The Triton Super High Roller Series kicked off its latest Monte Carlo stop with a thrilling $25,000 buy-in event, showcasing the high-stakes excitement the tour is known for. The tournament concluded with a dramatic heads-up showdown between two contrasting players: Brian Kim, a seasoned pro and recent World Series of Poker final table finisher, and Enrico Camosci, a rising star from Italy making his Triton debut. After a nail-biting back-and-forth, Brian Kim emerged victorious around 2:40 am local time, claiming the trophy and $941,000, while Camosci took home $634,000 as runner-up.

For Brian Kim, the victory was a long time coming. A Triton regular with eight prior final tables on the tour, he’d frequently come close but never managed to clinch the title until now. Speaking to Triton interviewer Marianella Pereyra, Kim expressed a mix of relief and joy, acknowledging the fierce competition he’d faced in his Triton journey. “It’s elusive,” he reflected, adding, “With all these great players, it’s possible I could have been coming to Triton for another seven years and not winning one.”

Named the WPT Global Ultimate Slam, the event marked Triton’s new sponsorship with WPT Global. Despite being the smallest buy-in of the week, the tournament drew 170 entries, generating a prize pool of $4.25 million. The action was intense, with players carefully navigating each level and scrutinizing every decision, especially as the blinds ran high.

In the final hand, after a lengthy duel in which both players faced elimination multiple times, Camosci was forced to go all-in with Q♠-7♦ against Kim’s K♣-J♠. With no miracle cards on the board, Kim finally claimed victory, visibly thrilled to take home the hard-won trophy. “I’m just so happy to be here and talking to you,” he said. “I never knew if I would have one of these conversations. I’m going to take the trophy home and put it somewhere special.”

TOURNAMENT ACTION

From a starting field of 170, just 34 players returned for Day 2, led by China’s Xu Liang, who entered with a massive chip lead. His advantage allowed him to dominate early and play aggressively, which contributed to the tournament’s bubble phase. Only 27 players would be paid, so as the short stacks maneuvered, Liang’s position helped ensure he remained safe. In a critical hand, Pieter Aerts’ queens couldn’t survive Elton Tsang’s aces, eliminating him and leaving only one more player before the bubble burst.

The tournament’s bubble saw several close calls, including a hand where Aleks Ponakovs’ pocket jacks held strong against Roberto Perez’s deuces. Ultimately, it was Liang who burst the bubble in dramatic fashion. French player Jeremy Zouari went all-in with A♠-K♠ against Liang’s J♣-3♥ and initially looked secure with top pair on a Q♦-5♥-K♣ flop. But the turn and river brought Liang an unlikely straight, sending Zouari out in 28th and marking the tournament’s official money phase.

With the bubble behind them, eliminations came quickly. Top names like Ike Haxton, Nacho Barbero, and Artur Martirosian, who’d clung to a short stack to survive the bubble, were eliminated. Liang continued to lead until structural adjustments and some bad beats ultimately sent him out in 13th.

As the tournament whittled down to its final nine, new frontrunners emerged, led by Alex Theologis, with players ready to battle it out for one of poker’s most coveted titles.

Alex Theologis – 9.325m (47 BBs)
Brian Kim – 8.075m (40 BBs)
Roberto Perez – 7.575m (38 BBs)
Tom Fuchs – 5.75m (29 BBs)
Dominykas Mikolaitis – 3.725m (19 BBs)
Aleks Ponakovs – 2.325m (12 BBs)
Enrico Camosci – 2.3m (12 BBs)
Elton Tsang – 2.05m (10 BBs)
Ranno Sootla – 1.375m (7 BBs)

Michael Wang has secured at least one major live tournament win in each of the past three years. His latest victory was at the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Playground Championship, where he triumphed over a field of 840 players in the CAD $3,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. The New Jersey native claimed his first WPT title and a prize of $276,634.

“Right now, it still feels a little surreal. I’m sure it will hit me more when I go home,” Wang shared with World Poker Tour (WPT) reporters. “I’ve been coming to WPT events for so many years without reaching a final table, so this means the world to me.”

