Matthias Eibinger Captures Triton Monte-Carlo Main Event Title and Career-Best Score
Matthias Eibinger is on Cloud Nine today after taking down the Triton Super High Roller Series Monte-Carlo Main Event. Eibinger is a regular on the high-stakes tour, and although he has triumphed in Triton Poker side events, a Main Event title had eluded him until now.
Eibinger came out on top of a 135-strong field and captured a career-best $3,461,261 after a heads-up deal with Spanish superstar Adrian Mateos. Eibinger also got his hands on a luxurious Jacob & Co timepiece and a two-day stay for him and up to five friends aboard an exclusive Bombay yacht courtesy of luxury brand Bombay.
This latest result is the third seven-figure score of Eibinger's career. He won $1,006,060 in May 2018 by finishing second in the $100,000 ARIA $100K High Roller, and another $1,008,000 for a runner-up finish in a $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the PartyPoker LIVE Sochi Super High Roller Series in March 2020. Eibinger now has a new top score worth a staggering $3,461,261.
Triton Super High Roller Series Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | $3,461,261* |
| 2 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | $3,120,739* |
| 3 | Santhosh Suvarna | India | $1,772,000 |
| 4 | Chris Brewer | United States | $1,450,000 |
| 5 | Quan Zho | China | $1,165,000 |
| 6 | Ken Tong | Hong Kong | $902,000 |
| 7 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | $668,000 |
| 8 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $668,000 |
| 9 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | $491,000 |
*reflects a heads-up deal
A staggering $16,875,000 prize pool was up for grabs, and the top 23 finishers won a slice of it. Bursting the money bubble is never pleasant for the unfortunate soul on the wrong side of it, but this bubble was particularly harsh, with a min-cash weighing in at $198,000.
Ren Li was the unfortunate soul who popped the money bubble and paved the way to riches for the surviving players. Li's final hand saw him all-in with ace-jack of spades against Richard Yong's dominated ace-five, but that ace-five turned a straight for the Triton co-owner, leaving Li empty-handed on the sidelines.
A raft of global superstars fell by the wayside in succession, including recent WSOP Online $100,000 High Roller champion Jans Arends, Jason Koon, Isaac Haxton, and final table bubble boy Daniel Dvoress. The latter finished sixth in the $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed event for $672,000; Christoph Vogelsang took that down for $2,644,000.
Each of the nine finalists secured a $391,000 score, with the top five finishers seeing their bankroll increase by seven figures. Eibinger went into the final table win fourth place with a 28 big blind stack, but the Austrian was way behind chip leader Mateos, who returned to the battle with 125 big blinds in his war chest.
Nick Petrangelo was the first of the nine finalists to be relieved of his stack as the players attempted to hold onto Mateos' coattails. Petrangelo opened with pocket tens and faced an all-in three-bet from Ken Tong, whose stack covered the opener's. Petrangelo decided to go with his pocket tens, and called, finding himself flipping against ace-queen. Those tens succumb to an ace on the flop and another on the river.
Mateos picked off Justin Bonomo, resigning the world's second-winningest live poker player to an eighth-place finish. Bonomo raised with ace-five of diamonds, and Mateos three-bet jammed. Possibly thinking Mateos was bullying with his colossal stack, Bonomo called. However, Mateos had a legitimate hand of his own: ace-king. The Spaniard's hand held, and Bonomo busted.
Ace-king ended Latvia's Aleksejs Ponakovs' participation in the Main Event. Ponakovs, the first Latvian to win a WSOP bracelet, open-shoved from the small blind with queen-ten. Ordinarily, this move would have won the blinds and antes, but Chris Brewer woke up in the big blind with ace-king and called. Brewer's ace-high proved enough to win the pot and leave only six players in the hunt for the title.
Those six became five when Tong became Brewer's second final table victim. A short-stack Tong made a move with queen-nine of spades, Brewer called with ace-jack of hearts and added to his stack when Tong failed to get there.
With Tong out of the way, the final five players became millionaires, if there weren't so already. Quan Zho of China, whose stack dwindled to such a small amount that he was forced all-in from the big blind. Zho's jack-five ultimately lost to Mateos' pocket tens. The $1,165,000 Zho won is his first recorded live cash; what a way to get off the mark.
Brewer has been on somewhat of a heater during 2023, capturing two WSOP bracelets and racking up massive scores worldwide. Brewer had to make do with a fourth-place finish worth $1,450,000 in this event because his ace-nine of spades could not melt Santhosh Suvarna's snowmen.
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Suvarna was the penultimate elimination of the Main Event; his third-place finish came with $1,772,000. Suvarna, an Indian businessman, busted in one of the most ridiculous hands ever seen on the Triton Super High Roller circuit. The hand started innocuously, with Suvarna raising and Mateos calling. Mateos check-called a continuation bet on the nine-ace-eight flop before checking again on the seven of clubs turn; the nine on the flop was also a club. Suvarna fired another bet, only for Mateos to raise all-in, covering the Indian's stack. Suvarna called with ace-jack for top pair and an ace-high flush draw. Mateos flipped over eight-six of clubs. The river was a club, but it was the five of clubs, gifting Mateos the most unlikely of straight flushes to beat his opponent's ace-high flush. Ouch.
That latest score propelled Suvarna to second in India's all-time money list, with $5,547,493 in winnings.
Mateos and Eibinger locked horns heads-up like they have numerous times in the online poker world. Both players are incredibly talented, and it was going to take something special for one to eliminate the other. What followed was a heads-up battle for the ages. The chip stack fluctuated wildly, yet neither player could shake off the other, resulting in them striking a deal for the remaining prize pool, leaving $100,000 for the last man standing.
Eibinger was that sole survivor, his ace-king flopping a king to crack the pocket tens of his Spanish superstar opponent. Mateos collected $3,120,739 for his second-place finish, with Eibinger taking $3,461,261 and the trophy.
Lead image courtesy of Joe Giron/Poker Photo Archive
