Champion Nacho Barbero!

It's been a turbulent few weeks for Argentina's No1 Nacho Barbero after a "hot mic" incident during a televised cash game landed him in some unwelcome hot water. But back in the welcoming environment of the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro this week, Barbero let his poker skills do (most of) the talking.

A day after a third-place finish in a $25K buy-in event, Barbero swaggered to victory in the $30K NLH Event #3 at the Maestral Casino & Resort, slicing through a field of immense quality to earn a third career Triton title. It came with a $1.025 million payout, the first seven-figure prize of the stop so far.

It won't be the last to hit that total. And it may not be Barbero's last either.

He said, "I play a lot. I'm one of the players that plays the most. I go to every stop. I keep showing up, and sometimes it works out."

He added that he had no intention of stopping talking at the table, stating that the no-phones rule helps him play his natural, social game.

"I come to play poker to have fun," Barbero said. "I’m talkative, I try to connect more. Obviously I know sometimes I tilt players and that kind of helps. But it is what it is. Everyone has their technique."

Barbero was loving life at the final

Barbero was in scintillating form, knocking out six of the eight opponents he faced at the nine-handed final, from this 147-entry field. When you add the names to sketch in the blanks — Stephen Chidwick, Kristen Foxen, Tobias Schwecht, Barak Wisbrod, Abdullah Alajmi, and then Adrian Mateos in a brief heads-up duel — you get an even sharper picture of how impressive this performance was.

"I ran super good in this tournament, I’m not going to lie," Barbero confessed, pointing to a huge hand on the final table bubble where he cracked the queens of Artur Martirosian. From there it was seemingly plain sailing.

"I got the chip lead and I was just pressuring," Barbero said. "I was winning every all-in, pretty much."

But it was good fun to watch Barbero enjoying himself, doing what he does the best in the most prestigious setting.

"I think it’s by far the best tour, everything about it," Barbero said of the Triton Series. "The competition is obviously the hardest, but...I love it. I’m going to keep coming back."

No hard feelings: Adrian Mateos, beaten heads-up, joins Barbero's celebrations

TOURNAMENT ACTION

In keeping with tournaments so far on this trip to Montenegro, they reached the money late on the first day — Matthew Belcher busting with pocket fours to Kristen Bicknell's queens. That left 23 players in the money, of whom 22 returned for the final day.

It was similarly predictable that this was a formidable field, and at one point with 14 players left, Stephen Chidwick could look to his left and see, in a row, Phil Ivey, Dan Dvoress, Linus Loeliger and Adrian Mateos. It was that kind of event.

However, by the time the field trimmed to its final nine, Ivey and Dvoress were gone, and Chidwick himself had had to survive a nervy moment on the final table bubble. However, he got AQ to beat Loeliger's AK and thereby booked his spot in the closing stages. There was no such luck for Artur Martirosian, whose pocket queens lost to Nacho Barbero's A7 and sent the PoY leader out in 10th.

Here was our latest gallery of crushers at the Event 3 final:

Tobias Schwecht - 5,225,000 (52 BBs)

Nacho Barbero - 4,100,000 (41 BBs)

Adrian Mateos - 4,100,000 (41 BBs)

Abdullah Alajmi - 3,175,000 (32 BBs)

Barak Wisbrod - 3,125,000 (31 BBs)

Kristen Foxen - 2,825,000 (28 BBs)

Stephen Chidwick - 2,800,000 (28 BBs)

Linus Loeliger - 2,775,000 (28 BBs)

Thomas Santerne - 1,275,000 (13 BBs)

Triton Montenegro Event #3 final table players (clockwise from back left): Linus Loeliger, Thomas Santerne, Abdullah Alajmi, Adrian Mateos, Nacho Barbero, Stephen Chidwick, Tobias Schwecht, Barak Wisbrod, Kristen Foxen

The blind-level rollback gave enough play for everyone, and it took close to an hour until anybody was under threat. Abdullah Alajmi had 20 big blinds, right in the middle of the pack, when he picked up J10 in mid-position. Nacho Barbero raised under the gun and Alajmi called.

The flop of 10Q7 gave Alajmi middle pair, and after Barbero checked, Alajmi checked behind. The 2 came on the turn. Barbero bet a little less than two blinds, and Alajmi called. When the 4 rivered, Barbero now bet all of it, with Alajmi eventually calling for his last 14 blinds.

Barbero had trapped Alajmi with his AQ and flew into the chip lead. Alajmi's first Triton cash (from only his second tournament) earned him $102,000.

