Champion Dominykas Mikolaitis!

Lithuania's Dominykas Mikolaitis has finally got his hands on the silverware he has always dreamed of.

"I'm more of a trophy guy than a money guy, so this means everything to me," Mikolaitis said, preparing to lift the iconic Triton trophy as the winner of the $50K NLH event at the Triton Super High Roller Series stop in Montenegro.

Though he says the money isn't what he does it for, one suspects Mikolaitis will graciously accept the $1.258 million prize he gets today, after beating a field of 100 entries.

He was a short stack at a tough and tense final table, before picking up a crucial run of cards to soar up the counts. He was then able to down Alex Kulev in a brief heads up battle, leaving Kulev with $850,000 for second.

"It feels insane," Mikolaitis said. "This year I told my wife that this year was going to be about trophies...I really wanted the Triton trophy so I was very glad I can finally get it and lift it."

TOURNAMENT ACTION

With the big Triton Invitational still playing its final stages, much of this event took place away from viewers' most penetrating gaze. After a field of 100 amassed during the registration period, it quickly slimmed down close to the money, but then slowed down tortuously as the bubble approached.

Poor Roland Rokita was the shortest stack in the room and watched as everyone else managed to cling on. It eventually forced his last four blinds into the middle with only K8. Jesse Lonis was lurking behind with KQ.

There was nothing to help Rokita and the remaining 17 were all in the money.

They now had to target the final table of seven, but it was a bridge too far for Jason Koon, Phil Ivey, Mikita Badziakouski and finally Ike Haxton, who went out in eighth.

That brought them to a final that lined up as follows:

Danilo Velasevic - 5,070,000 (51 BBs)

Alex Kulev - 4,395,000 (44 BBs)

Jesse Lonis - 3,135,000 (31 BBs)

Dominykas Mikolaitis - 2,350,000 (24 BBs)

David Peters - 2,250,000 (23 BBs)

Poseidon Ho - 1,410,000 (14 BBs)

Ben Tollerene - 1,390,000 (14 BBs)

Triton Montenegro Event 9 final table players (clockwise from back left): Danilo Velasevic, Alex Kulev, David Peters, Poseidon Ho, Ben Tollerene, Jesse Lonis, Dominykas Mikolaitis

It had taken a while to get to this seven-handed final, and the result was a lot of shallow stacks around the table, even after the roll-back of blinds.

They played seven-handed for quite a while too, enough time for David Peters to rise up the leader board, thanks in no small part to a pot against Dominykas Mikolaitis where Peters flopped trips with A4 and Mikolaitis tried to represent something much stronger than his five-high.

There was little change at the bottom, however, with Ben Tollerene forced to scrap it out to survive. But eventually he found a perfect spot to be confident of getting a double up, only to see Jesse Lonis spike the cards he needed instead.

Tollerene had 11 bigs in the big blind and action folded to Lonis in the small blind. He shoved with only one blind more, holding K9, and Tollerene called with A7. There was an ace and a nine on the flop, which gave both players a pair. And even though Tollerene's was better, the K turn left Tollerene drawing thin.

The 2 completed the board and that was the end of that for Tollerene. His gritty display ended in seventh anyway, and a $222K pick-up.

Ben Tollerene's stubborn performance ended in seventh

After another period of scrappy, tight poker, the average stack had slipped to 19 blinds. Mikolaitis had only seven. But in back-to-back hands, Mikolaitis found two big pairs and not only effectively tripled up, but gave everyone a ladder as well.

Everyone bar Danilo Velasevic, that is. On the first of those back-to-back hands, Mikolaitis found aces and doubled through Peters, with K6. That gave the Lithuanian 14 big blinds, and he found pocket kings on the very next deal.

This time Mikolaitis saw Velasevic open-raise. Mikolaitis jammed and Velasevic called with AQ. Mikolaitis flopped a king to strengthen his hold on the hand, and Velasevic was drawing dead on the turn.

Velasevic, a runner-up to Seth Davies earlier in this trip to Montenegro, won $291,000 for sixth.

Another big final table appearance from Danilo Velasevic

As can often be the case, one elimination followed another and then another. The pressure was off and the short stacks put their chips in the middle. Poseidon Ho became the next player out, when his AJ went down to Lonis' A8.

Yet again the inferior pre-flop holding won the day, with Lonis spiking an eight on the river. Ho's seven blinds therefore went to the resurgent American as Ho took $368,000 from his second final table appearance of the week.

A tough way for the tournament to end for Poseidon Ho

Lonis had the momentum, but poker can be very cruel. No sooner was he perhaps thinking he could go all the way to a second title of the week than he became the next player on the rail. He lost a succession of small pots, which pegged him back again to around 17 big blinds. Then he lost pretty much all of them in a hand against Kulev, where Lonis tried to represent the hand Kulev was holding, namely a broadway straight.

Kulev raised the river, Lonis was forced to fold, and Lonis was left with almost nothing. The final scraps went to Mikolaitis as Kulev got back within sight of Mikolaitis and Lonis ended in fourth for $457,000.

Jesse Lonis missed out on a second win of the week

Lonis' countryman David Peters had also visited a final table already here in Montenegro, but he was destined to finish with a second bronze medal of the week. Peters similarly couldn't seem to get much going towards the later stages of his event and saw his stack slip to 12 big blinds. He ended up defending his big blind to a small raise from Mikolaitis sitting with K3 and then flopped bottom pair on the 4103 flop.

Mikolaitis bet, Peters raised and Mikolaitis jammed. Peters couldn't fold.

Mikolaitis had AK so was actually now behind in the hand. But when two hearts fell on turn and river, Mikolaitis filled a flush and Peters was out. This time his performance earned him $552,000.

Another third-placed finish for David Peters

Just like that, they were now heads up with the Bulgarian Kulev, who won his Triton title here last year, sitting with 27 big blinds to Mikolaitis' 53. Mikolaitis has also had a few near misses on the Triton Poker Series but had never been in this kind of position heads up.

One last bad beat did for Alex Kulev

This one didn't take long at all. The heads-up battle was only a couple of hands old when players each found an ace. It all went in, with Kulev's A10 looking to double against Mikolaitis' A8.

But an eight on the flop, as well as two clubs, left Kulev in real trouble.

He couldn't wriggle out of the hole as Mikolaitis found one more big hand, the one that sealed the win.

Mikolaitis' cele