Belarusian poker player Artsiom Lasouski made a remarkable debut at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, held at the Maestral Resort & Casino in Montenegro. Although the 25-year-old did not cash in the first two events, he staged a stunning comeback by winning event no. 3, the $40,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em mystery bounty tournament.
Lasouski triumphed over a competitive field of 151 entries, securing the title and the top prize of $669,000 from the main prize pool. Half of the $6,040,000 prize pool was allocated for mystery bounties, which players would draw a day after the event concluded. Lasouski himself had 12 bounties to claim.
Expressing his excitement, Lasouski said through a translator, “I am very excited about this moment. I can’t believe how great it is.”
This victory marked the largest live poker win for Lasouski, significantly surpassing his previous best of $63,000 for a final-table finish in a $2,200 buy-in event at the Mediterranean Poker Party festival just a week earlier. With this win, his total recorded earnings now approach $872,000.
At the final table, Lasouski started in second chip position behind Nikita Kuznetsov. Early eliminations included prominent players such as Stephen Chidwick (8th – $82,000) and Danny Tang (7th – $114,000). Lasouski then knocked out Daniel Rezaei (6th – $156,000) with his A-2 suited against Rezaei’s J-10 on an ace-high board, becoming the chip leader.
Dylan Linde, a World Poker Tour champion, went all-in with A-2 suited against Lasouski’s K-J, which resulted in two pairs for Lasouski and narrowed the field to four players. Samuel Ju, with only a single big blind left, managed to win the main pot with A-J against A-Q suited for Lasouski and A-5 for Kuznetsov. However, Lasouski won a significant side pot, eliminating Kuznetsov in fourth place ($253,000).
Chris Moneymaker, the recent Triton Montenegro kickoff event champion, was next to go. His J-3 failed to improve against Ju’s K-10, resulting in his elimination in third place ($311,000). Moneymaker’s impressive performance across three events netted him over $1.26 million, boosting his career tournament earnings to more than $7.3 million.
The heads-up match saw Lasouski holding a substantial chip lead against Ju. Although Ju briefly gained the lead, Lasouski reclaimed it in time for the final hand. Holding Q♦ Q♥, Lasouski raised after Ju limped with 8♠ 6♥. The flop J♦ 6♣ 3♦ saw Lasouski bet, and Ju called with second pair. The turn 9♣ and the river 9♠ led to an all-in move by Lasouski, which Ju called, only to lose to Lasouski’s overpair. Ju finished as the runner-up with $452,000, while Lasouski secured the title.
