Played four and bricked four. That was Anatoly Filatov’s record last time he played in a Triton Super High Roller festival.
That was in Cyprus almost two years ago. But he’s back in Jeju and back with a bang after defeating a 389-player field in the $25,000 WPT Global Slam to win $1,882,000.
“It feels amazing,” said Filatov, who has Korean heritage through his mother’s side. “I’m here [in Jeju] and this win is really great. I’m very thankful for that.”
He defeated Calvin Lee heads-up to win $1,882,000, while Lee also took home a seven-figure score. The pair both secured the largest cashes of their career, with Filatov securing a maiden Triton title, moving him up to fifth on the Russian all-time money list.
Triton Jeju Event #6: $25,000 WPT Global Slam Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anatoly Filatov | Russia | $1,882,000 |
| 2 | Calvin Lee | United States | $1,185,000 |
| 3 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | $850,000 |
| 4 | Justin Saliba | United States | $675,000 |
| 5 | Fedor Holz | Germany | $529,000 |
| 6 | David Coleman | United States | $416,000 |
| 7 | Pascal Lefrancois | Canada | $312,000 |
| 8 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | $221,000 |
| 9 | Jon Ander Vallinas | Spain | $176,000 |
The three-day event saw 80 players return for Day 2 with 63 places paid. Notables who finished in the money included Ebony Kenney (54th – $44,500), Stephen Chidwick (48th – $44,500), Adrian Mateos (40th – $44,500), Kristen Foxen (20th – $90,500) and Paul Phua (16th – $100,500).
Final Table Recap
After the elimination of Tom Fuchs in tenth place ($146,000), the final table was confirmed with Lee leading from Justin Saliba.
And Lee would put on a show, eliminating the first three players of the day. Jon Ander Vallinas was first to go, as the start-of-day short stack failed to win a flip with ace-queen against the pocket tens of Lee.
Then, the hands were reversed as Orpen Kisacikoglu, who started the day third in chips, picked up tens only for Lee to spike a queen on the turn.
There was an eye-catching double for Igor Yaroshevskyy through Fedor Holz, as the Ukrainian went the long way round to crack ace-king with pocket queens. “The ladies love me,” he said as he doubled up.
Pascal Lefrancois had managed a couple of ladders but finally succumbed to Lee, who sat with almost half the chips in play six-handed as players behind him battled to stay in touch.
Yaroshevskyy then added more chips after eliminating David Coleman in sixth place before Filatov sent Holz to the rail and eliminated Justin Saliba in brutal fashion.
Blind on blind, Saliba called a bet from Filatov with Q♠J♦ on a 9♥5♠4♠flop. Filatov flopped a pair with Q♣5♣, but Saliba improved with the J♣ on the turn. This time Filatov check-jammed, only to get a snap-call from Saliba for his last 12 big blinds.
However, the river was the 5♥, improving Filatov to a set and sending Saliba to the rail.
This moved Filatov into the lead three-handed, but it was tight at the top as the blinds increased. The gap increased as Filatov outkicked Yaroshevskyy in a pivotal hand to extend his chip lead, only for Lee to come right back with the elimination of Yaroshevskyy on the next hand.
The final two players were now into seven-figure cash territory, and both had secured the largest cash of their careers. Heads-up play lasted just over half an hour as Filatov pressed ahead.
Kings, a full house, and trips in quick succession knocked the legs out from underneath Lee, who had nowhere to go. And when he tried to push back, like when he bricked an open-ended straight draw and bet on a scary-looking river, Filatov wasn’t afraid to call with just ace-high to move within touching distance.
The final hand saw Filatov call Lee’s shove for his last 13 big blinds, with Lee’s ace-four bested by the king-queen of the Russian, spiking a king on the flop to secure the win, $1,882,000 and his first Triton title.
Pictures courtesy of Drew Amato/Triton Poker
Managing Editor