Triton Poker, Author at Triton Poker

Elton Tsang Leads 2017 Triton Manila Main Event

The 2017 Triton Super High Roller Series Manila HK$ 1,000,000 Main Event saw a total of 29 unique players partake in the extraordinary Solaire Resort and Casino, and nine participants fired a second bullet to create a 38-entry strong field. These are not the final numbers yet, as registration remains open until the cards are back in the air for Day 2 on Monday, Feb 20 at 1 p.m. local time.

After nine levels of 60 minutes each, the field was reduced to the last 23 and 2016 Big One For One Drop Extravaganza champion Elton Tsang claimed the lead. Born in Canada, Tsang now calls Hong Kong his home and turned 250,000 into 1,004,000 to be the only player above one million in chips thus far.

Second in chips is Macau high-stakes poker player Paul Phua with 796,000, closely followed by another expert for the big buy-in tournaments. Former One Drop champion Daniel Colman, who won the HK$ 250,000 6-Max Event yesterday for HK$ 3,641,600 (approximately $473,408) after defeating Erik Seidel, could add another big score to his poker resume in the current year and bagged up 769,000.

Other notables that made it through with above-average stacks include Peter Chan (685,000), former Triton Suncity Cup winner Dan Cates (609,000), Pratyush Buddiga (560,000), Sergio Aido (520,000) and Jack Salter with bullet number two (470,000). Among those to also fire twice and advance to Day 2 were Mustapha Kanit (343,000), Founder of Triton Richard Yong (340,000), John Juanda (240,000), Phil Ivey (231,000) and 6-Max third-place finisher Rainer Kempe (186,000).

Dario Sammartino busted on his second bullet as well, while David Peters, Winfred Yu and Timofey Kuznetsov were among those to play once and run out of chips. Peters flopped top pair and top kicker with ace-queen only to find himself up against the pocket kings of Tsang for an overpair in the last level of the night. Yu failed to get there with king-queen suited against the ace-queen of Bryn Kenney and Kuznetsov got it in with ace-jack for top pair only to see Aido turn over the top set with pocket jacks just before bagging and tagging.

Salter started pretty hot and flopped a set of threes to bust Phua before the latter re-entered and became the chip leader a set of jacks against Sammartino’s ace-king for top pair. Salter then lost all of his chips in several hands to Buddiga and found himself back at the registration desk. The Brit was riding a roller coaster in the last two levels of the night and eventually flopped a set of fives to double through Ivey when the clock had already been stopped.

Among the hopefuls that will return for Day 2 is also defending champion Wai Kin Yong, who claimed just under starting stack with 244,000 after running hot early on and cooling off towards the end. In November 2016, Yong emerged victorious in a 62-entry strong field to score a payday of just under $2.1 million. The Main Event buy-in has since been doubled and the total prize pool of 2016 has already been eclipsed.

The action will resume at exactly 1 p.m. local time with level 10 and blinds of 4,000-8,000 with a running ante of 1,000. All new entries will receive 250,000 in chips and the event is scheduled to play down to the official eight-handed final table on Day 2. A winner will then determined on Tuesday.

(Recap by Pokernews)

Day 2 Seat Draw

Table 1-Seat 1 Mustapha Kanit (IT) – 343,000
Table 1-Seat 2 Rui Cao (UK) – 176,000
Table 1-Seat 3 Yu Liang (CN) – 352,000
Table 1-Seat 4 Devan Tang (HK) – 441,000
Table 1-Seat 5 Benjamin Wu (US) – 159,100
Table 1-Seat 7 Wai Kin Yong (MY) – 244,000
Table 2-Seat 2 Daniel Colman (US) – 769,000
Table 2-Seat 4 Mikita Badziakouski (BY) – 170,000
Table 2-Seat 5 Richard Yong (MY) – 340,000
Table 2-Seat 6 Zuo Wang (CN) – 412,000
Table 2-Seat 7 Sergio Aido (ES) – 520,000
Table 2-Seat 8 Elton Tsang (HK) – 1,004,000
Table 3-Seat 1 Pratyush Buddiga (US) – 560,000
Table 3-Seat 2 John Juanda (SG) – 240,000
Table 3-Seat 4 Erik Seidel (US) – 316,000
Table 3-Seat 6 Phil Ivey (US) – 231,000
Table 3-Seat 7 Peter Chan (CN) – 685,000
Table 3-Seat 8 Bryn Kenney (US) – 331,000
Table 4-Seat 2 Dan Cates (US) – 609,000
Table 4-Seat 4 Paul Phua (MY) – 796,000
Table 4-Seat 5 Jack Salter (UK) – 470,000
Table 4-Seat 6 Koray Aldemir (DE) – 204,000
Table 4-Seat 7 Rainer Kempe (DE) – 186,000

Daniel Colman Wins Triton 6-Max Title in Manila (HK$ 3,641,600)

After just over 12 hours of play on Day 2 of the 2017 Triton Super High Roller Series Manila HK$ 250,000 6-Max Event (approximately $32,200), a winner has been crowned in the stunning Solaire Resort and Casino. Ultimately, it was 2014 The Big One for One Drop champion Daniel Colman, who is also 4th on the all-time money list, who emerged victorious after a short but intense heads-up battle with Erik Seidel.

