Champion Jesse Lonis!

Jesse Lonis says he's just trying to make the right decisions. He says he told his family that if he was going to leave them for a three-week trip overseas, he'd do his best to make it worthwhile.

And tonight, in the Maestral Resort & Casino, Montenegro, this affable 29-year-old made good on all the promises he'd made his wife and young daughters.

Lonis, the undisputed form player in world poker, took down the $100K NLH Main Event on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, earning a first prize of $3,446,298 after a heads-up deal with Belarus' Mikalai Vaskaboinikau.

If the latter name sounds familiar, that's because Vaskaboinikau was the reigning champion of this event, who fell only one spot short of an incredible title defence. But Lonis, who already won one trophy on this trip to Montenegro, was unbeatable tonight, even by a man who seems to have a supernatural affinity to this venue.

"It's emotional, I'm trying to hold the tears back," Lonis said as he celebrated his win, which came with another glittering Triton trophy and an exclusive Jacob & Co timepiece reserved only for winners of Triton Poker Series Main Events.

"I wanted to come out here and perform," Lonis added. "I'm away from my family for a long time and I told them I was going to make it worthwhile."

Jesse Lonis receives his Jacob & Co watch from Triton COO Cathy Zhao

He added: "Being here is unreal. Any moment now I'm going to wake up from the dream."

Lonis can stay in his dreamland a little longer, because this was a performance that richly deserves all the plaudits.

When 11 players were left in a tournament of 180 entries, all had won at least one previous tournament on the Triton Poker Series. When the tournament had three players remaining, two of them had already won a tournament during this trip to Montenegro, and the other was the defending champion.

It was that kind of event: superstars left and right, all running well and playing better.

But Lonis was the one still standing after everyone else had disappeared.

In addition to the incredible travails at the table, Lonis also had to battle through three protracted discussions when three, and then two, players tried to arrange a deal. These weren't always totally amicable as three tough negotiators staked their claims to the various items of hardware, plus slices of the $18 million prize pool, on offer.

Lonis seemed to come out best from all of them. At least he did eventually.

The Main Event trophy and watch

"The stakes we're playing are unbelievably high," he said. "The pressure. I'm just trying to make the right decisions...It's just a card game after all."

True. But with someone like Lonis looking at those cards, it kind of becomes an art.

Vaskaboinikau had to settle for a second place prize of $2,927,700, plus whatever he and Lonis agreed away from the cameras. Rumour has it, he wants a trophy to give to his kids and is prepared to pay for it.

That's for them to decide. All we know for sure is that this was a tournament for the ages.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The Main Event began as the dust was just settling on the Triton Invitational, a tournament in which the so-called recreational players had more than held their own against the pros.

As the field built to a new Montenegro Main Event high point — 180 entries, besting last year's 171 — and then contracted as players were eliminated, the pattern seemed to be repeating. With 17 players left, five seats were occupied by Invitees to the previous $200K event, and they were causing chaos among their ICM-tortured opponents.

By that point, of course, the bubble had been and gone, and it burst with a classic pro vs. amateur showdown. Nacho Barbero had only a handful of blinds but found pocket fours and got the majority of his stack in behind them. Santhosh Suvarna, in the big blind, had only 56 and made a few comments about being near the bottom of a calling range.

A less-than-happy Nacho Barbero bubbles

But with a 72-blind stack and closing the action, he put in the raise that would commit the final scraps of Barbero's stack. He was likely amazed to discover he had two over-cards—and the rest of the tournament field chuckled their delight as well.

Barbero was not amused, even less so after he saw a six on the flop. The rest of the board offered no lifeline to the Argentinian pro as his Main Event ended in 32nd place, the stone bubble.

Keen interest on the bubble

They concluded Day 2 play with 11 left, and then quickly removed two more players as the final day began. The last nine was every bit as accomplished as these high buy-in Triton finals tend to be.

Main Event final table line-up:

Jesse Lonis - 8,975,000 (60 BBs)

Stephen Chidwick - 6,675,000 (45 BBs)

Kiat Lee - 5,450,000 (36 BBs)

Mikalai Vaskaboinikau - 5,225,000 (35 BBs)

Santhosh Suvarna - 5,025,000 (34 BBs)

Ramin Hajiyev - 4,800,000 (32 BBs)

Christoph Vogelsang - 3,600,000 (24 BBs)

Artur Martirosian - 3,225,000 (22 BBs)

Fedor Holz - 2,025,000 (14 BBs)

Triton Montenegro NLH Main Event final table players (clockwise from back left): Christoph Vogelsang, Stephen Chidwick, Mikalai Vaskaboinikau, Artur Martirosian, Jesse Lonis, Kiat Lee, Ramin Hajiyev, Fedor Holz, Santhosh Suvarna

Jesse Lonis had been running very hot in the sessions immediately before reaching the final. He'd knocked out Matt Belcher in 12th late last night, then also eliminated Espen Jorstad early on Friday. Lonis, searching for a second title of the week, was clearly in great form, as was Malaysia's Kiat Lee, having taken down an early Turbo.

