Champion Mario Mosböck!

It might be worth checking out Mario Mosböck's YouTube channel in the coming few weeks.

The Austrian Triton Ambassador and recent vlogging superstar tonight won the fourth title of his career on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, beating his friend and team-mate Danny Tang heads up after a fascinating, technical and at times crazy battle.

It was the first time in the history of the Super High Roller Series that two Triton ambassadors have squared off at the end, with the remainder of the 133-entry field vanquished through two days of competition.

Mosböck, who took $928,000 for the win, was obviously drained but delighted by his achievement, emerging from a final in which seemingly nothing could be taken for granted. Early action on the final day had been bullet-fast, but there were significant slowdowns in short-handed play, during which the chip lead changed hands on multiple occasions.

Mosböck and Danny Tang await the latest absurd run-out

The field thinned from 20 overnight to a final table of nine in only 90 minutes. But the final table lasted more than 10 hours.

Both Mosböck and Tang were in and out of the chip lead numerous times, with Kristen Foxen and Javid Ismayilov, who finished fourth and third, respectively, also playing a huge role as the unpredictable day wore on. But it got even more absurd when Mosböck and Tang were left to battle for the last of it, a pair with eight Triton titles between them left hostages to fortune as the deck played several tricks.

Eventually, when there was an average stack of only 13 blinds, Mosböck managed to seal the deal against Tang when, four hands previously, it was Mosböck himself who needed to spike a four-outer to survive.

"It was incredible," a relieved Mosböck said at the tournament's conclusion. "You're on such a high during the play, and it's hard to get the emotions out during the play, especially with so many crazy run-outs. I feel incredible."

He was quick to pay tribute to Tang, who fell narrowly short of becoming only the fourth player to win a sixth Triton trophy.

Mosböck said: "I had an absolute blast playing against Danny, one of the best players to ever do it. He's an absolute legend of a guy. Everyone in the room here knows he's such a sweetheart on and off the table, and playing against him heads-up like this, against a friend of mine, is an honour."

It wasn't meant to be for Danny Tag

He added: "He's an incredibly talented poker player so I was on in every hand, because if I make one mistake he's going to catch it."

Mosböck, who turned 30 only nine days ago, is himself quite the sensation too. In just three years on the tour, he has risen to risen to occupy a position of great authority among the hugely talented German-speaking crew, and with this win matches the Triton title haul of his friend and mentor Fedor Holz.

He is also right at home on the Triton Poker Series, and paid tribute to the tour for providing the setting for his continued succes.

"It's an amazing crew, we are amazing friends, and there's an amazing team, and incredible players," he said, adding that Montenegro is, "Hands down the best poker stop in the world."

Celebrations begin for Mario Mosböck

TOURNAMENT ACTION

After two tournaments costing "only" $25,000 to enter, the extra $5K on this one meant a slightly bigger field than yesterday's event. Yes, the Triton Poker Series is the only place where an increase in buy-in gets more runners.

The 133 entries put nearly $4 million in the prize pool and promised $928,000 to the champion.

In keeping with the tone set in the previous two events, action moved rapidly. Only 20 players made it through the first day, with Igor Yaroshevskyy adding to his bubble collection (he bubbled twice in Jeju), and Patrik Antonius leading the way into the second day.

And they raced down to the final too, with the short stacks of Kiat Lee, Alex Kulev, Fedor Holz and Jesse Lonis among those to bust ahead of the final. It wasn't without drama, of course, but nine of the top 10 overnight secured a place at the final. Only Ethan Yau slipped out of contention, with Rampage busting in 17th. Eelis Parssinen, 10th in the standings at the start of the day, edged to the final instead.

Triton Ambassadors Mario Mosböck and Danny Tang now occupied the top two slots.