Seidel is 2nd on the all-time money list and added another big score to his impressive resume, he also finished 4th here in Manila one year ago in the HK$ 200,000 Suncity Cup as well. Colman started into 2017 with two final table appearances and a cash in the inaugural PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event for more than $1,100,000, and added another HK$ 3,641,600 – approximately $473,408 – to his scores for the current year.

Before the start of level 10, another two players opted to fire a second bullet after busting the previous night, as Bryn Kenney and Mustapha Kanit came in with a fresh stack of 50,000. This created a total field of 43 entries, including eight re-entries, and the prize pool of HK$ 10,113,600 was awarded to the top seven spots. While Kenney missed out on the money, Kanit made the unofficial seven-handed final table with just over four big blinds.

Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov led the survivors into Day 2 and kept his dominating pace early on to further build the stack. Early casualties included John Juanda, Dan Cates, Jack Salter and Paul Phua. Salter flopped a set of sixes against Kuznetsov and got his stack in after the turn of a king-high board. Kuznetsov held seven-five suited for the straight and flush draw, and got there with a three on the river. Phua was among two players in a row that sent their stacks over to Rainer Kempe, and the German, now based in Brighton, established himself in the second spot.

2016 Triton Super High Roller Main Event winner Wai Kin Yong never showed up for Day 2 and was blinded out without playing a single hand. President of Poker King Club Winfred Yu also missed out on the money and he was followed to the rail by Dario Sammartino, Stanley Choi, David Peters, and Pratyush Buddiga. Choi first lost most of his stack with pocket nines against the king-nine suited of Marius Torbergsen and bowed out one hand later. Koray Aldemir’s tournament came to an end on the last two tables as well, when Kempe snap-called his three-bet shove with ace-king and the German only had ace-nine.

Torbergsen was next to follow before Yu Liang bowed out in 9th place. In a hand that lasted several minutes into a scheduled break, Kempe bet an eight-high turn and check-raised the river when a king appeared. Liang eventually called all in and mucked when Kempe showed pocket eights for a set.

That reduced the field to eight and it was Triton Founder Richard Yong who would become the bubble boy. While Kanit folded with very few chips behind to a shove by eventual-champion Colman over on the other table, Yong three-bet shoved for 15 big blinds with ace-mine and Sergio Aido called with ace-jack suited. By the river, there were three spades on the flop, giving Aido the nut flush and the bubble was burst.

The remaining seven players combined to one table and Kempe was in the lead with twice as many chips as Aido in second place:

1 Timofey Kuznetsov (Russia) – 286,000 chips – Big Blind 47
2 Mikita Badziakouski (Belarus) – 161,000 chips – Big Blind 26
3 Erik Seidel (USA) – 319,000 chips – Big Blind 53
4 Rainer Kempe (UK) – 700,000 chips – Big Blind 116
5 Mustapha Kanit (Italy) – 26,000 chips – Big Blind 4
6 Sergio Aido (Spain) – 351,000 chips – Big Blind 58
7 Dan Colman (USA) – 307,000 chips – Big Blind 51

After Kanit immediately tripled up his stack, it was Mikita Badziakouski who was the first casualty in the money. Badziakouski raised to 50,000, for more than half of his remaining short stack, and then called the shove of Seidel from one seat over with ace-ten. Seidel had the ace-king and flopped a king to leave Badziakouski drawing dead on the turn.

Kanit then bowed out in 6th place, getting his last nine big blinds in from the small blind. Aido called in the big blind with queen-eight and trailed Kanit’s ace-king, but a queen hit on the river to eliminate the always-smiling, talkative Italian.

Kuznetsov eventually had to settle for 5th place. He lost most of his stack against a set of threes of Seidel and shoved the very next hand with king-deuce suited. Kempe found pocket eights in the big blind and there was no king, straight or diamonds on the board to help “Trueteller”.

Down to the last four, Aido became the shortest stack and remained there despite doubling up once. The Spaniard eventually shoved out of the small blind with seven-six off suit and Colman looked him up from the big blind with king-seven suited. The board ran out queen-high and Colman made a king-straight.

The last three players experienced a roller coaster of emotions and former runaway chip leader Kempe ultimately ended up with the bronze medal. Down to three big blinds he first doubled and his comeback was then halted when pocket queens failed to hold up against Colman’s ace-six suited. A six on the flop and the turn gave Colman trips and Kempe was gone.

