Wiktor Malinowski
Wiktor Malinowski took home the biggest prize of his poker career in Montenegro.

The latest Triton Poker Series Montenegro event saw 93 entries, each putting up $200,000 of their own money in a bid to win almost $5 million. It could only be on the Triton Poker Tour and in Montenegro this week, as Wiktor Malinowski scooped the $4.78 million top prize after beating Spanish poker legend Adrian Mateos to the latest title.

Limitless Leads Final Nine

It took three days to find a champion in the latest Triton Poker Tour event and just 15 players were paid as stars of the felt missed out on profit. The last person to do so was Santosh Suvarna, who bust with pocket nines to Mikita Badziakouski’s KhTh when the Belarussian hit two kings on the flop and made sure Suvarna missed out on a slice of the $18.6 million prizepool at the last moment.

Sneaking into the money places, Malaysian businessman Paul Phua (15th) and Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius (14th) both made $317,000. Chinese Triton regular Ding Biao (13th) and All-Time Money List leader Bryn Kenney (12th) both won $344,000, while German powerhouse Christoph Vogelsang (11th) and British poker legend Stephen Chidwick each banked $390,000.

As the final table began, it was the eventual winner Malinowski who had the chip lead with 63 big blinds, and his lead was considerable over most, especially the short stacked Matas Cimbolas. The Lithuanian only had 10 big blinds, and soon got them in good, shoving with AhKd. Called by Mike Watson with KcQc, things looked good for a double-up for the at-risk player but Cimbolas had no luck post-flop, a queen coming to help Watson eliminate the Lithuanian in ninth place for $483,000.

Koon Misses Out on 11th Title

With eight players left, there was a flurry of American eliminations, starting with the recent Triton event winner Nick Petrangelo. He shoved with AhTc to Malinowski’s Ac7c but just as in the case of Cimbolas exit before, the dominating hand lost out, a seven on the flop sending the unlucky ‘Nicky P’ to the rail with $661,000.

Out next was Jonathan Jaffe who probably should have been delighted to get his last chips in with AdQh against the KcQc of Adrian Mateos. But keeping in a rhythm with the previous eliminations, Jaffe was ousted in seventh for $865,000 when a king landed on the flop and Jaffe couldn’t land an ace on turn or river.

With six left, Jason Koon was all-in with Ac5s and was dominated by his caller Malinowski with AhJs. This time, however, the best hand prevailed and Koon could not strike it lucky, leaving for a score of $1,098,000.

Mateos Unable to Complete the Run

Out in fifth place was the Belarussian Mikita Badziakouski, who won $1,405,000 when his Ah7c was unable to hit against the pocket queens of Adrian Mateos. The Spanish player held to score a result that knocked out one of his most dangerous opponents, sending Badziakouski to the rail, but into the top six players of all-time according to The Hendon Mob.

Mateos was on a roll and took out Watson in fourth when the Spanish player’s Jc5d got there against Watson’s Kc7d with a jack on the turn sending the Canadian home with $1,748,000. Soon, three became two, when Steve O’Dwyer three-bet shoved with 9c4c. Malinowski wasn’t a believer, calling with Ah3d and holding to win over $2.1 million in third place.

Heads-up, Malinowski had 94 big blinds, more than 3:1 chip lead with Mateos only holding 30 big blinds. A flop of 8d4c3c led to Mateos pushing in all his chips with 8h6d, but it was bad timing, with 8s3h in the Polish’s players hand. A 7h turn and Ts river ended the event, and while Mateos took home $3,292,000, Malinowski took the top prize of $4,789,000 and the glory that comes with being a Triton winner.

“The table was very tough, [with] many great players,” said Malinowski after the event. “I knew when I was coming to the final the job was not done; I had to stay focused. It’s the best feeling. There are so many moments in poker when it’s not so good, so when you win it feels very special.”

Check out how Wiktor Malinowski celebrated victory right here.

Triton Montenegro $200,000 Event #11 Final Table Results:
Place Place Country Prize
1st Wiktor Malinowski Poland $4,789,000
2nd Adrian Mateos Spain $3,292,000
3rd Steve O’Dwyer Ireland/USA $2,157,000
4th Mike Watson Canada $1,748,000
5th Mikita Badziakouski Belarus $1,405,000
6th Jason Koon United States $1,098,000
7th Jonathan Jaffe United States $865,000
8th Nick Petrangelo United States $661,000
9th Matas Cimbolas Lithuania $483,000