Just when it seemed safe for other players to dip their toes back in the Triton waters, Jason Koon sent another reminder about whose house it is. His win on Saturday night was his tenth, an astonishing achievement against the best of poker's best.
Until yesterday, it had been a relatively quiet series in Monte Carlo for the 38-year-old. He'd cashed a couple of times but it was nothing to write home about for the man who has won more than $50 million. Half of that incredible purse has come courtesy of Triton Poker.
The closing event at Monte Carlo—a $25K PLO Turbo—saw Koon rampage through the final table to victory, setting a record that is unlikely to be beaten by anyone (other than himself).
Koon: End boss
The series closer to what has proved to be a phenomenal festival, mainly for Danny Tang’s incredible showing, saw 35 unique players and 50 entries produce a $1,250,000 prize pool.
By the time the final six took to the main stage, stacks were short, and, coupled with the Turbo structure and the variance of PLO, things were about to heat up considerably.
Koon watched on as Eelis Parssinen accounted for Lin and Bujtas, but then he changed gear and doubled through the Finnish online specialist before KO-ing Greenwood and Vieira.
Koon and Parssinen was a short-stack shootout, and it didn’t take long to decide whether or not Koon would hit double figures.
Koon: A♠5♠9❤️4❤️
Parssinen: J❤️5❤️7♣A♣
The flop came down 3♠Q♦️️8♦️️ before the 7♠ turn paired Parssinen and gave Koon a flush draw, which came in with the 2♠ river.
Koon admitted he was “happy to close it up,” given the Monte Carlo trip had been relatively barren up to that point.
“Every night I go home and I study my play, and I think I played the best I’ve played in a couple of years,” Koon explained, “so it’s bizarre to get wiped out playing really well.”
$25k PLO Turbo results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Jason Koon | $365,000 |
| 2 | Eelis Parssinen | $262,000 |
| 3 | Joao Vieira | $171,000 |
| 5 | Sam Greenwood | $129,000 |
| 6 | Laszlo Bujtas | $100,000 |
| 7 | Ren Lin | $77,500 |
Ten-time champ: Tale of the tape
Victory meant Koon’s image and “10-TIME CHAMPION” was emblazoned on Triton’s Monte Carlo venue wall. It also brought his Triton earnings up to $26,217,985 across 41 cashes.
That is bettered only by Bryn Kenney’s $37,796,705, but the New Yorker’s 3 titles and 12 cashes, though impressive, don't compare with Koon’s achievements, who is also the first and only player to win titles in hold’em, short deck, and PLO.
Koon’s 2023 has been a Triton-focused barnstormer, kicking off in March with a win and three more cashes in Vietnam, followed by five more cashes in Cyprus in May.
That Cyprus trip included taking down the $20k NLH 7-Handed event and the $100k Main Event, a $2,451,082 scoop for topping one of the strongest final tables of the year, with Mike Watson, Dan Smith, Sean Winter and Steve O’Dwyer among the crushers.
A quiet WSOP saw Koon return to action in August at the Triton London SHR series, and it was the exact same story: five cashes and two wins, the Short Deck Main Event victory showing his prowess across all the disciplines.
A couple of PokerGO Tour cashes in September brought Koon to Monte Carlo, and his latest success, as we have just witnessed – truly an incredible display of global high-stakes tournament poker.
Next for Koon? “I’m going to go home, get myself in shape, and hang out with my family.”
Meanwhile, Triton is already planning its 2024 season opener in Jeju, South Korea, where Koon will doubtless start as a firm favourite for number 11.
Koon's perfect ten
| Year | Tournament | Prize |
| 2023 | $25k PLO Turbo (Monte Carlo) | $365,000 |
| $60k Short Deck Main Event (London) | $828,000 | |
| $60k NLHE 7-handed (London) | $1,570,000 | |
| $100k NLHE Main Event (Cyprus) | $2,451,082 | |
| $20k NLHE 7-handed (Cyprus) | $663,000 | |
| $50k NLHE Turbo (Vietnam) | $574,000 | |
| 2022 | €150k Short Deck (Madrid) | €1,750,000 |
| 2019 | HK$1,000,000 NLHE (Jeju) | HK$7,640,160 |
| HK$1,000,000 Short Deck (Jeju) | HK$22,300,00 |
Photos by Joe Giron/Triton Poker