Colman had an almost 2-1 lead over Seidel when heads up began and both showed their master class in an intense battle over the next half an hour. Seidel called a three-barrel shove by Colman with ten-eight for second pair on the flop and fourth pair on the river, which was good as Colman was caught bluffing with jack-high. A big call by Colman changed the lead again and right after it was all over. Seidel got his stack in with ace-six off suit and Colman had ace-jack suited. Two jacks on the flop and an ace on the turn gave Colman a full house and that brought the tournament to an end.

While the 6-Max champion has been crowned, the highlight of the high-stakes festival in Manila awaits tomorrow. Day 1 of the elusive 2017 Triton Super High Roller HK$ 1,000,000 (approximately $128,800) Main Event gets underway at 1 p.m. local time and will feature nine levels of 60-minutes each. Unlimited rebuys are available for the duration of Day 1 and the registration then closes at the start of Day 2.

Recap by Pokernews

Final Result 6-Max Event

1 Daniel Colman (USA) – HK $3,641,600 ($473,408)
2 Erik Seidel (USA) – HK $2,326,000 ($302,380)
3 Rainer Kempe (UK) – HK $1,466,000 ($190,580)
4 Sergio Aido (Spain) – HK $1,011,000 ($131,430)
5 Timofey Kuznetsov (Russia) – HK $708,000 ($92,040)
6 Mustapha Kanit (Italy) – HK $556,000 ($72,280)
7 Mikita Badziakouski (Belarus) – HK $405,000 ($52,650)

Triton Super High Roller Series Manila 2017 – Day 1 Highlights

The Triton Super High Roller Series has become a fixture on the international poker circuit since its foundation in 2016 and once again some of the biggest names of the international poker circuit made the trip to Manila and joined the action in the exclusive Solaire Resort and Casino. The first-class venue provided first-class service to its players including a free buffet and 35 unique players participated in the HK$ 250,000 6-Max Event (approximately $32,200) thus far.

After nine levels of 45 minutes each, only 24 hopefuls claimed chips and Russia’s Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov holds a commanding lead after turning the starting stack of 50,000 into massive 342,200. Kuznetsov still leads the 2017 leaderboard for online cash game winnings and went on a hot run to dominate Day 1 of 6-Max Event. Kuznetsov first scored a fortunate double with king-ten suited against the jack-five suited of Winfred Yu, then busted Yu after when cracking the aces of the President of Poker King Club with king-seven suited.

Sergio Aido lost more than half of his stack early on before going back on track in the last two levels of the night, and the Spaniard bagged up 139,100, closely followed by Mikita Badziakouski (134,800), Dario Sammartino (129,200), and Rainer Kempe (116,500). Other notables coming back for Day 2 include Koray Aldemir (93,900), David Peters (83,400), Pratyush Buddiga (77,800), Erik Seidel (76,500), Founder of Triton Richard Yong (74,000), Dan Colman (56,600), 2016 Triton Super High Roller Suncity Cup champion Dan Cates (52,100), defending Triton Super High Roller Main Evrnt champion Wai Kin Yong (32,500), Winfred Yu (29,700) and Paul Phua (26,800).

Six players opted to fire a second bullet, and this created a 41-entry strong field. However, this number is not final yet, as the registration remains open until the cards are back in the air for Day 2 as of 1 p.m. local time on Saturday, February 18th. Among those to buy in twice was also Phil Ivey, but the superstar failed to find a bag and won’t be allowed to enter again. Ivey first bowed out with ace-nine against the pocket kings of Stanley Choi before being eliminated a second time in a three-way all in with Kuznetsov and Rui Cao.

Bryn Kenney and Mustapha Kanit were also among the casualties, but both can enter again before Day 2. Kanit busted in the last hand of the night in a battle of the blinds with Kempe after the former limped in with ace-jack suited. Kanit kept his promise to go all in during the last three hands of the night and did so with the king-five off suit, the board ran out queen-high.

During the second level, the event organizers including Yu also announced an upcoming Triton Super High Roller Series later this year in Macau and welcomed all participants to join. Furthermore, luxury watch brand Hublot was announced as official timekeeper and provider of the tournament clock for the high-stakes spectacle.

The remaining 24 players and possible new participants as well as re-entries will return to The Forum at Solaire Resort and Casino at 1 p.m. local time with level 10 and blinds of 600-1,200 and a running ante of 200. The event is scheduled to play down to a winner and the PokerNews live reporting team will be there to provide all the updates.

