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$8,000 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2026 Triton ONE North Cyprus
$8,000 Main Event
Day: 2
Players Left 9 / 1,006
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Final Table
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Day 2 of the Triton ONE North Cyprus $8,000 Main Event began with 191 hopefuls returning to the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa, but after twelve and a half hours of poker, only 24 players are still in contention for the massive $1,320,000 first-place prize.
Pieces of the $7,316,600 prize pool started being awarded halfway through the second level of the day, thanks to Yernur Kurbanov becoming the bubble boy in 160th place. However, the majority of the money is still up for grabs, and Yiwen Yuan ended the day in prime position to navigate herself to some of the biggest payouts.
Yuan bagged 25,450,000 after Day 2's long grind. It was the biggest stack of all, and will be worth 85 big blinds when play resumes on Day 3. Yuan already had a Triton ONE Main Event cash to her name, but she has already far surpassed her 82nd-place finish in Jeju in 2025. Yuan is followed in the counts by Mohamed El-Wely. El-Wely hails from Mauritania, a country with just five players on its The Hendon Mob all-time money list, but he is looking to put his country on the poker map and will bring 22,800,000 into Day 3.
Mahmoud Bedoui rounds out the top three as the last player to finish with more than 20 million chips, while Triton Super High Roller Series champion and two-time bracelet winner Alex Anton makes a top-ten appearance with 13,250,000.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yiwen Yuan | China | 24,450,000 | 82 |
| 2 | Mohamed El-Wely | Mauritania | 22,800,000 | 76 |
| 3 | Mahmoud Bedoui | Germany | 22,275,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russian Federation | 17,150,000 | 57 |
| 5 | Ken Tong | Hong Kong | 15,100,000 | 50 |
| 6 | Mehmet Samsa | Turkey | 13,800,000 | 46 |
| 7 | Alex Anton | United States | 13,250,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Zhuoqun Zhang | China | 11,700,000 | 39 |
| 8 | Jingyao Yan | China | 11,700,000 | 39 |
| 10 | Anatolii Savin | Russian Federation | 11,000,000 | 37 |
However, Anton is not the only Triton champion still in contention. Paulius Vaitiekunas has hoisted a Triton SHRS trophy before and sits just outside the top ten with 10,025,000. Meanwhile, five-time winner Mikita Badziakouski lost a big pot in the final minutes of the night and will return as the absolute short stack with 1,450,000, and Jon Vallinas Santos, Triton ONE Player of the Year Leader and runner-up in the Triton ONE Jeju Main Event in March, bagged 5,575,000, continuing his dominance this year just days after binking his first-ever Triton ONE trophy.
Many poker luminaries added a cash to their Triton resume but missed out on a deep run. Triton Poker co-founders Winfred Yu (154th - $12,500) and Paul Phua (63rd - $19,400) both cashed, as did Triton SHRS champions Klemens Roiter (149th - $12,500), Dimitar Danchev (124th - $13,000), Wai Kiat Lee (90th - $16,200), Nacho Barbero (80th - $16,200), Andras Nemeth (66th - $19,400), Punnat Punsri (65th - $19,400), Joao Vieira (60th - $19,400) and Isaac Haxton (50th - $23,000). Most, if not all, of them are expected to stick around as the five- and six-figure buy-ins of the Super High Roller Series are just around the corner.
For now, the spotlight is deservedly on the Triton ONE Main Event. It will resume tomorrow, November 14, at noon local time. Two minutes and 27 seconds remain in Level 25: 150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 big blind ante. Afterward, levels will continue to be 60 minutes long, with a break after every two levels. Day 3 is scheduled to play down to the final six players, who will then bag up and return for the final day on November 15.
The 24 returning players have all secured at least $37,000 for making it this far, and are one elimination away from the pay jump to $44,000. The final eight will all receive six-figure payouts, while making it to Day 3 will guarantee $235,000. However, only the eventual champion will walk away with a seven-figure sum.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,320,000 | 9 | $98,000 | |
| 2 | $793,000 | 10-11 | $83,000 | |
| 3 | $561,000 | 12-13 | $73,500 | |
| 4 | $420,000 | 14-15 | $66,000 | |
| 5 | $321,000 | 16-17 | $58,500 | |
| 6 | $235,000 | 18-20 | $51,000 | |
| 7 | $177,000 | 21-23 | $44,000 | |
| 8 | $127,000 | 24-27 | $37,000 |
PokerNews will be back tomorrow to report the road from 24 to the final six, so make sure to return for our coverage of Day 3.
