Tony G Wins Two SHRB Europe Short Deck Titles

Tony G has won two Super High Roller Bowl Europe titles with victories in a $25,000 buy-in short deck event and in a $100,000 buy-in short deck event. This was achieved in only four days, which is a new career record for Antanas “Tony G” Guoga in terms of cash winnings. He was able to take home an astonishing $1,551,500. Read on for a full recap. 

$25,000 Buy-In Short Deck Victory

During the 2021 Super High Roller Bowl Europe in Cyprus, Tony G scored his first victory at the $25,000 buy-in short deck event. He won $382,500 after defeating a field of 45 competitors. What’s more significant is that it was his first tournament victory in over two years. This was his sixth-largest career triumph, bringing his total earnings over $6.5 million. This victory has allowed Tony G to climb higher in some poker rankings. Even though he still remains outside the top 500 in the 2021 POY race standings (sponsored by Global Poker), he was awarded the 420 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion, which is his first POY-qualified score this year. What’s more important is the fact that he earned 230 PokerGo Tour rankings points, moving him all the way to 54th place in their scoring.  At the start of the final day, Tony G was fourth in terms of chip count out of six players remaining.

The leading position was held by the WSOP bracelet winner Danny Tang. However, the tables have turned when Tang lost much of his stack due to several failed all-ins, falling to the middle position. He was then knocked out by Chris Brewer, who has managed to gain his position as a chip leader. Tang was eliminated by Brewer’s all-in and his A 7 against his K K. Chris was able to get a full house by the river, eliminating Tang in sixth place with $67,500 in prize money. 

The next player to be eliminated was Paul Phua. He went all-in with a pair of aces on the flop and a seven-kicker. However, Tony G called with A A and queen kicker. Phua was knocked out from the fifth place with $90,000, making it Tony G’s first elimination of the event.  The next knockout was performed by Brewer once again. This time it was Santi Jiang who went all-in with Q Q against A 9 of Chris. With two aces and two sevens on the board, Chris was able to eliminate Jian in fourth place with $123,750 in prize money.  The next elimination was done by Brewer once again. His victim was Robert Flink. Flink with A J was unable to beat Brewer with his A K and finished third with $168,750 in winnings.  After that, Tony G and Brewer have started their heads-up play with 7,600,000 and 5,700,000 in chip count respectively.

By the end of the head-up session, Guoga was leading 3:1 in terms of the chip count. During the final hand, Tony G has decided to push with K J and Brewer called with his J 10. The board showed Q 8 6 7 J and gave Guoga the winning pot and a title.  Here is a brief rundown of the final payouts:

$100,000 Buy-In Short Deck Victory

We didn’t have to wait long until Tony G won another title. This time it was a $100,000 buy-in in a short deck. It was a record-breaking career result with an astonishing $1,169,000 in prize money after topping a field of 26 players. To put that into perspective, at that time, his highest payday was $886,940 for finishing fourth in the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe $250,000 buy-in super high roller event. With just four players returning to the final table of the event, it was Danny Tang who was in a lead, just like in the $25,000 buy-in short deck. Paul Phua had the smallest stack of the table but was able to stay afloat after snatching a pot from Tony G.

It was Tang and Tony G who would constantly fight for the chip lead. The first elimination was done by Tony G. He was able to eliminate him with A K against his pocket queens during a preflop showdown. Jiang left the even as the fourth-place finisher with $260,000 in prize money.  Tang was the next to fall.

During an all-in duel with Paul Phua, his K 10 was beaten by Phua’s set of jacks. Tang finished third with solid $416,000 winnings.  Phua had a small chip advantage entering the heads-up play. However, Tony G was able to scramble a few pots early on and gain a 2.5:1 lead.

The final hand was extraordinary. Tony G limped from the button with his A clubs K clubs and Phua responded with a raise to 300,000 with A diamonds A hearts. Guoga answered with an all-in and Phua called. The flop was Q hearts, Q diamonds, and 8 clubs. With a two-pair, Phua had a better chance of winning, but 7 clubs on the turn gave him an opportunity for a flush. Luckily for him, 9 of clubs on the river solidified his flush and gave him the title. Phua finished second and was awarded $728,000.  Here is a brief rundown of the final payouts:

Tony G commented on his win in his classic fashion saying: “I’m the champ! I’m the luckiest. That’s a set-up; a cooler hand. That’s the worst bad beat I’ve seen. What are the odds?”