Recap by Pokernews

Day 2 Seat Draw

Table 1-Seat 1 Timofey Kuznetsov (RU) – 342,000
Table 1-Seat 2 Stanley Choi (HK) – 50,100
Table 1-Seat 3 Jack Salter (UK) – 39,100
Table 1-Seat 4 Devan Tang (HK) – 85,500
Table 1-Seat 5 Sergio Aido (ES) – 139,100
Table 2-Seat 1 Pratyush Buddiga (US) – 77,800
Table 2-Seat 2 WaI Kin Yong (MY) – 32,500
Table 2-Seat 3 Winfred Yu (HK) – 29,700
Table 2-Seat 4 Mikita Badziakouski (BY) – 134,800
Table 2-Seat 5 Yu Liang (CN) – 117,000
Table 3-Seat 1 David Peters (US) – 83,400
Table 3-Seat 2 John Juanda (ID) – 35,300
Table 3-Seat 3 Paul Phua (MY) – 26,800
Table 3-Seat 4 Marcus Yi Lim (SG) – 64,600
Table 3-Seat 5 Rainer Kempe (UK) – 116,500
Table 4-Seat 1 Koray Aldemir (DE) – 93,900
Table 4-Seat 2 Marius Torbergsen (NO) – 72,600
Table 4-Seat 3 Dan Colman (US) – 56,600
Table 4-Seat 4 Dan Cates (US) – 52,100
Table 4-Seat 5 Dario Sammartino (IT) – 129,200
Table 5-Seat 1 Adam Sanders (US) – 48,600
Table 5-Seat 2 Cheok Leng Cheong (PH) – 73,000
Table 5-Seat 3 Erik Seidel (US) – 76,500
Table 5-Seat 4 Richard Yong (MY) – 74,000

Hublot Confirmed as Official Timekeeper for Triton Series 2017

February 3, 2017 (Manila, PH) – Hublot is the first luxury brand to invest in the international professional poker circuit as Official Timekeeper and Official Watch. Today, Triton Poker and Poker King Club are pleased to confirm luxury Swiss watch brand Hublot as the Official Timekeeper for two upcoming Triton Series events:

Triton Super High Roller Series Manila 2017

Date: February 17th – 21st, 2017
Venue: Solaire Resort and Casino, Manila
Events:
HK $1,000,000 Main Event with unlimited re-entries and,
HK $250,000 6-Max Event with one re-entry

Triton Super High Roller Series Macau 2017

Date: SUMMER 2017

Synonymous with the fusion of tradition and modernism, precision and control, Hublot is a prestigious and welcome addition to the Triton Series. The Triton Series is unique, as it caters doubly to the wealthy Asian businessmen as well as the international poker pros of the poker world for a vastly different poker experience.

Loic Biver, General Manager of Hublot for Greater China, noted, “We are honoured to get together with the most talented poker players. As the first tournament of the year, once again it will bring like-minded friends together, and I hope everyone with wisdom on the game table joins Hublot to achieve the goal of being the first, different and unique”

The Triton Super High Roller Series Manila is the first Triton Poker event held in 2017. It will kick-off on February 17th, 2017 with Day 1 of the 6-Max event, at Forum 1ABC of Solaire Resort and Casino Manila, the tournament will be followed in Summer 2017 by the Triton Super High Roller Series Macau.

About Triton Poker

Triton Poker is a premium poker brand that aims to bring high-quality leisure and entertainment services to its distinguished guests. It broke out onto the scene in 2016, with the first-ever US $200,000 Triton SHR Series buy-in event at the Solaire Resort, Manila in January 2016 where Fedor Holz came out on top to win a total prize of US $3,072,748.

Triton Poker will continue to organize more premium poker tournaments in different world-class venues, and maintain its high-quality tournament experience for its guests.

For enquiries, please leave us a message at info@tritonpokerseries.com.

About Hublot
“Hublot – A different way to progress”says those who know this unique Swiss luxury watch company, where each and every moment moves forward to create the future at breathtaking speed, a dream initiated and developed by Hublot’s Chairman Jean Claude Biver with CEO Ricardo Guadalupe when they took control of the brand in 2004. These two men are responsible for turning the Hublot brand into a genuine success story in which the Big Bang, Classic Fusion, and Grandes Complications Collection represent the symbols of a constantly evolving tradition.

From in-house watch complications, including award-winning minute repeaters and tourbillons, to revolutionary materials such as patented and scratch resistant Magic Gold, coloured Texalium carbon fibre, and transparent sapphire cases to world class collaborations such as Ferrari, FIFA™ World Cup, and Italia Independent, Hublot characterizes itself through the “Art of Fusion” philosophy, bringing tradition into the future.

On a commercial level, the network of stores currently stands at more than 70 exclusive boutiques around the world (Geneva, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Paris, London, Berlin, Moscow, New York, Miami, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Ginza, Frankfurt, Zermatt, et al).

For more information, visit The Official Hublot Site.

