Orpen Kisacikoglu Builds a Path Directly to the €1m First Prize in the €100k Triton High Roller at partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe

Back in 2016, Orpen Kisacikoglu hit the headlines after discovering his neighbour owned a small piece of cobblestoned land leading to his £4.8m North London home.

Orpen Kisacikoglu
Orpen Kisacikoglu

Each time, Kisacikoglu entered his driveway, he was effectively trespassing, so he entered talks to buy the land. The Daily Mail reported that Kisacikoglu offered £2,000, an amount the neighbour called ‘derisory’. The property is known as a ‘ransom strip,’ and planning experts said the piece of land could be worth £500,000.

Kisacikoglu decided to find a new path to his kingdom.

Fast forward three-years and Kisacikoglu again found himself barred from reaching his promised land. Only this time, the world’s greatest poker players stood in his way, not a noisy neighbour.

The €100,000 Triton High Roller at the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe in the King’s resort in Rozvadov attracted 32-entrants, and Kisacikoglu built a path leading to the doorstep of the €1,040,000 first prize.

It’s a win many years in the making. Since winning the $10,000 High Roller at the 2017 PokerStars Championships in Panama, Kisacikoglu has reached the final table of 13 $10k+ buy-in events, finishing in the top three spots more often than not.

The Action

Twenty-one players turned up for Day 1 of the Triton branded high roller. Included in the field were Triton co-founders Paul Phua and Richard Yong, the Triton London No-Limit Hold’em Main Event winner, Wai Kin Yong, and a rare appearance from Phil Ivey. Of those 21-players, there were seven re-entries, moving the Day 1 needle to 28-entrants. Here are the chip counts at the end of Day 1.

Top Ten Chip Counts

  1. Igor Kurganov – 743,000
  2. Michael Addamo – 552,000
  3. Charlie Carrel – 440,000
  4. Wai Kin Yong – 432,000
  5. Paul Phua – 418,000
  6. Sam Trickett – 350,000
  7. Phil Ivey – 341,000
  8. Tony G – 321,000
  9. Ben Heath – 313,000
  10. Orpen Kisacikoglu – 300,000

Igor Kurganov is a troubadour, making all the right noises, without the help of the Poker Gods. This contest was no different. A week ago, Kurganov bubbled the £1m Triton Million London, losing out on a £1.1m payday and lightning struck twice.

The Raising for Effective Giving (REG) co-founder, shipped his final ten big blinds from the small blind holding 7h5d. Cary Katz made the call from the big blind holding AsTh. It wasn’t a massacre – Kurganov flopped a gutshot to go with his pair-puts – but the runout favoured the PokerGO founder, wiping Kurganov from the live stream.

After the money bubble tension, players eased up, and we witnessed a host of double-ups before the first player walked the ‘cash desk plank’.

Vladimir Troyanovskiy doubled through Ben Heath Ac7c>KcJc. Heath then doubled through Wai Kin Yong when they got it in with top pair. Heath’s second card kicked like a mule, Yong’s like a praying mantis. Then Yong doubled through Troyanovskiy KK>QQ, and the Russian doubled through Kristen Bicknell 66>Ad7h.

Short-stack supremacy ended when Bicknell jammed for 14 big blinds, holding Ah3d on the button, and Kisacikoglu woke up with aces. There was blood. All of it was Bicknell’s. We were down to five.

Cary Katz played in seven of the eight events at Triton Million London before flying straight into the Czech Republic for this one. Katz cashed in two of those events, and he made it #3 after dragging his last five big blinds over the finishing line in the fourth place. Katz limped from the hijack holding 8d7c and then jammed the 5s3d2d flop after Troyanovskiy had checked his option from the big blind. The Russian called, holding Qd6d, and the 4s on the river handed him a straight to eliminate the American.

Moving into four-handed action, and Wai Kin Yong had dropped to the bottom of the chip counts. Yong entered this tournament as the man in form after winning the £100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for £3m, and finishing second in the £100,000 Short-Deck Main Event for £1.8m during Triton London. Yong added another €349,000 to that haul, after busting at the hands of Heath. Yong moved all-in holding Qs9d, and Heath called and won with QdTc.

Troyanovskiy then doubled up through Kisacikoglu AA>88, but the man from Turkey recovered to eliminate Heath 22>AdTc. Heath banked €455,000 for his third-place finish. It was another impressive performance from the man who won the $50,000 No-Limit High Roller at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and cashed in two of his three appearances in Triton London (including taking third in the £100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for £1.35m).

Heath’s elimination gave Kisacikoglu a 3.5m v 2.9m chip lead when heads-up against Troyanovskiy. The Russian took the lead when Ad2c beat Qs7h before Kisacikoglu fought back to take the lead, the title, and enough money to buy a new cobblestone driveway in the following hand.

Troyanovskiy opened to 250,000 from the small blind holding 9h8h, and Kisacikoglu defended the big blind with Th8d. The 8s3d2s flop was as bloody as a butcher’s shop with both players getting the money in. The Jd and Ks runout changed nothing, meaning Kisacikoglu’s ten-kicker was strong enough to boot Troyanovskiy into the rail.

Here are the final table results.

Final Table Results

  1. Orpen Kisacikoglu – €1,040,000
  2. Vladimir Troyanovskiy – €710,000
  3. Ben Heath – €455,000
  4. Wai Kin Yong – €349,000
  5. Cary Katz – €273,000
  6. Kristen Bicknell – €213,000

Triton’s business relationship with partypoker continues with a €25,000 Short-Deck event currently active with mercenaries from East & West looking to win the €237,250 first prize.

partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe also plans to hold two €10,300 High Rollers, a €25,500 Super High Roller and will award the winner of the MILLIONS Main Event with a seven-figure prize.

Click here for the full schedule.

https://partypokerlive.com/en/event/millions-europe-2019/schedule#millions-high-roller-schedule-3339