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Mike Watson Takes Down the $30K NLH Turbo For Sixth Triton Title
Canada's Mike Watson has competed on the biggest stage for the past 20 years, and he is showing no signs of slowing down. On May 18, Watson captured his sixth Triton title in three years when he came out on top in the $30,000 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo event and walked away with $659,000.
Watson's victory ties him with Punnat Punsri and Matthias Eibinger in terms of Triton wins. The $659,000 he collected from this event pushed his Triton earnings toward $19.5 million. Watson may be a veteran of the high roller scene, but he is still a formidable opponent for anyone who crosses his path.
"Any time you get to lift a Triton trophy, it's definitely meaningful," Watson said during his post-victory interview. "I'm now back in a tie for second in the most Triton trophies, so it's pretty cool."
$30,000 NLH Turbo Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | Canada | $659,000 |
| 2 | Mehdi Chaoui | Morocco | $450,000 |
| 3 | Anatoly Zlotnikov | Russia | $299,000 |
| 4 | Tom Fuchs | Germany | $241,000 |
| 5 | Samuel Mullur | Austria | $193,000 |
| 6 | Thomas Boivin | Belgium | $151,000 |
| 7 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | $118,000 |
| 8 | Cong Pham | United States | $91,000 |
| 9 | Maher Nouira | Tunisia | $66,000 |
Watson navigated to the final table as the second-largest stack, although he only had 28 big blinds in his arsenal due to the turbo structure of this exciting event. Six of the final nine had fewer than 14 big blinds at their disposal, so, as you would expect, the action was fast and furious.
Tunisia's Maher Nouira was the first finalist to bow out after a clash with Anatoly Zlotnikov didn't go to play. Nouira got his chips in as a substantial favorite, but Zlotnikov's suited king-queen came from behind to best the busted player's ace-queen.
Cong Pham suffered a similar fate against Mehdi Chaoui. Pham's king-ten was ahead of his opponent's jack-ten but only until a jack reared its face on the turn.
Seventh place went to Patrik Antonius, who continued the trend of getting outdrawn to bust. Antonius three-bet all-in for his last seven big blinds holding ace-queen, and Zlotnikov called with king-jack. A king on the flop sent Antonius to the rail.
Belgium's Thomas Boivin was down to only a handful of big blinds when he committed his short-stack with queen-deuce of spades after the aggressive Chaoui had opened the betting. Chaoui called with king-five and for the first time at the final table, the best hand held at showdown in an all-in confrontation.
The dangerous Samuel Muller became a spectator when he ripped in eight big blinds with king-queen. Ordinarily, this would be enough to rake in the blinds and antes. However, on this occasion, Chaoui looked down at pocket kings and made one of the easiest calls of his illustrious career. The board ran out void of drama, and the final table was down to four players.
Those four became three when Tom Fuchs clashed with Watson, who had just won a huge flip with pocket fives against Zlotnikov's ace-eight of spades. Fuchs was all-in against Watson with the king-queen of diamonds, but in bad shape against Watson's queens. Those ladies held, and Fuchs bowed out in fourth.
Chaoui found kings again in another elimination hand, this time improving to an unnecessary flush to beat Zlotnikov's queen-ten. That hand gave Chaoui a 46 to 38 big blind advantage over Watson going into heads-up.
Watson won a substantial pot that flipped the contest on its head. Chaoui slow-played his trip sixes on the flop, which allowed Watson to pick up an open-ended straight draw on the turn. Watson improved to a straight on the river, and Chaoui couldn't get away from his trips.
Chaoui managed to double through Watson, but the Canadian won the all-important final hand, his pocket fives holding against jack-eight, nd a sixth Triton title was Watson's.
Mike Watson's Triton Victories
Watson won his first Triton event in Vietnam in March 2023, taking down a $50,000 Short Deck event for $695,000. Two months later, he won a $30,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event in Cyprus for another $347,000 before completing his hat trick in Jeju in March 2024 with another Short Deck victory.
The popular pro became a four-time winner in May 2024 in Montenegro when he raked in the $1,023,000 top prize, the $30,000 NLH 8-Handed event offered. Watson's fifth outright victory came in Jeju in September 2025. Here, Watson won the $125,000 NLH 7-Handed event for a career-best $2,130,812.
Triton title number six happened here in Montenegro, adding another $659,000 to his already impressive earnings tally.
| Date | Location | Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar. 2023 | Vietnam | $50,000 Short Deck | 44 | $2,200,000 | $695,000 |
| May. 2023 | Cyprus | $30,000 PLO | 34 | $1,020,000 | $347,000 |
| Mar. 2024 | Jeju | $25,000 Short Deck | 52 | $1,300,000 | $380,000 |
| May. 2024 | Montenegro | $30,000 NLHE 8-Handed | 154 | $4,620,000 | $1,023,000 |
| Sep. 2025 | Jeju | $125,000 NLH 7-Handed | 69 | $8,625,000 | $2,130,812 |
| May. 2026 | Montenegro | $30,000 NLH Turbo | 84 | $2,520,000 | $659,000 |