Champion Bryn Kenney!

Late last night on the Triton Super High Roller Series, poker reporters had drafted article describing Bryn Kenney’s latest major success. But an unlikely comeback by Mario Mosbock denied Kenney a fifth Triton title and the press corps reached for their DELETE buttons.

Tonight, they’re delving into their drafts folder and rescuing those spiked reports. It’s not even 24 hours later and Kenney is indeed a five-time Triton winner, having taken down the $50,000 NLH Bounty Quattro Turbo in characteristic swashbuckling style.

“Sick,” Kenney said as he took off his sunglasses and stacked up the last chips, won from Spanish pro Jon Ander Vallinas. “Good to be lucky,” Kenney added.

There’s no doubting he had the run of the cards when things got shove-heavy in the late short-stacked stages, but Kenney is truly in a class of his own.

Already the all time winningest player in all documented poker tournaments, and streets ahead on the Triton Series, Kenney added another $1.319 million for this success, a total that included $480,000 in bounties. He knocked out seven opponents, taking each of their $60,000 bounties, and of course got to keep his own as well.

Jon Ander Vallinas is first to congratulate Bryn Kenney

There’s seemingly nothing left to achieve for this phenomenon from Long Beach, New York. And yet he always manages to find something else.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

With the bounty format, this one was always going to be fast and fun. In they came, and out they went. Nothing took very long.

True to form, the bubble burst in a blink of an eye with Michael Soyza, Punnat Punsri and James Hopkins getting all their chips in on a flop of Q29 . Hopkins had the fewest chips but he also had the best hand, pocket jacks, against Punsri’s A9 and Soyza’s 88.

However, the 9 turn vaulted Punsri into the lead, and it looked like becoming a double bust-out. But then Soyza found a miracle two-outer 8 to go from worst to first. Hopkins was out on the stone bubble and Punsri took a massive hit. He was first out in the money, earning $55,000.

An hour or so later, they reached the final — and this was another really beautiful line-up, with Jon Ander Vallinas and Bryn Kenney heading the field.

Final table line-up:

Jon Ander Vallinas – 5,400,000 (54 BBs)
Bryn Kenney – 4,150,000 (42 BBs)
Michael Soyza – 2,600,000 (26 BBs)
Brandon Wilson – 1,925,000 (19 BBs)
Leon Sturm – 1,525,000 (15 BBs)
Yang Chongxian – 1,350,000 (14 BBs)
Erik Seidel – 775,000 (8 BBs)
Stephen Chidwick – 700,000 (7 BBs)
Chance Kornuth – 375,000 (4 BBs)

Event 10 final table players (clockwise from back left): Leon Sturm, Brandon Wilson, Bryn Kenney, Stephen Chidwick, Erik Seidel, Yang Chongxian, Jon Ander Vallinas, Chance Kornuth, Michael Soyza.

As always, stacks were extremely shallow, but all these guys know their ranges and there’s absolutely no guarantee things get done quickly. Plenty of these Triton turbos have turned into a forensic examination of top-level poker skills, fascinating viewing for anyone prepared to stick around late into the night.

For all that, Stephen Chidwick, Chance Kornuth and Erik Seidel had their work really cut out with fewer than 10 big blinds each. And they were the first three out, with Seidel following Chidwick, who followed Kornuth.

Kornuth had pocket eights and jammed into Vallinas’ pocket jacks. He actually flopped a set, but Vallinas ended up with a flush. Kornuth won $84,700.

Chance Kornuth was first out from a hectic final

Chidwick had six blinds when he had 910 and three-bet shoved over Kenney’s open raise. Kenney called with pocket threes and Chidwick couldn’t hit. Chidwick won $115,500 for eighth.

Stephen Chidwick’s first final table of the week ended in eighth

Seidel then got his chips in good. He jammed with KJ and Vallinas looked him up with Q5. The on the turn ended things for Seidel, who won $151,500.

Leon Sturm was the next to take the fall, and it was Kenney’s turn again to take the final chips. Most of Sturm’s stack had gone to Soyza in a pocket queens vs. AK collision when Soyza hit a king and also took some chips from Vallinas.

But on Sturm’s final hand, he only had one blind and limped from under the gun with Q9. Soyza called too from the button. Kenney found AK in the small blind and raised to get Soyza out of it. Sturm whiffed and Kenney picked up the bounty. Sturm won $192,300 for sixth.

Leon Sturm’s bounty headed to Kenney

Brandon Wilson has been a revelation here in Jeju this week, making three final tables from his first trip to the tour. Here he was once again at final table and, having finishing in seventh and sixth in his previous outings, he continued the sequence with a fifth-placed finish.

Wilson’s last seven blinds went in with A8 but he ran into Yang Chongxian’s AJ. There was no help, and Wilson was out for $246,000.

Brandon Wilson: A seventh, a sixth and now a fifth

The state of the tournament was such that any two decent hands meant an inevitable all-in confrontation, and the next two landed in the hands of Soyza and Kenney. Soyza had pocket sevens and Kenney AJ. Kenney won this flip when two aces flopped.

Soyza won $307,000 and had two bounties as well.

Michael Soyza’s chips begin their journey elsewhere

Kenney was now the only player left who had already sampled victory on the Triton Series, and the other two quickly found out just how he does it. Yang had slipped to five blinds when he jammed 98 and Kenney called with his Doyle Brunson tribute: 102. Nobody hit anything, so Kenney’s ten won the day.

Yang earned $378,000 plus $120,000 in bounties.

Newcomer Yang Chongxian made it to third

Spanish pro Vallinas was now the only player who could potentially stop the Kenney juggernaut, but his resistance lasted one hand.

Kenney opened with KQ and Vallinas jammed with 97. Kenney picked him off and flopped a queen. That was the end of that.

Jon Ander Vallinas: A new Spanish poker star

Kenney was full of praise for the table presence and the game of Vallinas, who he has never crossed swords with before. This Spanish player has impressed everyone here already this week, and was at his third final on a first trip to Triton. He has another $577,000 plus $240,000 in bounties.

But, well, his sharp learning curve today took another upward spike. He’s faced off against the Triton GOAT. And we’re all celebrating Kenney once again tonight.