | Germany | 9,300,000 | 16 |
The title "Comeback Kid of the Day" definitely goes to five-time Triton SHRS champion Mikita Badziakouski. Badziakouski started Day 3 with just five big blinds, but immediately doubled up and kept soaring through the ranks. Ultimately, he bagged the fourth-largest stack with 27,900,000, eyeing a Triton ONE Main Event title to add to his two Triton SHRS Main Event victories.
Paulius Vaitiekunas is also still in contention, meaning one-third of the remaining players have a Triton SHRS trophy at home. Thore Boedefeld will start the final table as the short stack, bringing 9,300,000 into the final day.
Meanwhile, Jon Vallinas Santos has secured the title of Triton ONE Player of the Year. After his runner-up performance in the Main Event in Jeju, Vallinas finished 23rd today, earning him $44,000. Yue Zhao received the same prize for 21st place, being knocked out in the same hand as 20th-place finisher Maksim Shornikau ($51,000), courtesy of Anton, of course. Triton regular Biao Ding saw his run end in 16th for $58,500, while Mahmoud Bedoui became the final table bubble not even four hours into the day, being eliminated in 10th for $83,000.
The nine finalists will return tomorrow, November 15, at noon local time. Eleven hands remain in Level 28: 300,000/600,000 (600,000), while the following levels will each be played for 21 hands. Day 4 is the final day of the Triton ONE Main Event, so play will not halt before a winner has been crowned.
With $98,000 secured, those who remain are already guaranteed a nice payday. However, they are only one elimination away from a six-figure score, while the top three will each take home half a million or more. Meanwhile, the eventual champion is the only one to walk away with over a million dollars.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,320,000 |
| 2 | $793,000 |
| 3 | $561,000 |
| 4 | $420,000 |
| 5 | $321,000 |
| 6 | $235,000 |
| 7 | $177,000 |
| 8 | $127,000 |
| 9 | $98,000 |
PokerNews will naturally be back to report the thrilling finale of the Triton ONE North Cyprus Main Event. Make sure to tune back in tomorrow, as the final table action promises to be spectacular.
The final nine players have bagged up for the afternoon and will return tomorrow, November 15, to play out the final table.
Their chip counts can be found below; a recap of the day will follow shortly.
Mahmoud Bedoui shoved in his final 6,000,000 from the cutoff. It folded to big blind Yiwen Yuan, and she called.
Mahmoud Bedoui: A♠Q♠
Yiwen Yuan: 9♠9♣
Bedoui did not connect with the 7♣4♣10♦ flop. The K♠ turn brought straight outs, but the 7♥ river paired the board, deciding the pot in Yiwen's favor.
Bedoui handed out fist bumps to his former opponents, then departed the Main Event as the final elimination of the day, having bubbled the final table.
It folded to small blind Alex Anton, who limped in. Mohamed El-Wely then raised to 1,900,000 from the big blind, and Anton called.
Alex Anton checked the 2♦6♠A♣ flop, after which El-Wely continued for 1,100,000. Anton called, and the pair subsequently checked through the A♥ turn.
Anton then led out for 1,600,000 on the 6♥ river, only to be snap-called by El-Wely. Anton revealed 7♠7♦, but El-Wely had the higher pocket pair with K♥K♣ and welcomed the chips to his stack.
Ken Tong open-shoved for 9,400,000 from the hijack, and Raoul Kanme called in the cutoff, covering his opponent.
Ken Tong: A♣2♣
Raoul Kanme: A♠Q♥
Kanme kept his dominating position on the 10♥2♦Q♠9♣J♥ runout, taking Tong out in 11th place.
Mahmoud Bedoui wanted to move all in from the small blind, but accidentally limped in. Thore Boedefeld then checked in the big blind, after which Bedoui shoved anyway on the 2♥10♦8♥ flop. Boedefeld snap-called for 3,600,000.
Thore Boedefeld: 10♠9♦
Mahmoud Bedoui: A♦8♦
Boedefeld's top pair held on the 7♠ turn and 4♥ river, earning him a double-up.
Rafael Navas moved all in for 4,200,000 from the hijack, and Mikita Badziakouski looked him up from the small blind.
Rafael Navas: A♥9♣
Mikita Badziakouski: 7♠7♣
Badziakouski's hot streak continued, as he flopped a set on 8♠7♥4♥. The K♥ turn provided Navas with a flush draw, but the 6♦ river brought the wrong kind of red card.
Badziakouski earned his third pot in a row, sending Navas home in 12th place.
After having bluffed some chips off to Mikita Badziakouski in the previous hand, Zhuoqun Zhang limped Q♣J♠ in from the small blind, and Mikita Badziakouski checked J♦7♦ in the big blind.
Zhang then checked the 9♥8♦4♠ flop before he called Badziakouski's bet of 600,000. The K♠ turn prompted Zhang to lead out for 1,400,000, but Badziakouski was not having it and raised to 3,600,000.
Zhang decided to get rid of his gutshot, and Badziakouski won another pot off his neighbor.