Triton SHR London: Aaron Zang Wins Triton Million For ₹116 Crores, Vivek Rajkumar Finishes 5th (₹25.41 Crores)

Aaron Zang Wins Triton Million
  • Profile picture
  • Namita Ghosh August 4, 2019
  • 3 Minutes Read

With a £1.05 Million (~₹8.89 Crores) buy-in, the ‘Triton Million – A Helping Hand For Charity’ was the most expensive live poker tournament in history. With a never-seen-before top prize of £19 Million (~₹160.53 Crores) up for grabs, the tournament played out its final table on August 4. When the dust settled, it was China’s Aaron Zang who stamped his name as the Triton Million champion not to mention storming into the All-Time Money List at 32nd place!

Zang defeated American pro Bryn Kenney heads-up to win the title but collected a less than announced £13,779,491 (~₹116 Crores) in cash prize courtesy a heads-up deal.

One of the early breed of Indian poker superstars, Vivek Rajkumar, was the only player representing the tricolor among the 54 runners at this historic event. Having entered the game at the invitation of U.S.-based celebrity poker player Rick Salomon, Rajkumar played with panache ultimately finishing fifth for a career-best £3,000,000 (~₹25.41 Crores). The Indian pro took an early lead in the event and was among the top stacks for the majority of play before losing a significant pot to Bill Perkins in the last level of play. Nevertheless, he bagged the 14th most massive stack of the day and seemed to be enjoying himself as he once again starting working his way up the rungs on Day 2. A blistering run saw him eliminating numerous players, and he ended the day at the top of the eight-handed final table with an overwhelming 18 Million (150 BB’s) stack!

Day 3 turned out to be a roller-coaster ride for the Indian, and once again Rajkumar was forced to work himself up after suffering an early bad beat early on. He caught some momentum after eliminating Timothy Adams and just when it looked like he was gearing up for another strong comeback, a failed bluff attempt against Stephen Chidwick pushed him in the red. Rajkumar was ultimately eliminated in fifth place at the hands of Dan Smith and collected a life-changing £3,000,000 (~₹25.41 Crores) for his incredible run.

Vivek Rajkumar
Vivek Rajkumar

This was a massive tournament, and everyone on the final table was playing for what was by far the most significant prize money in poker history. This was a dream victory was Zang who after winning the tournament said, “This feels like a dream come true! Bryn (Kenney) played better than me, but I always thought maybe the dream can come true. I am so happy and also very honored to have played against everyone.”

Presenting Zang the trophy, close friend and Triton co-founder Paul Phua joked, “Aaron is not a tournament player normally; I hope this shows to all non-pros they can win. Aaron is good, but I didn’t think he was that good!”

As for Kenney, a runner-up finish fetched him a retirement worthy £16,890,509 (~₹143 Crores). Though he missed out on the title, his total live earnings crossed $55.5 Million after the win swinging him straight past Justin Bonomo on top of the All-Time Money List.

The tournament collected a massive £54 Million (~₹457 Crores) prize pool, a very generous £2.7 Million (~₹22.8 Crores) from which was reserved for charity. Only the top 11 spots were assured a min-cash, and Winfred Yu (11th for £1.1 Million) was the first player to take home as much.

Across at side event action, the NLH 8-Handed is now down to the heads-up play between Jason Koon and Charlie Carrell and the Day 2 play will resume at 2 PM (local time) today.

The record-shattering Triton Million may be over, but the high roller action at the stop continues with the £100,000 buy-in Triton London NLH Main Event that kicks off at 1 PM (local time) today.

 

Watch the Triton Million Day 3 action below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMJRhg35HBg

Final Table Chip Counts

  1. Vivek Rajkumar – 18,000,000
  2. Stephen Chidwick – 9,790,000
  3. Timothy Adams – 5,735,000
  4. Bryn Kenney – 5,540,000
  5. Alfred DeCarolis – 5,455,000
  6. Aaron Zang – 5,060,000
  7. Dan Smith – 2,350,000
  8. Bill Perkins – 2,000,000

Final Table Recap

Early into the final table, Alfred DeCarolis successfully pulled off the first major bluff of the day against Timothy Adams. Adams tried to build his stack up but was eliminated by the start-of-day chip leader Vivek Rajkumar who held ace-ten against the former’s pocket kings. An ace on the flop sent Adams packing in eighth place.

The next hand saw Rajkumar attempting to bluff with ace-high against Stephen Chidwick’s two-pair, but the latter followed his instinct and ended up scoring a massive double-up through Rajkumar.

Just one hand later, Alfred DeCarolis moved all-in preflop with and was called by Chidwick who held . The flop didn’t help DeCarolis and neither did the turn. The river was the final straw as Chidwick hit a set, sending DeCarolis out in seventh place.

Having entered the final table as the shortest stack, Bill Perkins managed to score several double-ups, but that didn’t help. Perkins ultimately lost his tournament life to Bryn Kenney who raised the button with and Perkins three-bet all-in from the big blind with . Kenney snap-called and the cards were tabled. After the flop Perkins knew it was over, but he still waited for the turn and the river to be dealt before leaving his seat to collect the sixth place payout.

Kenney claimed his next victim, and this time it was India’s Vivek Rajkumar whose start-of-day chip lead had long gone. It was the 91st hand of the day, and Kenney opened for 700,000 from the cutoff. Rajkumar moved all-in for 4,325,000, and Kenney checked his cards before making the call.

Vivek Rajkumar

Bryn Kenney

The board ran eliminating Rajkumar in fifth place.

It took over two hours before the next elimination. Stephen Chidwick opened for 1.1 Million under the gun holding and Kenney moved all-in with . Chidwick called for his remaining 13.5 Million. Kenney took the lead after the flop and with the next two streets and blanked out for Chidwick, who was eliminated in fourth place.

Not long after, Dan Smith crashed out in third place after he called Kenney’s all-in shove holding versus the latter’s . Kenney flopped a pair on the runout and though all Smith needed was a king to complete his straight, the favored Kenney instead, and on the river was inconsequential for Smith.

Just as the heads-up play was starting, Aaron Zang and Bryn Kenney struck a deal revising the payouts. Kenney who held a five-to-one chip lead over Zang was assured £16,890,509 while Zang locked up £13,779,491.

Once play resumed, it didn’t take long for a winner to emerge. On the final hand of the tournament, Zang opened the action with a raise of 1 Million on the button with and Kenney who held made the call. Kenney opted to check the flop , and Zang bet 2 Million. Kenney check-raised for 5.775 Million, and Zang quickly moved all-in. Kenney took little time in calling for his remaining 23.27 Million. Kenney needed help, but the turn and the brought none, and Zang’s flopped pair of eights won him the pot along with the coveted title!

Aaron Zang wins the Triton Million
Aaron Zang wins the Triton Million

Final Table Results (GBP)

  1. Aaron Zang – £13,779,491*
  2. Bryn Kenney – £16,890,509*
  3. Dan Smith – £7,200,000
  4. Stephen Chidwick – £4,410,000
  5. Vivek Rajkumar – £3,000,000
  6. Bill Perkins – £2,200,000
  7. Alfred DeCarolis – £1,720,000
  8. Timothy Adams – £1,400,000

*denotes heads-up deal

Content & Images Courtesy: Triton Poker

Keep following PokerGuru for all the updates from the 2019 Triton Super High Roller Series London!

0 0 votes
Article Rating

Related Players

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Top Online Poker Rooms

Top
PokerGuru