New Triton Super High Roller Series Events Coming this 2017

Triton Poker and the Poker King Club are pleased to present new, upcoming events that will step up the ante this 2017:

Triton Series Manila 2017

Date: February 17th – 21st, 2017

Location: Solaire Resort and Casino, Manila

Events:

HK $1,000,000 Main Event with unlimited re-entries

HK $250,000 6-Max with one re-entry

Triton Series Macau 2017

Spring 2017

Date and Venue: TBC

Triton Series Montenegro 2017

Summer 2017

Date and Venue: TBC

Triton Series Manila 2017 is set to be even bigger than in 2016, doubling up the Main Event buyin to HK $1,000,000 with unlimited re-entries. Solaire Resort and Casino Manila has been the go-to venue for the Triton Series in Manila, starting with the ground-breaking US $200,000 Triton SHR Series, which amassed a total of 52 entries, including big names like legendary cash game player, Qin “Chairman” Si Xin, later two-time Triton Series winner, Wai Kin Yong, businessmen Richard Yong and Paul Phua.

The two follow-ups include the HK $100,000 Triton Charity Event in September, which donated part of the funds to Project Pink, a Women’s Cancer Support Group based in Manila, and the HK $500,000 Triton Series 2016 held from November 2nd – 6th, 2016. The latter event broke the January event’s headcount records and pooled together a whopping 62 entries, with even more Asian players in the field, like businessman Huang Shan, Wai Leong Chan, Zhang Ye, and Shi Jie Cai, to go up against the pros. Malaysia’s Yong Wai Kin leveled the field and emerged as champion in both of these follow-ups. Proceeds from the event went to Red Cross.

The Triton Series set a new standard for Asian-based super high roller events in 2016, by bringing together affluent Asian businessmen with a passion for poker and International pros who fly in from all over the world. This dynamic on the playing field makes for a unique and worthwhile experience, and has turned the Triton Series into one of the most covetable poker events to join for many players around the world.

Stay tuned for more updates regarding Triton Series 2017 coming soon.

About Triton Poker

“A Big Game for a Good Cause”

that is the cornerstone of what Triton Poker is all about. Triton Poker is a premium poker brand that brings high-quality poker services to its distinguished guests, all while pushing forward its philanthropic mission to help the world we live in. As of 2016, Triton Poker has contributed proceeds from its events to different charities, including the women’s cancer support group, Project Pink, and the disaster relief organization, Red Cross.

It broke out onto the scene in 2016 with the first-ever US $200,000 Triton SHR Series buy-in event at the Solaire Resort, Manila in January 2016 where Fedor Holz came out on top to win a total prize of US $3,072,748.

It plans to continue this mission, which brings together high-stakes poker, some of the most noteworthy poker names in the world, and charity work, into 2017.

The Future is Bright for the Triton High Roller Series

W hen Richard Yong and Winfred Yu launched the Triton Super High Roller Series back this January in Manila, Philippines, it was the first time that high profile Asian businessmen left the confines of the exclusive high stakes cash games to participate in a live tournament setting. With a field joined by poker elites from all over the world, the series was a great success leading to two more installments.

A Successful Mix of Pros and Chinese VIPs

At the third installment of the series, which brought in a prize pool of over HKD 48,000,000, the mix of players was similar to the first event with an increase in numbers of both Chinese VIPs and pros in the field. In a brief interview with Chinese businessman Huang Shan, a newcomer to the Triton SHR Series, he expressed,

“I don’t play the high roller events a lot but this is wonderful. I play cash games in China but I started playing tournaments this year. I feel excited yet relaxed when playing the pros because poker is not like golf, if you are up against a professional, you don’t have a chance, but in poker even if you know you are the underdog you might still get the chance.”

Gauging by the willingness of the pros to communicate and exchange some of their poker knowledge, the rapport between the two different worlds has created a welcoming atmosphere for both sides. This in turn has developed into a great experience for the businessmen and good value for the pros to continuously be a part of this blossoming relationship.

Huang confirmed this camaraderie,

“I am still learning but I really enjoyed talking to them. They taught me everything, even their secrets. Even if I busted out, I had a good time playing with the pros.”

Triton SHR Series designed for VIPs

In order for the series to continuously be a success, the driving force of the Triton SHR Series, Richard Yong, shed light on the adjustments made in order to accommodate the needs of the VIPs. The first major factor was the length of the tournament. Unlike the pros, the businessmen only have a limited amount of free time to dedicate to a poker event therefore it had to be a maximum of three days for a tournament.

The next consideration was location. And businessmen always rely on location. Choosing Manila as the initial destination was perfect being so close to Macau and China. The venue also had to be top notch, nothing short of a five star rating to meet all the needs of the VIPs. With the Poker King Club owning two VIP rooms at Solaire Resort & Casino, it was another perfect choice to hold the Triton SHR Series at the venue.

