WPT Global Ambassador Xuan Liu has made poker history in Montenegro as the first woman to lay claim to a Triton Super High Roller Series title.
When she arrived in the Balkans this week, Liu entered the $25,000 WPT Global Slam opening event as a Triton first-timer. On Thursday, she capped off a historic run that saw her outlast a field of 155 entrants (99 unique) to take home the $860,000 top prize and the Triton trophy.
History made
When she arrived at the final table on Wednesday, Liu wasn't the only woman present. Kristen Foxen sat just behind her in the chip counts – both players smack dab in the middle of the pack. As the players around her fell by the wayside, Liu inched closer and closer to history.
The final table finishers in the $25,000 WPT Global Slam. (Clockwise from top left: Mike Watson, Tom Fuchs, Paulius Plausinaitis, Theodore McQuilkin, Xuan Liu, Kristen Foxen, Zhang Yu, Daniel Dvoress, David Peters)When play reached five-handed, Triton Tournament Director Luca Vivaldi and his organizers made the decision to reconvene the following day to play down to a winner. Daniel Dvoress held the chip lead at the time with 49 big blinds, ahead of David Peters' 40 big blinds, while Liu (24 big blinds), Foxen (23 big blinds) and Tom Fuchs (19 big blinds) were tightly clustered as the short stacks.
Within the first hour of play on Thursday, both Fuchs and Foxen were sent to the payout desk – the latter at the hands of Liu. Dvoress was still in command as Peters and Liu fought hard to outlast one another. In a blind versus blind spot, Peters' top pair went up in flames as Dvoress turned a flush with all the chips in the middle.
Foxen, who is now tracking closer behind Vanessa Selbst and her $11.9 million in earnings at the top of the all-time women's money list, added $325K from the fourth-place finish to jump over the $10 million mark, according to The Hendon Mob.
Dvoress vs. Liu
When heads-up play began, Dvoress held a commanding chip advantage over Liu – his 61 big blinds to her 16 – and was no stranger to the late stages of a Triton event with 45 cashes and two titles on his resume. Liu wasn't going down easy, however, and she managed to chip away at the deficit to pull within a few big blinds of Dvoress' lead.
Daniel Dvoress had the benefit of experience on his side, but it wasn't enough to stop Xuan Liu's historic run. In the key hand of the battle, Liu's 
held against Dvoress' 
on a 
runout and she surged into an overwhelming chip lead – leaving Dvoress with only 4 big blinds to work with. In the very next hand off the deck, Dvoress committed the remainder of his chips with 
and Liu made the call with 
.
With five cards to come, Liu was just one runout away from a historic win. On the 
flop, Liu paired up and took the lead in the hand. Neither the 
turn nor the 
river changed a thing, and, for the first time in the tour's existence, a woman lifted the Triton trophy in celebration.
Despite her victory, Liu has no plans to continue firing during the series. In her winner's interview, Liu told Triton commentator Henry Kilbane, "I only came here to play this one tournament. You can't top this."
$25,000 WPT Global Super Slam final table results
| Place | Player | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xuan Liu | $860,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Dvoress | $579,000 |
| 3 | David Peters | $398,000 |
| 4 | Kristen Foxen | $325,000 |
| 5 | Tom Fuchs | $259,000 |
| 6 | Mike Watson | $199,000 |
| 7 | Zhang Yu | $144,500 |
| 8 | Paulius Plausinaitis | $105,000 |
| 9 | Theodore McQuilkin | $105,000 |
Images courtesy of Triton Poker.
