Champion Martin Dam!

The curtain came down on the Triton Series’ third trip to Montenegro with a fast-paced, PLO Bounty Quattro tournament, where each knockout at the tournament’s business end paid an additional $40,000.

As we have come to expect, the man lifting the trophy was born in one of the Nordic countries, but this time it wasn’t Finland.

Denmark’s Martin Dam is another player who has had a quietly sensational trip to Montenegro, cashing in eighth and then 11th of the two tournaments he had played before now. But Dam made the absolute most of his last chance here at the Maestral Resort, winning $250,000 from the regular prize pool and another $280,000 in bounties for a delightful $530,000 total score.

“In bounty tournaments, you have to be quite loose,” Dam said, explaining how he managed to pick up seven of the 11 bounties in play. “It’s in your interests to be so. When there are some six or seven big-blind stacks all-ion, you have to be in it. Luckily I won most of them.”

The 27-year-old, originally from Copenhagen, decided to make his Triton Series debut after completing a move to Vienna, Austria, which has a more favourable tax arrangement for poker players than Denmark. It was a smart move. Dam was only out of the chip lead for the briefest of moments in the tournament’s late stages tonight, and took a big lead into the heads-up phase against Stephen Chidwick.

Then a little after midnight local time, he sent Chidwick packing too, denying the Brit a third title. Chidwick took $179,000, plus $40,000 in bounties, but this was Dam’s tournament all the way.

“Honestly, the experience has been amazing,” Dam said of his first trip to the Triton Series. “You really get a better experience here. Everything is just amazing. I feel great.”

A great feeling for champion Martin Dam

TOURNAMENT ACTION

With levels shortened to 15 minutes, this one was fast and chaotic from the very first deal. Through 10 levels, the cashiers welcomed 41 entries, which meant $1.23 million in the prize pool and a first prize of $250,000. That’s not including the bounties, which weighed in at $40,000 apiece and came into play with 11 players remaining.

The first of those went to Dylan Linde, who cracked Richard Gryko’s kings to take the field down to 10. The next target was to make the money, which would kick in when only seven players were left.

No one had a big stack, but some were less pressured than others. Jason Koon gave himself a bit of breathing room by knocking out Sean Winter in ninth. That left them on the final table bubble, which also happened to be the “other” bubble, so they were split four and four to play hand for hand on two tables.

Although the tournament room was quiet, this was still a dramatic bubble because two players were all in at the same time, one on each table.

Brian Rast was one of them, squaring off against Koon, and in need of some help. The board read Q 6 9 and Rast’s   needed some kind of miracle against Koon’s  .

It looks bleak for Brian Rast…until it didn’t

The 4 came on the turn and Koon said, “You gonna go backdoor fours on me again?” Rast did not reply, but the dealer did. The river was 4. That runner-runner kept Rast in the tournament.

On the outer table, the short stack was Jonas Kronwitter, but he was looking strong with A Q Q  on a flop of  . His opponent Martin Dam had  .

The 3 didn’t help Dam. But the 6 river did, and the unlikely turn of events sent Kronwitter to the rail in eighth and the others into the money and to the final. (Koon was 80/20 to win the hand on the first table, by the way, while Kronwitter had 70 percent equity on the other. He was pretty long odds to be walking away with nothing.)

PLO is a cruel game to bubble boy Jonas Kronwitter

They now lined up as follows:

Martin Dam – 2,530,000 (42 BBs)

Brian Rast – 2,010,000 (34 BBs)

Ding Biao – 1,270,000 (21 BBs)

Dylan Linde – 1,255,000 (21 BBs)

Stephen Chidwick – 480,000 (8 BBs)

Ronald Keijzer – 330,000 (6 BBs)

Jason Koon – 330,000 (6 BBs)

Triton Montenegro Event 16 final table players (clockwise from back left): Dylan Linde, Stephen Chidwick, Martin Dam, Ronald Keijzer, Brian Rast, Ding Biao, Jason Koon.

On the very first hand of the final table, there was a massive three-way all-in, which sent Stephen Chidwick climbing up counts, sent Ding Biao tumbling the other way, and left Ronald Keijzer looking for the payouts cage.

Everything went in pre-flop, with Keijzer opening with 8 8 9 , Chidwick then jamming with   and Biao calling with . Keijzer called too.

The dealer ran through the full board: 10 J 2  and Chidwick’s kings and deuces were best. Keijzer’s brief stay at the final earned him $42,000 as Chidwick picked up a bounty.

Ronald Keijzer hits the rail first, but the right side of the bubble

Stephen Chidwick won a three-way all in on the first hand at the final

Koon was stranded at the bottom of the counts, but doubled through the chip-leader Martin Dam to stay alive. But it was only a temporary reprieve as his chips found their way in the middle again soon after, and this time got stuck with Rast. (Koon’s tens couldn’t beat Rast’s kings. They both hit three of a kind.)

“GG Triton,” Koon said, making his way out with $51,000 waiting for him in his account, plus a bounty prize.

A final farewell to Montenegro for Jason Koon

Rast now found himself in the chip lead, but an almighty collision with Dam, temporarily relegated to second place, put the Dane back at the top of the pile.

Rast raised his button with double-suited jacks and Dam three-bet with kings, an ace and a four, single suited. Rast called.

The last of the money went in on a queen-high flop, and the kings held through turn and river. It was a big, big double for Dam, and when Ding Biao doubled soon after, Rast was the short stack all by himself.

Rast then lost with queens to Dam’s K 7 4  and his tournament was done. It was a nice break for him from commentary duties, and it earned him an extra $67,000.

Brian Rast busts in fifth

Biao was now the shortest stack again and he also ran headlong into Dam to finish his tournament. Biao hit his ace after getting to a flop with A 4 10 . Dam’s   flopped a straight draw and hit it on the river.

It was Biao’s second final table of the day, and this one earned him $87,000.

A fourth-place finish for Ding Biao in his second final table of the day

After nearly trebling his stack in the early stages, Chidwick had sat out most of the subsequent skirmishes but was now sitting with only about five big blinds. His double up through Dam not long after Biao’s elimination was most significant not for the number of chips he won, but for the fact it gave him survival for another orbit — time for Dylan Linde to bust.

Linde picked up aces single suited — A 2 A  — and when Dam three-bet his open pre-flop, they could get their whole stacks in at that point.

Dam had a lovely hand of his own — Q J 10  — and the hearts proved crucial as three fell on the board. That was Linde’s last involvement. He tossed his bounty chip to Dam and picked up prize money of $114,000.

Dylan Linde throws his bounty chip to Martin Dam as his tournament ends in third

For the second Triton stop in succession, Chidwick now found himself playing the final heads-up battle of the festival. But this time he really had his work cut out, staring over a six big blind stack at the 49 big blinds with Dam.

The comeback attempt started well. Chidwick cracked aces with his double suited Q 9 4 , flopping three spades. But that was about all he could muster. The next time they got it in, Chidwick had   to Dam’s  .

Runner-up Stephen Chidwick

The flop had an ace on it, but also a ten. Dam faded Chidwick’s full house outs and became our latest champion. Chidwick took $179,000 as runner up.

Dam played three events at his Triton debut and cashed all of them. This turbo win was the icing on the cake. He complemented his $250,000 winner’s prize with seven of 11 bounties available and so disappears back to Austria $530,000 to the good.

A fist bump from Ali Nejad for new champ Martin Dam