FINAL TABLE LINE-UP

Mario Mosböck - 5,140,000 (64 BBs)

Danny Tang - 4,385,000 (55 BBs)

Kristen Foxen - 3,960,000 (50 BBs)

Javid Ismayilov - 3,775,000 (47 BBs)

Patrik Antonius - 3,240,000 (41 BBs)

Danilo Velasevic - 2,380,000 (30 BBs)

Mehdi Chaoui - 1,325,000 (17 BBs)

Adrian Mateos - 1,265,000 (16 BBs)

Eelis Parssinen - 1,135,000 (14 BBs)

Event 3 final table players (clockwise from back left): Mario Mosböck, Danny Tang, Eelis Parssinen, Mehdi Chaoui, Javid Ismayilov, Patrik Antonius, Danilo Velasevic, Adrian Mateos, Kristen Foxen.

The rapid pace continued through the very opening exchanges at the final. Javid Ismayilov won the first hand, taking a chunk from Mosböck and immediately soaring into the lead. And Ismayilov also won the second significant pot, which resulted in the first final table elimination.

The renowned PLO expert Parssinen is rapidly becoming something of a NLH beast on the Triton Poker Series too, having made three deep runs in hold'em events in Jeju recently to add to three in the four-card game. Here he was again back at the final table in hold'em, albeit with the shortest stack.

When Parssinen looked down at JJ, and saw Kristen Foxen open from UTG and Ismayilov call in the cutoff, it was a clear opportunity to squeeze for Parssinen's last 15 blinds. Foxen folded, but Ismayilov called with .

Jacks always seem vulnerable, but Ismayilov had only one over-card. No matter, the full run out of 5KK counterfeited Parssinen's hand another way. Ismayilov's ace played with the two pair on board and Parssinen was out. Ninth place earned him $93,000.

The new NLH expert Eelis Parssin

While Parssinen's passion may lie away from hold'em, the same cannot be said of Adrian Mateos, who is not only exclusively a NLH player, he is frequently listed among the best players of the game in the world. But Mateos ended up following Parssinen quickly out the door in this one, losing a race to Danny Tang.

Tang had AQ and opened from the cutoff. Mateos, with 16 blinds, picked up pocket fours in the big blind and decided to get it all in. Tang called and flopped an ace. Neither of Mateos' remaining two outs emerged, sending him to the rail in eighth. Mateos took $116,000 from this one.

Eighth for Adrian Mateos

Tang moved above Mosböck to challenge Ismayilov at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, Mehdi Chaoui languished at the bottom of the charts with six blinds as the others bunched above him.

Chaoui knew he had to make something happen, and AQ seemed to come around and just the right time. Mosböck opened the pot from UTG+2 from a 41-blind stack, Foxen then three-bet one seat along, with 35 blinds in front of her, and Chaoui stuck in the last of his from the big blind.

Mosböck called the extra, but then the two active players checked all the way as the dealer put the 875 out there.

Chaoui had high card ace, but needed to beat two opponents. He had better than Foxen's AJ, but Mosböck's K, third best at the start, had now become a winner. Chaoui's tournament was over with a $158,000 payout.

Chaoui became the only player born in the 21st century to win a Triton Super High Roller Series title when he took down the tour's 250th event in Jeju in March. But he'll have to come back again if he wants to be the first double champion born this century. (You wouldn't bet against it.)

21st Century Boy Mehdi Chaoui

Danilo Velasevic was already at his second final table of the trip, but he now sat behind the smallest stack in the room. He has been knocking on the door for quite a while, but needed an upturn in fortune for this to be the tournament in which he finally went all the way.

But again, Mosböck became the party pooper.

Mosböck was third in the counts with a 40-blind stack and he opened from the button, with the two shortest players, Foxen and Velasevic, in small and big blind. Velasevic found K4 and shoved his last 12 blinds in. Mosböck was near the top of his button-raising range, however, tabling .

A queen on the flop strengthened Mosböck's grip on the hand and there was no king to bail out Velasevic. The Serbian was out in sixth for $214,000.

