Author: Triton Poker

The Triton Poker Series in Jeju was such an unmitigated success that the players decided to add a last minute event to the schedule. Flights were cancelled. Hotel rooms found. And 23-entrants created a prize pool of HKD 34,780,000 (USD 4,430,604) underlining the undeniable fact that Richard Yong and Paul Phua have put together the most banging high stakes poker series in the world.

The second of day of Event #8: HKD 1m (USD 127,000) No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck began with a final table of seven players, and the first one to lose a seat was one of the most successful players in the tour’s history, Mikita Badziakouski.

The Belarusian came into Jeju after winning back-to-back HKD 2m (USD 250,000) Triton Poker Series Main Events in Montenegro and Jeju, but this was a sour trip for the partypoker ambassador, cashing only once with a seventh-place finish in Event #2: HKD 500,000 (USD 64,000) No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck.

Badziakouski bowed out in seventh place after getting unlucky in a hand against Timofey Kuznetsov. The pair got it in on a flop of Td9h7s with Badziakouski holding Th8s, for top pair and Kuznetsov chasing with KdQc. The dealer burned and turned the Qh and Kc to give Kuznetsov two pairs, and the chip lead. Badziakouski was out.

Jason Koon described Tan Xuan as one of the best Short-Deck players in the business when he beat him, heads-up for the HKD 1m No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck title in Montenegro, and the Chinese star made another deep run in this one eventually falling to Wai Kin Yong just shy of the big bucks. The pair got it in pre-flop with Yong’s pocket kings crushing the KhTh of Xuan, and despite turning a gutshot, Xuan hit the rail in sixth.

Paul Phua was enjoying his poker after cashing in three events, banking more than $2.6m in the process, and he took a step closer to a fourth ITM finish when he removed the dangerous Ivan Leow from the equation. It was a case of tough luck for Leow who was a massive favourite to double-up when he got it in with kings versus Phua’s queens, only for the best non-professional in the business to hit his two outer on the turn.

We reached the bubble after the two-time Triton Poker Series event winner, Wai Kin Yong, ran Tc9d into the two black jacks of Robert Flink. Yong flopped an open ender on Kd7s6s and had even more outs when the Th hit the turn, but the Kc wasn’t one of them to send Yong Junior to the rail two places shy of the money.

It was during the bubble that Timofey Kuznetsov took over the contest. Firstly. Trueteller eliminated Paul Phua on the button when kings faced off against queens, all-in, pre-flop, and this time Phua couldn’t find the luck needed to survive.

Then the Russian star eliminated Furkat Rakhimov in fourth place AKcc>KhTs; he took out Choon Tong Siow when pocket queens dodged the world to beat AdTh, and then he overcame the live tournament rookie Flink, heads-up, to take all the beans when JdJc beat AKhh thanks to a lowly looking 8s8c8h7s7d board.

Kuznetsov is a cash game superhero, but this win ranks as only his fourth live tournament ITM finish and just his second win, after taking down a $50,000 event at ARIA back in 2016. His most significant score to date came in 2015 when he finished fourth in the inaugural Super High Roller Bowl for $2,150,000.

Here are the ITM finishes

ITM Finishes

1. Timofey Kuznetsov – $1,859,940
2. Robert Flink – $1,240,809
3. Tong SiowChoon – $797,481
4. Furkat Rakhimov – $532,503

That’s a wrap for the Triton Poker Series in Jeju. The next time this particular show gets on the road will be May 4 – 16 when the team returns to the Maestral Casino and Resort in Montenegro.

The poker action at the Triton Series, Jeju, this week has been absolutely spectacular as the very best players in the world have crossed swords for tens of millions of dollars. Now you have a chance to win an exclusive souvenir from this event: a Triton series baseball cap signed by 30 of the players.

Triton Ambassador Jason Koon, world No. 1 Justin Bonomo and cash-game sensation Tom Dwan have all signed it, as well as Michael Soyza, Sam and Luc Greenwood, Nick Petrangeleo, Dominik Nitsche, Stephen Chidwick, Isaac Haxton, David bennefield, Daniel Dvoress, Richard Yong, Paul Phua, Ivan Leow, Igor Kurganov, David Peters, Dan Smith, Timothy Adams, Mikita Badziakouski, Matthis ebinger, Peter Jetten, Bryn Kenney, Randy Nanonoko, Lex Veldhuis, Tong Siow Choon, Wai Leong Chan, Andre Robl, and Mike Watson.

