Alex Foxen's Luck Turns With Runner-Runner Beat at WPT Global Slam Final Table
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With the inaugural Triton ONE festival in the books, it's time to raise the stakes here on South Korea's Jeju Island with the Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju II, a run of tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $25,000 to $150,000.
Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju II, running Sept. 9-23, kicked off with the $25,000 WPT Global Slam, an event that drew 199 players for a prize pool of $7,775,000. The title went to American James Mendoza as he collected just his second Triton cash and a career-best score of $1,515,000.
Meanwhile, high-stakes crusher Alex Foxen was looking for a fourth Triton title after a hot run on Day 2 that saw him cracking kings twice to enter the final table with the chip lead, but his luck turned on Day 3 as he ran into aces before Mendoza made a runner-runner straight to end Foxen's run in third place for $721,600.
China's Xue Song finished runner-up for $962,000, while the final table also included France's Emilien Pitavy (4th - $584,000), Russia's Viacheslav Goryachev (5th - $460,000) and Thailand's Punnat Punsri (9th - $155,000), who earlier this week finished runner-up in the Triton ONE Main Event for $1,205,775.
$25,000 WPT Global Slam Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (In USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Mendoza | United States | $1,515,000 |
| 2 | Xue Song | China | $962,000 |
| 3 | Alex Foxen | United States | $721,600 |
| 4 | Emilien Pitavy | France | $584,000 |
| 5 | Viacheslav Goryachev | Russia | $460,000 |
| 6 | Yan Yingyao | China | $350,000 |
| 7 | Ho Bao Qiang | Singapore | $260,000 |
| 8 | Dai Ming | China | $190,000 |
| 9 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | $155,000 |
Foxen's Luck Turns on Day 3
Foxen had a hot run on Day 2 that saw him entering the final table well in front, but his luck changed early at the final table in a cooler that saw him runner ace-king into the Pocket Rockets of Emilien Pitavy, who had reached the final table as the short stack.
Foxen's misfortune continued from there as the event got down with three players as he got ace-jack in against the king-six of Mendoza. An ace-high flop looked like it could seal the deal for the all-in Foxen, but a seven on the turn gave Mendoza an open-ended straight draw before a four river sealed his fate.
Foxen was looking for his fourth Triton title and to add to his $12.7 million in Triton earnings. The third-place finish followed a less-than-ideal week in Jeju for the high-stakes crusher, whose only cash had been in a 137th-place finish in the $3,000 QQPK Genesis for $5,140.
But if Foxen, who made a bold bluff in the Triton ONE Main Event that was looked up by opponent Alisson Piekazewicz, struggled to get into form in the more middling events offered at the first Triton ONE festival, don't expect that to be the case during the Super High Roller series where he will be fully in his element.
Meanwhile, Kristen Foxen had a strong showing at Triton ONE with a podium finish in the $10,000 NLH Mystery Bounty for $116,000.
The bad beats at the final table continued into heads-up play as Xue Song had queens cracked by Mendoza's ace-eight, who spiked an ace on the flop before hitting another one on the river for good measure.
Day 2 of the WPT Global Slam saw Bryn Kenney looking to extend his all-time money lead, but his run ended the day as he finished in 10th place for $130,000.
Americans were well-represented in the WPT Global Slam, with Michael Wang earning a 16th-place finish as he lost a flip with ace-ten against the pocket sixes of Kenney.
Day 3 kicked off on Thursday at 1 p.m. local time with the live stream action going live at 2 p.m. The streamed final table included commentary from acclaimed commentators Randy Lew and Ali Nejad.
Check out the highlights for yourself on the Triton stream.
*Photos courtesy Triton, Drew Amato, Enrique Malfavon & Spenser Sembrat
