Germany’s Koray Aldemir has added another massive payout to his growing poker bankroll after beating a field of other 38 entries to win the 2017 Triton Super High Roller Manila HK$1,000,000 Main Event. A hefty share of HK$10,032,869 (approximately $1.3 million) and a shiny trophy were given to the player to celebrate his accomplishment.
The event was played over three days. It can be said that Aldemir’s road to victory was a hard but sweet one. The player had to overcome fierce competition from the likes of Phil Ivey, Dan Colman, who won the HK$250,000 No-Limit Six-Max days ago, and 2016 The Big One for ONE DROP winner Elton Tsang. None of the three players listed made it to the six-handed final table.
Final table play began with Spaniard Sergio Aido as the chip leader and Aldemir following closely. The final showdown promised nothing else but high quality poker action and that was exactly what it delivered.
Aido maintained his lead for some time but it was then Aldemir to emerge as the leader. The latter kept and extended his advantage until there were only three players left at the final table. It was at that point when his Spanish opponent regained lead.
Three-handed play was an important point on Day 3. The three remaining players – Aido, Aldemir, and Daniel Cates – agreed on a three-deal, under which Aido was to collect HK$10,378,375, Aldemir was to take home HK$9,032,869, and Cates was to receive HK$7,765,156. The amount of HK$400,000 and the tournament trophy were left for the eventual champion.
It all showed that Aido and Aldemir were both not willing to give up on the title and it was eventually up them to determine who the champion would be. Heads-up match began with the Spanish player holding almost two times more chips than his final opponent. Aldemir was clearly not bothered by his disadvantage as he had more tricks up his sleeve. The young German ravished his opponent’s stack bit by bit until Aido was left with no more than 12 big blinds on what turned out to be the final hand in play.
Aldemir, holding [Ah][2h], shoved and Aido called with [Ks][10c]. The [Qs][9s][8d][3s][5d] appeared on the board to see Aido leave in 2nd place.
Of all 39 entries, 29 unique ones and 10 re-entries, only the final six received a share of the HK$37,073,400 prize pool.
Koray Aldemir – HK$10,032,869
Sergio Aido – HK$10,378,375
Daniel Cates – HK$7,765,156
Bryn Kenney – HK$3,893,000
Devan Tang – HK$2,780,000
Wai Kin Yong – HK$2,224,000
