Michael Addamo had zero Triton Series trophies on his mantle when he made his way to Madrid for the latest stop on the high-stakes poker tour. After the first week of action, he now has two. The 27-year-old Australian tournament superstar backed up his win in the kickoff €20,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event for $501,900 USD by taking down the €75,000 buy-in eight-max event of the same game for another $1,209,690 USD.
The four-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner now has more than $23.9 million in recorded tournament earnings to his name.
Addamo did not make a final table in the early months of this year, after going on an incredible streak down the stretch in 2021 that saw him win six titles in just over a two-month span. He now has two final-table finishes, both ending in victories, on his 2022 resume. With 1,260 Card Player Player of the Year points, Addamo is now ranked 85th in this year’s POY race, which is sponsored by Global Poker. He was one of several players to make big moves in the standings thanks to this event.
“It was a super tough table, a lot of great players,” Addamo told Triton commentator Ali Nejad after the win. “Three-handed, with a lot of all ins going back and forward, it was hard to know what was going to happen. It’s great to get the win from there.”
This event attracted a total of 63 entries. The second and final day of action began with 23 remaining and only the top eight set to cash. Fedor Holz was knocked out on the money buble when his pocket jacks ran into the pocket kings of a surging Addamo. Holz hit the rail empty-handed, while Addamo took a 32-big-blind lead into the official final table.
Bracelet winner Ben Heath was the first to fall inside the money, with his tournament ending in brutal fashion. He called all-in with pocket kings and was up against the A-K of Seth Davies. The flop brought an ace and Heath was unable to find a miracle on either the turn or river. He earned $198,450 USD as the eighth-place finisher.
Antanas ‘Tony G’ Guoga got the last of his in preflop with A-2. Addamo was once again the grim reaper, with his pocket fives turning a set to leave Guoga (7th – $253,050 USD) drawing dead.
Jason Koon was at his ninth final table of the year, with more than $2 million in cashes already secured. The bracelet winner and three-time Triton champion lost a preflop race with pocket jacks failing to hold against the A-Q of Addamo to be eliminated in sixth place ($317,100 USD). Koon also earned 204 POY points, enough to see him climb into 12th place on the overall leaderboard. With $37.5 million in career cashes, he remains in eighth place on poker’s all-time money list.
2018 WSOP Europe main event runner-up finisher Laszlo Bujtas got his short stack in with 10-8 suited and was called by the A-3 of Davies. An ace-high flop extended Davies’ advantage, but Bujtas had outs with a gutshot straight draw. The turn and river supplied no help, though, and he was eliminated in fifth place ($406,875 USD).
Daniel Dvoress’ stack took a hit when Stephen Chidwick doubled through him with pocket aces. Dvoress had shoved with A-5 and was unable to pull off the long shot after the chips went in. He was left on fumes and was soon knocked out in fourth place, earning $525,525 USD and 306 POY points for his 11th final-table finish of the year. With one title, more than $3.6 million in year-to-date POY earnings, and 3,183 total points, Dvoress now sits in second place in the 2022 POY race.
Three-handed play between Addamo, Chidwick, and Davies continued for multiple levels, with several swings along the way. Davies ultimately bowed out in third place ($694,575 USD) after losing the majority of his stack with pocket threes against the pocket tens of Chidwick. He was left with less than a big blind, which then went in with 6-3. That failed to beat out the 4-2 of Chidwick, who hit trips to secure the pot. This was Davies’ fifth-largest tournament payday. It increased his lifetime earnings to more than $14.4 million.
Heads-up play began with Chidwick holding roughly a 5:1 chip lead over Addamo. Addamo pulled back to essentially even before Chidwick won a key pot with a straight against Addamo’s two pair to regain the lead. With Chidwick now sitting on a 2:1 advantage, the pair paused to discuss a deal. Chidwick locked up $1,355,985 USD as part of the deal, but Addamo ultimately went on to secure the title. He first double up with A-5 beating Q-10. He then made a backdoor flush with Q2 and moved all-in on the river foran overbet. Chidwick had flopped second pair, which had become fourth pair by the river. After plenty of thought, Chidwick made the hero call and received the bad news. He took home the prize money he negotiated, while also earning 510 POY points for what was his 12th final-table finish of 2022. The 2019 POY award winner now sits in fifth place in this year’s standings.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
| 1 | Michael Addamo | $1,209,690 | 612 |
| 2 | Stephen Chidwick | $1,355,985 | 510 |
| 3 | Seth Davies | $694,575 | 408 |
| 4 | Daniel Dvoress | $525,525 | 306 |
| 5 | Laszlo Bujtas | $406,875 | 255 |
| 6 | Jason Koon | $317,100 | 204 |
| 7 | Antanas Guoga | $253,050 | 153 |
| 8 | Ben Heath | $198,450 | 102 |
Photo credit: Joe Giron / Triton Poker.
