This Week's Big Winner: John Juanda Wins Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event

The HK$1 million buy-in Triton Super High Roller Series main event took place over three days in October at the Galaxy Macau Hotel in Taipa, Macau. A total of 83 entries were made in the event that included many of the best players in the game today.

In the end, the title went to 46-year-old John Juanda, who continues to climb the all-time tournament earnings leaderboard. The California-based poker pro earned HK$22,410,000 ($2,872,299) for his 32nd career victory, bringing his lifetime tournament winnings to more than $23.6 million. He’s now no. 7 all-time, just one or two cashes away from passing Phil Ivey for the no. 6 spot.

Juanda overcame a final table that included the likes of Isaac Haxton, Dietrich Fast, Stephen Chidwick, Timothy Adams, the red-hot Adrian Mateos, and Fedor Holz to secure the title.

Here are the five biggest hands that propelled Juanda to the win.

Tournament: Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event
Buy-In: HK$1,000,000 ($128,160) • No. of Entries: 83 • Prize Pool: HK$78,086,400 ($10,008,703) • 1st Place Prize: HK$22,410,400 ($2,872,299)

Juanda Wins A Crucial Flip To Double Up

The Action

Juanda’s comeback started during four-handed play. After Mateos got lucky to double through Holz, Juanda found himself as the short stack. Holz came back a few hands later with a raise to 260,000 on the button and Juanda three-bet shoved for his last 2,980,000. Mateos used his newfound chips to four-bet all-in over the top, forcing a fold from Holz. Juanda showed down A Q, and was flipping against the pocket eights of Mateos. The board ran out A A 5 4 K and Juanda doubled up.

The Action

After losing most of his chips in the previous flip, a short-stacked Mateos was looking for a good opportunity to double when Juanda shoved from the small blind. Looking down at Q 2, Mateos figured he was live and made the call for his tournament life. Juanda showed K 10, and he connected as the flop fell A J 10. Mateos needed one of the three remaining kings or something runner-runner, but the 6 on the turn and A on the river ended his tournament run in fourth place. He earned HK$6,950,000 ($890,757) for his finish.

The Action

Juanda raised to 350,000 on the button and Holz three-bet 1,100,000 from the big blind. Juanda then shoved for his last 4,800,000 and Holz made the call. Juanda turned over A Q and saw that he was racing against the J J of Holz. The board of K 10 8 4 was looking great for Holz to knock out his biggest threat and take a commanding lead in the tournament, but the Q hit the river, sending the massive pot to Juanda.

The Action

Juanda raised to 350,000 on the button and Burns moved all-in from the small blind. Holz folded his big blind and Juanda made the call with A 10, a slight favorite against the K Q of Burns. The flop of 6 5 4 kept Juanda in the lead. The 8 on the turn added chop outs to the six outs Burns had for the win, but the 5 was a brick. Burns pocketed HK$10,151,000 ($1,301,018) for the third-place finish while Juanda took a nearly 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play.

The Action

Juanda limped in on the button and Holz shoved from the big blind. Juanda asked for a count and then made the call after a few moments, showing A 5. Holz revealed a dominated A 3, however the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator shows that a chop would occur 45 percent of the time. The flop of 10 9 6 only increased the likelihood of a chop to 73 percent, and the 6 on the turn took it to 86 percent. Juanda shouted “five” just before the dealer burned and placed the 5 on the felt, giving him the title and the HK$22,410,400 ($2,872,299) first-place prize. Holz, who has followed up his record year with yet another incredible run, pocketed HK$16,398,000 ($2,101,674) for his runner-up finish.

Final Table Results

1. John Juanda — HK$22,410,400
($2,872,299)
2. Fedor Holz — HK$16,398,000
($2,101,674)
3. Kahle Burns — HK$10,151,000
($1,301,018)
4. Adrian Mateos — HK$6,950,000
($890,757)
5. Dietrich Fast — HK$4,607,000
($590,425)
6. Stephen Chidwick — HK$3,436,000
($440,380)
7. Timothy Adams — HK$2,811,000
($360,257)
8. Isaac Haxton — HK$2,421,000
($310,271)