Champion Mario Mosböck!

One of the swiftest and most surprising heads up battles in Triton Super High Roller Series history swept Austria’s Mario Mosböck to a third tour title tonight–a hat-trick, in soccer parlance, though this former sportsman has probably never felt so happily removed from the soccer field.

Mosböck’s success was not the surprising part. He is a startlingly good player, as proven time and again on the Triton Series, and was heads-up for the second time on this trip to Jeju. What was notable was that he overturned a huge chip lead in the hands of Bryn Kenney to seal his triumph. Very few people have ever managed to stop the all time money list leader and Triton No 1.

But the pair agreed an ICM chop when the rest of the 215-entry field had departed, with Kenney securing himself $1,897,430 and Mosböck locking up $1,766,570. The $70,000 they left to play for also headed to Mosböck after a five-hand heads-up blitz, in which Mosböck was dealt pocket aces, then flopped trip jacks, and then found pocket queens to seal the deal.

“I got really lucky,” Mosböck said, referring to the late stages of the event. “Heads up, I won five hands in a row.”

Celebrations begin for Mario Mosböck

He added that the victory felt "so much sweeter" because he had been defeated heads-up in Event 2 here, when he had been the favourite against Malaysia's Tuck Wai Foo. "You just don't get these spots very often," Mosböck said.

But with a packed rail of supporters, who always come out to rail Mosböck's deep runs, there was no stopping him this time. Kenney was happy with his tournament. Even when he comes second, he tends to get the most money. But that's taking nothing away from Mosböck, who joins his countryman Matthias Eibinger in the three-time winner club.

An unfamiliar second for Bryn Kenney

TOURNAMENT ACTION

Day 1 action was typically cutthroat, with players arriving, busting, re-entering and sometimes busting again. Registration closed with 215 entries recorded, building the first $10+ million pot of the trip. (It won't be the last.)

Fourty-two players survived and came back on Wednesday to hope first to survive the bubble, which would burst when 34 remained.

There was significant drama on the bubble this time, with four consecutive double-ups across three tables. David Kaufmann, Danny Tang, Dylan Linde and Thomas Boivin all survived when they were all in and under threat, with Kaufmann arguably getting the most fortunate. His AJ needed to hit against Poseidon Ho's , and the three-outer jack landed on the river.

Linde's double up was through Matthias Lipp, and on the very next hand the pair went at it again, with Linde winning once more. This time Linde had the larger stack, so Lipp was knocked out; his KJ whiffed flop, turn and river allowing Linde's pocket nines to hold up.

Lipp made a hasty exit as the last 34 secured a minimum payday of $89,000.

Matthias Lipp bubbles after losing two hands back-to-back against Dylan Linde

Linde's fortunes, however, were completely the reverse. Having profited from the two bubble hands with Lipp, the American now went on an enormous surge. So much so that when he won a massive pot from Keat Liu Chun a couple of hours later — queens holding against AK — Linde was top of everyone.

He remained there as Kaufmann, Thomas Boivin and Artur Martirosian perished just ahead of the eight-handed final, which took them down to a single table with the following formidable line-up:

Dylan Linde — 10,525,000 (70 BBs)

Bryn Kenney — 9,775,000 (65 BBs)

Mario Mosböck — 5,200,000 (35 BBs)

Mike Watson — 4,325,000 (29 BBs)

Brandon Wilson — 3,500,000 (23 BBs)

Steve O'Dwyer — 3,425,000 (23 BBs)

Matas Cimbolas — 3,300,000 (22 BBs)

Juan Pardo — 2,950,000 (20 BBs)

Event 8 final table players (clockwise from back left): Mario Mosbock, Mike Watson, Brandon Wilson, Steve O'Dwyer, Matas Cimbolas, Dylan Linde, Bryn Kenney, Juan Pardo.

This was a beauty of a final table, with leading lights of the game from across North America and Europe all with stacks big enough to play their game. Most watchers would likely have picked Bryn Kenney as the man most likely at this stage, but an early double for Juan Pardo through the Triton money list leader pegged Kenney back. It's was aces versus jacks and would have played the same in anyone's hands.