All you have to do to have a chance of winning this exclusive piece of memorabilia is head to the Triton Poker Facebook page and follow these simple instructions:

1: FOLLOW: the Triton Poker page
2: LIKE and SHARE: this post
3: TAG: 1 poker friend.

It’s that easy.

The competition ends on March 15, 2019. There are two consolation prizes too.

The winners will be announced on March 16, 2019. Good luck to everyone, and remember sharing is caring.

Timothy Adams, from Burlington, Ontario, Canada, is the latest Triton Poker Series Main Event champion after he beat Bryn Kenney heads-up in a thrilling final table at Landing Casino, Shinhwa World Resort, Jeju.

Adams and Kenney negotiated a heads-up deal, securing both the largest single cashes of their careers. Adams’s title was worth HK$27.76 million (US$3.54 million) to Kenney’s HK$24 million (US$3.06 million), with each of the final five earning more than US$1 million.

Adams led at the start of the day, but Kenney was the most active through the opening stages of an explosive final table featuring six of the world’s best players. Two of them were knocked out on the first two hands, and the tournament, which featured 48 entries of HK$2 million each, reached its final two after only around three hours play.

From there on, Adams hit a series of big hands at the same time that Kenney had slightly inferior holdings. Kenney was unable to wriggle free and Adams locked it up at around 6pm local time. The record books will show that Kenney made a mis-timed hero call with on a board of to pay off Adams’s queen-high flush, but Adams played the hand perfectly, having also won a series of coolers against his American opponent, to persuade Kenney to risk the last of his chips.

“It’s kind of standard,” Adams said of the final hand, before adding: “I was obviously very thrilled to get called.”

Of the tournament as a whole, he said: “It feels really good. I’m really tired right now, three really gruelling days of poker…The field was really tough. The best players in the world were in the field.”

The day got under way in high spirits, with all six competitors very familiar with one another from high stakes games across the world. Adams’s stack was worth 107 big blinds, and Kenney’s 64, but from there down everyone was short.

David Peters had 12 big blinds, Dan Smith and Peter Jetten had 16 apiece. “Even Isaac Haxton is not safe with 25 big blinds,” said Lex Veldhuis in the commentary booth of the live stream. Those word would prove prophetic.

On the very first hand of play, Kenney looked down at and open-raised. Haxton found in the small blind and went for it. But Kenney, of course, was going nowhere and his kings held. Haxton won HKD$6.3 million (US$803,000) for sixth, but left in clear disappointment.

Peters will have been delighted to see Haxton’s departure, guaranteeing a move up the ladder. But he was soon left chatting with Haxton on the rail after he became the second player eliminated on only the final table’s second hand.

It was for Peters in the small blind and he moved in for his last 10 big blinds. Jetten called with in the big blind and flopped a king. Peters couldn’t catch up and his dogged display, during which he has been nursing a short stack for pretty much two days, finally ended in fifth, with a HK$8.15 million payday. He was in for four bullets, so the HK$150,000 is pure profit.

“I’d been short for a while, so to squeak into the money and then get one more pay jump at the final table, I can’t be too upset with it,” Peters said.

Smith took over short-stack duties following Peters’ bust, but he quickly doubled back to a more playable stack after calling Kenney’s small-blind jam with . Kenney didn’t catch up with his . After Smith won another decent pot from Adams with trip fours, Jetten ended up in trouble.

That trouble became terminal in a gross hand against Kenney, in which Jetten’s flopped top pair on a board. The problem was that Kenney had pocket kings again for top set and Jetten was drawing dead when they got it in on the turn. Jetten won HK$10.39 million (US$1.324 million) for fourth.

“It’s so hard,” Jetten said of the level of competition he faced. “Everyone at this tournament is an amazing player, and I got very lucky to finish as well as I did.”

He added: “I love the Triton stops. I’ve been very fortunate to have some success here too.”

Smith had already pulled off an excellent laddering display in Jeju, as he took a back seat to the early fireworks. He had even managed to pull within touching distance of the two leaders by the time the tournament was three handed, but lost a significant pot with ace-ten to Kenney and never recovered. He eventually departed when he couldn’t hit with his against Kenney’s .

Smith won HK$13,600,000 (US$1.7 million), which will vindicate a last-minute decision to fly to Asia instead of fulfilling previous plans to travel to Los Angeles to play. Smith had recently celebrated his 30th birthday in Japan, but had headed home to the United States and was preparing for the LAPC. But he then found the lure of the Triton Series too strong to resist. “I just decided I wanted to play the big one instead,” he said.

