The 50,000 Short Deck Ante-Only Event at the Triton Super High Roller series in Vietnam has a winner. Forty-four players entered, and Michael Watson took down first prize for 695,000. It was Watson's first title on the Triton series and a well-deserved win.
HOW TO PLAY SHORT DECK POKER: Origin, rules & basic strategy from high stakes pro Linus Loeliger
Here's how the stacks looked entering the final day of play:
| Place | Name/Country | Chips | Antes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Michael Zhang (United Kingdom) | 3,285,000 | 164 |
| 2. | Jason Koon (USA) | 1,740,000 | 87 |
| 3. | Isaac Haxton (USA) | 1,590,000 | 80 |
| 4. | Tan Xuan (China) | 1,340,000 | 67 |
| 5. | Phil Chiu (Hong Kong) | 1,190,000 | 60 |
| 6. | Michael Watson (Canada) | 1,120,000 | 56 |
| 7. | Lun Loon (Malaysia) | 950,000 | 48 |
| 8. | Rob Yong (United Kingdom) | 795,000 | 40 |
| 9. | Mikita Badziakouski (Belarus) | 605,000 | 30 |
| 10. | Leo Qin (Hong Kong) | 585,000 | 29 |
Rob Yong was the unlucky bubble boy of the tournament. He got his stack in with pocket aces, but was eliminated by Michael Zhang's queen-six offsuit.
Tan Xuan was the next player out, in seventh place. Xuan was crippled when his aces were cracked by Phil Chiu's king-queen offsuit. He got the last of his stack in with king-jack offsuit against the aces of Michael Zhang.
Mikita Badziakouski busted in sixth place. His ace-jack offsuit was dominated by Phil Chiu's ace-king offsuit, and a king on the flop knocked him out of the tournament.
WATCH: Triton Poker Vietnam 2023 LIVE stream
Jason Koon went out in brutal fashion in fifth place. Koon flopped a straight with nine-seven offsuit to Zhang's top two pair and was a 61% favorite when the money went in. But Zhang hit a runner-runner flush to knock Koon out, preventing Koon from adding to his record five Triton titles.
Phil Chiu was out in fourth place. Chiu got it all in with pocket queens and flopped top set. But Watson made a runner-runner straight with his ace-king to knock Chiu out. This was Chiu's second straight final table, and he will try for three in a row later in the day in the 100,000 Main Event.
Watson continued his rampage, winning a massive pot off Zhang to propel himself to the chip lead. Watson flopped a set with pocket queens, and Zhang flopped an underset with pocket jacks. The money went in on the turn, and Watson doubled up to a 161 ante stack.
Zhang was out an hour later. It was a disappointing outcome for the chip leader coming into the final day but there wasn't much he could do with the coolers coming left and right. He got the last of his stack in with queen-ten offsuit against the pocket jacks of Watson. The board came jack high, giving Watson a set and the winning hand.
MORE: Triton Poker Vietnam 2023: Updated schedule, results for Super High Roller Series
The heads-up battle between Haxton and Watson lasted for only two hands. Haxton picked up pocket aces and got it in preflop versus the king-queen offsuit of Watson. Watson flopped top pair, picked up an open-ended straight draw on the turn, and made his straight on the river.
"It feels amazing to finally win one at Triton after coming so close before," Watson told The Sporting News after taking down the win. "These are the best tournaments in the world."
Payouts for 50,000 Short Deck Ante-Only Event
Total prizepool: 1,425,000
| Position | Name/Country | Prizemoney |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | Michael Watson (Canada) | 695,000 |
| 2nd | Isaac Haxton (USA) | 500,000 |
| 3rd | Michael Zhang (United Kingdom) | 320,000 |
| 4th | Phil Chiu (Hong Kong) | 242,000 |
| 5th | Jason Koon (USA) | 187,000 |
| 6th | Mikita Badziakouski (Belarus) | 140,000 |
| 7th | Tan Xuan (China) | 116,000 |