After ten days of thrilling action at the Triton Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, the series reached one of its pinnacle events with the No Limit Hold’em Main Event. The tournament drew 102 poker pros and business people who were all trying to snatch one of the most prestigious titles of the year with a big money prize that comes with it.
In the end, it was Belarusian businessman Mikalai Vaskaboinikau who emerged victorious after three days of grueling competition, turning his $125,000 buy-in into an astounding $4,737,000 payday. Although Vaskaboinikau isn’t a regular participant in Triton events, he has a remarkable track record when he does play. Before this Main event, he had played in five Triton events and reached the final table in three of them. With this victory, Vaskaboinikau now boasts four final tables in just six appearances, alongside a Triton title that many top pros have been striving for a long time.
It was a stacked final table with some of the biggest names in poker, including Bryn Kenney, Igor Yaroshevskyy, Phil Ivey, and Aleks Ponakovs. In a heads-up, Vaskaboinikau faced local player Dejan Kaladjurdjevic for the title.
“It’s a really amazing feeling,” Vaskaboinikau remarked. “I had a good feeling about this a few months ago. I put this thought in my mind in a dream.”
2024 Triton Montenegro $125,000 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 |  Mikalai Vaskaboinikau | Belarus | $4,737,000 |
| 2 |  Dejan Kaladjurdjevic | Montenegro | $3,196,000 |
| 3 |  Aleks Ponakovs | Latvia | $2,200,000 |
| 4 |  Phil Ivey | USA | $1,795,000 |
| 5 |  Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | $1,430,000 |
| 6 |  Samuel Ju | Germany | $1,098,000 |
| 7 |  Wai Kin Yong | Malaysia | $800,000 |
| 8 | Bryn Kenney | USA | $580,000 |
| 9 |  Elizabeth Chen | China | $478,000 |
2024 Triton Montenegro $125,000 Main Event Final Table Recap
Nine players returned for the final day of the Triton Montenegro $125,000 NLHE Main Event, with Wai Kin Yong leading the charge with 70 big blinds, followed by Latvian pro Aleksejs Ponakovs with 63 big blinds and the legendary Phil Ivey with 57 big blinds.
The first player to exit was Elizabeth Chen. She pushed her small stack with pocket eights but ran into Phil Ivey’s king-queen. Ivey won the flip, sending Chen home with $478,000.
Bryn Kenney, who tops the Triton all-time money list with over $38 million in winnings, was the next to fall. His pocket nines were bested by Igor Yaroshevskyy’s pocket tens, earning Kenney an eighth-place finish and $580,000.
Wai Kin Yong, who had put a massive cooler on Chris Brewer the day before, exited in seventh place in a similar fashion. His pocket queens were outdrawn by Vaskaboinikau’s pocket tens with a ten on the river, ending Yong’s run.
Pocket queens also spelled the end for Samuel Ju. He called a three-bet all-in from Vaskaboinikau, who played aggressively on the final table but showed pocked kings this time. The kings held, and Ju received a seven-figure payout of $1,098,000 for his efforts.
Triton Montenegro was undoubtedly a breakout series for Igor Yaroshevskyy, with three final tables and a title in the Bounty Quattro event. However, his Main Event run ended in fifth place, his best career cash for $1,430,000.
Fan’s favorite Phil Ivey was next who was shown the door, and Vaskaboinikau claimed all his chips in two hands. In the first hand, both players rivered a flush, but Vaskaboinikau’s was the nut flush, and Ivey had a queen-high flush. Ivey’s final hand saw his ace-eight dominated by Vaskaboinikau’s ace-king.
With three players left, Vaskaboinikau, Dejan Kaladjurdjevic, and Ponakovs, the lead was exchanged several times. Ultimately, a collision between the big stacks saw Ponakovs’ king-jack lose to Vaskaboinikau’s ace-four. A jack on the flop pushed Ponakovs in front, but ace hit the turn, sending Latvian out in third place.
The heads-up battle was a quick affair, with Vaskaboinikau holding 44 big blinds to Kaladjurdjevic’s 9. Already on the second hand, Kaladjurdjevic pushed with jack-two suited, only to run into Vaskaboinikau’s pocket sixes. The board bricked, and Vaskaboinikau was crowned the new Triton poker champion.
Images and hands courtesy of Triton Poker.