Stephen Chidwick was at a second final table of the trip, as were Fedor Holz and Artur Martirosian, the latter having extended his lead at the top of the Player of the Year leader board. Meanwhile Ramin Hajiyev had already made the last nine in the Invitational, and Mikalai Vaskaboinikau was the defending Montenegro Main Event champion.

All in all, it was a stunning final table line-up.

Eliminating any of these players was always going to be difficult, but two big hands and a whiff of an outdraw accounted for the first man to hit the rail. After Hajiyev opened an early final table pot, Vaskaboinikau three bet the cutoff and Martirosian jammed his last 14 blinds from the small blind.

It's doubtful Martirosian would have done this with anything but a premium hand, and after Hajiyev folded and Vaskaboinikau called, we got to see how true that was. Martirosian had pocket kings. Vaskaboinikau had a premium too, but would need some help with his AK.

He got that help immediately. The flop fell A8Q. Martirosian was now drawing to one out (or runner-runner), but the 4 turn and Q river instead sent him out. Martirosian won $389,000 and another pile of PoY points. But his seat at the final was now empty.

Artur Martirosian hit the rail in nin

Things slowed for a while, but Hajiyev pounced to secure a double through Fedor Holz after the latter opened the small blind and Hajiyev picked up an ace as the only player still to act behind. Holz had made an effective jam with J3 and Hajiyev called off with his A4 and held.

That, plus another significant pot against Kiat Lee, left Holz in trouble, and with only three big blinds left, he lost to a big outdraw from Vaskaboinikau. Holz tossed in everything he had with A9 and Vaskaboinikau called from the big blind, holding 97. It was only one blind more.

The flop of 8Q4 was fine for Holz. The 2 was OK as well. Then someone on the camera crew muttered, "It's always coming seven," referencing a meme that started in the German poker community and, sure enough, the 7 came on the river. It sent the German No 1 to the rail in eighth, with $470,000.

A 'seven on the river' special accounted for Fedor Holz

Seven were now left, with Vaskaboinikau in front.

Throughout all the highs and lows of final table play, Lonis had remained in one of the top two positions. And he reacted to Vaskaboinikau taking over the lead by heading straight back to the top spot himself.

He did so by ending the run in this one of Suvarna, who had been central to so much of what made the tournament so entertaining, but who eventually ran out of road. On what turned out to be Survana's final hand, Lonis opened from mid-position holding K9 and Survana, with six blinds, jammed with A8 from the small blind.

Lonis called and needed to hit, which he did on the 93Q flop. Survana had a big re-draw to either his ace or any diamond, but neither the 8 turn nor the 5 river could do anything for him. Survana's day was done.

The Indian No 1 picked up another $643,000 and left the field with six left.

Another great run from Santhosh Suvarna

Nothing had really been going according to the form book so far at the final table, with inferior pre-flop hands winning regularly and already many of the game's recognised bosses forced out of contention. There was no sign of the trend ending as Stephen Chidwick next hit the rail.

Chidwick's performance here in Montenegro was already enough to send him to second on poker's all-time money list, but the UK No 1 became the latest player to fall victim to Vaskaboinikau. Chidwick picked up pocket queens and opened from the cutoff. Vaskaboinikau called from the big blind.

The flop of 2104 must have seemed innocuous to Chidwick, especially after Vaskaboinikau checked. Chidwick bet, but then Vaskaboinikau check-raised. Chidwick three-bet and Vaskaboinikau four-bet shoved with the covering stack.

The flop might have seemed innocuous, but Vaskaboinikau had pocket deuces and had flopped a set. The turn and river were both sixes, meaning Vaskaboinikau now had a boat and Chidwick only a ticket with sixth-placed prize money — $879,000 — on it. Chidwick had ground a five blind stack for a good two hours in the pre-bubble stages of this tournament, eventually being rewarded for his patience with an overnight chip lead.

But he is still looking for title No 3 after this one.

Stephen Chidwick's queens went down to pocket deuces

Vogelsang became the short stack, but survived potential elimination in a bizarre hand featuring a cameo from the leader Vaskaboinikau. Vogelsang opened with AQ from under the gun and Vaskaboinikau, with AK, attempted to raise from the small blind, but declared an amount that was too little. It was ruled that he could only call.

