Record Pot Won At The $108m Triton Super High Roller Series

The Triton Super High Roller Series in London concluded last week, smashing all sorts of records.

The total prize pools accumulated over seven tournaments and eight days of play amounted to £89.425 million, or just shy of $109 million US dollars.

Numerically the first of two £100,000 entry Hold’em tournaments proved the most popular, attracting 130 entries and generating a prize-pool of £12.2 million.

It fell to Wai Yong, one of three Malaysian players to finish in the top-four places. He struck a deal with countryman Paul Phua when heads-up meaning both players walked away with a little over £2.5 million apiece.

Finishing eighth here was Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates. His prize was £410,000 and the American added to that seven days later when switching his attention to online poker and collecting $276,511 for chopping (although technically winning) a $10,300 buy-in ($1 million guaranteed) ‘powerfest’ high-roller on Partypoker.

Three Big Cashes For Texan Millionaire

The second £100,000 entry Hold’em was a short-deck competition which attracted 108 entries.

Its £2.67 million first prize went to Justin Bonomo, the Canadian-based American who sits second on the all-time money winning list with $48.5 million banked.

Showing some remarkable consistency, it was Wai Yong who finished runner-up, adding £1.835 million to the £2.5 million he had won 48 hours earlier.

Fifty-three entries and 53 re-entries put over £2.5 million in the pool for an earlier £25,000 short-deck competition which was won by American David Benefield who collected £650,000.

More good times were ahead for the Texan as he went on to finish eighth in the £100,000 short deck (showing a £268,100 profit) and then second in the concluding tournament of the series, the £50,000 entry short deck.

His prize here – amongst 31 players who took 21 re-entries – was £560,000.

It was a Chinese player, Yu Liang, who put his name on the trophy and collected the £777,000 winner’s prize.

EPT Barcelona

Just a week away there is more insane high-stakes action with the fifteenth edition of the Barcelona European Poker Tour (EPT).

The main event of this annual classic, which was home to the first ever EPT in 2004 (when 229 players paid €1,000 apiece), demands a €5,300 entry with a vast swathe of the field qualifying online via Pokerstars.

In fact, last year’s winner, Piotr Nurzynski, was an online qualifier. He beat off 1,931 rival entries to bag the prize: €1,037,109.

But the eye watering action at the festival include a €10,000, three €25,000, a €50,000 and €100,000 entry competition ensuring a lot of money will change hands in the popular Spanish city this coming month.

More Big ‘Super’ Money To Be Sucked Up

The sum worth of these colossal tournaments remains to be seen as there is a persistent threat they will vacuum all the money to the top of the game leaving just a few super-rich players outnumbered, immeasurably, by the relative poor.

There could soon be a huge void between the countless recreational pub and club players, staking between £/€/$5 and £/€/$200 to play competitions and those with a healthy bankroll to play these insanely expensive competitions with small-sized elite fields and prize-pools which could wipe-clean the national debt of a small country.

That’s conjecture, before then a new event, the British Poker Open festival will spread more wealth around.

Starting on September 2, this two-week series which is set to take place in Aspers Casino in Stratford, London, comprises of ten events (all offering re-entry options) with four £10,000 entry comps, four £25,000 entry tournaments, a £50,000 buy-in and £100,000 event.

To cap that a Super High Roller Bowl event, which is normally held at the ARIA in Las Vegas, has been bolted on to the roster.

If you have a spare £250,000 (plus £2,500 registration fee) to play this one, get your name on the list quick as it is limited to just 49 entries.

No Mercy From Three-Time Winner

On a final high-roller note, Jason Mercier, the five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and former long-term Pokerstars sponsored pro has been on the missing list for much of the past 12 months.

That was until last week when the Florida-based pro with almost $20 million in career earnings resurfaced in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open at his home-town of Hollywood and played the Super High Roller competition.

It was a tournament he won in 2017 and 2015. On both occasions the entry tag was $25,000 dollars and his paydays were $794,600 and $517,817.

Proving all good things come in twos (years in this instance) he won the competition for a third time at the weekend. $715,860 was his pay-day this time, reward for outlasting 40 entrants who all paid a $50,000 entry.

A 9,300 Player Monster

A new record for the world outside of America was set in Coventry, England last week when 9,300 entries took their chances in the 2019 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Goliath.

The £125 competition generated a £911,410 prize-pool and resulted in a five-way final table deal.

Financially it was Romanian player Cristian Tamas who fared best, netting £80,548, but when the action was played to a conclusion he fell away in third leaving Lee Reynolds to take home the impressive GUKPT trophy.

The winner’s Hendon Mob (the definitive database listing of players results) indicates his best previous poker effort was a £340 win in a £25 entry tournament in January 2016!

A notable player who cashed in the competition, finishing 40th, was former world heavyweight champion boxer David Haye.

The former champ with 28 victories in 32 fights (26 by KO) collected £2,085 for his efforts, a far cry from the £6.7 million it was reported the fighter earned from his last two fights (both of which he lost).