Triton Poker: Euros Continue to Dominate in Jeju
Triton Poker continued to captivate poker fans over the weekend as its 2024 Jeju Super High Roller Series in South Korea crowned four more champions.
Lithuania's Paulius Vaitiekunas bagged his maiden Triton title and biggest live score while Adrian Mateos' legacy as one of the all-time greats became even more entrenched. Former footballer Mario Mosboeck continued to show his career change was for the better with another win on the black and gold felt before Dimitar Danchev made it six out of six victories for "Team Europe."
$25K Silver Main Ends in Three-Way Deal
Along with the poker prowess, one of the other eye-catching aspects of the nosebleed series has been the number of people who have made the journey in hopes of attaining riches and poker glory. The third event of the festival saw 298 entries as Paulius Vaitiekunas reigned supreme after a three-handed deal that saw each recipient handsomely rewarded.
Vaitiekunas, along with Alex Tkatschew and Aram Oganyan, agreed to split a significant slice of the $7,450,000 prize pool, which saw the latter two pocket $1,002,000 and $989,501, respectively. Vaitiekunas, who was second in chips at this point, had locked up $977,499 and secured the remaining $100,000 after overcoming Tkatschew in heads-up play.
Notables to make deep runs included Triton Ambassador Jason Koon and Dan Smith, who both reached the final table.
Event: $25K NLH - 8 Handed - Silver Main
Entries: 298
Prize Pool: $7,450,000
Winner: Paulius Vaitiekunas ($1,077,499)
Paid Places: 47
Click here for a full list of payouts
Vaitiekunas' triumph marks a complete turnaround from his performances that took place at Triton Monte Carlo. Vaitiekunas fired a pile of bullets but left the French Riviera with nothing to show for it. Speaking to Triton Poker after the confetti canons went off, Vaitiekunas said:
“I did everything I could to come to Jeju, and somehow I won. Poker is a game of making as few mistakes as possible. I learnt a lot in Monte Carlo, and I learnt a lot here, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.”
Event #3: $25K NLH - 8 Handed - Silver Main Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paulius Vaitiekunas | Lithuania | $1,077,499* |
| 2 | Alex Tkatschew | Germany | $1,002,000* |
| 3 | Aram Oganyan | United States | $989,501* |
| 4 | Joseph Cheong | United States | $560,000 |
| 5 | Roman Hrabec | Czechia | $441,000 |
| 6 | Maksim Vaskresenski | Belarus | $337,000 |
| 7 | Dan Smith | United States | $248,000 |
| 8 | Chen Guangcheng | China | $182,000 |
| 9 | Jason Koon | United States | $149,000 |
*Denotes three-way deal
Another Million for Mateos
There are many superlatives that could be used to describe Adrian Mateos' poker exploits, but we'll keep it short and sweet with simply incredible. Four WSOP bracelets, an EPT Main Event trophy and now a Triton title, all before the age of 30, the Spaniard already has a poker hall of fame career ten years before he's eligible to be inducted into the exclusive club.
His latest marvel (and 26th recorded live tournament win) saw him top the 185-entry field in Event #5: $30K NLH—8 Handed for another seven-figure score, which saw his earnings cross the $41 million mark, good for 13th on the All-Time Money List.
Event: $30K NLH - 8 Handed
Entries: 185
Prize Pool: $5,550,000
Winner: Adrian Mateos ($1,175,000)
Paid Places: 31
Click here for a full list of payouts
Mateos' family were on the rail as he despatched David Peters in heads-up play and beamed as the winner's spoils were bestowed.
There were plenty of eyes on this specific event as legends of the game Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius made the final nine. Ivey was the first to leave the final table, while Antonius exited in seventh place.
Event #5: $30K NLH - 8 Handed Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | $1,175,000 |
| 2 | David Peters | United States | $790,000 |
| 3 | Yulian Bogdanov | Bulgaria | $557,000 |
| 4 | Seth Gottlieb | United States | $452,000 |
| 5 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | $358,000 |
| 6 | Ramin Hajiyev | Azerbaijan | $271,500 |
| 7 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | $198,000 |
| 8 | Lun Loon | Malaysia | $145,000 |
| 9 | Phil Ivey | United States | $119,000 |
Grindhouse Crew Taking Over Triton
The high roller scene must be sick to death with Fedor Holz. Not only has the German taken tens of millions from his opponents, but his Grindhouse students are starting to do the same.
