Mike Watson Claims Epic Triton Crown in Turbo Title Triumph

The seventh event of the Triton Poker Series in Montenegro was a race to the finish. With 84 entries and 17 re-entries, the $30,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Turbo event saw Mike Watson beat legends of the felt such as Patrik Antonius, Samuel Mullur and Anatoly Zlotinikov to the title. Winning $659,000 up top, the victory was Watson’s sixth Triton title, moving him closer to the record-holding 12-time champion, Jason Koon.

Bumper Prize Pool Yet Again

This week’s Triton Poker Series began in Montenegro at the Maestral Resort & Casino with a new partner for the hosts. After 10 glorious years of high roller events, the brand linked up with Coin Poker in Montenegro and the bumper fields throughout would indicate that was a good call. In the turbo format of charged Event #7, the total of 101 in the field all knew that if things went well, they’d win the Triton trophy on the same day and that created a party atmosphere.

By the time the money places had been reached, just 14 players remained, but the bust-outs kept coming quickly, with modern poker greats such as Adrian Mateos, Jesse Lonis and Ben Tollerene all making a profit on their buy-in but ultimately falling short of the nine-handed final table.

The chip leader with nine left was the man who was still chasing his first-ever Triton win, the Moroccan player Mehdi Chaoui. He led with 54 big blinds, but behind him it was anyone’s guess who’d come where, with Watson his closest rival on 28 big blinds, and everyone other than Anatoly Zlotinikov (24BB) having between six and 13 big blinds to their name. The early levels were a shove-fest and in true turbo style, there were some surprises along the way.

Big Finnish for Antonius

After the exits of Tunisian Maher Nouira (9^th for $66,000) and U.S. player Cong Pham (8^th for $91,000), Patrik Antonius found himself all-in and at risk. The Poker Hall of Famer busted in seventh place in Event #6 too and couldn’t escape the same fate when his ace-queen lost out to Zlotinikov’s king-jack, as a king on the flop booted out the poker legend for $118,000 and reduced the field to six.

Belgium’s Thomas Boivin was the next to go, cashing for $151,000 in sixth place after falling to Chaoui. Queen-high couldn’t beat king-high for the former WSOP bracelet winner and he slid out of contention moments before another brilliant European joined him on the rail.

Samuel Mullur is already a Triton champion and the writing was on the wall pre-flop for him too, as he also lost his stack to the Morrocan. All-in with king-queen, Mullur was no match for Chaoui’s pocket kings as the Austrian departed for $193,000 in fifth place.

Watson Wins Yet Again

The German poker pro Tom Fuchs was unable to cling onto his stack and busted in fourth place for a score for $241,000. Again, king-queen was the hand of doom, as this time, Mike Watson picked up pocket queens and dispatched his opponent after an all-in and call pre-flop and a safe board to follow.

Three-handed, the Russian player Anatoly Zlotinikov was looking for his second win of the series after taking down Event #2. In the end, he fell two places short of that ambition in third place for $299,000 as he lost out to the eventual runner-up Chaoui. All-in with queen-ten, he lost to the Morroccan’s pocket kings, as Chaouis golden run of cards continued at the final table.

That run ended heads-up, but only after both men held the lead in a swingy contest. The turbo pace and full rail contributed to a thrilling atmosphere and the contest was only settled after Watson enjoyed a bit of luck in reply. Rivering a straight, the man known as ‘Sir Watts’ online took a 4:1 chip lead that proved pivotal, his pocket fives beating Chaoui’s jack-eight to seal Watson’s sixth win on the Triton Poker Series, denying Chaoui a maiden win in the process.