If you are going to win your first-ever Triton tournament, make it a big one. So says Elton Tsang after he scooped the Triton Jeju $150k title today in South Korea for $4,210,000 and that ever-so-elusive trophy.
This was his 11th Triton final table, and getting one over the line is likely as important to him as the monster payday.
Triton Jeju has been attracting huge fields, and this was no different. The biggest buy-in of the Triton Jeju SHR stop saw Tsang as one of 73 unique entries, with 44 re-entries boosting the total to 117 and creating a staggering $17,550,000 prize pool. The top 20 would walk off with at least a $228k min-cash.
England’s leading money-winner, Stephen Chidwick, would be the last player to fall on day two without a paycheck, his A♣J♦️️ falling to Mario Mosboeck’s jacks.
You don’t pay $150k to play and get an easy ride. Old-school legends such as Patrik Antonius, more modern crushers such as Fedor Holz, and bang-up-to-date beasts of the game such as Mikita Badziakouski and Michael Addamo all made the money.
Mike Watson comes up short in search of third title
Playing on late into the night saw Sam Grafton, Sean Winter and Wang Ye all exit, with the remaining six coming back for a Day 3 denouement, a small buy-in (by SHR standards) short of $1 million already sewn up.
It was Mike 'SirWatts' Watson who dealt the opening blows. His A-T off accounted for both Alex Kulev (A♣J♣) and James Chen (9♦️️9♠). Then, the two remaining Chinese players clashed, with Biao Ding’s aces holding up after Liang Xu paired his king on the flop.
Watson was seeking his third Triton Poker title, but it wasn’t to be. He ran A♣2♠ into Tsang’s A♦️️Q♣ and exited in third place, with the consolation of a lifetime best cash of $1,895,000.
Tsang breaks his Triton duck
Heads-up saw Tsang, playing his 11th Triton final table without a win, up against Biao Ding, who has racked up $5 million in tournament earnings since taking them up seriously in the last couple of years.
A little to-and-fro eventually saw Ding short and forced all-in pre-flop with a less than premium hand, though still ahead.
Ding: 10♣3♣
Tsang: 7❤️5♦️️
The K♣3♦️️5❤️ flop saw Tsang take a dominating lead in the hand, and the turn and river bricked to give him his first Triton win.
A jubilant Tsang did a dance of pure joy, with Jason Koon among those congratulating him.
“It’s very sweet," he said after his win, before sending a message to his daughter and his rail: "Thank you, I love you… Thank you everybody. Thank you. Thank you.”
Describing Triton as “the best poker brand right now,” Tsang decided to jump straight into the $100k Main Event. Now that he has the bear off his back, what are the odds on him bagging a second title?
Event #9, $150k NLH 8-Handed results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Elton Tsang | $4,210,000 |
| 2 | Biao Ding | $2,870,000 |
| 3 | Michael Watson | $1,895,000 |
| 4 | Liang Xu | $1,563,000 |
| 5 | James Chen | $1,254,000 |
| 6 | Alex Kulev | $983,000 |
| 7 | Wang Ye | $737,000 |
| 8 | Sean Winter | $544,000 |
| 9 | Sam Grafton | $422,000 |
Images courtesy of Triton Poker/Joe Giron
