Ben Tollerene joined the three-time Triton Poker winner’s club in style, topping a field of 93 entries in the 2025 Triton Montenegro $100,000 pot-limit Omaha main event to secure the hardware and the massive $2,390,000 first-place prize.
The score broke the record for the largest top payout for a PLO tournament, outstripping the $2,340,000 Sergio Martinez Gonzalez earned as the champion of this same event at the Triton Jeju stop earlier this year.
This triumph came just a couple of days after Tollerene had finished as the runner-up in the $150,000 no-limit hold’em event at this stop for $3,437,344. He now has five cashes during this festival, with three final-table showings. With this latest multi-million-dollar windfall factored in, the 38-year-old American poker pro now boasts over $29 million in lifetime tournament earnings, with more than $6.2 million of that being secured during this stop at Montenegro’s Maestral Resort & Casino.
In the end, Tollerene had to face off against a fellow high-stakes online player: Hungarian professional player Laszlo Bujtas. Tollerene came out on top in the battle of ‘ben86’ and ‘omaha4rollz’, while Bujtas secured a career-best live tournament score of $1,645,000 as the runner-up.
“Feels amazing,” Tollerene told Triton reporters after coming out on top. “It would have been hard to pick someone more suitable to be heads-up with. I’ve played him a ton, and have a ton of respect for him.”
The $9.3 million prize pool for this event was split amongst the top 15 finishers. A parade of poker stars hit the rail inside the money, with deep runs from Stephen Chidwick (15th), Dan Smith (14th), Biao Ding (13th), Nacho Barbero (12th), Jason Koon (11th), Joao Simao (10th), Samuli Sipila (9th), and Wai Kin Yong (8th).
Final table set for Event #15 $100K PLO Main Event at Triton Poker SHRS Montenegro 2025.
Artur Martirosian, Ben Tollerene, Laszlo Bujtas, @DDvoress, Sean Rafael, @philivey, and @junglemandan headline a stacked lineup of PLO powerhouses.
With $2,390,000 and a Jacob & Co. Epic X… pic.twitter.com/y08zMNVP7V
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) May 26, 2025
The seven-handed final table began with two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Artur Martirosian out in front and Tollerene hot on his heels. Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey was ultimately the first to bow out. The 11-time WSOP champion and five-time Triton winner eventually got the last of his stack in preflop with single-suited pocket queens up against the double-suited A-J-8-5 of Daniel Dvoress. The board brought three spades to give Dvoress a winning flush and the pot. Ivey settled for $433,000 as the seventh-place finisher. This brought his haul for the series to more than $2 million, having cashed four times including a fourth-place finish in the $150,000 buy-in event for nearly $1.5 million.
Recent European Poker Tour Monte Carlo PLO high roller champion Sean Rafael earned $549,000 as the sixth-place finisher. The American got the final chunk of his stack in preflop with K♦Q♦8♠3♠ against two opponents. Bujtas made aces and fives to win the pot and narrow the field to five.
Dvoress committed the last of his stack with Q♥10♣9♥7♣ after seeing a flop of 9♠8♠2♠. He was in rough shape facing the K♠Q♠10♥2♦ of Tollerene, who had flopped the second-nut flush. The 3♥ turn and 5♥ river were of no help to Dvoress and the Canadian two-time Triton champion was sent home with $702,000 for his efforts.
Play was halted for the night after that knockout, setting up an unscheduled third day of action. Two-time Triton champion Daniel Cates bagged up the shortest stack, and was all-in and at risk soon after cards got back in the air. He got all-in after a 4♣3♣3♦ flop with Q♠Q♣J♦10♠ trailing the A♠A♥A♦4♥ of Bujtas. The 9♠ turn and 2♥ river kept Bujtas ahead, ending Cates’ run in fourth place ($875,000).
Event #15 – $100K PLO Main Event.
Dan “Jungleman” Cates is out in 4th.
A two-time Triton champion with 11 cashes and over $10 million in earnings, Cates continues to prove he’s a force across formats.
He brought his signature intensity to the PLO Main Event — but this run ends… pic.twitter.com/ndEbIjaDsz
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) May 27, 2025
The next key clash saw all the chips go in preflop with Martirosian holding K♣K♦9♣4♠ leading the A♣K♠J♦J♣ of Bujtas. A jack-high runout gave Bujtas top set and the massive pot, leaving Martirosian with just over six big blinds. He soon got all-in with J♦J♣9♣8♠ after a flop of 9♥8♦3♥ after Tollerene checked to him. Bujtas three-bet to isolate with K♥Q♥Q♣6♦ and Tollerene folded A♦A♣5♦2♦. The turn was the 4♠ and the river the 7♥, giving Bujtas a heart flush and the pot. Martirosian was awarded $1,080,000 for his podium finish. This was his eighth cash of the series.
Bujtas came into heads-up play with 13,400,000 to Tollerene’s 9,850,000. The two battled back and forth for a while, but Tollerene was solidly ahead when the final hand of the tournament was dealt. Bujtas raised to 900,000 on the button with K♦Q♦10♠7 ♠ and Tollerene three-bet from the big blind with A♥A♦10♣5♣. to 2,075,000. Bujtas called and the flop came down Q♥8♦5♥. Tollerene bet the pot (4,650,000) and Bujtas shoved for 6,525,000 total. Tollerene called and was ahead, but the 7♦ turn improved Bujtas to two pair with a flush draw. That left Tollerene in need of an ace, eight or non-diamond five on the river. The A♣ rolled off on the end to give Tollerene top set and the knockout. Bujtas a seven-figure payout as the runner-up, bringing his career earnings to nearly $10.6 million in the process.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Ben Tollerene | $2,390,000 | 1080 |
| 2 | Laszlo Bujtas | $1,645,000 | 900 |
| 3 | Artur Martirosian | $1,080,000 | 720 |
| 4 | Daniel Cates | $875,000 | 540 |
| 5 | Daniel Dvoress | $702,000 | 450 |
| 6 | Sean Rafael | $549,000 | 360 |
| 7 | Phil Ivey | $433,000 | 270 |
| 8 | Wai Kin Yong | $330,000 | 180 |
| 9 | Samuli Sipila | $242,000 | 90 |
Photo credit: Triton Poker.