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Paulius Vaitiekunas | Lithuania | 10,025,000 | 33 |
| 1 | 2 | Yiwen Yuan | China | 24,450,000 | 82 |
| 1 | 3 | Mohamed El-Wely | Mauritania | 22,800,000 | 76 |
| 1 | 5 | Aleksei Istomin | Russian Federation | 9,925,000 | 33 |
| 1 | 6 | Mahmoud Bedoui | Germany | 22,275,000 | 74 |
| 1 | 7 | Anatolii Savin | Ukraine | 11,000,000 | 37 |
| 1 | 8 | Jon Vallinas Santos | Spain | 5,750,000 | 19 |
| 1 | 9 | Biao Ding | China | 8,600,000 | 29 |
| 2 | 1 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 5,825,000 | 19 |
| 2 | 2 | Mehmet Samsa | Turkey | 13,800,000 | 46 |
| 2 | 3 | Thore Boedefeld | Germany | 5,125,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 5 | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russian Federation | 17,150,000 | 57 |
| 2 | 6 | Danilo Velasevic | Serbia | 9,300,000 | 31 |
| 2 | 7 | Mihai Trofim | Moldova | 5,050,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 8 | Alex Anton | United States | 13,250,000 | 44 |
| 2 | 9 | Yue Zhao | China | 3,150,000 | 11 |
| 3 | 1 | Raoul Kanme | Netherlands | 4,750,000 | 16 |
| 3 | 2 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 1,450,000 | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | Juho Suutari | Finland | 6,950,000 | 23 |
| 3 | 5 | Rafael Navas | Spain | 4,750,000 | 16 |
| 3 | 6 | Jingyao Yan | China | 11,700,000 | 39 |
| 3 | 7 | Jakub Sterba | Czechia | 6,975,000 | 23 |
| 3 | 8 | Ken Tong | Hong Kong | 15,100,000 | 50 |
| 3 | 9 | Zhuoqun Zhang | China | 11,700,000 | 39 |
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
The 24 remaining players are bagging their chips, and they will return tomorrow at noon local time to play to the final six.
Stay tuned for their chip counts and a recap of the day.
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Damir Gabdullin pushed all in for 2,900,000 on the button, and big blind Mehmet Samsa flicked in a call.
Damir Gabdullin: Q♠6♠ 
Mehmet Samsa: K♥J♥
Both players paired on the K♦6♦2♠ flop, but Samsa remained in the lead. The 10♣ turn and 9♣ river improved neither player, meaning Gabdullin was eliminated in 25th place and Day 2 concluded.
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Jakub Sterba opened to 600,000 from middle position, Raoul Kanme committed his last 2,000,000 form the cutoff, and Sterba called when the action came back to him.
Raoul Kanme: K♣8♣
Jakub Sterba: K♦J♠
Kanme found himself in a dominated position, but the 4♣3♣A♠ flop brought hope. His flush draw did not come in on the 4♠ turn, but it did on the Q♣ river.
Kanme, who had stood up to watch the hand, celebrated his double-up and quickly sat back down.
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Yue Zhao open-shoved from the small blind, and Biao Ding called for 3,300,000 in the big blind.
Yue Zhao: Q♣9♠
Biao Ding: 5♠5♦
Ding's pair held on the 4♥J♦2♦J♣3♣ runout, so he doubled up.
Meanwhile, over at another table, Mohamed El-Wely had called from the small blind when Juho Suutari pushed all in for 2,600,00 in the hijack.
Juho Suutari: A♥K♣
Mohamed El-Wely: K♠Q♣
The best hand preflop remained the best hand, as the 4♦4♥7♣8♦3♣ board did nothing to harm Suutari's ace-king.
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
It folded to Nikita Kuznetsov, who announced his all-in from the small blind. The big blind was Paulius Vaitiekunas, and he snap-called for 4,500,000.
Paulius Vaitiekunas: K♠K♣
Nikita Kuznetsov: K♥8♣
The 10♠9♠Q♣ flop brought a chance at a chop, but the 2♠ turn and 4♥ river remained safe for Vaitiekunas to double up.
Level 25
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Zhuoqun Zhang raised to 650,000 on the button. The short-stacked Symeon Alexandridis called in the big blind, and both players checked the 10♠Q♦6♦ flop afterward.
Alexandridis then pushed in his last 2,100,000 on the K♦ turn, and Zhang quickly looked him up.
Symeon Alexandridis: J♥10♥
Zhuoqun Zhang: K♥6♠
Zhang had hit two pair on the turn, and none of Alexandridis' outs arrived on the 7♥ river. Alexandridis exited in 25th place, leaving the field one elimination away from the end of the day.