Abadullah Alajmi made the final in his second Triton tournament

France's Thomas Santerne now assumed the role of short stack, and he was prepared to wait for one of two things to happen. Either an opponent would bust first and he would ladder, or he'd find a spot good enough to warrant getting his last seven blinds in the middle.

Nobody bust. And then Santerne picked up A8 in the big blind and saw Barak Wisbrod make a mid-position raise. Santerne opted just to call and the flop paired his eight. It came 87Q. Santerne jammed for his last three blinds and Wisbrod made a priced-in call with KJ. It worked out well for Wisbrod, less well for Santerne, because the turn was the J.

After the 3 on the river, Santerne's tournament was over. He won $128,000 for eighth.

Thomas Santerne hit the rail in eighth

The pot put Wisbrod on a new high, but he was still one of the ever shallowing short stacks. And five hands later, he followed Santerne out the door when he was eliminated at the hands of Barbero. Barbero, with the chip lead, opened from the hijack and Wisbod found A10 in the small blind. It was good enough to get it in.

Barbero had it, though. It was AK specifically for the Argentinian, and Wisbrod couldn't find the 10 he needed to survive. Wisbrod, on his second final table in consecutive days, took $175,000 from this one for seventh.

Back-to-back Barak Wisbrod

Tobias Schwecht has been coming to the Triton Series for two-and-a-bit years now, and has made three previous final tables. He had been the dominant player on the opening day of this event in Montenegro too, bagging the overnight chip lead. But he'd been largely card dead at the final and had seen his stack dwindle down to fewer than 20 big blinds before he finally got a playable hand.

The hand was AK and he must have been delighted to see it in the small blind after Barbero, bullying now, open-jammed from the hijack with a stack that covered everyone at the table. Schwecht made the call for all his chips and saw he was in a race with Barbero's pocket sixes.

But Barbero was ruling the roost at this stage and Schwecht missed both his over-cards. Barbero took another notable scalp, while Schwecht took $235,000 for sixth.

Tobias Schwecht is edging closer to a title

Kristen Foxen was another player at her second final in two days, with her husband Alex taking a seat at the only one she had so far missed (and won it). But this wasn't to be Foxen's day again.

She played an intriguing pot just before a tournament break in which she open-raised for all but one small blind with K8 and then saw Stephen Chidwick call one seat behind. Barbero jammed covering both of them, and that put Foxen in a really tough spot.

Kristen Foxen ended in a super tough spot

She had the insurance of the one blind left behind, meaning if she folded and Chidwick called and bust, she would ladder up. But did she really want to surrender all but one blind without giving herself any chance of winning? Foxen did fold, presumably now hoping Chidwick called. But after several minutes in the tank, Chidwick also let his AQ go, all but guaranteeing himself the ladder up.

Players had the chance to consider their decisions when the tournament immediately went on break. When they returned, Foxen didn't even have enough to pay the blind and ante and ended up busting after her 85 wasn't good enough to beat Barbero's Q2.

It was a $304,000 payday this time for Foxen.

Kristen Foxen played one of the day's most intriguing hands before busting in fifth

Chidwick had now guaranteed a fourth-place finish at least, and it was looking highly likely that his run would end there when he got his last eight blinds in with QJ and was up against Mateos with AQ. (Chidwick opened, Mateos jammed, Chidwick called.)

The dealer left the drama until the river, putting the J out there to give Chidwick the unlikely win. He vaulted into second place, with Loeliger and Mateos now with sub 10-blind stacks. Barbero had 66 blinds and was loving life.

Loeliger and Mateos then went to battle for the right to stick around. They had all but even stacks when Loeliger's chips went in with A9 and Mateos now had pocket sixes. This flip went to Mateos after a dry board, with Loeliger taking $379,000 for fourth.

Fourth place for the returning Linus Loeliger

Two of the Spanish-speaking world's leading lights now had the bigger stacks, with only Britain's No 1 to challenge them. But there was very little he could really do, with Barbero doing the obvious thing and shoving pretty much every hand.

Chidwick managed one more come-from-behind double. His Q9 beat A7. But when he tried it again, with Q7, Barbero's A10 held and Chidwick's challenge finally ended. It took a third prize worth $463,000.

All eyes on Stephen Chidwick

The tournament organisers reset the table for heads-up, but Mateos faced a mountain to climb. He had only seven blinds to Barbero's 52 and all the momentum was also with the Argentinian.

Even when Mateos found pocket jacks and got it all in against Barbero's Q10, the dealer put a queen in the window and the day was done.

Even Adrian Mateos was powerless to halt Barbero

Barbero may not have his high-profile ambassador's role any more, but the talent that earned him it in the first place hasn't gone anywhere.