In 2023, Wang’s standout victory came in a $10,300 event at the Wynn Millions, earning him $308,016. In 2022, he claimed his second World Series of Poker bracelet and a $541,604 prize in the $5,000 eight-max event. His first bracelet came in 2015 in a similar $5,000 buy-in event. Wang’s career earnings now approach $7 million.

The tournament drew a strong field, with the $1.5 million CAD guarantee easily surpassed by a final prize pool of $2,688,000 CAD ($1,934,857 USD), which was distributed among the top 105 finishers. Big names like recent Moneymaker Tour Aruba runner-up Duff Charette (48th), four-time WPT champion Darren Elias (31st), and bracelet winner Tommy Nguyen (30th) made deep runs.

The final day began with six players, led by Baron Ha. Amirpasha Emami, the shortest stack, was the first to be eliminated, taking home $60,464. After over 100 hands of five-handed action, Zachary Fischer’s aces fell to Jordan Grant’s straight, leaving Fischer in fifth place ($79,899).

Grant initially led in four-handed play but suffered a setback against Ha’s trips, then was eliminated by Wang in fourth place ($105,093) when his K♦Q♦ couldn’t beat Wang’s 9♠9♣. In three-handed play, Ha was knocked out in third by Wang’s 7♠7♦, collecting $141,083.

In heads-up, Wang entered with a 24,300,000 to 17,400,000 chip lead over Santiago Plante. The two made a deal for a partial prize adjustment, but Wang ultimately secured the win. In the final hand, Wang’s Q♣J♦ held against Plante’s K♠2♦, securing his WPT title and giving Plante $210,417 as the runner-up. This marks Plante’s second-largest cash, following his fourth-place finish at EPT Barcelona last year.

WPT Playground Championship Final Table Results

Daniel Negreanu secured his first recorded live tournament title in August 1997. Now, over 27 years later, with $53.3 million in career earnings, the 50-year-old Poker Hall of Famer claimed his 47th victory by winning event no. 6 at the 2024 PokerGO Tour Pot-Limit Omaha Series II.

The seven-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner triumphed over a field of 104 players in the $10,100 buy-in, earning $265,000. He also earned 265 PGT points, moving into second place in the season-long standings with 1,998 points, trailing only Jeremy Ausmus, who leads with 2,501 points from 24 cashes, including a final-table appearance in this event.

“I thought I played incredibly well,” Negreanu told PokerGO reporters after coming out on top. “There were a couple of key spots where I had to go for it and did against Foxen, and did, and they worked out. Other than that, I ran good, and that’s what it takes to win the tournament.”

The event’s $1,040,000 prize pool was distributed among the top 15 finishers. Notable players who made deep runs included two-time Super High Roller Bowl champion Isaac Haxton (15th), two-time bracelet winner Ben Lamb (14th), bracelet winner Joni Jouhkimainen (13th), three-time World Poker Tour champion Chino Rheem (9th), Sean Winter (8th), and 2023 Super High Roller Bowl: Pot-Limit Omaha champion Jared Bleznick (7th).

Bracelet winner Alex Foxen entered the final day as the chip leader with six players remaining. He added to his lead when he flopped a top set of kings against Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero’s pocket aces. Barbero finished sixth, earning $52,000, his third cash of the series and ninth final-table finish of the year, placing him 25th in the POY standings.

Five-time bracelet winner Nick Schulman was next to exit, with his double-suited pocket jacks falling to Negreanu’s double-suited pocket sevens in a blinds battle. Schulman got his chips in ahead preflop, but Negreanu made a straight on the turn, eliminating Schulman in fifth place for $67,600, pushing his career earnings over $20.6 million.

Ausmus finished fourth after jamming with A♣ K♣ 8♠ 3♣ against Negreanu’s K♦ J♣ 10♠ 7♠. Negreanu made trip jacks, knocking out Ausmus. This strong performance extended Ausmus’ lead in the PGT standings and placed him fifth on the POY leaderboard.

Matthew Wantman, who had won event no. 3, cashed for the fifth time in six tournaments at the series. He moved all-in with K♥ J♣ 9♥ 8♠ on a Q♦ J♠ 6♦ flop but was called by Negreanu’s A♠ Q♠ 6♥ 2♠. The turn gave Negreanu a full house, eliminating Wantman in third place for $119,600, bringing his series total to $424,300.

