Five Performances That Remind Us Why We Love Poker at Triton Jeju II
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There’s a famous line at the end of Moneyball when Brad Pitt’s character, legendary GM Billy Beane, leans back in his chair and asks, “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” The same could easily be said about poker.
From dream debuts to dominant displays, the inaugural Triton ONE and the latest Triton Super High Roller Series in Jeju have already produced a string of performances that remind us why we all fell in love with the game in the first place.
And with plenty more cards still to be dealt at Landing Casino, the world-class action shows no sign of slowing. As we move toward the final week in Jeju, here are five standout performances from the opening fortnight of Triton’s second stop of the year in South Korea.
Doyle's Dream Debut Launches Triton ONE
With a name like Doyle, you might say you’re destined to write your name in poker history. Well, Hong Kong’s Doyle Kwan Fu Lee did just that, capturing the first-ever Triton ONE trophy in the $5,000 One Night NLH event on Jeju Island.
Lee not only earned $67,000 but also the honor of being crowned the inaugural Triton ONE champion. His run was one of the standout performances of the festival in its opening days, as he battled past a lineup with plenty of Super High Roller Series regulars before defeating Russian poker legend Anatoly Filatov heads-up.
Elsewhere in the field, three-time Triton champion Webster Lim notched his first Triton ONE cash with a 4th-place finish, but it was Doyle’s day as he ushered in the Triton ONE era in style.
Rising Star Mullur Shows His Class
Few young players in the poker world are as exciting right now as Austria's Samuel Mullur, another graduate from the seemingly endless conveyor belt of talent that rolls out the Pokercode Grindhouse.
Mullur delivered yet another dominant showing in what is shaping up to be a phenomenal year for the 27-year-old, taking down the $2K Bounty Quattro at Triton ONE in Jeju and adding $72,000 to an increasingly impressive Hendon Mob profile.
He'd rack up eight knockouts along the way, collecting a total of $18,000 in bounties and earning his place among the most impressive performances we've seen at the Landing Casino this Fall.
Debutant Mendoza Bests Poker's Elite
James Mendoza made his Triton Poker Series debut at the mid-stakes Triton ONE this month, and after cashing in the Main Event, he decided to stick around for the start of the Super High Roller Series.
$1,515,000 later, it’s fair to say that decision paid off, as the man from the Philippines outlasted poker’s elite to claim the $25,000 WPT Global Slam.
It’s not quite a David versus Goliath story; Mendoza, a California-based pro, entered with just under $3 million in live tournament earnings. But with poker’s answer to the Avengers, including players like Alex Foxen and Punnat Punsri, assembled at the final table, there's no doubt it took a special performance to capture his maiden Super High Roller Series title on debut.
Obara Collects More Envelopes Than a Postman
In one of the most astonishing performances we’ve seen at any Triton event, Japan’s Jun Obara claimed seventeen bounties on his way to winning the $40,000 Mystery Bounty, becoming the first Japanese player to capture a Super High Roller Series title.
Obara, who banked $699,000 in prize money along with another $1,040,000 from his haul of envelopes, eliminated every player at the final table and amassed well over 100 big blinds in the process, delivering a remarkable display of dominance in such a competitive field.
The result stands as not only one of the most impressive performances at Super High Roller Series Jeju II but also one of the tour’s most memorable achievements in recent history.
Chidwick Crosses the $70m Horizon
Stephen Chidwick became only the second player in history to surpass $70 million in recorded tournament earnings at this Super High Roller Series, adding his third Triton crown in the $200,000 Short Deck event for $3,455,000.
The British number one once again demonstrated his mastery of the format in which all three of his Triton wins have come, putting on a clinic at the final table and not relinquishing his lead once.
It was one of the standout performances of both Triton ONE and the Super High Roller Series in Jeju, with the added distinction of propelling Chidwick’s tournament earnings into the stratospheric $70 million bracket.
*Photos courtesy Triton, Drew Amato, Enrique Malfavon & Spenser Sembrat
In this Series
- 1 Triton ONE: New Live Tour Set to Expand Triton Poker’s Reach
- 2 Debut Triton ONE Schedule Revealed; Super High Roller Series Announced
- 3 Countdown to Triton ONE: Four Days Until Poker’s Hottest New Festival Debuts
- 4 PokerNews is Heading to Jeju for Triton ONE & Super High Roller Series
- 5 Poker Vlogger Hits Dream Flop Before Nightmare Turn Card at Triton ONE in Jeju
- 6 Xuan Liu on Historic Triton Victory: 'I Felt Like I Was on Top of the World'
- 7 'A Bridge to Our New Champions': Triton ONE Series Sees Strong Start in Jeju
- 8 How a $1.4 Million Score Saved This Poker Crusher from a Major Downswing
- 9 Player Makes Epic Hero Call Against Alex Foxen in Triton ONE Main Event
- 10 Former Footballer Beats the Pros in First-Ever Triton ONE Main Event for $975,225
- 11 First Triton ONE Festival in Jeju Generates Nearly $20 Million in Prize Money
- 12 Alex Foxen's Luck Turns With Runner-Runner Beat at WPT Global Slam Final Table
- 13 Triton Jeju: The Start of a New Era After a Record That Will Be Tough to Beat
- 14 Chidwick Closing Gap to Kenney on All-Time Money List After Triton Win
- 15 Which Crusher Leads Triton’s Ivan Leow Player of the Year Race With Days to Go?
- 16 WPT Global Ambassador Deal Offers Nacho Barbero 'A New Beginning'
- 17 Five Performances That Remind Us Why We Love Poker at Triton Jeju II
- 18 Triton CEO Andy Wong Talks About Building Poker's Most Prestigious High-Stakes Tour
