It was the Alejandro Lococo roadshow in Paradise last night as the Argentinian rapper scooped more than $12million and WSOP gold after steamrolling his way through the Triton Million final table.
33-year-old Lococo was nicknamed “the Argentine wrecking ball” as he took out his final four opponents at the biggest buy-in tournament of the year.
Fourteen players had returned with a dream, already guaranteed $800,000 from the monster $48million prizepool, and they included some real beasts of the game.
Stephen Chidwick, Daniel Dvoress, Alex Foxen, Ben Heath, Chance Kornuth, Adrien Mateos, Aleksejs Ponakovs and Elias Talvitie were all in the mix from the pro side of the $500k invite-only event.
Still battling for the wealthy rec side were Lococo, David Einhorn, Sosia Jiang, Michael Moncek, Sinan Unlu and Esti Wang.
Headlines aplenty
There were multiple stories in the making, and the final day would add a few more:
- Could “Texas Mike” Moncek go pillar to post for the win?
- Was David Einhorn’s first hand bustout and $500k rebuy about to become the stuff of legends?
- Would New Zealand hedge fund specialist Sosia Jiang become the first woman to land an 8-figure cash?
While the players may have been feeling nervous with such money at stake, for spectators it was a fascinating day full of twists and turns and monster showdowns.
The first stop was the final table of nine and the start of the 7-figure payouts, which meant five players had to go. Chidwick was first, falling to Dvoress’ ace-king, and then Einhorn followed, unable to catch Heath’s pocket jacks.
Wang and Jiang clashed, 8s against 9s and a dry board busting the Chinese player, and then Mateos fell to Sinan Unlu. Every step up the ladder must have felt like a win for Unlu, who was this close to exiting before the money bubble yesterday…
Two MONSTER hands face off creating one of the biggest pots of the Triton Million 🔱 500k buy-in tournament!
KT's Kings dominate Sinan Unlu's Ace-King, giving him an excellent shot at becoming one of the CHIP LEADERS! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/B8OIZ83UJ6
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) December 9, 2024
Chance Kornuth couldn’t get anything going and fell in 10th, giving us our final table, led by Dvoress, who would soon go on a rampage. First up, Heath found fishhooks again to take out Moncek, before Dvoress sent Jiang to the rail, $1,605,000 as compensation for an excellent run.
Freestyling!
When Dvoress saw off two serious rivals, Ponakovs and Foxen, he looked like a good bet for the title, but Alejandro “MC Papi” Lococo, the freestyle rapper from Mar Del Plata, Argentina with a passion for poker, had other ideas.
Lococo’s incessant involvement and aggression wore down the rest of the table, ousting Talvitie in fifth place and then Dvoress in fourth spot…
Breaking! Dan Dvoress's journey unfortunately ends in 3rd place, bagging $5,304,000 for his team! #TritonMillion #wsopPARADISE@DDvoress https://t.co/br7F0r46Oz pic.twitter.com/aLzhmvyUCv
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 10, 2024
That was great news for England’s Ben Heath, who at one stage had half a small blind to his name but had now secured more than $5million – and there was more to come.
Whoever won now would have the dream headline;
- “El Loco” Lococo and his far-from-textbook playing style;
- Heath from less than a chip and a chair to victory, or;
- Unlu and his remarkable recovery from his day two staring at tournament death.
The Turk couldn’t get his name on the final headline, however, no choice but to get all his chips in and bowing out to Lococo with only a minor sweat…
Sinan Unlu: J♣ 5♠
Alejandro Lococo: K♣ 6♥
Flop: 7♦ Q♦ 8♣
Turn: 10♣
River: 7♣
The $12million Hand
That left MC Papi heads-up with Heath, a 7:1 chip lead that few would bet against given his steamroller play so far. Just a few hands in it was curtains for the Brit, who snapped off the Argentine’s pre-flop shove…
Benjamin Heath: A♥ K♣
Alejandro Lococo: K♦ 2♥
Heath couldn’t wish for more, but the deck had other ideas in store…
Flop: 8♦ 2♦ Q♥
Turn: 7♠
River: 8♥
…and with that an ecstatic Alejandro Lococo leapt to his feet and the celebrations began.
Congrats to 🇦🇷 Alejandro Lococo aka. Papo MC and his teammate Joao Vieira!!!
Enjoy that cool $12M!😎#TritonMillion #wsopPARADISE pic.twitter.com/yPRpaAgvao— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 10, 2024
Triton Million Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | $12,070,000 |
| 2 | Benjamin Heath | UK | $8,160,000 |
| 3 | Sinan Unlu | Turkey | $5,304,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | $4,390,000 |
| 5 | Elias Talvitie | Finland | $3,542,000 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen | USA | $2,795,000 |
| 7 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | $2,140,000 |
| 8 | Sosia Jiang | New Zealand | $1,605,000 |
| 9 | Michael Moncek | USA | $1,200,000 |
- Get the best rakeback deals
- See the best poker promotions
- View the latest poker news
- Get the best No Deposit Poker Bonuses
- Benefit from the biggest poker bonus
- Calculate your rakeback with the rakeback calculator
Terms and conditions apply. New customer offer and 18+ only. Should you require help regarding your betting pattern, please visit www.begambleaware.org
