Champion Matthias Eibinger!
Oh, so you play Omaha now?
The big news coming out of the Bahamas tonight, where the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series has just kicked off its second Caribbean excursion, is that one of No Limit Hold'em's most dedicated and accomplished performers has found himself a new game.
Matthias Eibinger, already a four-time Triton champion who before this week has only once played anything but the two-card game on the series, just won the first PLO event of the trip to the Bahamas. It was a $75,000 buy-in PLO Six-Handed tournament, kicking off this six-event Paradise series, and earned Eibinger a $1,570,640 first prize.
He also claims a first WSOP bracelet alongside another Triton trophy.
"In PLO, you might see me more often," Eibinger told Marianela Pereyra in his post-game interview. "Because to compete with Triton titles I need more opportunities and more chances than just playing hold'em. So I thought, maybe I try the four-card format. And it's a bit funny to me. I play one tournament and immediately I have the title."
The field featured the very best PLO players in the world, including Mike Watson, Dylan Weisman, Richard Gryko and Stephen Chidwick, who were knocked out in second through fifth, respectively. They did their best to shake the supreme confidence of Eibinger, but this Austrian player was not to be moved.
Weisman in particular was in awesome form. Watson was similarly dazzling, and split the top prize in an ICM deal with Eibinger heads-up.
But having graduated from the online tables, where he made his name and built his bankroll playing high-stakes hyper turbo hold'em sit n goes, Eibinger has now taken the next step in his poker education. At 32, he's a five-time winner on the world's most prestigious series and clearly a force to be reckoned with away from just hold'em.
Eibinger said he felt no pressure playing an unfamiliar format.
"Mentally it's very fun," he said. "But there are also so many emotions in PLO because everybody has something. Draws against two pairs, sets against straights. It's very normal to go from chip leader to bottom to chip leader again. I think that's the nature of this format.
"It was a very fun environment. I feel like it's a little bit less serious than in hold'em, which I surprisingly enjoyed so much. You can limp, do things that you cannot do in hold'em too much. Also I really like all the elements, and you're playing the best of the best, of course I like the challenge.
"At the final table I felt zero pressure. Even though I play hold'em for 10 years, I always feel the pressure. But here I just took it with less expectations."
Matthias Eibinger tries on his new bracelet
TOURNAMENT ACTION
As expected, players responded in their droves to the chance to play some high-stakes PLO under the Triton branding so close to the United States. By the time registration closed on the opening day, there were 93 entries (including 46 re-entries), setting a new mark on the Triton Poker Series for this specific price point.
Day 1 raced its way steadily into the money, with Martin Kabrhel's elimination in 14th bursting the bubble. At the happier end of the standings, the formidable Matthias Eibinger, Stephen Chidwick, Ben Lamb, Dylan Weisman and Nacho Barbero occupying the top five places. Of them, only Weisman had never won on the series before.
Eibinger, a NLH specialist, took the top spot having soared in the pot that essentially accounted for Kabrhel. Eibinger won and doubled with AJ102 to down Kabrhel's KK55. Both players flopped a flush draw when two spades hit, but it was the ace on the turn that sealed it. Artur Martirosian's kings then cracked Kabrhel's aces to send the Czech player out, and leave the rest of them in the money.
Nothing to celebrate: a bubble for Martin Kabrhel
Martirosian, Laszlo Bujtas and Patrik Antonius picked up min-cashes, leaving the 13 who would do battle on the second and final day.
Typically, there was nothing predictable about how the opening exchanges of Day 2 panned out either. Though Eibinger managed to stay healthy, Richard Gryko stole all the early attention with his flight up to the top echelons. His fellow Brit Chidwick tumbled down to the point that as they jostled to make the final table of seven, he had only a handful of blinds. But a timely double through Lamb kept Chidwick involved. Instead, it was Barbero who finished in eighth, losing the last of his chips to Mike Watson's flush.
It set the first final table of the series as follows.
FINAL TABLE LINE-UP
Matthias Eibinger - 5,795,000
Richard Gryko - 3,090,000
Mike Watson - 2,930,000
Dylan Weisman - 2,890,000
Stephen Chidwick - 1,635,000
Ding Biao - 1,220,000
Ben Lamb - 1,050,000
Event #2 final table line-up (clockwise from back left): Ding Biao, Dylan Weisman, Matthias Eibinger, Ben Lamb, Stephen Chidwick, Mike Watson, Richard Gryko.
After playing frequently during the early days of the Triton Poker Series, American Ben Lamb has stepped away from the high-stakes tournament scene over recent years as he focused on building his online crypto casino YEET. But with YEET recently announced as the presenting sponsor of the Triton Invitational at this stop, Lamb returned to the tables to play. Lo and behold, he returned to the final table as well.
His stack was short by this stage, however, and though he was able to survive a few orbits as players looked for the right spots in the early exchanges, Lamb wasn't able to ladder up any further.