With two left, the chip counts were all but even. Kenney’s 6.31 million was marginally ahead of Adams’s 5.69 million, but no one was surprised to see them begin to negotiate a deal.

They quickly decided to leave HK$4 million on the table and lock up the following:

Bryn Kenney: HK$24,039,500
Timothy Adams: HK$23,760,500

That’s a little over US$3 million each, with the extra “only” another US$500,000.

The two hunkered down to play this one for real, and their stacks were big enough still that it might have gone on late. However, the poker gods decided it was cooler time and thumbed the scale in favour of Adams.

A major pot developed with Adams’s connecting well with the board. He particularly liked that turn and river. Kenney was furious. His was better at the start, better after the flop and turn, but was then unfoldable on the end. It was a 6.2 million swing towards Adams, and Kenney was heard to mutter: “That’s the nastiest run-out I’ve ever seen.”

Adams said: “I’ve been playing against Bryn since I was 19 or something, and now I’m 32. We’ve tons of experience, he’s an amazing player.”

Kenney had already won more than $2 million in tournaments this year, after securing victories in both Australia and Las Vegas in January and February. But he had to settle for second here in Jeju against a player at the very peak of his abilities.

“To win, it feels amazing,” Adams said. “I obviously had to run very, very good, as I think most people have to to win a poker tournament. I’m thrilled that it’s me.”

Triton Series Jeju Main Event
Dates: March 7-9, 2019
Buy-in: HK$2 million (US$255,000)
Entries: 48 (inc. 16 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$90,204,000

1- Timothy Adams, Canada, HK$27,760,500* (US$3.54 million) 2- Bryn Kenney, USA, HK$24,039,500 (US$3.06 million*)
3- Dan Smith, USA, HK$13,600,000 (US$1.7 million)
4- Peter Jetten, Canada, HK$10,390,000 (US$1.3 million)
5- David Peters, USA, HK$8,150,000 (US$1.04 million)
6- Isaac Haxton, USA, HK$6,300,000 (US$803,000)

*denotes heads-up deal

Photography by Joe Giron/Poker Photo Archive.

The Triton Poker High Roller Series Main Event has reached its final table, with six of the world’s elite poker players returning tomorrow to crown a champion. One of them will leave the Landing Casino, Shinhwa World Resort, South Korea, with an extra HK$30.6 (US$3.9 million) and the first main event trophy of 2019.

With 48 entries, costing HK$2 million apiece, the prize pool had swelled to HK$90,204,000 (US$11.5 million approx) by the time registration closed at the start of today. By the end of it, we had six North Americans, and nobody else, left.

Play was significantly more cagey through the day’s eight hours than perhaps at any other time at a poker tournament in these parts. With a bubble of HK$6.3 million (US$803,000) looming, it’s not surprising. But it was still fascinating to see the game’s glitterati playing with extreme caution lest they leave with nothing.

By the end of it, the Canadian high roller regular Timothy Adams had amassed a considerable chip lead. Adams knocked out the final two players on the second day — one of whom was the seemingly unbeatable Justin Bonomo — to end with a stack of 5.33 million, more than 2 million more than his closest challenger.

The final table stacks up as follows, with scheduled payouts below:

1 – Timothy Adams, Canada, 5.33 million
2 – Bryn Kenney, USA, 3.21 million
3 – Isaac Haxton, USA, 1.235 million
4 – Peter Jetten, Canada, 820,000
5 – Dan Smith, USA, 810,000
6 – David Peters, USA, 595,000

Triton Series Jeju Main Event
Dates: March 7-9, 2019
Buy-in: HK$2 million (US$255,000)
Entries: 48 (inc. 16 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$90,204,000

1- HK$30,600,000 (US$3.9 million)
2- HK$21,200,000 (US$2.7 million)
3- HK$13,600,000 (US$1.7 million)
4- HK$10,390,000 (US$1.3 million)
5- HK$8,150,000 (US$1.04 million)
6- HK$6,300,000 (US$803,000)

In the moments before play resumed today, after 10 levels on day one, Ivan Leow and Michael Soyza found time to re-enter, while Wai Leong Chan also sneaked in for the first time. But none of them was able to spin up a 25 big blind stack to take a place in the last nine.

It’s a measure of the volatility here that there was also no room at the final table for Richard Yong, who led overnight. The Triton co-founder died as he lived, with a fearless display of aggression. With the big blind at 25,000 Isaac Haxton opened to 50,000 and Yong made a huge shove, for 889,000, with . Haxton only had himself but made a gutsy call and hit an ace on the flop, knocking Yong out. Soon enough, the field trimmed to nine, and it was a who’s who of the global game.