A second final already for Danilo Vela

The day was less than three and a half hours old, yet the tournament was now down to its final five. It seemed likely that it would now slow down, however, as the average stack sat at 43 blinds and the shortest, Foxen's, was 19.

The only other player with even a middling stack at this stage was Patrik Antonius, the man who led the field at bagging time last night. Antonius had been uncharacteristically quiet at the final, though, presumably card dead. But as the structure caught up with him somewhat, he began to make a few moves.

He pushed his stack up to 33 blinds, but then lost a ton to Ismayilov, whose A2 flopped a flush in a three-bet, cutoff versus button encounter. Antonius then played on with around 13 blinds until he picked up pocket eights and saw Ismayilov again wanting to tangle.

Antonius raised from under the gun, Ismayilov three-bet one seat along, and Antonius called to leave six blinds behind. The 696 flop wasn't too bad for eights and Antonius moved all-in. However, that flop was also pretty tidy for Ismayilov's pocket 10s.

Ismayilov called and when Antonius saw nothing to help him on turn or river, he was out. The two-time champion secured $275,000 for his fifth place here.

Patrik Antonius out in fif

Foxen was once again the short stack and Danny Tang was riding high. But two pots between the pair turned the tables in that particular equation.

In the first, Tang raised the button holding A2 and Foxen called in the big blind. The flop of 3 gave Tang the nut flush draw and, after Foxen checked, Tang bet. Foxen now raised, and Tang raised her right back, but Foxen was going nowhere. She called.

The 3 turn now double-paired the board and Foxen checked again. Tang put a tiny bet forward, and Foxen check-raised for a second time. Tang called, playing the board but with the best kicker. The 3 river now put a full house on board.

Foxen all-but jammed, leaving a solitary chip behind, and Tang folded, refusing to run the risk of doubling Foxen. We had to wait until the stream caught up to find out what Foxen had, and it revealed K6. It would have been one of the all-time bluffs, but Foxen actually had it.

Not long after (but into the next level), Foxen doubled her entire 18-blind stack through Tang, with pocket 10s holding against A6. The hand started with Foxen raising her button holding 10 and Tang defending the big blind. The flop gave Tang top pair and a couple of backdoor draws, and he check-jammed over Foxen's c-bet.

Foxen called for the rest of her stack and survived when turn and river bricked. That left Tang with only six blinds. He'd led the tournament for a long while, but was now the critical short stack.

He wasn't going to give up. He doubled with queens through Foxen's K8, and then doubled again with K beating Ismayilov's .

It looked as though Foxen's good work might all be in vain as Tang's resurgence put her in most trouble. But she too then found the doubling spirit and made 10 blinds into 20 with J9 beating Ismayilov's . They got it all in pre flop and Foxen found a nine.

Mosböck now had the kind of situation he could only dream of. He had 56 blinds while his three opponents had 20 (Foxen), 18 (Tang) and 13 (Ismayilov). But there's no such thing as a sure thing, and Mosböck was quickly cut down to size in a gross three-way cooler.

Tang opened from under the gun but then Mosböck looked down at pocket 10s and moved all in, covering everyone. Foxen found pocket jacks, which was plenty good enough to take on someone she probably expected to be shoving with anything, and then Ismayilov found AQ in the big blind and he under-called all-in as well.

Tang backed away, folding sixes, and leaving these three to play for piles. And though the flop of 27K changed nothing, and the turn was also irrelevant, the river was just what Ismayilov needed. He tripled back into the chip lead, while Foxen finished second in the hand and won the side pot from Mosböck.

Javid Ismayilov spiked an ace to survive a three-way cooler

They took a tournament break with Ismayilov holding 32 blinds, Mosböck having 30, Tang was on 14 and Foxen 13. This four-handed battle was turning into an epic.

Tang became the first player to put his tournament on the line again. He had A10 and was up against Ismayilov's A. Ismayilov flopped two pair, but Tang rivered a straight to get the double. But some of those hard-won chips then went to Foxen again, who nearly doubled her eight blinds with against Tang's . After a single pre-flop raise, Foxen flopped a five and then they both checked it all the way down.

