The Unexpected Champion
Artsiom Lasouski is a 25-year-old Belarusian who played his first Triton series in Montenegro and scored a golden win! Artsiom played the first two events of the series and busted, but the third one was the charm, and he won a $40,000 Mystery Bounty for $669,000. He also collected 12 mystery bounties that will be drawn on May 17. Lasouski is an online grinder, so this is his most significant live MTT win.
The Day 2 Action
On Day 2 of the $40,000 Mystery Bounty NLH – 7 Handed event of Triton Super High Roller Series, we saw many familiar names, like Chris Moneymaker, Stephen Chidwick, Nikita Kuznetsov, and Phil Ivey, trying to get their hands on the crown. Out of 151 total entries, 47 players were left in the game, with 27 ITM spots and mystery bounties ranging from $40,000 to $400,000.
Art Lasouski was sitting in 33rd place with a short stack of 15 big blinds compared to Nikita Kuznetsov, the chip leader, who had 70 big blinds in play.
We saw Danny Tang knock Phil Ivey out of the tournament in 17th place when Andrew Chen open limped with J♣10♥. Ivey went all-in for 11 big blinds with 8♥8♠, but Tange woke up with A♠K♠ on the Big Blind, shoved 17 big blinds, and Chen folded. The board ran Q♠5♥2♠J♦A♥; Ivey lost a flip and was out of the tournament.
With nine players remaining in the game, we saw Kuznetsov opening 7♣5♣ to 3.2 big blinds, and Sam Grafton defended his Big Blind with 10♣9♣. The board came Q♥7♠8♣; Grafron led for 1.5 big blinds with only five big blinds behind, and Kuznetsov called. The turn was 4♦, and Grafton went all-in. Kuznetsov called. The river was K♥, Sam Grafton was out in ninth place and final table was formed.
The Final Table
Chris Moneymaker open limped with J♠J♥. Stephen Chidwick went all-in with A♣J♦ for 11 big blinds, and Moneymaker called. The board ran 3♣4♦6♦9♣Q♠, and Chidwick was out in eighth place for $82,000.
Daniel Rezaei opened two big blinds with A♠10♠, Moneymaker called with 10♥7♥, and Danny Tang went all-in with 8♦8♥ for nine big blinds. Both Rezaei and Moneymaker called. The flop came 2♠2♣9♠; both players checked. The turn came A♣; both players checked again. The river came 3♠, Rezaei bet four big blinds, Moneymaker folded, and Tang was eliminated in seventh place for $114,000.
Rezaei was the next one to leave the final table when he opened to four big blinds with J♣10♠ and only one big blind behind. Lasouski went all-in with A♥2♥. Everybody folded, and Rezaei called. The board ran 7♠5♦A♦8♣6♥, giving Lasouski the winning hand. Rezaei won $156,000 for sixth place.
Dylan Linde got eliminated in fifth place when he went all-in with A♦2♦ for 11 big blinds and got called by Lasouski with K♣J♥. The board came 6♠7♦K♥J♠5♠ and Linde was out for $202,000.
The wild hand happened when Lasouski opened to 2.8 big blinds with A♠Q♠, Samuel Ju went all-in for 1.2 big blinds with A♣J♥, Kuznetsov went all-in for 31 big blinds with A♦5♥, and Lasouski called. The board ran 8♣J♦10♦7♥3♦, and Samuel Ju won the hand, winning 3.5 big blinds, but Lasouski won the side pot against Kuznetsov, who was eliminated in fourth position for $253,000.
Chris Moneymaker was out in third place when he shoved for eight big blinds with J♠3♦, and Ju called with K♥10♠. The board ran 6♣2♥2♠8♦9♠, and Moneymaker had to leave with $311,000 in the bag.
The Heads-Up
At the beginning of Heads-up, Lasouski had almost a three-to-one stack ratio advantage against Ju. After a bit of back-and-forth battle, the big hand happened when Ju limped with 8♠6♥, Lasousk 3-bet to 3.2 big blinds with Q♦Q♥, and JU called. The flop was 6♣3♦J♦, Lasouski c-bet for 2.5 big blinds, and Ju called. The Turn was 9♣, and Lasouski continued with six big blinds bet, Ju called. The river was 9♠, giving both players two pairs; Lasouski went all-in for 15 big blinds, and after some thinking, Ju decided to call, and Lasouski was crowned champion. Ju was out in second place for $452,000.
2024 Triton Montenegro $40,000 Mystery Bounty Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artisom Lasouski | Belarus | $669,000 |
| 2 | Samuel Ju | Germany | $452,000 |
| 3 | Chris Moneymaker | United States | $311,000 |
| 4 | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russia | $253,000 |
| 5 | Dylan Linde | United States | $202,000 |
| 6 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | $156,000 |
| 7 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | $114,000 |
| 8 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $82,000 |
Images and hands courtesy of Triton Poker.