Negreanu started heads-up play with 9,700,000 to Foxen’s 3,300,000 and quickly converted his lead into a victory. The final hand saw Foxen raise with A♦ 10♣ 7♦ 4♥, and Negreanu called with A♥ Q♣ 6♣ 2♠. The flop of Q♠ Q♥ 10♥ gave Negreanu trip queens, and the A♣ on the turn improved his hand to a full house. Foxen made tens full of aces on the river but couldn’t escape Negreanu’s trap. Foxen finished as the runner-up, earning $171,600, his 16th final-table appearance of 2024. He now ranks 18th in the POY standings with 4,505 points and over $42 million in earnings.

Elias Gutierrez has achieved his top five live tournament scores, with the two largest coming in just the past week. Gutierrez first secured a career-high payday of $417,570 by winning a $25,000 buy-in event at the 2024 European Poker Tour (EPT) Cyprus festival. Five days later, he triumphed in another $25,000 buy-in event at the same festival, adding $390,200 to his earnings.

These two victories have boosted Gutierrez’s total live tournament earnings by $807,770, bringing his lifetime winnings to nearly $1.6 million. In the first win, Elias Gutierrez outlasted a field of 57 entries, and in the second, he topped a field of 50. Each victory earned him 420 Player of the Year (POY) points, pushing him just outside the top 600 in the 2024 POY race presented by Global Poker.

The prize pool for the second event was $1,200,500, shared among the top seven finishers. Notable players who cashed include World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) main event champion Simone Andrian (7th – $63,000), recent $20,000 high roller winner Ognyan Dimov (6th – $81,000), back-to-back EPT Barcelona €100,000 high roller champion Kayhan Mokri (5th – $102,000), and 2023 WSOP Paradise $25,000 high roller champion Samuel Mullur (4th – $132,100).

In the final stages, Elias Gutierrez won a pivotal all-in with A-4 against Hassan Nashar’s A-Q suited, making a straight on the turn to eliminate Nashar in third place ($174,100) and carry a commanding lead into heads-up play against Teun Mulder. Elias Gutierrez quickly converted his 4:1 chip advantage to win the title. In the final hand, Gutierrez’s J-6 paired the flop to beat Mulder’s 5-2, knocking Mulder out in second place ($258,100). This finish raised Mulder’s career earnings to over $8.7 million.

EPT Cyprus $25,000 Super High Roller Warm Up Final Table results:

The MSPT returned to FireKeepers Casino for the final time this season to host the Season 15 Michigan Poker State Championship, and the turnout was another mouth dropper.

Nick Murray wins the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) main event held at Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan, which also served as the Michigan State Poker Championship. With major bragging rights on the line, Murray emerged as the champion, taking home an impressive $295,494. This was by far the largest win for the Belmont, Michigan resident, whose previous top cash was in the four-figure range.

“This is a dream come true, my previous best cash before this was $8,700 so I’m feeling on top of the world,” said Murray to reporters after the win. He continued, “I literally flipped a quarter to come here, and I ran it up so I couldn’t be happier.”

Reflecting on his victory, Murray added, “Coming in first out of 2,819 players is a lot to process, but I’ve worked hard on my game for years. Being called a champion means so much to me.”

Final Table Action:

Once the final table was set, the action quickly heated up. A three-way all-in resulted in MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz exiting early, marking his record 20th final table appearance on the tour.

Shortly after WazWaz’s departure, Mike Iacovone lost a key race to fellow Hall of Famer Josh Reichard, who then eliminated Tim Capretta with a hand of pocket nines.

With six players remaining, Reichard and Nicola DiTrapani controlled over half of the chips in play. The two big stacks clashed in a pivotal hand, with DiTrapani rivering a set of kings to seize a commanding lead, leaving Reichard at the bottom of the chip counts. Though Reichard briefly rallied, he eventually ran his pocket nines into Murray’s pocket queens and exited in sixth place with $86,609, propelling him to the top of both the 2024 ICON standings and Player of the Year race.