Upcoming Events

With interest continuously growing, there is a demand to hold more events in the future.

Yong told Somuchpoker that the Triton SHR Series is already in the planning stages of its next events. He hinted at the possibility of more events in 2017, not only in Manila, but also in Montenegro and another stop possibly in Australia. For the Montenegro leg, Yong’s ambition is to hold a big charity event with an entry fee akin to Guy Laliberte’s One Drop 1 million euro buy-in tournament. Yong is confident that the Triton SHR Series will be able to pool in higher numbers than the One Drop. In addition, they plan to have a 200,000 – 300,000 High Roller event.

(Recap and pictures by Somuchpoker)

Wai Kin Yong’s Victory closes out the Triton SHR Series

The Triton Super High Roller Series concluded its third installment of the series at Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila, Philippines with non-stop action running for five days from November 2-6, 2016. There were many big poker personalities in attendance intermingling with Asian high profile businessmen at the felt. Some of them walked away with filled pockets, and some left empty-handed. Here is a lowdown of all the exciting action witnessed these past days.

Wai Kin Yong wins the HKD 500K buy-in Main Event

Malaysia’s Wai Kin Yong was one of the biggest stories of the series. Yong may not have stolen the headlines when he won the second edition of the Triton SHR Series, a charity event held in early September, but his win today at the HKD 500K buy-in Main Event put this young amateur in the forefront of the news.

In order to get to the top, Yong had to go for his second bullet at Day 1 and get past the numerous heavyweights in the field just to survive. He impressively climbed up the ranks in Day 2 to enter the final day as the chip leader, and proceeded to defeat a fully loaded final table to claim the HKD 16,135,550 first place purse. In the most crucial final rounds, Yong eliminated the hot-handed pro, Spain’s Sergio Aido, in 3rd place, and American pro Bryn Kenney at the heads up round.

(Recap and pictures by Somuchpoker)

Main Event Payouts:

Wai King Yong – HK$16,135,550 ( USD 2,080,503)
Bryn Kenney – HK$10,870,700
Sergio Aido – HK$6,580,900
John Juanda – HKD 4,533,500
Winfred Yu – HKD 3,119,800
Peter Chan – HKD2,339,900
Wai Leong Chan – HKD 1,901,200
David Peters – HKD 1,657,400
Arnaud Romain – HKD1,608,700

Triton SHR Main Event: Presenting the Final Nine players

From 62 down to the final 9 players, the Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event, held at the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila, wrapped up another thrilling day at the felt. There were many unfortunate casualties, including top ranked pros Erik Seidel and Fedor Holz, denying them a chance at a piece of the massive HKD48,747,650 (US$6,286,240) prize pool. The most crushing elimination was USA’s Pratyush Buddiga, falling in the bubble to wrap up Day 2. With a mix of Asian businessmen and pros left in the field, here’s a look at the Final 9 by chip count.

Wai Kin Yong – Malaysia – 5,120,000 chips

Wai Kin Yong, an amateur player who happens to be Richard Yong’s son, takes the top spot in the chip rung with 5,120,000 in chips. Yong may not be highly experienced in the live tournament circuit however he did champion the second edition of the Triton SHRseries two months ago clearing over HKD 6.1 million.

Arnaud Romain – France – 4,280,000 chips

Frenchman Arnaud Romain, a regular player at the high stakes cash games in Macau, is a rare sight at a live tournament stage. This certainly was not a disadvantage as Romain ploughed through the field to bag up the second largest stack of 4,280,000.

Sergio Aido – Spain – 3,815,000 chips

One of Spain’s high ranking pros, Sergio Aido, is a newcomer to the super high roller scene and has been running exceptionally well at the Triton SHR series. Aido placed 3rd at the opening event, the Suncity Cup HKD 200K buy-in Freezeout Six Max, and is in fine shape to earn another big score with 3,815,000 chips in his arsenal at the Main Event. Last month, he placed 2nd at the APT Macau 2016 Main Event, and several months back, he earned his largest career payout of US$256,537 at the WSOP 2016 $111,111 No Limit Hold’em High Roller for One Drop with his 14th place finish.

David Peters – USA – 2,970,000 chips

American pro David Peters took an early fall at Day 1 but returned to the felt and made his second bullet count. He bagged up the fourth largest stack of 2,970,000 with some of those seized from eliminating poker legend Erik Seidel. While Peters has a long list of impressive stats, his largest score of US$2,309,000 was earned at the first edition of the Triton SHR Series, finishing in the runner-up spot against Fedor Holz. With Holz out of the running, Peters will be gunning for what he was denied last January.

