ShareMalaysia’s Michael Soyza topped a field of the biggest highstakes crushers in poker to bag the $1,735,000 first prize in the Triton Poker SHR series $75k buy-in at the at the Merit Casino and Resort in North Cyprus.
Soyza was among 87 entries (which included 32 re-entries) to event #8 on the schedule, with 13 players set to cash from the $6,525,000 prizepool. Among the hopefuls, Mikita Badziakouski, Dan Smith, Michael Addamo and Chris Brewer, the latter falling in brutal fashion...
Ben Heath breathed a sigh of relief when Henrik Hecklen bust on the money bubble, the Englishman having taken that unhappy role twice already this series.
A hand worth watching was how Nacho Barbero avoided that painful finishing position.
It would only be a min. cash for Heath, though, with event 1 winner, Santosh Suvarna, also taking $131,000 and Barbero taking $140k in 10th spot.
The final table was one-way traffic for the most part, Soyza kicking things off with a double KO, all the chips going in on the flop...
Soyza: A♦ A♠
Martirosian: Q♠ Q♣
Vaskaboinikau: A♣ J♠
Flop: J♣ 10♠ 6♠
Turn: 6♥
River: 7♠
Buldygin was looking for his second 7-figure scoop of the week, having taken down event #6 for $1,342,000, but he had to settle for 5th spot and a $500k cash after his AQ off fell to Soyza’s pocket 10s.
Soyza then took out Smith and Addamo in succession to leave himself heads-up against Belarus’ best-ever player, Mikita Badziakouski.
Soyza had 99 big blinds to Badziakouski’s 17 BBs but the Belarus crusher battled gamely, redressing the balance. He then put “Soyza in the blender” as Randy lew described it in the final hand, but the Malaysian sensation was equal to the task...
Final results
| 1 | Michael Soyza | $1,735,000 |
| 2 | Mikita Badziakouski | $1,200,000 |
| 3 | Michael Addamo | $796,000 |
| 4 | Dan Smith | $623,000 |
| 5 | Viacheslav Buldygin | $502,500 |
| 6 | Matthias Eibinger | $391,500 |
| 7 | Dylan Linde | $310,000 |
| 8 | Artur Martirosian | $241,500 |
“We’re here to battle,” Soyza said in the post-game interview, his first win of the year (though not his biggest cash) coming in timely fashion as the players get ready for the $200k buy-in Luxon Invitational, followed by the $100k buy-in Main Event.
We’ll bring you all the best of the action from both events as the highrollers battle it out for $millions, so be sure to check in regularly and follow our social media channels for updates.
