Mounir Tajiou Wins €10,000 Bombay Anniversary Invitational in Bombay High Stakes Week 

How it Started – €10,000 Invitational

With 10 minutes left on the clock from yesterday’s play, registration remained open before the cards hit the felt before the start of play today. 

Last night’s heads-up cash game winner, Ossi Ketola, hit the reg desk, as did Kayhan Mokri, who lost €1,000,000 to Ketola in the space of a couple of hours. Check out the stream below to see Ketola battle Elias Talvitie, who also registered for this tournament, and Dan “Jungleman” Cates, another €10k Invitational participant. 

Unfortunately for the aforementioned players, they couldn’t increase their 30,000 starting stack and hit the rail early doors into Day 2 as registration closed. 

Aliaksandr Shyllko also went for the max late reg, but he also couldn’t find the spin up. 

As registration slammed shut, the payouts were announced by the floor and displayed across the tournament floor. Here is a table of who will win what. 

At the end of the first break, Swedish national and WSOP furniture enjoyer Mounir Tajiou had moved up the counts from fourth to take top spot, usurping Ardo Hanschmidt at the top to break the Estonian 1-2. 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Hanschmidt was on the downtrend, and he eventually bowed out around an hour or so into today’s place in 27th. Taago Tamm, who came into the day second in chips, was also on the decline. 

American David Chen and Dutch crusher Teun Mulder claimed second and third spots, increasing their stacks by 180,000 and 149,000, respectively.

Field Thins Out Fast – Ivey Victim of the Bubble

It wasn’t long before the 38 players who took to the felt at the start of play today became a succinct field of 14. 

High-stakes regular Thomas Santerne (22nd), Day 1 second-place finisher and home team representative Taago Tamm (20th), and Chess Grandmaster Ottomar Ladva (17th) are just some of the players who fell short of the money.

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Hall of Famer and GOAT Status individual Phil Ivey had a chance to eliminate Ilya Nikiforov on the bubble. 

Nikiforov opened to 12,000 with the blinds at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante from the cutoff. Ivey raised on the button to 31,000. Action folded around, and Nikiforov moved all in for 109,500. Ivey flicked in the call, but the players couldn’t show down due to a hand in progress at the adjacent table. 

Morten Klein got paid with the second nut flush in a three-bet pot versus Mulder. The 4 9 Q flop was checked around, before Klein check-called a bet of 23,000 on the 7 turn. He checked again on the 5 river where Mulder moved all in. 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Klein beat him into the pot and tabled K J . Mulder had Q 7 for two pair. 

Now that the hand was over, the cards were revealed. Nikiforov had A Q and Ivey had 9 9 . The 2 6 J 6 flop and turn gave Ivey two pair. Nikiforov stood up, and his equity dramatically improved as the A came from space to keep him in the game. 

A few hands later, Ivey opened from early position to 12,000. Tajiou then three-bet to 28,000 on the button. Action folded around, and Ivey moved all in for around 100,000. Tajiou snap-called. Again, the players couldn’t show down. 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

“That feels bad, what I’ve just done,” said Ivey. Tajiou appeared to like his chances. “Sorry, Phil, but I had to do this,” said Tajiou. 

Eventually, they showed down, and Tajiou had A A , and Ivey had A Q . 

The 9 7 7 2 2 runout provided no upsets for Tajiou, and Ivey fell short of the money. He said in jest to Tajiou, “I hope you’re happy buddy,” before taking a seat at a nearby table to tuck into a beautiful steak dinner. 

Final Table

Jelle Moene, and Aleksejs Ponakovs all fell short of the final table, but they all received a payout. 

Estonian Bamad Garzin was the unlucky player to miss out on the final table. Below is the lineup and seat draw. 

Place	Player	Country
1	Teun Mulder
2	George Ana
3	Mounir Tajiou
4	Ilya Nikiforov
5	Robert Heidorn
6	Joni Jouhkimainen
7	David Chen
8	Kevin Paque
9	Morten Klein

Nikiforov fell first at the final table, before play slowed down as stacks consolidated. Joni Jouhkimainen was next to depart, leaving just seven remaining. 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Final Table Notable Hands and Action

The mood on the tournament floor was lively, with some of the players requesting music to be played into the room to generate some atmosphere. 

