American pro Jonathan Jaffe surged late on Day 2 of the 2024 Triton Series Monte-Carlo $125K NLH Main Event on Sunday to take a dominant lead into Monday’s final table.
Jaffe, who has one previous Triton Series victory, finished Sunday’s lengthy session with a 2,650,000 chip stack, more than twice that of his closest competitor, Malaysia’s Wai Leong Chan. Chan finished the day at 6,200,000, while three-time Triton winner Bryn Kenney led the rest of the pack with 4,075,000 in chips.
Jaffe, who has the inside track to the main event’s $4,410,000 winner’s payday, finished the day in style, rivering a flush to send Mikita Badziakouski to the rail on the final-table bubble. The two players went all in after the flop where Badziakouski had top pair, while Jaffe flopped a gutshot draw to a royal flush. Badziakouski faded a trey on the turn, but the river brought the five of hearts to give Jaffe a flush and end Day 2 play. Had Badziakouski also faded the river, he would have drawn nearly even in chips with Jaffe.
Money bubble burst early on Day 2
Sunday’s first major order of business was playing into the money. Twenty-seven players would make the cash, and begin divvying up the event’s $19,875,000 prize pool. Day 1 leader Kayhan Mokri encountered difficulty early on and busted in 41st, well short of the money, and the bubble finally burst when Ole Schemion exited in the 28th spot.
Other players exiting outside the money included Kristen Foxen, Phil Ivey, Dylan Weisman (in a huge cooler hand to Kenney), Nick Petrangelo, and Matthias Eibinger. Eighteen more players headed to the rail through late afternoon and evening action, including plenty of big-name stars. Meanwhile, the tourney lead shuffled among several players with the top of the leaderboard bunched tightly in multiple stretches before Jaffe’s late surge. Jesse Lonis held the lead for a while before sliding back, though he still made the finale in eighth position.
2024 Triton Poker Monte-Carlo NLH Main Event final table chip counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Jaffe | 12,650,000 | 101 |
| 2 | Wai Leong Chan | 6,200,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Bryn Kenney | 4,075,000 | 33 |
| 4 | Mario Mosbock | 3,575,000 | 29 |
| 5 | Danny Tang | 3,375,000 | 27 |
| 6 | Punnat Punsri | 3,350,000 | 27 |
| 6 | Haralabos Voulgaris | 3,350,000 | 27 |
| 8 | Jesse Lonis | 1,900,000 | 15 |
| 9 | Thomas Muhlocker | 1,275,000 | 10 |
Feature image: Triton Poker livestream