Though only one table was now necessary, the bubble was still a way off, and both remaining Germans fell short. Dominik Nitsche, who led at one point today, followed Christoph Vogelsang to the rail, setting up an all North American battle to squeeze past the bubble.

Bryn Kenney assumed the lead, before Adams pegged him back. All the while, David Peters sat with a tiny stack — around six big blinds at one point — but somehow he managed to cling on. He was in for four bullets too, so he needed this.

Even putting aside the particular dynamic, you would have got long odds against Bonomo being the man to perish. His tournament game is second to absolutely no one’s, as evidenced by his position at the top of poker’s all-time money list.

But he made what turned out to be a rare mis-step when, holding he three-bet pushed over Adams’ opening raise. Adams might have been bullying with the chip lead, but the he had in his hand suggested otherwise.

After a call and then a blank flop, Bonomo wandered away as the bubble boy.

That set us up for a final day on which you can be pretty much guaranteed a display of flawless poker. Watch it on the Triton live stream tomorrow. You might just learn something.

Photography by Jamie Thomson/Poker Photo Archive.

Registration officially closed on the Triton Poker Series Jeju Main Event at 2pm today at the Landing Casino, Shinhwa World Resord, Jeju. At the last moment, Ivan Leow re-entered for the third time, Michael Soyza fired his second bullet and Wai Leong Chan entered for the first time.

That brought total entries to 48, with 16 re-entries. They cost HK$2 million apiece, which meant we’re looking at a total prize pool of HK$90.204 million, approximately US$11.5 million. Six places are paid, with the champion set for a HK$30.6 million (US$3.9 million) payday.

As expected, that makes this event the richest of the week, and the first prize will be the second biggest ever awarded on the Triton Series. Only Mikita Badziakouski’s victory here last July was bigger–and Badziakouski is among the 18 players still with chips at time of writing here. It would represent one of the best back-to-backs if he could go all the way again, particularly since he squeezed a victory in Montenegro in the middle as well.

To be honest, the attempt to pick a winner from the remaining field would represent little more than wild guessing. With players like Dominik Nitsche, Christoph Vogelsang, Justin Bonomo, Timothy Adams, Ike Haxton, Bryn Kenney, David Peters and Stephen Chidwick all still seated, how can anyone choose between them?

In many ways, that’s why it is especially gratifying to see Richard Yong still out in front. He’s not only the loudest player still in the field, he is the most active, the most chipped and the most fearless. The Triton co-founder is sitting opposite his friend and business partner Paul Phua for the early stages of the day, with Smith and Haxton for company, as well as six-max champion Soyza.

Follow all the action via the live stream or our live text updates, which monitors chip counts for the whole field in real time.

FULL PAYOUT INFORMATION

Triton Series Jeju Main Event
Dates: March 7-9, 2019
Buy-in: HK$2 million (US$255,000)
Entries: 48 (inc. 16 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$90,204,000

1- HK$30,600,000 (US$3.9 million)
2- HK$21,200,000 (US$2.7 million)
3- HK$13,600,000 (US$1.7 million)
4- HK$10,390,000 (US$1.3 million)
5- HK$8,150,000 (US$1.04 million)
6- HK$6,300,000 (US$803 million)

The finest players in the western poker world have been turning their attention recently to the preferred game of the Asian high rollers: short-deck hold’em, played with 36 instead of 52 cards. But if they want to have a chance at prevailing at the highest echelons on the short-deck scene, they’re going to need to look closer to home for the man they have to beat.

Jason Koon, the 33-year-old Triton Series Ambassador from West Virginia, USA, further enhanced his reputation as the king of short-deck with victory today in the HK$1 million buy-in event at Triton Jeju. It was worth HK$22.3 million (US$2.84 million) and represents his second title at these stakes in this discipline on the Triton circuit, following his HK$21 million victory in Montenegro last May.

Koon extends his lead at the top of the all-time short-deck hold’em money list, as he closes in on the top 10 in the global all-time standings. He is on an extraordinary heater over the past couple of years, and has been the undisputed star of this week in Jeju. Koon has made three final tables from only four events so far, but this is by some distance the biggest.

“I wanted to come in and just stay focused, and adapt on the fly and stick with what good strategies are,” Koon said. “It worked out for me.”

He struck a humble tone when asked how he explained his exceptional run. “I had great cards, it’s really what it comes down to a lot of the time in these tournaments,” he said. “A lot of good things happened to me at this final table. If anybody else would have been in my seat, it would have happened to them.”

