button in SafariMatthew Wantman Chops Triton Title With Best Friend Nick Schulman
An emotional Matthew Wantman described his maiden Triton Poker title as a "huge breakthrough" after defeating best friend Nick Schulman heads-up to win the Triton Jeju II $50K NLH 7-Handed for $836,721.
The American, who has endured a tough year on the felt, became the latest in a long line of first-time winners here at Les A Casino this festival, getting the better of some truly elite talent at the final table, including Hall of Famer Schulman, Daniel Dvoress, Ben Tollerene and Danny Tang.
Speaking to PokerNews following his victory, Wantman said, "I've been fighting for deep runs and big scores for a while without any. Coming back, playing bad, questioning myself, and just going through it like any poker player does, struggling and having that last longer than I was expecting, and then to come here and get a huge win, it's so massive I can't even put it into words."
"It's a massive relief. I can't remember the last time I had a winning poker trip. WSOP was rough. EPT was rough. I was here for the KPC recently and I had three or four bubbles, soft bubbles, and stone bubbles. It was insane. To get the win here in Jeju, where I was having a hard time only two or three weeks ago, is huge."
Finally, on making the final two with his best friend and chopping up the prize money, Wantman said, "It was super special. It was the best moment of my poker career, for sure...we were always going to chop if we got heads-up."
Triton Jeju II $50k NLH 7-Handed Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Wantman | United States | $836,721* |
| 2 | Nick Schulman | United States | $810,279* |
| 3 | Ben Tollerene | United States | $448,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | $344,000 |
| 5 | Danilo Velasevic | Serbia | $273,000 |
| 6 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | $213,000 |
| 7 | Aliaksandr Shylko | Belarus | $168,000 |
*Denotes a deal agreed.
You Can't Always Get What You Want(man), But If You Try Sometime, You'll Find You Get What You Need
Sixteen players returned for the final day's action, with Triton ambassador Tang leading the field ahead of Bryn Kenney, Christoph Vogelsang, and Wantman himself.
The top eleven places would be paid, and it was Kenney who secured the $88,000 min-cash before multiple-time Triton champion Mike Watson, Bernhard Binder, and Raul Manzanares all departed to set the seven-handed final table.
It was a spectacularly talented final table, with Schulman entering with the chip lead after he and Manzanares got involved in a huge pot. Schulman sent the Spaniard to the rail after his flopped straight held against Manzanares' three-of-a-kind.
Belarus' Aliaksandr Shylko was the first to depart the final seven, running king-ten into Tollerene's ace-three and coming off second best, before Triton POY Season 3 winner Tang was sent to the rail by this year's champion-elect, Dvoress.
Soon enough, Schulman had built a commanding lead, and that only grew stronger after the poker star and popular broadcaster saw off the challenges of Danilo Velasevic and Dvoress in fifth and fourth.
Holding the vast majority of the chips in play, the all-American trio settled in to battle out the finale with Schulman leading the way. Wantman doubled through his good friend before taking a big pot from Tollerene to bring himself right back into the battle.
Tollerene stuck around valiantly, but eventually saw his run come to an end at the hands of Wantman in third, leaving the remaining duo almost exactly level going into heads-up. It didn't take long for the two friends to agree a deal, with the money more or less split and $30,000 and bragging rights left to play for.
With the financials locked up, both players were in the mood to gamble, and it didn't take long before Wantman ripped with jack-eight and Schulman called with less than a single big blind behind holding eight-six. Schulman lost the flip, and after a few more hands, the contest was done.
Schulman, who won his first Triton title eight years ago, watched on beaming as Wantman enjoyed his crowning moment on the Jeju stage.
