Champion Tobias Schwecht!

Another day, another German champion on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, and this time it's Tobias Schwecht who adds his name to the role of honor for taking down the $30,000 NLH/PLO event at the Maestral Resort.

The 33-year-old is another Vienna-based poker pro, who has been visiting this prestigious tour since 2023 and has been gradually building toward this breakout success. He said he's recently been playing more PLO tournaments, describing it as a "fun format" and showcased his skills in both variants to take down this unique event.

Schwecht leapt into an enormous chip lead late on Day 1 of this 53-entry tournament, getting aces to hold against pocket queens in a confrontation with the second-biggest stack, Tom Vogelsang.

What had looked like a foregone conclusion for Schwecht was put into doubt when Russia's Anatoly Zlotinikov, another breakout star here in Montenegro, somehow managed to overhaul the chip lead during short-handed play on Monday's final session.

Anatoly Zlotnikov congratulates Tobias Schwecht on his victory

But Schwecht demonstrated all the skills and composure of a true Triton champion to bustle back past Zlotnikov and take the win.

Schwecht earned $465,000 for his debut triumph, with Zlotnikov having to settle for $334,000 and a second place from his fifth final of the trip. (He has also won an event of his own.)

"It feels very good," Schwecht said at the end, reflecting on the journey that brought him to this position. "I feel like I was close to a trophy a few times. I had some final tables where they didn't go my way and you never know whether you will even get the opportunity again. Because, of course, even making a final table here is really tough. So when I came here with a big stack, I had a lot of pressure there to bring it home, so I'm really glad that I ended up doing that."

Zlotnikov has been having the trip of a lifetime in Montenegro, but Schwecht said he was also dialled in as he scented an elusive win.

He said: "It's tough of course, but also because we are here already for over a week, I feel like that also helps just because you've played so many hands. You've played with all of those guys, you've already played so many hands. At that point it's just about locking in and go for it."

The last day of the tournament was deep-stacked throughout, but Schwecht was able to turn the tide on Zlotnikov heads-up and win in remarkable haste. It's no wonder the German pro expressed his liking for this particular format when he's so capable in both.

"I really enjoy it," the new champion said. "The last year I played NLH and PLO tournaments, I think I played more PLO tournaments even than hold'em tournaments. And I've had some good success in those. It's just such a fun format for tournaments, you get to play so many hands. And it's just going to the street. It's a really fun format."

TOURNAMENT ACTION

With the NLH phase of the schedule winding down in Montenegro and the Omaha experts now swarming the hotel lobby to check in to recently-vacated rooms, the NLH/PLO Mix was the perfect way to say goodbye and hello at the same time.

There were 53 entries to the $30K buy-in event, approximately half of them coming in re-entries. And the tournament rushed towards its in-the-money stage, with anyone surviving to ninth or better earning a minimum $46,000.

For most of the tournament's opening day, Tom Vogelsang had been sitting very pretty in or around the chip lead. But there then followed an incendiary bubble hand that shook up everything, and transformed Vogelsang's cruise into calamity.

In a hold'em round with 10 players left, Vogelsang found pocket queens on the button. Vogelsang had 94 blinds, with two the tournament's two other biggest stacks to his left: Cong Pham, in the small blind, and Tobias Schwecht, in the big. Vogelsang made a standard opening raise, Pham folded, but Schwecht three-bet.

Vogelsang let his opponent know that he wasn't button-raising light, sticking in a four-bet. But Schwecht took the message and announced he meant business too and stuck in a five bet. Vogelsang was going nowhere and six-bet jammed to set up an almight 190-blind pot.

Disaster on the bubble for Tom Vogelsang

On the neighboring table, Danny Tang hand only 10 blinds and Mike Watson had 27. Robert Cowen, on the same table as Vogelsang and Schwecht, had 21 blinds. But here were the two chip leaders going at it for everything at the tournament's most critical juncture.

Schwecht tabled AA and Vogelsang was in dire straits. There was no paint at all on flop, turn or river and Vogelsang was dust. Everyone else slipped into the money, while Schwecht suddenly had an extraordiary 200-blind stack.

After Cowen and then Tang were knocked out, the final table of seven was settled, with Schwecht holding an almighty chip lead heading into the last day.

FINAL TABLE LINE-UP

Tobias Schwecht - 4,105,000 (205 BBs)

Cong Pham - 2,395,000 (120 BBs)

Anatoly Zlotnikov - 1,910,000 (96 BBs)

Ben Tollerene - 835,000 (42 BBs)

Artur Martirosian - 720,000 (36 BBs)

Michael Watson - 385,000 (19 BBs)

Isaac Haxton - 250,000 (13 BBs)

Event 13 final table players (clockwise from back left): Artur Martirosian, Anatoly Zlotnikov, Mike Watson, Ben Tollerene, Isaac Haxton, Cong Pham, Tobias Schwecht.

