Henrik Hecklen Wins Triton Madrid Main Event for €2.17 Million

Danish highroller Henrik Hecklen bagged the Triton Poker Main Event in Madrid, turning his €100k buy-in into a monster €2,170,509 cash. The Main Event attracted a whopping 93 entries at Casino Gran Via in the heart of Madrid, 59 of those unique and a staggering €9,300,000 prizepool to be shared by the top 13 finishers, with three €million+ payouts up top.

Nine players had made it through the first two days of play, with Patrik Antonius, Sam Greenwood, Orpen Kisacikoglu and Sam Grafton among them, and Alfred DeCarolis – a restaurateur – the only non-pro at the final table. The legendary Patrik Antonius was next to depart, 13BBs and pocket 7s more than good enough to call Ponakov’s button shove, but the flop pretty much decided Patrik’s fate... Antonius: 7♠ 7♥ Ponakovs: A♣ 10♦ Flop: 10♠ 4♦ 8♣ Turn: 2♥ River: 4♠

Turkey’s Orpen Kisacikoglu, wielding pocket aces, then accounted for Grafton in fifth, a €716,000 payday for the Englishman, and crippled Ponakovs with the same hand, the Latvian soon out in 4th for €888,000. With 7-figures guaranteed, it was Paqué who had to settle for 3rd and €1,134,000 after being outkicked by Hecklen, who then did a deal with his opponent – €2,090,509 for Hecklen and €2,016,491 for Kisacikoglu, and €80,000 to play for, along with a luxurious Jacob & Co watch. The heads-up battle then lasted precisely one hand, a pocket pair apiece enough for all the chips to go in...