Kayhan Mokri Smashes Final Table to take Triton Gold

Kayhan Mokri has scooped the first 7-figure payday of the Triton Poker Monte Carlo SHR Series, taking down the $30k NLH 8-handed event #2 for $1,005,000 despite coming in as the short stack at the final table.

Mokri was one of 144 entries, 97 of them unique, as the buy-ins in Cyprus started to creep up. Event #1, won by Brian Kim, was a $25k and the Triton Invitational costs $200,000. There are also $40k, $50k, and $100k tournaments on the schedule.

With 23 spots paid, the bubble appeared late on day 1, and Czech pro Roman Hrabec put his faith and last dozen big blinds in lucky 7s only to watch on as Zhewen Hu’s Q♣ J♣ hit a jack on the flop.

Big names in the Money

With $50,500 locked up, there were some huge names in the money, though some wouldn’t last much longer. Notables among them:

• Kristen Foxen (23^rd for $50,500)
• Fedor Holz (21^st for $50,500)
• Dan Smith (20^th for $54,500)
• Wai Kin Yong (14^th for $67,000)

Patrik Antonius was without doubt the biggest name to make it to the final table, the Flying Finn now 43-years-old and with more than two decades of results behind him.

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It was Mokri, the shortest stack, who made the first move, and was helped by the following KO of Quan Zhou…

Mokri: A♣ Q♦

Zhou: A♥ K♣

Flop: Q♥ 9♣ 9♠

Turn: 9♦

River: 2♦

Avoid pocket sixes…

That was soon followed by two of the three Bulgarians at the table departing, Neychev running his pocket 6s into Mokri’s pocket aces. Coincidentally, Lithuania’s Marius Kudzmanas would fall next when he ran sixes into the pocket kings of his countryman, Paulius Vaitiekunas and then, incredibly, Kisacikoglu lost a huge chunk with sixes against Mokri’s suited big slick.

It was something of a crapshoot, given the money at stake and the fact that the biggest stacks were no more than 20 big blinds deep, but there is definitely skill in short stack play too.

…  but not fives!

However, flips often decide things and that’s how Antonius fell, calling Mokri’s open shove…

Antonius: A♦ Q♦

Mokri: 5♥ 5♦

Flop: 6♦ 9♠ 4♥

Turn: 2♠

River: 6♣

…and that meant Antonius was out in 5^th for a $298,000 payday.

Sometimes there is just no stopping a player and Mokri’s remarkable run continued when he ousted Kisacikoglu, producing AQ against KQ and then found aces to end Kulev’s dreams in 3^rd place.

Heads-up against Vaitiekunas saw Mokri extend his chip lead and then end the event before the evening had barely begun, all the chips going in on the flop…

Vaitiekunas: 5♥ 4♦

Mokri: 6♦ 3♥

Flop: 3♦ 5♦ 6♠

Turn: K♦

River: Q♦

Mokri’s flush gave him the trophy and the top prize, Vaitiekunas’ runner-up cash taking him to 3^rd spot in the Lithuanian all-time list, headed of course by Antanas ‘Tony G’ Guoga.

Event #2: $30k NLH 8-handed

Final table results

1  Kayhan Mokri, Norway  $1,005,000
2  Paulius Vaitiekunas, Lithuania  $680,000
3  Alex Kulev, Bulgaria  $454,000
4  Orpen Kisacikoglu, Turkey  $371,000
5  Patrik Antonius, Finland  $298,000
6  Marius Kudzmanas, Lithuania  $231,000
7  Krasimir Neychev, Bulgaria  $171,000
8  Dimitar Danchev, Bulgaria  $125,000
9  Zhou Quan, China  $100,000

“Today was my day,” the 30-year-old from Oslo told reporters afterwards, adding: “It’s a momentum thing. I had the best cards today and that’s how it is.”

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Andrew Burnett

Professional Poker Journalist

An avid poker player, he dreams of one day playing the WSOP Main Event and has promised himself he will fold aces and kings if he gets them on the first hand to avoid front-page headlines. [more]