Tajiou opened the button to 30,000 with the blinds at 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 big blind ante. Heidorn moved all in for 155,000. 

“Can I phone my GTO Wizard? I’m pretty sure I’m meant to call here,” said Tajiou before calling. He had A 7 against Heidorn’s A 5 . 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

“That’s a good flop” said Tajiou as the dealer fanned the Q 9 J flop. The K changed nothing, and Heidorn wiggled his 5 on the felt to lure out another one on the river. The deck obliged, and the 5 secured him a crucial double up. 

The players were sent on a scheduled break, and cash game specialist Kevin Paque was the clear chipleader as the floor coloured up the 500 value chips. 

Mulder appeared to be in second, making for a Dutch 1-2, music to the ears of pokerlistings.com’s very own Melvin Schroen. 

Klein Cracks Aces

At the short stack end of the spectrum was high-stakes regular Morten Klein, who didn’t have a single 25,000-value chip in his stack. George Ana was in the same boat. 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

The two clashed in the first hand after the break. Klein moved all in from the cutoff for 190,000 with the blinds at 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. Ana moved his stack into the middle from the small blind. 

He had A A and Klein had A 8 . He flopped a pair on 5 8 2 . The 7 changed nothing, but the 8 upgraded Klein to trips. The dealer counted out Ana’s stack, and he had exactly 190,000, and he was sent to the payout desk. 

“I knew it!” said Klein, as he pulled in a crucial pot. 

Klein Left Short, Stacked by Paque

Klein was left short by Tajiou. He opened from under the gun to 45,000. Tajiou called, and Paque defended the big blind. 

The 8 Q Q flop was checked around, before Paque checked the 3 turn. Klein bet 45,000 and only Tajiou called. 

Klein then check-called a bet of 180,000 on the 10 river. He was shown K Q by Tajiou and Klein mucked. The next hand, Paque put Klein all in for his remaining 80,000. Klein called with 10 9 . 

Paque’s A J held across the Q 6 8 K 3 runout to secure the remnants of Klein’s stack. 

Shots Anybody?

Tajiou was feeling the vibes and insisted everyone at the table take a shot. As they arrived, Paque said, “You will have to tell me the flop because after this, I won’t be able to see.”

As the shots arrived, the players made a toast and then continued to play. 

A few hands later, these two clashed in a big pot between first and second in chips. 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Tajiou opened to 50,000 from the cutoff with the blinds at 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante. 

Paque defended the big blind before the 9 J 3 flop was checked around. Paque then check-called a bet of 35,000 on the K turn before check-raising the K river. Tajiou bet 70,000 before Paque made it 210,000. 

Tajiou snap-called with J J . Paque had trips with K Q . With this pot, Tajiou took control and became the chip leader. 

Tajiou’s Stack Grows and Grows

Tajiou was the most active player at the final table. He opened to 50,000 from under the gun before Paque moved all in from the small blind for around 375,000. Tajiou said he’s “probably going to call” before flicking in the chips. He had A Q and Paque had K Q  

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Both hit the monotone 2 Q 5 flop. The 9 changed nothing, and the K gave Tajiou the nuts. 

“You got there,” said Tajiou, before Paque replied, “You got there too”, in reference to the classic Tony G one liner from the Big Game. With Paque’s departure, Tajiou had an overwhelming advantage over his remaining opponents. 

A few hands later, Mulder doubled with J 10 , having moved all in from the button for 140,000. Tajiou was his customer with A K . Mulder made top pair on the 6 5 2 10 4 runout to secure the double up. 

Chen Chipping Up and Then Down

Chen was quiet for a lot of the final table action, but as more fell by the wayside, his activity increased. 

