The Kenny Rogers lyrics “you gotta know when to fold ‘em” never rang truer than when Ike Haxton found a way to pass on pocket sevens when he had a mere six big blinds in front of him in Montenegro this evening.
An hour later, his portentous decision had led him to heads-up for a first-ever Triton Poker title after an incredible 38 cashes without success. Only one man stood between him and a Triton trophy – Ukrainian Igor Yaroshevskyy – and it ended in heartbreak for Haxton.
Rewinding to the start, 126 players paid the $50K entry to create the second seven-figure top prize of the week. In addition, a $60K bounty sat on everyone’s head as the Bounty Quattro format took center stage. For the uninitiated, that meant $15k from each $50k buy-in went towards bounties, which kicked in when 25% of the field (hence the ‘quattro’) were left.
Among the 20 players who made the regular paid spots were Jason Koon (17th for $63,500) and Michael Watson (11th for $87,500), but it was Haxton and Punnat Punsri who were forging the way.
Haxton set the final table when he ousted Henrik Hecklen, then ensured it would be a short-lived affair for Patrik Antonius. A cooler river gave the Flying Finn two pair and little chance to escape Haxton’s shove with a turned straight.
Haxton heartache in Montenegro
Haxton’s 38 Triton cashes had netted him $11.3 million in cashes, but no wins – an even crazier number than Kiat Lee’s 23 for 0.
Three-handed play is where the real intrigue began. Haxton and Yaroshevskyy were wilting under big-stack Punsri’s unrelenting pressure. Haxton, down to just 6BBs, looked down at pocket sevens, his best hand in a while.
A typical Punsri raise and a Yaroshevskyy shove, however, left him able to find the fold, avoiding what would have been a showdown against pocket queens.
That seemed to be a turning point. Punsri’s sun-run soon came to an end, and the two short stacks eventually battled heads-up, both looking for a first Triton victory.
A straight up race seemed as good a way as any to decide who would get their hands on the silverware.
Yaroshevskyy: 
Haxton: 
Board: 
Heartbreak for Haxton, but an incredible moment for the Ukrainian, railed by friends and fellow pros Viacheslav Buldygin, Shyngis Satubayev and Ramin Hajiyev.
“I am so excited, it’s an amazing feeling. Today is my day, thank you guys!” said Yaroshevskyy afterwards, his seventh Triton cash doubling his earnings in the SHR series.
Triton $50,000 Quattro Bounty results
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Igor Yaroshevskyy | $1,172,000 (inc. $120K bounties) |
| 2nd | Ike Haxton | $896,000 (inc. $180K bounties) |
| 3rd | Punnat Punsri | $773,000 (inc. $300K bounties) |
| 4th | Dimitar Danchev | $690,000 (inc. $300K bounties) |
| 5th | Shyngis Shatubayev | $463,000 (inc. $150K bounties) |
| 6th | Adrian Mateos | $495,000 (inc. $240K bounties) |
| 7th | Paulius Vaitekunas | $303,800 (inc. $120K bounties) |
| 8th | Patrik Antonius | $136,000 |
Images courtesy of Triton Poker/Joe Giron