Dapreesch Scates, who had caught an early triple-up, saw his momentum stall and finished in fifth place for $108,261.

When four players remained, discussions of an ICM (Independent Chip Model) chop surfaced but were quickly shut down by Murray, who wanted to play for the title. Shortly after, Amir Kamari got his chips in with ace-queen but was outdrawn by David Evans, finishing in fourth for $140,739.

As the final three players continued battling, another ICM chop was agreed upon, with the title still in play. The action ramped up, and Evans was the next to exit in third place for $212,849. In the heads-up showdown, DiTrapani finished as runner-up, earning $295,492, while Murray secured the victory and the title.

The 2024 European Poker Tour (EPT) Cyprus kicked off in spectacular fashion with the $1,100 buy-in Eureka Poker Tour no-limit hold’em main event, drawing a staggering 2,803 entries. This created a prize pool of nearly $2.7 million.

After six starting flights and three days of combined-field action, Leo Worthington-Leese from the UK emerged victorious. The Brighton resident claimed $314,030 for his efforts, marking the second-largest score of his career. His biggest payday remains the $425,272 he earned for a third-place finish at the 2023 EPT Monte-Carlo main event. With this latest win, his total live tournament earnings now exceed $1.5 million.

A total of 418 players made it into the money, with notable finishes from poker pros such as Victoria Livschitz (81st), 2020 WSOP Online main event champion Stoyan Madanzhiev (64th), two-time bracelet winners Alexandre Reard (53rd), Michael Wang (51st), Martin Zamani (39th), Marle Spragg (35th), and WPT/EPT champion Andrey Pateychuk (14th).

The final day saw eight players vying for the title, with Yuan Xu leading the pack and Leo Worthington-Leese starting in sixth place. However, he was just a few big blinds away from the top three.

The first elimination came when Alexey Badulin’s A-J fell to Aleksandr Razinkov’s pocket tens, sending Badulin out in eighth place ($46,600). Frederick Anastasiades then knocked out Recep Aydemir in seventh ($60,850) after his A-9 bested Aydemir’s pocket fours.

Guoliang Wei was eliminated in sixth place ($78,770) after losing to Samuel Fournier’s A-J. Fournier then found pocket aces and took out Xu in fifth ($101,390) after Xu’s pocket nines couldn’t hold up.

Razinkov was the next to fall, finishing in fourth place ($132,120) after his K-3 lost to Anastasiades’ A-9, which made two pair by the river.

With three players remaining, a deal was made to divide the remaining prize money, leaving $79,957 and the trophy for the eventual winner. In the next key hand, Worthington-Leese’s 10-9 cracked Fournier’s pocket fives after Worthington-Leese flopped a nine and turned a ten. Fournier exited with $237,051.

In the penultimate hand, Worthington-Leese’s pocket queens held up against Anastasiades’ pocket sevens, leaving Anastasiades with just a few big blinds.

The final hand saw Anastasiades shove with K-2 suited, only to be called by Worthington-Leese’s J-3. A seven-high straight on the river sealed the victory for Leo Worthington-Leese, eliminating Anastasiades in second place with $248,479.

$1,100 Eureka Cyprus Main Event Final Table Results

The 2024 World Series of Poker Europe €10,350 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship attracted an impressive 768 entries, surpassing the event’s €5 million guarantee and generating a prize pool worth over $8 million USD.

Simone Andrian claimed the largest portion of the prize, winning his third WSOP gold bracelet and the top prize of $1,443,000 after a hard-fought heads-up battle. This marked the Italian player’s first seven-figure payout, eclipsing his previous best of $177,650 from winning the 2021 WSOP Europe €1,650 six-max no-limit hold’em event—his first bracelet win. He secured his second bracelet just over a month ago in the 2024 WSOP Online International $800 deepstack event, adding $156,230 to his earnings. With this latest victory, Andrian’s career winnings now exceed $2.9 million, nearly half of which comes from this triumph.

The tournament featured two starting flights and four additional days of combined action at Kings Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. The top 116 players made the money, with notable deep runs from prominent players like 2024 WSOP main event third-place finisher Niklas Astedt (98th), Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom (48th), WPT champion David Dongwoo Ko (44th), bracelet and WPT champion Dietrich Fast (42nd), six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb (34th), Sirzat Hissou (26th), and three-time bracelet winner Anson Tsang (10th).