After Holz took down the opening event of the series, mentee Roland Rokita followed suit and was the last man standing in Event #2: $20,000 NLH 8-Handed. Not to be outdone, Mario Mosboeck stepped up and delivered a knockout performance in the $25K GGMillion$ tourney to make it a trio of wins for the Vienna Wrecking Crew (unofficial nickname).
Event: $25K GGMillion$
Entries: 305
Prize Pool: $7,625,000
Winner: Mario Mosboeck ($1,191,196)
Paid Places: 47
Click here for a full list of payouts
Following a deal with Sergio Aido, Mosboeck produced a heads-up comeback to disrupt Aido's coronation and took the crown for himself.
“It feels amazing,” Mosboeck told Triton Poker. “I ran really good today…I was never really over 20 big blinds from around the bubble. I was always short. But there’s still a lot of room for manoeuvre.”
“All the boys are really smart, really driven. They want to compete at the highest level…If it was me alone, I’m not sure I would be playing the Super High Rollers. But you can talk to people about how you feel, your concerns. They can give you feedback. It was a community decision. They said, come on, you’re good enough.”
Event #6: $25K GGMillion$ Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Mosboeck | Austria | $1,191,196* |
| 2 | Sergio Aido | Spain | $1,237,804* |
| 3 | Alex Theologis | Greece | $707,000 |
| 4 | Adrian Chua | Singapore | $573,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | $452,000 |
| 6 | Timothy Adams | Canada | $345,000 |
| 7 | Jesse Lonis | United States | $253,000 |
| 8 | Kosei Ichinose | Japan | $186,000 |
| 9 | Ehsan Amiri | Australia | $152,000 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
Delight for Danchev in South Korea
The European domination continued in the first Mystery Bounty tournament of the series as Dimitar Danchev booked his first major live win in over a decade. The 2013 PCA Main Event champion has a collection of near misses since having this hand raised in The Bahamas all those years ago, but he finally shook the monkey off his back after going the distance this time around.
That's not to say that Danchev had forgotten what victory tasted like, as the veteran and grinder picked up a WSOP Online bracelet in 2022, but the Bulgarian was more focused on the trophy rather than the money. After his victory, he explained to Triton media:
“Actually, it’s a little bit about this [the trophy]. “This is very special for me. The bounties, of course, are very important, but I’m kind of more excited to win the trophy.”
Event: $40K Mystery Bounty NLH
Entries: 190
Prize Pool: $3,800,000
Winner: Dimitar Danchev ($804,000)
Paid Places: 31
Click here for a full list of payouts
At the final table, Danchev was joined by two compatriots: Yulian Bogdanov and Alex Kulev. However, Danchev was the only player waving the flag for Bulgaria after the duo were ousted in seventh and fourth place.
Jonathan Jaffe downed Mateos to set up heads-up with Danchev, and the American was the favorite to see the tournament out as he held an almost 3:1 chip lead. Danchev picked up a double to reduce the gap and took the lead after cracking jacks with ace-ten suited.
Now, with the advantage, Danchev's final hand was ace-four, and he made trips on the turn against Jaffee's jack-ten in an all-in preflop confrontation. Both players displayed impeccable sportsmanship as the curtain was drawn, and Danchev seized the $804,000 first-place prize.
Danchev also had six bounty tokens to redeem, of which the prizes vary from $40,000 to $500,000. His final score is still not yet known as the bounty prizes are being pulled on Tuesday, March 12, according to Triton Poker.
Event #7: $40K NLH Mystery Bounty - 7 Handed Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dimitar Danchev | Bulgaria | $804,000 |
| 2 | Jonathan Jaffe | United States | $541,000 |
| 3 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | $381,000 |
| 4 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | $310,000 |
| 5 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | $244,800 |
| 6 | Chris Brewer | United States | $186,000 |
| 7 | Yulian Bogdanov | Bulgaria | $135,800 |
| 8 | Sean Winter | United States | $99,400 |
Photo credit: Triton Poker/Joe Giron
Triton Poker 2024 Jeju Remaining Schedule
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum's proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.
