Talal Shakerchi emerged victorious in the 2023 Triton Super High Roller Series Vietnam $100,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, after outlasting a competitive field of 135 entries. This win marked his first Triton Poker title, earning him the top prize of $3,250,000. Despite being a seasoned high-stakes poker player and amassing over $12.8 million in tournament earnings, the 59-year-old British investment manager remains modest and claims to prioritize his business endeavors over poker.
“Poker is my hobby and I want to play the best players. That’s how you get satisfaction out of any activity that you do. Challenge yourself and try to do the best you can,” Shakerchi told Triton reporters after coming out on top. “I’m not a professional player. I spend quite a lot of time playing poker. It’s my main hobby. But I’m definitely not a pro.”
This event played out over the course of three days at the Hoiana Resort & Golf in Quang Nam, Vietnam. The 135-entry turnout, the largest ever in a Triton series main event, resulted in a $13,500,000 prize pool. The top 20 finishers made the money, with big names like World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour champion Michael Watson (20th), bracelet winner Sam Greenwood (19th), nine-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel (18th), all-time tournament earnings second-ranked Bryn Kenney (17th), and 2022 Coin Rivet Invitational champion Sam Grafton (16th) all cashing but falling short of the final table.
The 2023 Triton Super High Roller Series Vietnam $100,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event was held over three days at the Hoiana Resort & Golf in Quang Nam, Vietnam. A record-breaking 135 entries created a $13,500,000 prize pool, with the top 20 players making money. Notable players such as Michael Watson, Sam Greenwood, Erik Seidel, Bryn Kenney, and Sam Grafton cashed but failed to make the final table.
After Day 2, nine players remained, with Talal Shakerchi in the lead and Adrian Mateos and Fedor Holz among the heavy hitters with above-average stacks. Roman Hrabec and Winfred Yu were the first to go at the final table, followed by Nick Petrangelo, Timothy Adams, and Holz. Mateos was eliminated in fourth place, and Daniel Smiljkovic finished in third place. Shakerchi entered heads-up play with a slight lead and eventually won the title when Michael Soyza, the runner-up, called his all-in with QJ and lost to Shakerchi’s Ad7d. Shakerchi won $3,250,000, and Soyza received $2,207,000 for his second-place finish.
Soyza earned a career-high payday of $2,207,000 as the runner-up finisher, growing his lifetime total earnings to nearly $12.7 million.
Event #9 – 100,000 NLH Main Event
Dates: March 8-10, 2023
Entries: 135 (inc. 45 re-entries)
Prize pool: 13,500,000
1 – Talal Shakerchi (UK) – 3,250,000
2 – Michael Soyza (Malaysia) – 2,207,000
3 – Daniel Smiljkovic (Germany) – 1,450,000
4 – Adrian Mateos (Spain) – 1,201,000
5 – Fedor Holz (Germany) – 965,000
6 – Timothy Adams (Canada) – 756,000
7 – Nick Petrangelo (USA) – 566,800
8 – Winfred Yu (Hong Kong) – 418,400
9 – Roman Hrabec (Czech Republic) – 324,000
