Triton Poker are renowned for their highstakes line-ups and high-end production values and this week it was nosebleed cash games getting the VIP treatment – Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius and Daniel Cates among the stars, with Tony G. on the receiving end of a $1.5million losing streak!
Better known for their super-high roller tournaments, Triton decided that the highstakes cash games that always tag along at their SHR series’ stops deserved a spotlight of their own.
Thus, the Triton Poker Series Montenegro Cash Game Invitational was born, a week-long battle of wits and bankrolls at the luxurious Maestral Hotel & Casino from August 4th to 10th.
Day 1 got off to a flier, wealthy recs and businessmen playing with a minimum buy-in of $200,000 and blinds of $1,000/$2,000 with a $2,000 big blind ante – and only one pro at the table!
Linus “LlinusLlove” Loeliger was the first to take the special ‘hot seat’ reserved for those who make a living playing the game, the Swiss genius facing not only Triton regs such as Paul Phua but also Hustler Casino Live legend “Handz”
It was quickly pointed out that in his Twitter bio Handz describes himself as, “Two-time loser of the biggest pot on HCL” – a reference to two $million+ pots that went against him. In Montenegro things weren’t quite that bad, and could have been worse had he not found a laydown in this hand…
Check out LLinusLLove in action! His ultra-aggressive playing style keeps everyone on their toes, even when we can't see his cards. Can you guess the hand? pic.twitter.com/ZC92CJS4qG
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) August 5, 2024
Tsang was the big winner of the opening day, the combined Elizabeth Chen/Joe Zou pairing dreaming of better days ahead.
DAY 1 PROFIT/LOSS
UP
Elton Tsang: +$760,000
ST Wang: +$436,000
Andy Ni: + $389,000
Aaron Zang: +$135,000
DOWN
Linus Loeliger: -$268,000
Handz: -$375,000
Paul Phua: -$391,000
Elizabeth Chen/Joe Zou: -$689,000
Moving on to day 2, and the Ivey/Cates/TonyG trio all took turns in the hot seat, and all bagged a tidy profit at the expense of the likes of Dusk Till Dawn casino boss Rob Yong and Triton Series stalwart, Tan Xuan. Even when things went well for the latter, he couldn’t get more than the minimum out of Ivey…
🐐 @philivey nails the flop, but the river is a minefield! So of course Tan Xuan goes for an overbet trying to level the G.O.A.T. Does Ivey bite? pic.twitter.com/J0AXT3JByo
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) August 6, 2024
DAY 2 PROFIT/LOSS
UP
Andy Ni: +$543,000
Dan “Jungleman” Cates: +$228,000
Tony G: +$130,000
Phil Ivey: +$80,000
Mikhail Petrov: +$51,000
DOWN
Elizabeth Chen/Joe Zou: -$28,000
ST Wang: -$70,000
Paul Phua: -$122,000
Handz: -$124,000
Rob Yong: -$221,000
Tan Xuan: -$467,000
Day 3 saw the main televised table up the ante (and everything else!) with a minimum $500,000 buy-in and blinds of $1,000/$2,000 with a $5,000 big blind ante.
That sounded like just the business for Elton Tsang, but his monster opening day win was a distant memory by the end of the third session, losing numerous huge pots…
Pre-flop saw Tsang bump it up to $100k from the big blind after Handz had 3-bet from the button.
Handz: 10♠ 10♦
Tsang: A♠ K♠
Flop: 3♦ J♦ 3♥
Tsang led out $55k and received a call…
Turn: 7♥
…the same script on the turn, this time for $125k, and the pot was by now $587,000
River: 4♦
The potential flush put him Tsang off firing a third barrel, and a check-check gave Handz the pot, the American eventually ending up second in the profit list for the day, though a long way behind ST Wang (pictured below) with Tsang almost off the opposite end of the scale.
DAY 3 PROFIT/LOSS
UP
ST Wang: +$1,389,000
Handz: +$647,000
Danny Tang: +$346,000
Andy Ni: +$34,000
DOWN
Phil Ivey: -$184,000
Paul Phua: -$227,000
Tan Xuan: -$246,000
Rob Yong: -$436,000
Elton Tsang: -$1,323,000
Day 4 dawned and Adrian Mateos entered the lion’s den, the incredibly-talented Spaniard deemed more likely to be hunter than hunted. Poker, however, has a way of levelling even the best at times and Mateos’ welcome was… painful!
WOW! Not FIVE minutes in and we have our first $1,000,000 pot featuring the conquistador @Amadi_17 and the recklessly aggressive Tan Xuan!!! 💰💰💰💰
Don't forget to tune in to our stream as we continue to bring you all the action straight from the Triton Poker Series' inaugural… pic.twitter.com/eiKuPv3YT5
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) August 7, 2024
Elton Tsang meanwhile was busy recouping his previous day’s losses, almost to the dollar, but for Tony G it all got too much – a tough day at the office topped off with this brutal cooler…
We've just had the ultimate cooler in the Triton Cash Game Series Invitational! 🥶
A $1,450,000 pot! 💵💵💵 and @TonyGuoga can't catch a BREAK! Will he be able to dig his way out of this one vs Elton Tsang?
Tune in to our streams as we bring you all the action, straight from… pic.twitter.com/1HQBAcjNWB
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) August 7, 2024
DAY 4 PROFIT/LOSS
UP
Elton Tsang: +$1,345,000
Andy Ni: +$1,131,000
Phil Ivey: +$628,000
Paul Phua: $195,000
Ferdinand: $48,000
DOWN
Handz: -$187,000
Elizabeth Chen: -$395,000
Tan Xuan: -$639,000
Adrian Mateos: -$776.000
Tony G: -$1,350,000
We’ll bring you more of the action from Triton Poker’s Montenegro Cash Game Invitational tomorrow (day 5 is raging as this goes to press). Will Elton Tsang’s rollercoaster continue? Will Mateo and Tony G make a comeback? What about Phil Ivey? Tune in to find out!
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