The final day saw Simone Andrian leading with six players left. Enrico Camosci, a bracelet winner and high-stakes regular, was the first to be eliminated. Short-stacked, Camosci moved all-in with A♦J♦ but lost to Urmo Velvelt’s pocket eights, finishing in sixth place for $240,870, bringing his career earnings to nearly $4.8 million.

David Hochheim exited in fifth place ($329,670) after his A-4 was dominated by Andrian’s pocket queens, which held on a king-high board. Mariusz Golinski’s run ended in fourth place ($460,650) when his A♦J♠ lost to Andrian’s A♣Q♦.

Three-handed play began with Ran Ilani as the shortest stack, but he managed several double-ups before losing a critical preflop race with A-K against Velvelt’s pocket queens, exiting in third place with $654,900—his biggest score to date.

Velvelt took a slight lead into heads-up play with 40,375,000 chips to Andrian’s 36,425,000. The two exchanged the lead multiple times during a grueling three-hour showdown. Andrian regained control after winning a key pot with top pair, eventually building a 4:1 chip advantage. In the final hand, Andrian’s pocket tens held up against Velvelt’s A♥10♠, securing the title when the board ran out 9♠6♦2♠7♣K♥. Velvelt took home $947,940 as the runner-up, marking his largest career score.

Final Table Results

Marius Schneider delivered an electrifying finish at the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe, securing his first-ever bracelet in Event #15: €550 Closer at King’s Resort in Rozvadov. Schneider’s impressive performance earned him a career-best prize of €44,000, as he triumphed in a challenging heads-up duel against Romania’s Tiberiu Tirca, who walked away with €28,800—also a personal record.

The second and final day of Event #15 at the World Series of Poker Europe saw 58 players return to King’s Resort Rozvadov, all guaranteed at least a min-cash. Marius Schneider came into the day with just 16 big blinds, making him one of the shorter stacks in the field.

Several notable players fell short of the final table, including two-time bracelet winners Ilija Savevski (55th) and Wing Po Liu (53rd), and bracelet winner Sergiu Covrig (17th).

Among the final nine, Martin Kabrhel was the only player with prior WSOP victories, fresh off winning his third bracelet in the €50,000 high roller event. Kabrhel exited in eighth place (€4,246) after his pair and flush draw failed to overcome Tiberiu Tirca’s top pair. Kabrhel’s career earnings now exceed $12.8 million after yet another strong showing at WSOPE.

Marius Schneider began his surge by winning a crucial flip with Q-J suited against Ron Jeda’s pocket nines, eliminating Jeda in seventh place (€5,583). Musa Jusaj followed in sixth place (€7,493) when his A-10 couldn’t crack Ran Shahar’s pocket tens.

Despite knocking out Jusaj, Shahar soon found himself eliminated in fifth place (€10,434). Holding top pair on a five-high board, he got all-in against Schneider’s bottom pair and straight draw. The turn completed Schneider’s straight, and he held on to send Shahar to the rail.

De Han Kim was the next to go, finishing fourth (€10,434) after his A-10 lost to Schneider’s J-7 suited when a seven hit the turn, giving Schneider the winning hand.

Ib Poulsen shoved with Q-10 from the button, only to run into Tirca’s A-10. With neither player improving, Poulsen finished in third place (€21,423), setting up a heads-up showdown between Tirca and Schneider.

Tirca began heads-up play with a slight chip lead, 6.4 million to Schneider’s 5.6 million, but the decisive hand came after about an hour of play. Tirca limped in with K♦6♠, and Schneider raised to 900,000 from the big blind with A♥K♣. Tirca shoved, and Schneider called all-in. The board ran out A♣5♥2♦5♣2♣, doubling Schneider into a commanding lead.

With just a few big blinds left, Tirca shoved the next hand with 8♦3♦ against Schneider’s K♠4♥. The board ran K♦10♣8♥7♣Q♥, securing Schneider the title and bracelet, while Tirca finished runner-up, earning €31,968.

Final Table Results