Michael Soyza earned the largest prize of his poker career on Tuesday, winning the HKD 500,000 ($63,700) buy-in Six Max event at the Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju after defeating Sam Greenwood in heads-up play.
Soyza earned HKD 11.15M ($1.42 million) for the victory, which came despite the fact that the Malaysian pro broke a hand two weeks ago while snowboarding in Japan.
Sling Doesn’t Slow Soyza
That injury left Soyza’s arm in a sling for the tournament, as his left hand has been fitted with 10 screws and a titanium plate. But none of that slowed down the young star, who continued his sensational run over the past two years.
“Feels pretty good, it’s nice to win something,” Soyza told Triton Poker after the win. “You just play your hands and hopefully it works out well. Win flips, you know. That’s how you do it.”
Soyza may have been a little modest in that quote. While his chip stack did dip at times after entering the second day of play as the leader, the biggest hand of the tournament showed why Soyza has become a force to be reckoned with on the high-stakes circuit.
Soyza Catches Greenwood’s Bluff
On the final hand of the tournament, Greenwood limped with J♠9♠, with Soyza choosing to raise with 7♣7♥. The 8♦T♦3♣ flop kept Soyza in the lead, but still gave Greenwood exactly the kind of board he was looking for.
Both men checked the flop, after which the 8♥ hit on the turn. Soyza made a small bet, which Greenwood called. The river came the K♣, giving Greenwood just jack-high against Soyza’s pocket sevens.
Though he missed his draw, Greenwood decided to bluff, shoving 3.8 million into the 3.2 million chip pot. Soyza thought through the hand and decided to call, ending the tournament on the spot.
Greenwood earned HKD 8 million ($1.02 million) for his runner-up finish.
Koon, Kenney Reach Final Table
The tournament featured a total of 81 entries, including 32 reentries, with the top nine players cashing. As is typical for a super high roller event, the final table of six included several familiar names, including Americans Bryn Kenney, who finished fourth, and Jason Koon, who bowed out in sixth place.
“It was a great result all things considered,” Koon told Triton Poker after the event. “Tournaments, especially just four or five or six tournaments, you can’t really expect anything over the course of a week. If things go well, that’s wonderful…these things are a sick grind.”
While the win was the largest of Soyza’s career by far, the young Malaysian is no stranger to performing well at high rollers. He now has just over $5 million in career earnings according to the Hendon Mob database, putting him fifth on Malaysia’s all-time money list. That ranking is led by Richard Yong, who has more $11.3 million in tournament earnings to his credit.
