$55 million+ swap hands at Vietnam Triton Super High Roller
Triton treats us differently
“Triton treats us differently,” said high-stakes final boss Jason Koon as he withdrew from the spotlight on the occasion of his record fifth Triton title, opting instead to shine that light back on the tournament host.
great tournaments in great five star venues
Koon is not alone in feeling this way. I’ve heard similar words from Steve O’Dwyer, Ike Haxton, and Daniel Dvoress over the years. They appreciate what Triton brings to the upper echelons of the poker world – great tournaments in great five star venues. In addition, short deck is emphasized more than on any other tour.
The 2023 Triton Super High Roller Series in Vietnam was no exception. A series consisting of 14 events with buy-ins ranging from $15,000 to $100,000 generating a combined prize pool of over $55 million.
Headline-making week 1
The latest Triton series kicked off on March 1st at Hoiana Resort, Vietnam with 13 days of packed Nose Bleed Poker action. Week 1 featured many highlights including wins for Malaysia’s Webster Lim, Argentina’s Nacho Barbero, Great Britain’s Mark Rubbathan, Netherlands’ Jans Arends, Vietnam’s Dao Minh Phu and Turkey’s Orpen Kisacikoglu.
Arends pocketed the trophy and $921,178
Both Phu and Kisacikoglu won in seven figures, the former lasting the longest in the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em event with 139 runners to win $1.67 million, while the latter won the $75,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $1.75 million. Stealing the first week’s headlines, however, is Arends, who not only set his personal best once, but twice. After finishing second to Barbero in the $15,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $406,000, he went straight into the $30,000 7-handed event. Arends pocketed the trophy and $921,178 after a triple ICM chop with Kiat Lee and Jonathan Jaffe.
Making some headlines of his own was Twitch streamer ACR stormer and newcomer to Triton events Rubbathan, who triumphed in the $20,000 Mystery Bounty event:
Known on the Twitch streets as “Weazel_1991”, Rubbathan has found fame for some bankroll challenges. Events at Triton would normally be out of reach for the mid-stakes grinder, but he won a series of challenges at America’s Cardroom. The price? $100,000 in tournament buy-ins at the Triton Super High Roller Series Vietnam, which he converted into two cashes by finishing 10th in the $15,000 7-handed event and then winning the $20,000 Mystery Bounty for $396,000 plus $240,000 in bounties .
Raise the stakes
The stakes have been raised in Week 2 of the series with some seriously massive events. Triton newcomer Andrew Leathem won Event #8: $25,000 Turbo No Limit Hold’em for a career-best $670,000. That was just an amuse bouche before the main course was to come.
The $100,000 Main Event drew 135 participants who competed against each other for three days, culminating in one of the toughest final tables of all time. With Roman Hrabec eliminated in ninth place, Fedor Holz, Nick Petrangelo, Timothy Adams, Adrian Mateos, Christopher Soyza, Winfred Yu, Daniel Smiljkovic and Talal Shakerchi had to compete for the $3.25 million first prize.
Shakerchi found himself in the winner’s enclosure after playing incredibly well
Shakerchi is a London-based banker and hedge fund manager who enjoys competing with the gaming elite on a regular basis. He considers poker his hobby, but his record suggests it’s much more. As the dust settled at that extraordinarily tough final table, Shakerchi found himself in the winners’ enclosure after playing incredibly well and holding the chip lead for most of the final table:
During his winner’s interview, the humble 59-year-old denied claims that he could be called a poker pro. Speaking to Ali Nejad he said:
“Don’t start taking me to the other zone! I’m not a professional player. I spend quite a bit of time playing poker. It’s my biggest hobby. But I’m definitely not a pro.”
Tang, Koon and Watson book wins
Events 10, 11 and 12 produced dazzling poker. In Event 10, Triton Ambassador Jason Koon was the only player to have five Triton titles after winning the $50,000 Turbo for $574,000, beating everyone at a final table including Chris Brewer, Ike Haxton, Punnat Punsri and eventual runner-up Arthur Martirosians:
In Event 11, the $25,000 short deck, Haxton continued his fine form by finishing fifth, but that would amount to two familiar faces on the tour. Steve Chidwick is everyone’s most feared opponent (the recent GPI poll made that official), but he would be overwhelmed in this heads-up by an emotional Danny Tang celebrating his first title:
Koon and Haxton were once again in turmoil in Event 12 – the $50,000 Short Deck – but in the end they could only manage fifth and second place, respectively. The title and $695,000 ultimately went to Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson, who once again proved what a destroyer he is:
Zang and Greenwood complete Events 13 and 14
Aaron Zang made history in August 2019 when he won the Triton Million event in London for £13.8million. Yesterday he cashed for the first time since COVID lockdowns and only the second since that day when he won Event 13: the $100,000 Short Deck Main Event for 1.54 million. It’s Zang’s second major title and cements his position at the top of China’s all-time money list:
It was time for one last event in Vietnam and it had to be quick as there was only one day left of the festival. The $20,000 Short Deck Turbo featured the appropriate amount of fast-paced mayhem and was ultimately won by Canada’s Sam Greenwood. Haxton was back in contention but the fortnight of the slats was over when he retired third.
To finish, Greenwood won $207,000 and his second Triton title, raising more than $55 million at this mega-festival of wealth redistribution:
talent at the booth
A hallmark of Triton events is their world-class production and the diversity of talent on display. Veteran Ali Nejad, player-turned-elite multi-tabling pro Randy ‘Nanonoko’ Lew, and rising star of poker commentary Henry Kilbane, in and out of poker during this riveting fortnight, were all the more captivating for their superb insight and analysis.
Only speak to VegasSlotsOnline NewsKilbane emphasized how big this series is:
“For me personally, this was one of the most epic high stakes poker series of all time. We had record prize pools, world class production and
Viewers from all corners of the world.”
Kilbane also noted the input from online gamers who decided to make the trip:
“Both old-school legends and new online game-breakers battling it out on the biggest stage here in Vietnam have truly raised the bar to unprecedented heights in poker. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series now in 2023. Given the turnout here, I expect more of the online crushers will be venturing for the first time.”
Next stop is Merit Resort in Northern Cyprus and there is every reason to believe it will build on this hugely successful series:
https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/news/2023/03/14/shakerchi-koon-kisacikoglu-greenwood-among-winners-as-55m-exchanges-hands-at-triton-vietnam/ $55 million+ swap hands at Vietnam Triton Super High Roller