John Juanda – Indonesia – 2,880,000

One of the most famous poker masters, John Juanda, joins the final nine players with 2,880,000 in chips. Despite running 5th in the all time money list, Juanda hasn’t been very active lately in the live tournament circuit, focusing more on the high stakes cash games. He did make an appearance at the EPT 2016 Barcelona Super High Roller event in August and finished 14th out of 78 players. Taking down this event would give Juanda his first-ever super high roller title. To date, Juanda has over US$18 million in live career tournament earnings.

Bryn Kenney – USA – 2,555,00 chips

Another American pro joins the final nine players, Bryn Kenney, with 2,550,000 in chips. A regular player in the super high roller scene, Kenney kicked off his year with a big takedown at the PCA 2016 pocketing US$1,687,800 at the Super High Roller event. Kenney also won a couple of high roller events in Aria plus a deep 6th place finish at the Super High Roller Bowl 888 Poker for an US$800,000 payout.

Peter Chan – Hong Kong – 1,070,000 chips

Hong Kong native Peter Chan finished the day as the last player to bag over seven digits with 1,070,000 in chips. Chan was one of the players very relieved to see the bubble burst that signaled the end of the day and ensuring a payout to the remaining players. However Chan will have some work to do as he is still way below average stack. Chan was seen shoving his stack twice today and successfully pulled off a double up in both occasions to keep him in the running.

Winfred Yu – Hong Kong – 820,000 chips

In addition to being one of the pioneers of the Triton SHR Series, Poker King Club President and CEO, Winfred Yu, is also one of the highest ranked tournament players from Hong Kong therefore it is no surprise to see him make it to the final table. Last month was a good month for Yu, running deep in two events. He placed 4th at the WPT National Korea High Roller event and a 3rd place finish at the APT Macau 2016 Main Event.

Wai Leong Chan – Malaysia – 540,000 chips

Bringing up the rear is Wai Leong Chan from Malaysia with 540,000 in chips. Chansurvived the day despite taking a big hit to stack after doubling up Peter Chan. His live tournament stats may not be stacked as the rest of the players in the field but getting this deep amongst a field of pros is a feat in itself.

The final nine players will be returning to the felt at 2pm tomorrow for the race to the first place cash prize of HKD 16,135,550 (US$2,080,328). The average stack is at 2,677,777, with blinds at 40K-80K ante 10K. We will have live coverage with updates running throughout the day.

(Recap and pictures by: Somuchpoker)

Sontheimer leads Day 1 of the Main Event, Followed by Dwan

It was a lively atmosphere at the Triton Super High Roller Series with Day 1 of the HK $500,000 buy-in Main Event ($64,465) seeing a healthy turnout of 49 entries. Players were feeling quite casual at the felt with lots of table chatter and competitive banter throughout the day. With late registration open until the start of Day 2, including optional add ons that players will likely take advantage of, this event will surely turn up a very juicy prize pool.

The day began with players receiving a deep 200K stack with blinds increasing every 45 minutes. After the scheduled nine rounds of action, it was bagging time with 28 players remaining in the field. Finishing up Day 1 with the largest stack was Germany’s Steffen Sontheimer with 811,000 in chips. Sontheimer got an early jump-start to his stack after delivering the first casualty of the day, eliminating Connor Drinan in the third round.

Taking the second spot was American pro Tom “durrrr” Dwan with 719K in chips. Dwan put the brakes on fellow countryman David Peters, the Triton SHR series runner-up back in January. Peters did not re-enter but we may still see him make his return to the felt tomorrow.

Dwan and Cates Share the Felt

Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Daniel “jungleman” Cates found themselves seated at the same table today. While Dwan was able to keep a healthy stack, Cates was not so fortunate, busting out quite early. The two also shared the same table at yesterday’s event, engaging in some friendly table talk on both occasions. If the poker community is still wondering whether there is tension between them regarding the unfinished Durrr Challenge, by the looks of it, they seemed to be getting along just fine.

Timofey “trueteller” Kuznetsov in the house

Although Timofey “trueteller” Kuznetsov isn’t much of a live tournament player, seeing him here today at the Triton SHR Series Main Event comes as no surprise. For about a year, the Russian online pro has been a regular player in the Macau live cash games scene. Kuznetsov burned out on his first buy-in but the second bullet was the charm, ending the day with slightly above starting stack.

Juanda and Tran on their second bullet

With nothing but heavy hitters in the field, among those who remained were poker legends John Juanda and JC Tran, both of them riding on their second bullet. Juanda has been a regular follower of the Poker King Club since its inception, playing the high stakes cash games both in the Philippines and in Macau.

VIPs in the house

Among the players who survived the day were well known businessmen Paul Phua and Richard Yong. Both of them have been pivotal to the growth of the Triton SHR Series bringing in the Chinese VIP businessmen to participate in the live tournament scene. Several of those VIPs did make it through with some of them bagging up sizable stacks. Yong’s son, Yong Wai Kin, the second edition Triton SHR champion, was also one of the players who will be returning to Day 2.

