Category: Poker

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,

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,

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)

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)

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

1. Steffen Sontheimer – 811,000
2. Tom “durrrr” Dwan – 719,000
3. Arnaud Romain – 696,000
4. Jack Salter – 607,000
5. Zhang Ye – 580,000
6. Bryn Kenney – 574,000
7. Shi Jei Cai – 480,000
8. Cheok Ingieng Cheong – 471,000
9. John Juanda – 469,000
10. Paul Phua – 406,000
11. Rui Cao – 403,000
12. Wai Kin Yong – 371,000
13. Peter Chan – 341,000
14. Sergio Aido – 306,000
15. Mustapha “lasagnaaammm” Kanit – 301,000
16. Yeong Jong Luun – 301,000
17. Salman Behbehani – 249,000
18. Timofey “trueteller” Kuznetsov – 237,000
19. Sun Ya Qi – 204,000
20. Philipp Gruissem – 193,000
21. Cyril Andre – 185,000
22. JC Tran – 168,000
23. Lap Kay Chan – 159,000
24. Mikael Thuritz – 150,000
25. Wang Zuo – 130,000
26. Richard Yong – 128,000
27. Huang Shan – 119,000
28. Stephen Chidwick – 104,000

The Triton Super High Roller Series returns to Manila from November 2nd to 6th, 2016 at Solaire Resort and Casino Manila. Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming festivities:

Triton Super High Roller Series Manila 2016

• Date: November 2nd to 6th, 2016
• Location: Forum 2AB at the Solaire Resort and Casino Manila
• Events:
• HK $200,000 Suncity Cup– Buy-in includes ONE Players’ Party pass HK $500,000
• HK $500,000 Main Event– Buy-in includes 4-Nights’ Stay at Solaire Resort and Casino Manila, and ONE Players’ Party pass

For full information on how to get yourself seats to the hottest ticket of the year, which has already confirmed a crop of well-known poker players including Tom Dwan, Stephen Chidwick, Dominik Nitsche, Connor Drinin, Pratyush Buddiga, Winfred Yu, Richard Yong, and Paul Phua, please read the pre-registration steps listed below.

Pre-registration Steps

• STEP 1: Transfer the buy-in amount of the event you would like to join to the following account provided below. Charges apply:

• STEP 2: Send an email to Info@TritonPokerSeries.com to confirm your payment transfer and guarantee seat:

1. Title (Dr./Mr./Ms./Mrs./Miss):
2. Full Name of Participant (Follow the name on your valid passport/I.D.):
3. Nationality:
4. Contact Number:
5. Email Address:
6. Event Joined:

Also kindly attach the following requirements with your outgoing email:

1. A scanned copy of your passport/valid I.D
2. A scanned copy of the deposit/transfer receipt for validation purposes.
3. If transferring money on behalf of a joining participant, the email must have the transferring party and the authorized party’s passport/valid I.D. copies.

• STEP 3: Once Steps 1 and 2 have been completed, You will receive an email saying that the funds have been received and your seat is booked.

Remarks:

• It may take at least 2-3 working days to receive the funds transferred, so the confirmation email may only be sent after receipt.
• On the date of the tournament, please bring the same passport/valid I.D. as you have sent for registration, and present this with a copy of the confirmation email in order to get your seat number.

Pre-Registration Terms and Conditions:

• All pre-registration requests must be sent to Info@TritonPokerSeries.com
• All pre-registration transfers must be done in HKD only.
• Any excess funds can only be transferred back to the sender 30 days after the event ends.
• We may only receive the transferred funds 2-3 working days after they are sent. Please provide sufficient time between the fund transfer and the start of the event, since you may be denied entry should we be unable to find your transferred funds
• The players will be liable to pay the transfer charges incurred.
• There will be no refunds accepted once the payment has been verified by the organizer.
• If the player does not arrive by the time late registration closes, he/she will not be given entry into the Main Event. No refunds will be given for the pre-registered amount.
• The organizer reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions without prior notice.

At just 22-year-old, Fedor Holz has accomplished more than most can dream of in the poker world. Holz takes home his second super high-roller title in the last three weeks, after topping a field of 52 players to take home $3,072,748 at the $200,000 Triton SHR Series – Cali Cup at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila.

With his win in Southeast Asia, Holz has now won two Super High-Roller events back-to-back, his first title being at the $100,000 WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas at the Bellagio.

He earned over $1.5 million for his win in Las Vegas, which makes his tournament earnings over the last three weeks to over $5 million, and his career earnings to over $7.3 million.

Over the last two days at Solaire, Holz defeated a field full of some of the best players in the world and defeated David Peters, who bubbled at the Alpha8 event that Holz won, heads-up to take home the trophy.

Tom Dwan, Isaac Haxton, Andrew Robl, John Juanda, Philipp Gruissem, Keith Gipson, Brian Rast, Stephen Chidwick, and Dominik Nitsche were just a few of the world-class players who played the event, but failed to earn a cash.

When cards got in the air at noon, late registration was officially closed and there were 33 players remaining from the 52 official entries, but only eight of those players would earn a cash. Stanley Choi was the official bubble boy, finishing in ninth place and giving the remaining eight players a payday.

The tournament was played out six-handed, so it wasn’t until Mike McDonald finished in eighth place ($351,320), that the unofficial final table of seven was reached. Phil Ivey held the chip lead at the start of seven-handed play, holding about 20% of the chips in play.

The next player to bust was Paul Phua, who had pledged to donate half of his earnings in this event to charity. Phua finished in seventh place to earn $401,600, which means that he’ll be donating more than $200,000, evenly split between the Philippines and his home country of Malaysia.

But back to Ivey, who was poised to add yet another title to his impressive poker resume (which already includes the WPT Champions Club and 10 WSOP bracelets). He had eventual winner Holz all in and covered with K-Q against Ivey’s Q-Q. But Holz spiked a king to double up and knock Ivey down to the short stack. Holz then finished the job when his A-Q held up against Ivey’s Q-J, eliminating Ivey in fifth place for $656,500.

Holz went on to use that momentum (and Ivey’s chips) to emerge as the chipleader after a few orbits of four-handed play. Holz really separated himself from the pack when he eliminated Steve O’Dwyer in fourth place.

When O’Dwyer hit the rail in fourth, Holz held almost 70% of the chips in play and he never looked back from there, cruising to victory in less than 30 hands.

Along with the prize money, Holz takes home an Aurae Solid Gold MasterCard with Executive Lifestyle concierge benefits for one year.

Congratulations to Fedor Holz!