It was an all-Brazilian affair with three players remaining in Event #10: $150,000 Triton 8-Handed at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise – guaranteeing a clean sweep of the podium places for the South American powerhouse in the final event on the Triton Poker Series schedule in Paradise. Felipe Boianovsky held the majority of chips in play, more than double the combined total of his two remaining opponents, countrymen Joao Simao and Yuri Dzivielevski.
While the start of three-handed play saw Boianovsky already at an advantage stack-wise, he quickly increased his lead with the elimination of Dzivielevski and took an overwhelming chip lead into the heads-up battle with Simao. Within two hands, however, Simao wrestled control away from Boianovsky and rode that momentum the rest of the way to claim the first-place prize of $3,067,000, his second Triton Poker Series title, and third WSOP bracelet.
"I feel like I'm blessed to have the journey that I've had. It made me strong," Simao said in the wake of his victory. "My mum is a very tough person, who made me tough. That's why I can play these stakes, knowing that there's players better than me. But I don't hesitate. I do what I believe I have to do. That's where I feel I gain my edge."
Event #10: $150,000 Triton 8-Handed drew a field of 77 entries, including 22 re-entries, to generate a prize pool of $11,550,000 with 13 places paid. While the final table was set for eight players, a double elimination with nine remaining left only seven in the hunt. It was David Coleman who did the heavy lifting, taking out both Cary Katz and Bryn Kenney with pocket aces.
Coleman and Jonathan Jaffe were neck-and-neck headed into the final table, with Danny Tang not far behind. The Brazilian contingent filled out the middle of the counts, with Dzivielevski leading Boianovsky by just a few chips and Simao only slightly below them. John Pannucci entered the final frame of play as the clear short stack.
All roads lead to Brazil
Unsurprisingly, the short-stacked Pannucci was the first to the hit the rail, but he did so in a brutally unexpected fashion. In the face of a raise and then an all-in re-raise from Simao in the small blind, Pannucci looked down at 
in the big blind and moved his chips in as well. Simao's 
was in rough shape, but the 
flop left Pannucci drawing dead as the case ace had already been folded.
Coleman, despite the double elimination to take play to the final table, had dwindled down to the ten big blind mark and took a spot to double. The American's 
failed to hold against Boianovsky's 
and what looked to be another promising deep run after his victory in Event #8 ended somewhat abruptly with a sixth-place finish.
With five players remaining, the pace slowed. Then, another double knockout left the three Brazilians to battle amongst themselves. It was Boianovsky who secured all three podium places for himself and his countrymen – taking out Jaffe and Tang in style with 
against their 
and 
, respectively, on a 
runout.
Vamos! Gold, silver, and bronze
With the double elimination, Boianovsky's stack swelled to more than 75 big blinds. With the shortest stack remaining, Dzivielevski took a shot at a double up in a blind versus blind confrontation. In the face of a shove from Boianovsky, he called off his last 16 big blinds with 
, but couldn't improve against his opponent's 
.
With a near three-to-one chip advantage, Boianovsky looked primed to run away with the win. In the space of two hands – a rivered straight against top pair and bottom two pair against top pair on the flop – Simao snatched the chip lead from his counterpart. With momentum on his side, Simao ramped up the aggression and stole several pots without showdown.
Simao laid a trap in the final hand, limping in with 
before betting all three streets on a 
runout. Boianovsky called him down the whole way with – only to see the bad news as Simao showed him the winner.
Event #10: $150,000 Triton 8-Handed Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joao Simao | $3,067,000 |
| 2 | Felipe Boianovsky | $2,131,000 |
| 3 | Yuri Dzivielevski | $1,409,000 |
| 4 | Danny Tang | $1,103,000 |
| 5 | Jonathan Jaffe | $891,000 |
| 6 | David Coleman | $693,000 |
| 7 | John Pannucci | $548,000 |
Images courtesy of Triton Poker Series