Notable players remaining

Other high profile poker elites also making it through the day were UK’s Jack Salter, Italy’s Mustapha Kanit, Germany’s Philipp Gruissem, England’s Stephen Chidwick, and opening event’s third place finisher, Spain’s Sergio Aido. While Salter racked up a stack that earned him one of the top spots in the chip rung, Chidwick was on the other end of the totem pole, bagging up the lowest stack of the bunch.

Seidel and Holz missing in Action

There were a couple of players onsite today but opted not to enter Day 1 of the Main Event, poker legend USA’s Erik Seidel and the first Triton SHR series champion, German high roller killing machine, Fedor Holz. It was rumored that Holz was up all night playing the big cash game so it’s possible he is saving his energy for tomorrow.

The Triton SHR Series will resume at 2pm tomorrow for Day 2 of the Main Event. Late registration will be open until the start of the day. They will play another ten rounds. Final tally of players and the total prize pool will be posted tomorrow.

Recap and pictures by Somuchpoker

Chip counts of the 28 survivors

Steffen Sontheimer – 811,000
Tom “durrrr” Dwan – 719,000
Arnaud Romain – 696,000
Jack Salter – 607,000
Zhang Ye – 580,000
Bryn Kenney – 574,000
Shi Jei Cai – 480,000
Cheok Ingieng Cheong – 471,000
John Juanda – 469,000
Paul Phua – 406,000
Rui Cao – 403,000
Wai Kin Yong – 371,000
Peter Chan – 341,000
Sergio Aido – 306,000
Mustapha “lasagnaaammm” Kanit – 301,000
Yeong Jong Luun – 301,000
Salman Behbehani – 249,000
Timofey “trueteller” Kuznetsov – 237,000
Sun Ya Qi – 204,000
Philipp Gruissem – 193,000
Cyril Andre – 185,000
JC Tran – 168,000
Lap Kay Chan – 159,000
Mikael Thuritz – 150,000
Wang Zuo – 130,000
Richard Yong – 128,000
Huang Shan – 119,000
Stephen Chidwick – 104,000

Opening Day Highlights of the Triton Super High Roller HK $200,000 Suncity Cup

The Triton Super High Roller Series concluded Day 1 of its opening event, the HK $200,000 Suncity Cup, with only 14 out of the 30 players making it through the scheduled nine levels of regulation play. With the field starting out with a good mix of Asian businessmen and poker pros, what remained was just a downsizing of the same crowd at every table.

Chip leader: Sweden’s Mikael Thuritz

Earning the chip leader status at the end of the night was Sweden’s Mikael Thuritz, with the largest stack at 186,000 chips. Prior to Thuritz’s rise to the top of the chip count, it was Spain’s Sergio Aido who held a dominating lead and was well on his way to owning the night. However, during the last round of play, Aido went head to head against Thuritz that turned the tables when it awarded the Swede a big double up for his nut flush. A few hands after, Thuritz increased his stack further by eliminating USA’s Salman Behbehani with yet another dominating nut flush.

Joining Thuritz in the six-digit mark were Germany’s Philipp Gruissem with 153,300 in chips, USA’s Daniel “Jungleman” Cates with 100,600 in chips, and France’s Cyril Andre with 100,000 in chips. Indonesian pro John Juanda also made the cut but with a middle of the road stack.

John Juanda: “No one bluffs at my table”

In a funny moment, Juanda was overheard saying that no one bluffs at his table but moments later lost some chips to Germany’s Dominik Nitsche who caught him bluffing. Although that didn’t cost Juanda too much, one player whose bluff cost him not just his chips but his tournament life as well was Russian pro Timofey Kuznetsov who shoved on the river and was called out by Italy’s Luigi Curio with a winning full house. American pro Erik Seidel also made it through the day but has to make up some ground with his below average stack.

An Exclusive Vibe

With no re-entry nor rebuy allowed for the tournament, action all around the room was unlike most poker events where big hands tend to ignite loud celebrations. Instead, the event shed a more exclusive vibe with players taking it slow and casual at the felt. A few players fell early, one of them being USA’s David Peters, but it took some time before others began hitting the rail in succession with level eight seeming to be that deadly round. Sending some players out were Paul Phua who eliminated UK’s Stephen Chidwick with his pocket pair surviving a coin flip, and Malaysia’s Yong Wai Kin who eliminated Italian pro Mustapha Kanit with his dominating ace-queen.

Late Registration Still Open

The final day will resume tomorrow at 14:00p.m, however with late registration still open before the cards start flying, more players are expected to participate. We will have the final tally with the prize pool and expected payouts as soon as it begins.

(Recap by Somuchpoker)