Foxen then paid off a river value bet from Ismayilov to slip to five blinds. But then Foxen doubled back through Tang with KQ beating K. It was one of those tournament where no one was getting knocked out, even though the average stack was now only 17 blinds.

Finally, something had to give. And finally Foxen's yo-yoing came to an end. Mosböck was back into the chip lead and he open-shoved his small blind with only Foxen, and her eight-blind stack, to his left. Foxen had K7 and called, but Mosböck was ahead with A and stayed that way.

Foxen had to settle for $343,000, about two hours after she was first at risk of having to settle for that amount. It probably wasn't as much as she'd been hoping for, but it edged her ahead of Sosia Jiang in the Triton Money List and made her the most successful woman player on the tour.

Kristen Foxen's bumpy ride comes to its end

Mosböck, in imperious form, was now back at the top. And once again, he had his opponents exactly where he wanted them, namely with 15 blinds (Ismayilov) and 12 (Tang) respectively. Mosböck had 40.

The first significant pot of three-handed play went to Tang, who extracted the maximum from Ismayilov with a boat. It left Ismayilov with only four blinds, but he doubled through Mosböck with sixes beating threes. It wasn't really enough for him to get properly moving, however, and when he moved in again from the small blind, this time with threes of his own, Tang was waiting in the big blind with AA.

The aces held and Ismayilov bust in third for $419,000.

Ismayilov ran into aces

For the first time in Triton Poker history, two Triton Ambassadors now sat at opposite ends of the table with the trophy certain to go to one of them. Tang had five titles already, Mosböck three. Tang had 31 blinds to Mosböck's 23, so it was anyone's game still.

Tang surged, winning six of the first seven hands of heads-up play, including one where his Q6 backed into a flush to beat Mosböck's 9, which had flopped a nine. Mosböck was suddenly down to only eight blinds and they all went in as a shove from the small blind holding .

When Tang snapped and tabled K9, it seemed to be curtains for Mosböck. But the flop of 9 was all drama, and the three threes stayed good. Mosböck had 16 blinds and it was game on again.

After two lighting fast heads-up battles to start this Triton Montenegro festival, tonight's became a technical duel, despite the short stacks. Both players were keeping the pots small, but then eking out value when they could. Mosböck slipped to 11 blinds again, but then won five on the trot to bring the stacks level.

Despite only 45 blinds between them, they played into another level. That then cut the average to 17 blinds. nd somehow they made it into the next level as well, with both players holding the lead for periods, before entering the 500K/1M level with 13 blinds each.

And the drama wasn't even done yet.

There then followed the truly gross hand that this heads-up battle had avoided so far. Tang jammed his small blind holding a narrow two-blind advantage and sitting with K5. Mosböck called with Q.

The K2A flop gave Tang an even bigger advantage. The turn didn't materially change the situation, but robbed Mosböck of one of his chances to outdraw. However, he only needed one. The came on the river to fill Mosböck's straight, and send almost everything into his stack.

It proved to be a wild heads-

Tang now had only three blinds, but doubled them with pocket jacks on the next hand. And he picked up pocket 10s on the hand after that and doubled yet again. It was somehow still going, with Mosböck holding a 15-11 blind lead.

Then another sick one ended it once and for all.

Tang picked up Q6 in the small blind and shoved his nine blinds. Mosböck this time found pocket 10s and made the call, with expectation around the room that it would now finally get done. However, the dealer put the J flop on the table, vaulting Tang into the lead.

The 9 turn gave Mosböck outs to the re-draw. And the 8 on the river proved to be the fitting conclusion to a crazy few hours. Mosböck had finally done it, leaving Tang to take $628,000 for second.

"It wasn't meant to be," he was heard muttering as he walked away.

For Mosböck, however, the Triton fairytale continues.

Mosböck wins after a Triton classic