Ding Biao may be one of the newest of the new kids on the Super High Roller block, but today he cemented his rightful place there with a victory over multiple legends of the game – including felling Phil Ivey heads-up – to add the Triton Poker $50k PLO crown to his growing list of successes.
He's had an exceptional couple of weeks in Jeju. Seven cashes. Three final tables. And now a second Triton title to go with the one he won in Cyprus last year.
Biao had already come very close to a massive win in Jeju when he was narrowly edged out by Elton Tsang in the $150k last week. That was no-limit hold'em, however, and it remained to see how he’d fare as four-card poker took centre stage among the Triton Poker elite.
A total of 84 entries (43 unique) nudged the prize pool over the $4million mark and guaranteed a seven-figure scoop for the winner. The winner would earn his corn, with a field that contained the likes of Ivey, Jason Koon, Nacho Barbero, Ole Schemion, and Stephen Chidwick.
First stop was the 14 paid spots, and Triton Poker ambassador and record-holder Koon survived by the skin of his teeth. He paired his jack on the river against Chidwick’s pocket fives, as Tomas Ribeiro simultaneously busted with top pair on the flop after running into Schemion’s top set.
That $76,000 min-cash was as far as Koon would go, though, and another favourite, PLO beast Nacho Barbero, had to settle for eighth spot as a protracted final table bubble ended badly for him.
Barbero: A♦️️10♦️️A♣K♠
Schemion: J♠A♠9❤️7♦️️
Barbero three-bet with his aces and then bet pot on the J♣5❤️6♣ flop. Schemion made the call and turned the straight when the 8❤️ dropped. Barbero couldn't spin his remaining two blig blinds up and had to settle for eighth and $152,500.
It was an absolutely stacked final table and it saw big names collide. Antonius was eliminated by Ivey, before Biao took out Schemion and Chidwick. That left Jared Bleznick and Paul Phua alongside Biao and Ivey, and it was the Triton Poker co-founder who would miss the podium placings.
Bleznick couldn’t ride the Jeju-coloured orange hat to victory, as Roman Hrabec had done a few days’ previously. Ivey took him out when both players made trip queens.
It meant Ivey took the chip lead into heads-up, but that was quickly overturned, before Biao finished the job off. All the chips went in pre-flop on the final hand.
Ivey: Q♣J♦️️8♦️️2♠
Biao: K❤️Q❤️7♦️️4♠
Ivey struck first on the 6♦️️4♦️️7♠9♦️️ board but there's always a sweat in PLO and the 4♣ on the river gave Biao the trophy.
Event #14: $50k PLO results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Ding Biao | $1,107,000 |
| 2 | Phil Ivey | $755,000 |
| 3 | Jared Bleznick | $490,000 |
| 4 | Paul Phua | $401,000 |
| 5 | Stephen Chidwick | $317,500 |
| 6 | Ole Schemion | $247,500 |
| 7 | Patrik Antonius | $200,000 |
Images courtesy of Triton Poker/Joe Giron
