Mike Watson Bags Triton $50k Short Deck Title and $695,000

Canadian Mike Watson bagged his first Triton title and a $695,000 payday to go with it by taking down the $50k Short Deck in Vietnam...

It was a small field relative to the monster, record-breaking numbers of the past week or two at the triton Vietnam SHR stop, just 25 players producing 44 entries for the 36-card, $50k buy-in tournament.

That still meant a $2.2million prizepool and seven players set to share in it, the all-action Short Deck format never failing to entertain...

With 10 returning for the second day to battle for the paid spots, it was Dusk Til Dawn casino owner Rob Yong who missed out on the bubble...

Yong: Ax Ax
Zhang: Q♦ 6♠

Board: K♠ 9♦ J♣ 6♦ 10♣

With $116k locked up, the final seven had their eyes on the top prize and a Triton title for bragging rights. Jason Koon, who holds the record with five Triton titles, was looking for his second trophy of the week, but Short Deck can be a brutal game...

Watson, who had 14 Triton cashes but no titles on his resume, saw off both Chiu and Zhang in typical Short Deck fashion, and was left facing Ike Haxton heads-up.

Haxton had an even more remarkable 21 cashes without a win, so something had to give, and it didn’t take long, the third hand of play producing the finale...

Watson: K♠ Q♣
Haxton: A♥ A♣

Board: 10♠ 10♦ Q♥ J♣ 9♣

With that cooler, Watson took the $50k crown, telling reporters afterwards: “It feels great. I’ve played a lot of these events and had a lot of close calls. These are the biggest tournaments, the best series so it feels good to finally win one.”

He said of the Short Deck format: “I think if more people played it they would find that they really liked it. It’s a gambling game, especially in cash. It’s a real fun, action game.”

Final results