Sir Watts slays the field in Triton $30K 8-Handed

Twenty-third-time lucky isn’t a phrase you’ll hear very often, but the neutrals were all hoping it would come to pass for Kiat Lee at the final table of Event #3 at Triton Poker Montenegro this evening.

Unfortunately for Lee, the support wasn’t quite enough to break an incredible run of Triton cashes without a win. The Malaysian pro lost out in a brutal heads-up match against Canada’s Mike 'SirWatts' Watson.

Lee is the archetypal ‘hard work brings rewards’ professional. A decade ago, he was playing small buy-in tournaments in England, and using any big win to take a shot at the next level.

Come 2024, and Lee boasts almost $10 million in tournament winnings, and $7 million of that has come from 22 cashes at Triton Poker events around the world. But the win still eludes him.

David Yan was unlucky to bust in fourth at the hands of Kiat Lee

Always the bridesmaid

That elusive big Triton win seemed closer than ever today when Lee returned for day two of the $30K buy-in 8-handed NLHE event.

With $1 million plus change up top, Lee found himself alongside the likes of Chris Moneymaker (fresh from victory in the series opener), fellow Main Event winner Hossein Ensan, Fedor Holz, Patrik Antonius, and two dozen other high-stakes heroes of poker.

In all, 27 of them had found a payday from a starting field of 154 entries, and Lee topped the lot, his 95 big blinds more than double that of closest rival Ding Biao.

As the biggest names fell – Moneymaker in 23rd spot for $50,800, Holz in 14th for $69,300, and Antonius and Ensan 11th and 10th respectively for $88k apiece – Lee and Watson were steering well clear of trouble as final table big stacks.

Three hands stood out. 

Lee was on the fortunate end of the first two, cracking David Yan’s A-K with K-Qs, then ousting Ding Biao in third with A-7 against pocket jacks. It finally looked like it was Lee's time. 

But Watson hadn't read the script. The legendary Canadian pro is no stranger to tough battles and comebacks, and he was looking for his first Triton win in a no-limit event to go with his PLO and short deck titles.

Kiat Lee had the chip lead heads-up but couldn't get himself over the line

Disaster for Lee as Sir Watts triumphs

The hand that finally broke Lee’s back was a painful one for the man who has only one win in his top 20 six-figure cashes.

Lee:
Watson:

Watson limped and Lee checked to see the flop, where both players checked. 

Lee had top pair, but Watson had an open-ended straight draw that connected on the turn. 

“Complete, utter disaster,” was the commentary booth’s reaction. Lee bet 1.6 million into 2.4 million and was hit by a raise to 4 million. Lee, slightly ahead in chips, called.

River:

Lee's check was met by a Watson all-in, and it was tank time for Lee. He used all his time bank chips and followed these with his actual chips in a tortured crying call.

Watson got Lee's last three big blinds on the next hand. 

“I felt good about it... kind of confident. I thought maybe this was going to be my time,” said Watson afterwards, adding some kind words for his devastated opponent:

“Kiat has been playing all the Hold’em events lately, and he’s gotten really good at it really quickly. He’s definitely a very tough player... the heads-up match was definitely a grind.”

For Watson, recently turned 40, it meant more than $10 million in Triton Poker cashes. For Lee, his day at Triton will almost certainly arrive, but he has already surpassed co-founder Paul Phua’s 19 cashes without a win. That run ended with Phua’s 20th cash and first win at Madrid two years ago. How long will Lee have to wait? 

Event #3 $30k 8-handed NLHE results

^{Images courtesy of Triton Poker/Joe Giron}