Ponakovs in Pole Position to End Triton Hoodoo in $100,000 Main Event
Aleksejs Ponakovs and Pedro Padilha stole the show on Day 2 of Event #9: $100,000 Triton Main Even at the World Series of Poker Paradise. Just 11 players survived a long 12-level session inside Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas, and the story of the day belonged to the two players who traded the chip lead for hours.
The duo spent most of the afternoon and evening wrestling control of the counts from one another, but once the final hands were dealt, it was Triton veteran Ponakovs who finished on top. He bagged 13,250,000 to Padilha’s 10,400,000 as both players continue their push toward a first Triton trophy.
Padilha and Ponakovs come into the final day on opposite ends of the Triton experience spectrum. Ponakovs has been a series staple for years, first appearing in 2022 and building a résumé that includes 31 cashes and more than $19.5 million in Triton earnings. He’s widely regarded as one of the best players without a Triton title, finishing runner-up twice but never managing to close one out.
Padilha, meanwhile, only made his Triton debut this week. The online crusher announced himself quickly, impressing by finsihing tenth in the $125,000 NLH 7-Handed for $254,000. Despite the huge difference in Triton mileage, the two now find themselves on the same path, and both are well positioned to make a run at the title when play resumes at 1 p.m. on Thursday December 11.
But nothing is guaranteed. Adrian Mateos, a two-time Triton champion, sits third with 9,750,000. Two spots behind him is Eelis Parssinen, another Triton title winner. And then there is Jason Koon, the most decorated player in Triton history. Koon brings a below-average 3,000,000 into the finale, but with 12 Triton titles and the second-highest total earnings on the tour, he is never out of contention. If anyone can turn a short stack into a run at the trophy, it is Koon.
The rest of the field includes several players hunting for their first Triton win: Ye Wang, Jean-Noel Thorel, Triton debutant Kelvin Kerber, Yang Wang, Klemens Roiter and Manuel Fritz all remain in the mix.
$100,000 Triton Main Event Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | 13,250,000 | 106 |
| 2 | Pedro Padilha | Brazil | 10,400,000 | 83 |
| 3 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 9,750,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Ye Wang | China | 5,475,000 | 44 |
| 5 | Eelis Parssinen | Finland | 4,700,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | 3,850,000 | 31 |
| 7 | Kelvin Kerber | Brazil | 3,350,000 | 27 |
| 8 | Jason Koon | United States | 3,000,000 | 24 |
| 9 | Klemens Roiter | 2,300,000 | 18 | |
| 10 | Manuel Fritz | Austria | 1,700,000 | 14 |
| 11 | Yang Wang | China | 1,500,000 | 12 |
Day 2 Recap
With late registration open until the start of the day, another 38 players joined the 102 who bagged on Day 1. That pushed the total field to 237 entries, 55 more than last year, creating the second-largest Triton Main Event in history. The top 39 players would take a share of the $23,700,000 prize pool.
Some of the biggest names in poker fell before the money, including Daniel Negreanu, Patrik Antonius, Jesse Lonis and Kristen Foxen.
The stone bubble belonged to this year’s WSOP Hall of Fame inductee Nick Schulman, who got his last 21 big blinds in with ace-queen suited but ran into Stephen Chidwick’s ace-king. Schulman could not find a lifeline, and his exit locked up at least $164,000 for everyone else.
2022 WSOP Main Event champion Espen Jorstad, who skipped the summer WSOP, made a deep run that ended in 31st place. He finished just behind defending champion Alex Foxen. David Coleman, fresh off his win in the $125K event, bowed out in 17th to set up the final two tables.
Chidwick exited in 16th and Masato Yokosawa fell in 15th after Koon flopped quads. Alex Kulev, Hannes Jeschka and Jun Obara were the final eliminations of the night.
All remaining players have secured $415,000 and are just three knockouts away from the final table, where the minimum payout rises to $597,000. The top six will earn seven-figure prizes with a massive $4,750,000 set aside for the winner, along with the WSOP bracelet and the Triton trophy.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $4,750,000 |
| 2 | $3,160,000 |
| 3 | $2,311,000 |
| 4 | $1,865,000 |
| 5 | $1,462,000 |
| 6 | $1,107,000 |
| 7 | $813,000 |
| 8 | $597,000 |
| 9 | $495,000 |
| 10 | $415,000 |
| 11 | $415,000 |
Play resumes on Thursday, December 11 at 1 p.m. local time on Level 23 with blinds at 75,000/150,000 and a 150,000 big blind ante. STream coverage and live updates will begin at 2 p.m.
As always, stay with PokerNews throughout Thursday as we bring you coverage of the finale and crown the next Triton Main Event champion at WSOP Paradise.