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What a year it’s been for Patrik Antonius.
The poker icon took down the $100K Super High Roller in April at EPT Monte Carlo. A few months later, he was deservingly inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Then, on Saturday, Antonius reached new heights with his best-ever tournament score after taking down the $200K Triton Invitational in dominating fashion.
Antonius was the last player standing in the biggest buy-in event of the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Monte Carlo, outlasting 101 other entries to lock up the lion’s share of the $20.4 million prize pool.
Antonius defeated high roller newcomer Vladimir Korzinin in heads-up to seize the title, trophy and $5,130,000 winner’s prize.
Korzinin first caught PokerNews’ attention at EPT Barcelona, and he’s been competing with the world’s elite at nosebleed stakes ever since. This runner-up finish, only his third recorded cash, propelled his live earnings from $76,800 to an impressive $3,546,800—securing him the top spot on Estonia’s All-Time Money List.
$200,000 Triton Invitational Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | $5,130,000 |
| 2 | Vladimir Korzinin | Estonia | $3,470,000 |
| 3 | Espen Jorstad | Norway | $2,255,000 |
| 4 | Roman Hrabec | Czech Republic | $1,867,000 |
| 5 | Mikalai Vaskaboinikau | Belarus | $1,506,000 |
| 6 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | $1,188,000 |
| 7 | Konstantin Maslak | Russia | $908,000 |
| 8 | Xuan Tan | China | $684,000 |
| 9 | Morten Klein | Norway | $510,000 |
Antonius Denies Newcomer Korzinin to Title
The final table hosted four professional players, with the other five being invitees. Antonius led the finalists with 121 big blinds, almost double his nearest challenger Roman Hrabec.
Antonius downed Norwegian investor Morten Klein in ninth place after his jack-deuce found a duck on the river to seal the checkmark against Klein’s ace-six. Xuan Tan was one card away from a double up as his jacks looked like they would hold out against Antonius’ ace-queen. But the river was kind to the Finnish legend once again, as the dealer completed the runout with the Q♣ to keep Antonius in the driver’s seat.
Antonius’ onslaught continued, and Konstantin Maslak was next in his crosshairs. Antonius found himself in another coin flip, and this time, he was the one holding pocket jacks. Maslak had Big Slick but his 20 big blind stack went over the eventual champion after failing to improve.
With six remaining, each of the survivors had locked up a seven-figure windfall and Mikita Badziakouski was the first to collect after a brutal turn card ended his deep run. Korzinin thee-bet jammed the Q-J-2 flop with king-nine and Badziakouski beat him into the pot with his jack-deuce. However, a ten came in immediately to give Korzinin a straight and the river was drama free to make it a five-handed affair.
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau was flipped out by Hrabec’s pocket fours and banked $1,506,000. 2024 has been incredible for the Belarussian businessman on the felt and has proven he’s more than just a VIP at the tables. Vaskaboinikau won the Triton Montenegro Main Event in May before stringing together a duo of high-roller wins at EPT Barcelona.
Hrabec, who topped the field in the series’ $40K Mystery Bounty 7-Handed, bowed out next, with Antonius being the eliminator. Both players flopped top pair jacks, and the chips piled in. Antonius had the superior kicker and sent Hrabec to the wrong side of the rail.
2022 WSOP Main Event winner Espen Jorstad was the short stack at three-handed play and was ousted by Korzinin. Jorstad jammed an ace-high flop with a flush draw and was looked up by Korzinin, who had ace-deuce. Two bricks completed the board, and the heads-up showdown between the Estonian and Antonius was confirmed.
Despite the disparity in experience and expertise, Korzinin proved a worthy adversary for Antonius. Korzinin, lovingly nicknamed “Gambledore” thanks to his resemblance to the Harry Potter character, pulled ahead with a straight and received a dynamic-shifting double-up.
The 69-year-old amateur looked to end proceedings with jack-ten, but Antoinus moved to the top of the counts after his ace-seven remained best.
On the final hand of the night, the board showed J♣9♥4♥2♣. Korzinin bet with a pair of fours, but Antonius, holding a four with a better kicker, pushed all in. Korzinin called, and Antonius dodged Korzinin’s slim three-outs to clinch his career-best victory.
“I’m living my dream life,” Antonius told Triton Poker media after the win. “And I want to keep living like this.”
Poker fans will not have to wait long to see Antonius back in action. Presumably, he’ll be hopping into the $125K NLH Main Event, which completed its first day of action on Saturday. So far, 142 entries have been tallied, with 77 players remaining. Kayhan Mokri tops the counts going into Day 2 and is gunning for his second festival title after tasting victory in the $30K NLH 8-Handed for $1,005,000.
After Triton wraps up, Antonius heads to Las Vegas to participate in High Stakes Duel V against Jared Bleznick.
High Stakes Duel V will take place on Tuesday, November 12 inside PokerGO Studio and will be played half no-limit hold’em and half pot-limit Omaha with the game switching every 10 hands. Fans can watch the action on PokerGO at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). Whoever wins will claim $100,000, but each round doubles until one of the contenders bows out. When that happens, the winner of the final match will be deemed the High Stakes Duel V champ.
Before the Duel: A Conversation with Patrik Antonius
Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Monte Carlo Winners
| Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25K WPT Global Ultimate Slam | 170 | $4,250,000 | Brian Kim | $941,000 |
| $30K NLH 8-Handed | 144 | $4,320,000 | Kayhan Mokri | $1,005,000 |
| $40K Mystery Bounty 7-Handed | 155 | $6,200,000 | Roman Hrabec | $1,182,019*** |
| $50K NLH 8-Handed | 147 | $7,350,000 | Alex Foxen | $1,470,000* |
| $100K NLH 8-Handed | 131 | $13,100,000 | Pieter Aerts | $2,234,587* |
| $30K NLH Bounty Quattro | 133 | $3,190,000 | Artur Martirosian | $891,000** |
| $200K Triton Invitational | 102 | $20,400,000 | Patrik Antonius | $5,130,000 |
| $50K NLH 7-Handed | 125 | $ 6,250,000 | Jesse Lonis | $1,502,000 |
*indicates deal, ** includes bounty prizes, *** notes deal & bounties
Images courtesy of Joe Giron/Triton Poker
Editor & Live Reporter
Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
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