Alexey Boyko becomes a Triton champion for the first time in his career

Alexey Boyko personally shaped the final table of the $25,000 NLH 8-Handed tournament down to eight players, busting Jesse Lonis and Artur Martirosyan. The Belarusian high roller didn't stop there, sending Vladas Tamasauskas, Nevan Chan and Yu Lei to the rail. The only "victim" of Philip Sternheimer at the final was the Chinese player Chen Mingkun.

The heads-up between Boyko and Sternheimer lasted about an hour. In the decisive hand, the Brit with 9♥️7♥️ went all-in in response to his opponent's raise with J♠️6♦️ on a 5♥️8♦️3♣️J♥️ turn. Boyko called, despite a misread. The Belarusian player admitted that he initially thought he had J5 and two pair, but still decided not to fold. The decision proved correct — the A♠️ on the river didn't help Sternheimer.

Boyko became a Triton Super High Roller Series champion for the first time in his career and earned $761,000. Sternheimer took $516,000 for second place.

"This really means a lot to me. I'm very happy. It's one of the best achievements in poker, so I'm just speechless. Obviously, a lot in this tournament depended on luck, given the 30-minute levels. And I'm very glad that luck was on my side today. Sometimes that's even more important than skill," Boyko said after the win.

It's worth noting that online satellite winner Reda Ahnit ultimately made it to 15th place, busting Elias Parssinen and Adrian Mateos along the way. The Moroccan turned his free ticket into $51,000.

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