Koon’s victory today came at the end of a heads-up battle against the Malaysian businessman Paul Phua, the man whose enthusiasm for poker in Asia helped boost the Triton series to its current standing. Phua is another short-deck fanatic, frequently to be found in the biggest cash games where the format first grew popular. And he put on a real fight in the heads-up duel against Koon, at one point doubling into a significant chip lead after winning a classic hold’em flip: against Koon’s pocket queens.

But Koon, who has spent more time at the tables than any other player this week, didn’t see any reason that another few hours would hurt him. He dug in once more, doubled back himself when he turned a full house with (Phua had trips) and then won it with against Phua’s . It was another phenomenal performance from Koon, whose feats of stamina and concentration seemingly know no bounds. The tournament had already stretched long into an unscheduled third day when Koon wrapped up his victory, and he’ll be the clear danger when he joins the main event field later today.

“It was extremely tough,” Koon said. “Paul is a great player. I had a good feeling that him and I would possibly have a showdown. He’s just so, so good.”

Only four players were involved at the start of play as the tournament was paused late last night still in search of its champion. Koon was third in chips but got his surge under way with a big outdraw against Furkat Rakhimov in the first hour. With , Rakhimov open raised and then quickly called after Koon moved all in for his last 4.8 million with .

Koon was in bad shape, and had to endure a few emotional leaps and dips throughout the flop, which put him ahead, and the turn, which put him behind again. But then the river locked up the double for Koon and put him into the lead.

“This game is crazy,” Rakhimov said.

“Too sick,” Koon agreed.

Koon’s early boost allowed him to boss the table against his less experienced tournament poker opponents, and his first order of business as the big stack was to knock out the man at the other end of the leader board, Jun Wang. Wang clung on for close to an hour — and made a number of highly impressive plays, including an excellent call with an under-pair to the board to beat Koon in one pot — but was still short when he pushed with into Koon’s . Koon snapped and Wang was broken.

It was only as he was exchanging fist bumps with his opponents that Wang revealed that he was playing only his second tournament ever. With HK$7.9 million to show for it, a little more than US$1 million, he may have found a new hobby.

Rakhimov, who led the final four as the tournament extended into its extra day, could not carry last night’s momentum into the final stages today. He was mortally wounded in Koon’s double-up hand, but still had 3.45 million in his stack when he found open-shoved pre-flop from under the gun with . Koon pushed his cards away, but Phua had and made the call.

Though there was still 39 percent equity for Rakhimov in the coup, he couldn’t realise it. Phua was made to sweat through the flop and turn, at which point his opponent still had a near 40 percent chance of winning. But the river was a blank and Rakhimov busted in third, for HK$10.4 million (US$1.325 million). “You played great,” Koon said as he shook his beaten opponent’s hand.

It was, by a factor of 10, Rakhimov’s largest tournament result, and he had no regrets. “That chips could have been mine,” he said as he looked at Koon’s stack from the rail. “But the board was classic short-deck…It was a very fun tournament and I’d like to come back for sure.”

Rakhimov added that he was another short-deck convert and wouldn’t be hopping into the Main Event despite his score. “I don’t really like full-deck tournaments because it’s so technical and I’m not as good as the top players,” he said. “It’s also less fun.”

That left Koon heads up against Phua: Triton Ambassador against Triton cheerleader, in the latest west vs. east heads up confrontation. It was fine battle too, with the pendulum swinging both ways. Ultimately Koon’s greater tenacity shone through and he booked yet another enormous win.

“Poker god, where are you?” Phua asked as the dealer handed the win to Koon at the death. The answer? Sitting at the other end of the table. It’s Jason Koon’s short-deck world, we all just live in it.

Triton Jeju Event #5 – Short-Deck Ante-Only
Buy-in: HK$1 million
Entries: 81 (inc. 44 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$76,140,000

1 – Jason Koon, USA, HK$22,300,000
2 – Paul Phua, Malaysia, HK$15,900,000
3 – Furkat Rakhimov, Russia, HK$10,440,000
4 – Jun Wang, China, HK$7,900,000
5 – Gabe Patgorski, USA, – HK$6,100,000
6 – Richard Yong, Malaysia – HK$4,700,000
7 – John Juanda, Indonesia – HK$3,700,000
8 – Wai Kin Yong, Malaysia – HK$2,900,000
9 – Devan Tang, Hong Kong – HK$2,200,000

Photography by Jamie Thomson/Poker Photo Archive.