However Lonis then found AQ in the big blind and three-bet squeezed. Vogelsang called for the last of his stack.

Vaskaboinikau now did have the chance to put in another raise, but decided only to call, setting up a three-way coup, with betting on the side.

The flop came 82J and Vaskaboinikau had missed. He checked it. Lonis now bet for about one sixth of the pot, into the side pot, and Vaskaboinikau was convinced he was behind. He open-folded his ace king. That meant the two players with ace-queen chopped up Vaskaboinikau's money, and Lonis took over the chip lead.

Vaskaboinikau could have knocked them both out!

"You always thought you liked me, huh Christoph?" Lonis said to Vogelsang. "You couldn't figure out why, but now you know."

Still, it did not ultimately harm Vaskaboinikau's chances. A few hands later, Vaskaboinikau was in the big blind when Hajiyev shipped his last 11 blinds into the middle from the button. Hajiyev had pocket nines and Vaskaboinikau put him at risk with a call from the big blind, holding A5.

The flop was technically still OK for Hajiyev -- 435 -- but it gave more outs to Vaskaboinikau. And after the 3 turn was a blank, Vaskaboinikau drilled the win on the 5 river. That was another boat for the Belarusian businessman, and Hajiyev's ship had sailed.

He took $1,159,000 for fifth.

Nothing Ramin Hajiyev could do about this one

Vogelsang still had the smallest stack, and he soon found another chance to get his last 12 blinds in. He had KQ, raised, and then saw Kiat Lee three-bet. Vogelsang jammed and probably knew would need to hit when Lee called.

Lee had AK and held firm through flop, turn and river. Vogelsang's defences were finally penetrated and he bust in fourth for $1.463 million.

Handshake goodbye for Christoph Vogelsang

The next passage of play took place away from the table. The three remaining players, with all but equal stacks, now talked about a deal. It wasn't straightforward. Vaskaboinikau desperately wanted to defend his title, and to get another trophy to give to his children, and pretty much stated outright that he would be willing to give up some money if he could be assured of the win.

However, Triton rules state that there must be a minimum 10 percent of the prize money left on the side to play for, and that a "win" must actually be a win. It therefore made it difficult for them to solve the conundrum to meet Vaskaboinikau's request.

In long conversation, they did then seem to come up with a solution — reporters' ears were not party to the discussions — and both Lonis and Vaskaboinikau seemed happy. However Lee asked for a quick break, presumably to discuss matters with a friend elsewhere, and returned to tell them the deal was off.

Deal negotions begin. This was just the very start...

The other two looked a little shellshocked but had no option but to agree. They said they would now play it out pure, without any amendment to the published payout structure. And so, on they went.

They played another two levels. That meant stacks now stood at 29 : 28 : 18 BBs for Vaskaboinikau : Lee : Lonis. Lonis slipped some more, then won a flip through Vaskaboinikau to double. It was jacks holding versus AK and the stacks evened out again.

Kiat Lee slipped to the shortest. But he then drilled a miraculous river to get Q3 to beat Q10. "Three of diamonds!" bellowed Lee's friend Lun Loon from the rail, after the first four cards on the board were blanks.

Mikalai Vaskaboinikau helpless as Kiat Lee doubles

Bink. The 3 duly arrived and the room went wild.

Lee doubled to 13 blinds and Vaskaboinikau had only six. The average stack was now 15 BBs. However, Lee's chips didn't remain in front of him for very long. On the next hand, they headed over to Lonis's stack: Lee this time had A7 but Lonis hit an eight on the flop to win with 108.

Kiat Lee ended up out in third

They were now heads up, with Lonis' 37 blinds leading Vaskaboinikau's eight.

"We're going to go on break," Lonis said, as the two remaining players quickly dashed off the stage. Lee hung around long enough to pick up his $1,807,000 third-place prize.

The two remaining players tried again to make a deal, but the negotiations foundered once more. They seemed to reach some kind of agreement about what they were going to do with the trophy and the watch, but they ended up sitting down to play without any official word. However, when Vaskaboinikau doubled up quickly, with J6 beating Lonis' A2, they tried yet again to reach an agreement.

This time, they succeeded.

Lonis secured himself a minimum of $3,321,298. Vaskaboinikau locked up $2,927,702, and they had $125,000 left to play for.

And they played for it for one more hand.

All in heads-up

Straight way, the chips were in. Vaskaboinikau had QJ and Lonis had K10. And this time the dealers had no more tricks to deliver.

"You have killed the defending champion!" Vaskaboinikau said as he offered heartfelt congratulations to Lonis. This time next year, someone can try to unseat Lonis. Good luck to them...

Jesse Lonis is the new Main Event champion