Three winners were crowned in the 2024 SunBet Poker Tour Time Square Main Event at the Time Square Casino in Pretoria, but only one of them walked away with the trophy. After a three-way deal, Sugen Singh posed for the winner shots and shared the biggest portion of the ZAR5,266,800 ($281,989) prize pool with SM and MAJ, both of which showcased their talents at the live-streamed final table.
The tournament drew 418 entries across four starting days to surpass the ZAR5,000,000 guarantee, and the trio atop walked away with juicy paydays from a ZAR15,000 (~$ $790) buy-in, which attracted many notables of the close-knit South African poker community.
Singh, whose first name means lion, is known as the man with the many rings and once more brought all the bling to the tables. When the deal was cut, he held the second-biggest stack and took home the trophy along with ZAR707,675 ($38,214). SM dominated the final day and collected ZAR1,000,000 ($54,000), whereas third-placed MAJ secured a payday of ZAR600,000 ($32,400).
Jarred Solomon was the final casualty of the tournament when he lost a flip to SM and the second in South Africa’s all-time money list bowed out in fourth place. Rather surprisingly, the two biggest stacks heading into the final day, Keegan Pillay and Roy Bitton, missed the nine-handed final table.
Final Table Result
| Rank | Winner | Country | Payout (in ZAR) | Payout (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sugen Singh | South Africa | 707,675 | $38,214* |
| 2 | SM | South Africa | 1,000,000 | $54,000* |
| 3 | MAJ | South Africa | 600,000 | $32,400* |
| 4 | Jarred Solomon | South Africa | 323,910 | $17,491 |
| 5 | Danny Dayani | South Africa | 249,120 | $13,452 |
| 6 | David Ng | Mauritius | 206,460 | $11,149 |
| 7 | Norman Cherry | South Africa | 173,280 | $9,357 |
| 8 | Gareth Kalil | South Africa | 140,200 | $7,571 |
| 9 | Gavin Sardini | South Africa | 107,285 | $5,793 |
*The final three players agreed to a deal; chip leader SM took the most money, and Sugen Singh received the winner’s trophy
The final day brought back one dozen hopefuls, and it didn’t take long for the fireworks to kick off. Bitton started the day second in chips but became the first casualty after a rotten run of cards. He lost jacks to the ace-queen of Gavin Sardini and queens versus Singh, who won the flop with ace-king suited. Sardini then finished the job he had started to reduce the field to eleven.
Edgar Antezana came into the final as the shortest stack and missed out on a pay jump before Pillay’s cold run came to an end on the feature table as well. By then, SM was already the chip leader and he never surrendered the top spot anymore until the deal of the final three players was cut.
Sardini jammed the nut flush on a single-raised yet five-way flop only for SM to call with the top two pair out of the big blind, further cementing his lead by a wide margin. Gareth Kalil went from short stack to contender for the top spot only to fall from grace in quick succession and he was soon joined at the payout desk by Norman Cherry. David Ng, second on the all-time money list of Mauritius, bowed out soon after, and the field was down to five by the time the second break took place.
Only a couple of hands were played thereafter as Danny Dayani lost a flip to MAJ and Solomon suffered the same fate versus run-away chip leader SM. A few moments later, the final three players agreed on a deal and the final day concluded after a mere four hours.
The partnership between the Monster Jam Poker Tour (MJPT) and Sun International Group, one of the biggest gaming and hospitality companies in South Africa, has been very fruitful in the last two years since the debut of the SunBet Poker Tour here at the Time Square Casino in Pretoria.
Another five stops of the SunBet Poker Tour are already scheduled for 2024, with the next series taking place at the stunning five-star The Palace of the Lost City. Widely considered as one of the must-visit stops thanks to the beautiful location near the Pilanesberg National Park, the SunBet Poker Tour Sun City takes place from April 24 to May 5, 2024.
