Ossi Ketola Gets His Chance at Poker Stardom After Taking Massive Chip Lead on Day 2 of the $100,000 Triton Main Event
A month ago, the poker world became introduced to “Gambledore,” otherwise known as Estonian businessman and poker novice Vladimir Korzinin who took down a Triton Series event in Monte Carlo. Korzinin became an overnight sensation, but the man he beat heads-up went largely unnoticed.
That was Finland’s Ossi Ketola, who’s primed to make his own name in the poker world after bagging a massive chip lead on Day 2 of the $100,000 Triton Main Event at the 2024 World Series of Poker Paradise. Ketola ended the day with 8,415,000, nearly 3,000,000 ahead of his closest challenger as 15 players remain to chase the bracelet and Triton Series trophy tomorrow.
Ketola began his ascent to the top when he doubled up off Mikita Badziakouski with a pair of queens. He then flopped the nut flush to bust Michael Addamo in 26th place, but Ketola separated from the pack by taking down the biggest pot of the day. Wai Kin Yong fired all three streets and ended up all in in a 6,000,000-chip pot with top pair. Ketola snapped him off with a set of jacks as Yong was sent crashing to the rail in 18th place after starting the hand inside the top five on the leaderboard.
Ketola only has four recorded cashes on his resume, all from the Triton Series in Monte Carlo in November. He earned a career-best $2,970,000 for finishing runner-up to Korzinin but can eclipse that tomorrow if he takes the title.
Day 2 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ossi Ketola | Finland | 8,415,000 | 84 |
| 2 | Fedor Holz | Germany | 5,405,000 | 54 |
| 3 | Seth Davies | United States | 3,570,000 | 36 |
| 4 | David Coleman | United States | 3,475,000 | 35 |
| 5 | Alexander Zubov | Russia | 3,320,000 | 33 |
| 6 | Dimitar Danchev | Bulgaria | 3,160,000 | 32 |
| 7 | Alex Foxen | United States | 2,975,000 | 30 |
| 8 | Tom Fuchs | Germany | 2,570,000 | 26 |
| 9 | Samuel Mullur | Austria | 2,550,000 | 26 |
| 10 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 2,240,000 | 22 |
| 11 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 2,205,000 | 22 |
| 12 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 2,200,000 | 22 |
| 13 | Mario Mosboeck | Austria | 1,720,000 | 17 |
| 14 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | 1,370,000 | 14 |
| 15 | Kannapong Thanarattrakul | Thailand | 325,000 | 3 |
In second place is German superstar and four-time Triton Series champion Fedor Holz, who picked off Jason Koon with queens after Koon four-bet shoved for 2,590,000 on the last level of the day to fall in 16th place. Holz bagged up 5,405,000, while Seth Davies (3,570,000), David Coleman (3,475,000), and Alexander Zubov (3,320,000) round out the top five.
Samuel Mullur took down his first WSOP bracelet at last year’s WSOP Paradise by winning the $25,000 GGMillion$ Championship and bagged up 2,550,000 as he seeks to capture a bracelet for the second straight year at Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas. Mullur busted Ben Tollerene and Paulius Vaitiekunas in a three-way all in, then eliminated Chris Brewer in 21st place. Other notables still in the hunt include Alex Foxen (2,975,000), Joao Vieira (2,240,000), Badziakouski (2,205,000), and Stephen Chidwick (2,200,000).
More than 30 new entries joined the 80 survivors from Day 1 at the start of the day to create a total field of 182, generating a prize pool of $18,200,000. Only the top 31 players would make the money, and Daniel Negreanu, Jeremy Ausmus, Kristen Foxen, David Peters, and Patrik Antonius were among those to fall short of the bubble. All-time money winner Bryn Kenney ran queens into Ketola’s kings to fall a few spots short of the money, while Davies spiked a set of fives to beat Paul Phua’s flopped two pair to bring the field down to the bubble. Wayne Heung tried to make it through with just 5,000 but was eventually forced all in from the big blind with seven-deuce and lost to Dimitar Danchev’s turned pair of jacks to burst the bubble.
Stephen Song (31st), Artur Martirosian (30th), and Timothy Adams (29th) quickly made their way to the payout desk, while Foxen rivered a pair of tens to beat Justin Bonomo’s ace-king and send Bonomo to the rail in 22nd. Foxen also picked up jacks to bust Vladimir Minko in 19th, while Mario Mosboeck counterfeited Daniel Dvoress’ pocket deuces on the river to send Dvoress out in 17th.
The remaining 15 players return tomorrow at noon local time to play down to a champion. The action picks up on Level 21 with blinds of 50,000-100,000 and a 100,000 big blind ante. Everyone left has already locked up $269,000, with a spot at the nine-handed final table worth $393,000. The eventual champion walks away with $3,850,000, a WSOP gold bracelet, and the prestige that comes from conquering one of the toughest fields on the poker calendar.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow following all the action and providing live updates until a champion is crowned.