Dan Smith Wins Monte Carlo Invitational for $3,870,000 & First Triton Title
The latest Triton Super High Roller Series is in full swing in Monte Carlo and kicked off with the $200,000 buy-in Special Triton Invitational, a unique event that paired top pros with business recreationals as the two groups battled it out on the high roller felt.
The Invitational event drew 73 runners for a massive prize pool of $14,600,000 as familiar high roller face Dan Smith ended up on top for $3,870,000, the third biggest score of the decorated poker player's career.
Smith, who still sits sixth on the all-time money list but has inched closer to Daniel Negreanu in fifth place, defeated young Austrian footballer Mario Mosb?ck after navigating a memorable final table that included newly minted France all-time money leader Jean-Noel Thorel (4th - $1,390,000), German wunderkind Fedor Holz (7th - $694,000) and sports betting legend Haralabos Voulgaris (9th - $406,000).
Triton Invitational Monte Carlo Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Smith | United States | $3,870,000 | |
| 2 | Mario Mosb?ck | Austria | $2,690,000 | |
| 3 | Elton Tsang | Hong Kong | $1,780,000 | |
| 4 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | $1,390,000 | |
| 5 | Alexander Shelukhin | Russia | $1,125,000 | |
| 6 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | $875,000 | |
| 7 | Fedor Holz | Germany | $694,000 | |
| 8 | Ilkin Gabrili | Azerbaijan | $540,000 | |
| 9 | Haralobos Voulgaris | Canada | $406,000 |
"This Is A Huge Moment"
The seven-figure score, the ten such score of Smith's poker career, brings Smith his first Triton title and increases his all-time earnings to $49.1 million as he nears the $50-million mark. It is matched only by Smith's third-place finish in the 2019 Triton Million For Charity for $8.8 million and another third-place finish in the 2018 Big One for One Drop for $4 million.
"Poker's really tough these days and only getting tougher," Smith told Triton after the victory. "I started playing super high rollers in 2012 and there's only like seven of us who are still left from back then. It's really cool that I still get to compete and sometimes win at this level. This is a huge moment and it's really cool that I get to do it."
Smith was invited to the event by Danish businessman Theis Vad Hennebjerre, who was eliminated early in the tournament before his high-stakes partner went on to win the whole thing.
Mosb?ck's VIP partner, Alexander Shelukhin, meanwhile, finished fifth for $1,125,000 ahead of the eliminations of Thorel and Hong Kong's Elton Tsang, who fell in third when he ten-eight was dominated by the jack-eight of Smith, according to Triton updates.
Mosb?ck, a retired footballer, had a chip lead over Smith before things evened out to set up a two pair versus two pair cooler that saw Smith locking up the seven-figure victory.
The final table action was streamed by Triton Poker and is available to watch on YouTube.
The Triton Super High Roller Series in Monte Carlo consists more than a dozen high roller no-limit Hold'em and Omaha events, including a $125,000 buy-in Main Event that got underway on Oct. 26.
*Photos courtesy of Joe Giron & Triton Poker