He doubled from 295,000 to 590,000 courtesy of Tajiou. Chen opened to 60,000 with the blinds at 15,000/30,000 and Tajiou defended the big blind. He check-raised Chen all in on the flop of K 10 8 over a bet of 30,000. Chen called with A K and Tajiou had Q 4 . 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

“Three-handed, let’s go!” exclaimed Tajiou. However, he couldn’t find a club on the Q J turn and river. 

A few hands later, he lost 270,000 chips to Mulder. Chen jammed A 5 on the button, Mulder called with J 8 . He paired his jack across the 4 7 5 J K to secure the double. 

Tajiou and Chen clashed again, in what proved to be one of the most interesting hands at the final table. Tajiou opened to 60,000 on the button, and Chen called in the big blind. On 10 5 3 , Tajiou got check-raised to 135,000, having bet 50,000. He called Chen’s raise. 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Chen then led for 110,000 on the 7 turn. Tajiou called again. On the 4 river, Chen used two time banks before declaring a wager of 220,000. Tajiou put in a bunch of his time banks into the middle to indicate he may need a decent chunk of time to contemplate his decision.  

“I have a good, strong feeling about this hand,” said Tajiou. Ultimately, he didn’t even use the full initial 30 seconds and slammed in a chip to make the call. He was right. Chen had a complete airball with J 9 , and Tajiou had A 4 for fourth pair. Exclamations of “boom!” reverberated across the room as Tajiou celebrated extending his chip lead. 

And Then There Were Three

€10,000 Fast Bounty Winner Robert Heidorn had been navigating short stack duties well, and seemed to be the victim of some subpar card distribution in terms of playable holdings. 

Eventually, it was his time to get it in. He called Tajiou’s button jam from the small blind with 10 10 . Tajiou had A 7 . There was no sweat for Tajiou, and it appeared everything was going his way across the 9 7 3 A 4 . Heidorn and Tajiou exchanged handshakes before Heidorn sauntered to the bar for a glass of wine. 

Chen doubled through Tajiou who got out of line with 9 6 due to his overwhelming chip lead, before Chen added more to those newly earned chips as he elected to jam 270,000 with 9 6 . Mulder called with A 9 . 

Photo Credit: Bombay Club

Chen made a straight across the 7 3 4 4 5 runout. Mulder then doubled through Tajiou to 480,000 with K 9 versus Tajiou’s 9 8 . Mulder paired his king to take in the pot. 

Ultimately, the tournament ended in a three-way all in. Chen opened from the button, Mulder moved all in for 465,000. Tajiou moved all in and exposed his holding of K Q before Chen committed the rest of his stack. He had A 9 and Mulder had 8 8 . 

The 7 K 10 flop was all Tajiou, and the 2 turn and 3 river confirmed him to be the champion of this Bombay High Stakes Week €10,000 Invitational Anniversary €1,000,000 Guarantee event. 

“Cannes yacht party in September!” rejoiced Tajiou. Chen sat at the table, gazing at the trophy for a few moments more. The trio exchanged handshakes, Mulder joined his friends and then hit the cash table, and Tajiou made many phone calls and texts to break the news to his friends and family. 

A Few Words With the Winner

Tajiou was nice enough to take some time out of his evening celebrations to talk to me about his victory. Here is a snippet of a full interview that will be published alongside this piece:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Mounir Tajiou		€266,700
2	Teun Mulder		€172,100
3	David Chen		€122,900
4	Robert Heidorn		€94,500
5	Kevin Paque		€75,600
6	Morten Klein		€60,500
7	George Ana		€48,400
8	Joni Jouhkimainen		€38,700
9	Ilya Nikiforov		€31,000
10	Bamdad Garzin		€24,800
11	Aleksejs Ponakovs		€24,800
12	Jelle Moene		€20,000
13	“Anonymous”		€20,000

What’s Next? 

Tournament play has come to an end here in Tallinn a day early, but there is still more to come, including the extended interview with Tajiou, as well as some others who came to the world-class Bombay Club this week. 

That’s all for now, folks. Stay tuned to pokerlistings.com as the Bombay High Stakes Week coverage wraps up.