Bryn Kenney Becomes First Player to Cross $70M in Live Tournament Earnings
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Say what you will about Bryn Kenney, but the All-Time Money List leader consistently proves he knows how to perform on poker’s biggest stages.
With his latest victory in the Triton Poker $125K Monte Carlo Main Event, his fourth on the tour, Kenney made history as the first player to surpass the $70 million mark in live tournament earnings.
As always at Triton events, poker's elite turned up to compete, but Kenney once again emerged victorious. He claimed the $4,410,000 winner’s prize after outlasting a field of 159 entries, pushing his total earnings to an unprecedented $71,425,920.
So, what’s the secret to his success on the felt? A relentless, never-say-die attitude.
“Never give up, that’s the secret,” Kenney told Triton media as he proudly wore the Main Event winner’s timepiece. “Everyone has their roller coaster, their wave that they’re on… You just got to hang on for the ride. Give it your best, don’t let things get you down, and never stop fighting.”
Runner-up Wai Leong Chan was just one card away from securing his first Triton title, but fortune favored Kenney, as it so often has throughout his illustrious career.
Triton $125K Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryn Kenney | United States | $4,410,000 |
| 2 | Wai Leong Chan | Malaysia | $2,970,000 |
| 3 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | $2,045,000 |
| 4 | Haralabos Voulgaris | Canada | $1,665,000 |
| 5 | Jonathan Jaffe | United States | $1,330,000 |
| 6 | Mario Mosbock | Austria | $1,020,000 |
| 7 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | $743,000 |
| 8 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | $538,000 |
| 9 | Jesse Lonis | United States | $445,000 |
See the full payouts from the $19,875,000 prize pool here.
Final Table Action
Mario Mosbock picked up aces on the first hand of play and kicked proceedings off with a raise. Chip leader Jonathan Jaffe called with a suited queen-ten and flopped a straight before improving to a flush on the river. Mosbock, who started in fourth on the leaderboard, faced a jam for his last 2,200,000 (17 big blinds) but got away from his rockets without using a time bank card.
Mosbock, who was a part of the four-way deal in the $200K Triton Invitational, fell to the bottom of the counts as the day progressed, but $50K NLH 7-Handed winner Jesse Lonis was first to exit after Punnat Punsri's ace-ten straightened out his ace-three.
Mosbock doubled up with a flip through Thomas Muehloecker to leave the latter with one and half big blinds. Bryn Kenney collected the rest after his ace-king found an ace against the Austrian's cowboys. Kenney continued to find the cards he needed, and the dynamics at the table shifted after he doubled up with king-queen against Jaffe's ace-nine.
Danny Tang, who was awarded the Ivan Leow Player of the Year title a week ago, was particularly displeased about Kenney's survival as the field would have guaranteed themselves a seven-figure payday with the elimination.
In the end, Tang was the one who made way after his ace-queen couldn't leapfrog Jaffe's Big Slick. In that hand, Mosbock opened with jacks but laid his pocket pair down due to ICM considerations. The board rewarded his fold as an ace appeared on the turn, which would have also marked his demise.
At six-handed, Jaffe still led and held 45 big blinds. Wai Leong Chan, Punsri and Kenney had 30 bigs each, ahead of Soccer club owner Haralabos Voulgaris. Mosbock continued to prop up the pack from the bottom.
Mosbock started to rally but ran kings into Voulgaris' aces to again be rooted to the foot of the table with four big blinds. Those last few ended up in Kenney's stack as Mosbock's journey ended in sixth.
Chan then took control, doubling through Jaffe. Chan had ace-king while Jaffe had king-queen suited. Both players flopped top pair, and Jaffe had a flush draw for some additional outs. No diamond appeared on the turn or river. Chan had improved to two pair on the final card and shoved. Jaffe looked him up and handed the lead over to his opponent.
Chan's ascent was shortlived as Kenney took pole position after getting some value from the Malaysian player. Kenney pulled further ahead after leaving Jaffe on fumes, and then Chan finished off the short stack with ace-king to set up four-handed play.
A few hands into the final four, Volgaris and Chan clashed in a preflop all-in. Chan's pocket tens prevailed against Volgaris's ace-queen, sending Volgaris to the payout desk to collect $1,665,000. Chan then secured his spot in the heads-up showdown against Kenney after his king-four held up against Punsri's queen-ten.
As heads-up play began, Chan held a narrow lead over Kenney, who was aiming for his fourth Triton title and a chance to widen the gap between himself and Justin Bonomo on the All-Time Money List.
Kenney regained the advantage after the first few hands, but Chan wrestled it back. On the tenth hand, Kenney woke up with ace-jack while Chan looked down at kings. Kenney four-bet jammed and was snapped off. Chan was the favorite and was one card away from his first Triton title, but Kenney rivered trip jacks to leave Chan with three big blinds. Chan picked up ace-king on the next deal and doubled but still had a considerable mountain to climb.
Chan looked for another double with ace-nine and Kenney called with sixes. Kenney improved a full house as the dealer put out a flop of all fives, and Chan's overcards failed to appear on the turn or river.
The win marked Kenney's fourth title overall and his second Main Event triumph on the tour.
Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Monte Carlo Winners
| Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25K WPT Global Ultimate Slam | 170 | $4,250,000 | Brian Kim | $941,000 |
| $30K NLH 8-Handed | 144 | $4,320,000 | Kayhan Mokri | $1,005,000 |
| $40K Mystery Bounty 7-Handed | 155 | $6,200,000 | Roman Hrabec | $1,182,019*** |
| $50K NLH 8-Handed | 147 | $7,350,000 | Alex Foxen | $1,470,000* |
| $100K NLH 8-Handed | 131 | $13,100,000 | Pieter Aerts | $2,234,587* |
| $30K NLH Bounty Quattro | 133 | $3,190,000 | Artur Martirosian | $891,000** |
| $200K Triton Invitational | 102 | $20,400,000 | Patrik Antonius | $5,130,000 |
| $50K NLH 7-Handed | 125 | $ 6,250,000 | Jesse Lonis | $1,502,000 |
| $60K NLH 8-Handed Turbo | 61 | $3,660,000 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | $862,357* |
| $125K Main Event | 159 | $19,875,000 | Bryn Kenney | $4,410,000 |
*indicates deal, ** includes bounty prizes, *** notes deal & bounties
Images courtesy of Triton Poker