Ultimately there wasn't a whole lot Lamb could do about his elimination hand. Sitting in the small blind, he found AKK2 and saw Dylan Weisman open from early position. Lamb put in a committing three-bet with his pocket kings, but Weisman snapped him off with aces. Although Lamb finished the hand improving to a set of kings, that same river card completed a straight for Weisman. Lamb was skewered in seventh, winning $324,000. It was his first Triton cash in six-and-a-half years.
A welcome return for Ben Lamb
Both Ding Biao and Chidwick had the same number of blinds in their stacks as Lamb at the point of the latter's elimination, which meant the pair of them now came under most scrutiny. But similar to Lamb, Ding looked down at pocket kings and reasoned it was good enough to commit the last of his chips, particularly after the chip-leading Eibinger raised his button.
Eibinger called off with AQ53, and the all-low board of 62457 gave Eibinger a straight. Ding was out in sixth for $412,000.
Another major final for Ding Biao
Having mopped up Ding, Eibinger now did the same to Chidwick.
The British No 1, aiming for a fourth Triton title, had done well to survive to the final table and move up two spots, but he eventually ran out of momentum. With 12 blinds left, he defended his big blind to an early-position Eibinger raise, but had to check-fold the flop. He was left then with only seven blinds, which were gobbled by Eibinger on the next hand.
Chidwick picked up J992 in the small blind and, after action folded to him, he stuck in a raise. Eibinge three-bet, covering Chidiwick, from the big blind, holding AK87. Eibinger flopped a seven, turned a king and then rivered an eight. That was three pair, and though he could only officially use two of them, it was still better than Chidwick's one.
Chidwick earned the first half-million dollar payday of the festival, banking $526,500.
A step nearer the all-time money list summit for Stephen Chidwick
Eibinger was in control and made up for his relative unfamiliarity with the four-card game through his superlative understanding of tournament ICM. He exerted relentless pressure on his hamstrung opponents, who jostled to stay in contention. Even a PLO master as accomplished as Richard Gryko was unable to survive the heat.
Gryko, who won a PLO title in Montenegro this year, held on to the shortest stack in the room for a long as he possibly could. But after picking up 6910K on the button, he committed three of his 11 remaining blinds from the button.
Eibinger, in the big blind, three-bet for an amount that all but covered Gryko. Gryko's four-bet was for only a fraction more and Eibinger called. He would have done so even if Gryko's stack was five times as big. Eibinger had AA3K and survived Grkyo's flopped straight draw.
Gryko's fourth place finish was worth $809,000.
Richard Gryko was looking for a second PLO title
It was now down to the two North American PLO wizards to take on the Austrian first-timer. But Ebinger had 75 blinds to Weisman's 30 and Watson's 18. It would not be easy.
Weisman first took a hit, but then went on a tear. He found a critical double through Eibinger when Weisman had AQK5 and three-bet Eibinger's button raise. Eibinger called with Q624 and the remainder of Weisman's stack went in after a flop of 69K. Weisman's king was decisive. He then edged ahead with KQ106 flopping top pair and earning him another pot.
All of a sudden, and with the level going up, Eibinger and Weisman were neck-and-neck at around 30 blinds, with Watson sitting with about 14.
It was, however, the high point for Weisman because Sir Watts came roaring into contention. The five-time champion picked his spots at this final table with surgical precision, and he was rewarded by winning a huge come-from-behind coup to double through Weisman.
Weisman had AQQ5 and opened from the small blind. Watson had AKJ3 in the big blind and put in a three-bet. Weisman jammed as a four-bet with the covering stack and Watson called it off.
Weisman was the favourite pre-flop and grew only more so through the 298 flop. The 5 turn brought Watson's flush draw into play, but it was the K on the river that proved critical. Watson suddenly doubled right onto Eibinger's shoulder, with Weisman now left with only 11 blinds. He dwindled down to seven, which Eibinger then took. The Austrian's A1076 connected better with a 10810 flop than Weisman's Q874. The last of the money went in there, and Weisman couldn't catch up.
He won $809,000 for third place, but is forced to wait again for his first title.
Dylan Weisman impressed everyone, but was forced out in third
They reset the table for the first heads-up battle of the series, with Eibinger holding a lead of 41 blinds to Watson's 33. They quickly looked at the numbers and agreed a deal, with Eibinger signing for $1,510,640 to Watson's $1,459,360, with $60,000 to play for.
Mike Watson and Matthias Eibinger negotiate a deal
It still might have lasted quite a while. But it ended up lasting only three hands.
After two inconsequential hands, the two of them went at it with Eibinger holding Q986 to Watson's KQJ10. Eibinger raised from the small blind and Watson called from the big. Then they looked at a flop of 1073. Watson had top pair, but Eibinger had all the draws. And then the K on the turn assured all the money was going in.
Watson, who started the hand with more than 60% equity, then lost the technical lead on the flop, now had 67% again. However, Eibinger drilled the diamond on the river to fill the flush and complete a remarkable debut success.
Nothing Mike Watson could do