Mario Mosböck, at his second final table of the trip, then doubled through Pardo. This time it was Mosböck with the jacks, which beat Pardo's A5 all-in pre-flop. Linde was still at the top of the leader board, ahead now of Kenney, Mosböck and Pardo.

The tournament paused for dinner, and also to allow the bounty pulling draw to take place for the Mystery Bounty tournament that concluded in the early hours of the day. A remarkable series of bounty pulls meant Matas Cimbolas ended up walking away from the draw with more than $1 million, which must have been a nice comfort coming back to only four big blinds in this one.

They soon went in and were surrendered to Mosböck, whose 107 beat Cimbolas' A. Cimbolas won $276,000 for eighth, but the million from the bounties is how he'll likely remember today.

Matas Cimbolas, left, was first out from the final (but had just won $1m anyway)

Mike Watson and Brandon Wilson quickly followed Cimbolas out the door. Watson perished at the hands of Kenney, with 10K falling to pocket eights. Watson took $377,000. Pardo took Wilson's last 11 blinds with Astaying best against . Wilson earned $512,000 for sixth.

Mike Watson was knocked out in seventh

Brandon Wilson's second final ended in a sixth-place finish

Linde had been sitting things out for the most part, and Kenney now supplanted him at the top of the counts. This turned out to be crucial because it allowed Kenney to wield his power with no fear of busting — and it was Linde who was next to suffer.

Kenney opened with QJ from under the gun and Linde picked up A one seat over. He three-bet. When the blinds got out the way, Kenney shoved, and Linde called off for his 27 blinds total.

Linde had got his chips in good, but Kenney flopped with world when the dealer put Q74 on the table. The turn and river bricked out and Linde was done. He earned $676,000 for fifth place.

Dylan Linde got killed by Kenney

Kenney now stacked up more than 80 big blinds, with his closest challenger sitting with only around 25.

Mosböck was again facing elimination, but doubled with pocket eights through Pardo's KQ. That left Steve O'Dwyer as the shortest stack, but he couldn't pull off the same doubling trick.

O'Dwyer opened with 10K and saw Kenney put in a three bet with A. O'Dwyer put in his last crumbs and Kenney called. This time he didn't need to hit anything to win, but a jack came on the turn for good measure. O'Dwyer, a two-time Triton winner, took $854,000 for fourth. It was his third cash of the trip to Jeju so far.

Steve O'Dwyer perishes in fourth

Kenney was very well established in the box seat once more, while his two opponents had barely half his stack between them.

While it would have taken a lot at this stage to halt Kenney, both Pardo and Mosböck knew that if the two of them butted heads, the winner would at least have a chance to topple the leader. And it happened that Pardo was the one who went on a terminal slide, while Mosböck managed to stay in sight of Kenney.

Mosböck took Pardo's last chips. It was a 6 BB shove from Pardo with 98, which Mosböck called with Q. A queen on the flop all but sealed it in Mosböck's favour, and Pardo left in third for $1.055 million.

Juan Pardo, standing, is knocked out in third

That took us into the heads-up phase, with Mosböck's 35 blinds giving him a fair shot at Kenney's 52. These two pros agreed to do an ICM deal and take the edge off whatever happened next.

Kenney locked up $1,897,430, while Mosböck would take a minimum of $1,766,570. There was $70,000 on the side, plus the trophy. It would be Kenney's fifth or Mosböck's third. Time to find out who got it.

It's not easy to get the better of Bryn Kenney. But picking up pocket aces and rivering a set is certainly going to help. On the second hand of heads-up, that's precisely what happened to Mosböck and Kenney called a big river bet with bottom pair. Mosböck took the chip lead.

It turned into an incredibly lop-sided heads-up battle between Bryn Kenney and Mario Mosbock

On the very next hand, another big pot went to Mosböck. This time he flopped trips with QJ and Kenney paid him off once more. In the space of just two hands, Kenney now had only 8 BBs to Mosböck's 64 and this was turning into the most surprising rout we have seen.

When Mosböck found queens not long after, he had an easy call of Kenney's shove. Kenney's 98 couldn't catch up and that was the end of that.