The 2022 WSOP Main Event champion has just added another accolade to his résumé.
Espen Jørstad won Event #3: $40k NLH Mystery Bounty at Triton London. The victory is Jørstad’s first Triton title and third cash.
There were 133 entries in this third Triton London event, building a prize pool of $2,660,000. Jørstad takes home $639,000 for his first-place finish apart from bounties collected throughout the event.
Event #3: $40k NLH Mystery Bounty final table results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Espen Jørstad | Norway | $639,000 |
| 2 | Phil Ivey | United States | $434,900 |
| 3 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $287,000 |
| 4 | Johannes Straver | Netherlands | $236,500 |
| 5 | Eric Wasserson | United States | $190,000 |
| 6 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | $149,000 |
| 7 | Alex Boika | Belarus | $111,500 |
| 8 | Keat Liu Chun | Malaysia | $82,500 |
A tempestuous three-way battle
The final-table action was a match for the ages, especially once the players reached the final three as Jørstad, Ivey, and Chidwick battled for it all.
“It was the craziest three-way I’ve ever played,” Jørstad told Ali Nejad after the match. “There was so much back and forth. The chip lead was overtaken nine or ten times, it was crazy.
The commentators enjoyed the action as well. “That was the most entertaining and fun final table I’ve ever commentated on at a Triton event,” said Henry Kilbane. “It was an emotional rollercoaster for the final four,” said Randy Lew.
Those were appropriate responses given the action to close out the event. Jørstad twice found himself crippled on his way to victory. He found himself with just a couple of big blinds twice, including during three-handed play. However, he found a way to climb out each time to secure the victory.
Jørstad fell to sub-three big blinds during three-handed play when his top pair fell to the pocket aces of Chidwick. He climbed out of that hole, doubling through Chidwick twice, and then Ivey once to retake the chip lead. Not written off, that lead wouldn’t last.
Jørstad then ran into a dominated ace situation when Chidwick woke up with ace-king while Jørstad found all his chips in the middle with ace-nine. Again, he was back down to three big blinds. He found a couple more doubles to get back in contention.
So went the story in seeming perpetuity. No one would fall, and chips traded hands between the three legends. Chidwick finally fell when Jørstad made quads when Chidwick defended his big blind with a very short stack and left Ivey and Jørstad to play for it all.
Ivey started heads-up play with about a 2:1 chip lead. That reversed quickly, though, as Jørstad took several pots without showdown. He finally closed it out when both players found a king, but Jørstad’s kicker was better. Ivey exited in second place, denied his fourth Triton title.
Jorstad’s impressions of the Triton events
Jørstad certainly appreciated the moment in his post-win interview with Nejad.
“Playing heads up against Ivey, the biggest legend of the game in my opinion, just makes it even more special,” Jørstad said, adding, “I’m extremely grateful for all the run good I’ve had on the last three years. It’s insane.”
Like so many before him, Jørstad had nothing but positive things to say of the Triton tour post-victory. “Legends left, legends right,” said Jørstad. “All of my idols are there. You go to the gym, there’s Linus; you go to breakfast, there’s Mikita. What the fuck am I doing here?”
Humble he may be, Jørstad is certainly right where he belongs. And now, he has the Triton title to back up that statement.
Congratulations to Espen Jørstad on his first Triton title. Best of luck to all players who will pull their bounties Monday evening London time.
All photos credit: Joe Giron/Triton