The vast imbalance in the chip counts made the opening stages of the final table especially hard to predict. The short stacks, of course, would be needing a double, and Schwecht knew he could start raising pre-flop with near impunity. But there was no way of knowing precisely what would happen to those players in the middle ground.

As a first point of order, Haxton did get the early double. A favorable and dramatic run-out when he held KJ took his hand past Mike Watson's A. The board came . Shortly after, Ben Tollerene lost a major pot to Schwecht, leaving Tolleren with a smaller stack than Haxton.

But in a PLO round, Haxton's KKQ went down to Schwecht's and Haxton did indeed become the first to leave. He took $78,000 for seventh.

Schwecht was chipping away at all of his opponents, with Anatoly Zlotnikov also plummeting down the counts, and Cong Pham's stack similarly ebbing away. However, Zlotnikov managed to spike a two-outer with pocket sevens in a hold'em round to beat Schwecht's pocket eights, and he motored back up to more comfortable surroundings.

Anatoly Zlotnikov spikes a seven to survive

Artur Martirosian had played almost nothing through the first few levels of the day, which meant a slowly but steadily diminishing stack. And when he was down to only seven blinds he found AJ in a hold'em round and got everything in. Unfortunately for the reigning Ivan Leow Player of the Year, Cong Pham's weren't going anywhere, especially after a third king flopped.

Martirosian bust in sixth for $98,000.

Artur Martirosian's run ended in si

Even with the chip disparity at the start of the day, Ben Tollerene's all-round expertise in both the two-card and four-card game made him the dark horse pick for this event. Shortly after Martirosian was eliminated, Tollerene doubled his eight blinds through Zlotniov (KJ holding against ), but it proved to be a false dawn for the American star.

Four hands later, and with 15 blinds now, Tollerene went to a flop in a single-raised PLO pot, holding 10106. The flop came . Tollerene now had a flush draw as well as his two pocket pairs, and after Zlotnikov checked, Tollerene put in a c-bet, which left him with only two blinds. Zlotnikov check-raised all in to put the last of Tollerene's chips in, and in they duly went.

Tollerene was in terrible shape. Zlotnikov tabled QQ7 and not only had top set, but also had Tollerene's diamonds covered. The flush completed with the turn and that was the end of that.

Tollerene won $127,000 for fifth.

Ben Tollerene doubled then bust

Ever since he hit his two-outer, Zlotnikov had been on fire. He continued his race up the chip counts until he did what had seemed unthinkable: he overhauled Schwecht at the very top. He did not take his foot off the gas either, polishing off Mike Watson next.

Watson had slipped to a sub-10 big blind stack but had AA9 with which to potentially turn his fortunes around. However, Zlotnikov got it in with and managed to find a third deuce on the flop, which became a boat on a paired board.

Watson, a two-time champion already here in Montenegro, left with $164,000 for fourth as Zlotnikov continued what looked like being a march to his own Montenegro double.

Mike Watson sees the deuce on the flop that ended his run

Cong Pham was now the short stack, but a quick double with pocket fours against Zlotnikov's A5 gave him hope. However, not for the first time in this tournament, Zlotnikov was in no mood to allow things to get out of control. He quickly squashed Pham right back again, with A becoming a flush in spades and beating Pham's . For the second time, both players had the same flush but Zlotnikov's was bigger.

Pham had to lick his wounds and settle for $217,000 and a third place.

Zlotnikov now had a significant lead of 79 big blinds to Schwecht's 54, but there was still a lot of poker to be played. On the second hand, Schwecht showed that he had the guts to match his talent when he three-bet jammed with A4 and got Zlotnikov to fold A. It gave Schwecht the confidence to keep playing an aggressive heads-up game.

Though that pot was comparatively small, Schwecht won the first significant pot as well, jamming on the turn looking at a board of 822 and getting Zlotnikov to fold. Schwecht had the aces this time and Zlotnikov was drawing dead, so his fold kept him alive.

But for Schwecht, it meant the chip lead again.

Heads up for it all in the PLO/NLH Mix

Schwecht now was in no mood to surrender this position for a second time. The tide had turned and every pot now seemed to be heading in his direction.

There was still more than 120 blinds in play when another monster began brewing, with Schwecht opening holding QJ9 and Zlotnikov calling with . Schwecht had 82 blinds to Zlotnikov's 48.

The flop was very dangerous indeed. It came 3Q8, giving Schwecht top pair and Zlotnikov a set of eights. But both players checked. That brought the on the turn and now gave them flush draws as well.

Schwecht bet, Zlotnikov raised and Schwecht called. And then, boom, the 10 came on the river. That was a flush for both of them and it all went in. For once, however, Zlotnikov's was second best and it was the last hand he saw.

The end of the road for Anatoly Zlotnikov

"I can't believe how quickly that one wrapped up," said Henry Kilbane in the commentary booth.

It was rapid, but Tobias Schwecht will take that!