Aleksejs Ponakovs had made the money over 30 times in Triton Poker events, accumulating $19.5 million in earnings across those scores. While he had four separate multi-million-dollar cashes on the tour in close calls, he’d never managed to capture a trident trophy.
That all changed when the Latvian poker pro defeated a field of 237 entries in the $100,000 Triton no-limit hold’em main event at this year’s World Series of Poker Paradise festival. The 34-year-old Riga native secured his first title on the tour, his third career WSOP gold bracelet, and a career-best payday of $4,750,000.
He now has more than $37 million in total tournament earnings to his name, with $24.3 million of that coming from his success in Triton events.
“I don’t know where to start,” Ponakovs told Triton staff after coming out on top. “I was not even planning to go here, and I’m glad I’m here.”
This triumph came with 1,920 Card Player Player of the Year points, enough to move Ponakovs into 21st place on the POY leaderboard presented by CoinPoker. This was his third title and 11th final-table finish of 2025. His earlier wins included a €25,000 title at the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo and a victory in a $25,000 event at the Wynn Summer Classic.
Prize Pool Surges Thanks To Massive Turnout
With 237 entries, there was $23,700,000 paid out amongst the top 39 finishers in this event. Some of the most accomplished players in the game were among those who cashed, including Isaac Haxton (34th), Espen Jorstad (31st), Alex Foxen (31st), Sergio Aido (27th), Shannon Shorr (25th), Chino Rheem (22nd), Ben Heath (21st), and Kiat Lee (20th).
The final two tables were no less star-studded, with recent bracelet winner David Coleman (17th), two-time POY award winner Stephen Chidwick (16th), Alex Kulev (16th), Masato Yokosawa (15th), Jun Obara (12th), and all-time Triton titles leader Jason Koon (10th) among those who ran deep but fell just short of the final table.
🏆 The best came to Paradise… and it all comes down to this!
The Final Table of the $100K Triton Main Event is live. One stage. One title. One last push for glory.
Streaming live from @WSOP Paradise at @atlantisbahamas with @GGPoker. pic.twitter.com/BYTBEgvqFP
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) December 11, 2025
Five-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos was the next to fall. The two-time Triton champion ran A-K suited into the pocket aces of Wang Ye to settle for $495,000. Jean-Noel Thorel soon followed in eighth place ($597,000) when he made a big call on the end with queens and sixes, only to lose to the kings and sixes of Manuel Fritz.
Wang Yang’s run concluded in seventh place when he ran A♣9♥ into the A♥A♦ of Pedro Padilha, and the board brought no help. Wang earned $813,000 for his efforts, ensuring seven-figure scores for the remaining six contenders.
Ponakovs Rising
Eelis Parssinen recorded the second-largest score of his career in this event, finishing sixth for $1,107,000. The bracelet winner from Finland got all-in with A♦Q♥ and found himself trailing the K♠K♦ of Fritz. The pocket pair held up to narrow the field to five.
German bracelet winner Klemens Roiter’s strong 2025 continued with a fifth-place showing in this huge event. After being ground down to seven big blinds, he got all-in with K♠7♠ dominated by the A♠K♣ of Ponakovs. The superior preflop holding remained best after the board was dealt and Roiter headed to the rail to collect $1,462,000. This was a new personal best, topping the $1.2 million that came with his bracelet in this year’s Monster Stack event at the WSOP. Roiter is now ranked sixth in the POY rankings, having won two titles and reached 18 final tables in 2025.
A preflop coin flip spelled the end of Wang’s run. His A♣J♠ could not outrace the pocket threes of Ponakovs, who flopped a set and held from there. Wang was awarded $1,865,000 as the fourth-place finisher, cresting $10 million in lifetime cashes in the process.
A battle of the blinds led to the next elimination. Ponakovs jammed from the small blind with A♣5♦ and Fritz found A♦Q♦ in the big blind. He called off his stack of nine blinds and was in great shape to double, but Ponakovs spiked a five to turn the tables. The final board read 5♣5♠2♣3♦8♠. Fritz secured $2,311,000 for his podium showing.
Heads-Up For The Gold
Ponakovs held 37,300,000 to the 22,000,000 of Padilha when heads-up play began. He extended his lead even further in the early going, leaving Padilha with just over 21 big blinds ahead of the final hand of the tournament.
The hand began with a button limp from Ponakovs. Padilha jammed for 17,000,000 with A♦9♠ and was quickly called by Ponakovs, who held 9♥9♣. The 7♠4♣3♦Q♥10♠ runout changed nothing and Padilha was eliminated in second place ($3,160,000). The Brazilian has been on a tear this year, with four of his top five scores recorded in 2025. This was the largest yet. It brought his career earnings to just shy of $6.7 million.
Padilha also climbed inside the top 50 in the POY standings thanks to his performance in this event. He now has one title and five final-table finishes on the year.
🏆 MAIN EVENT MOMENT!
Aleks Ponakovs @DamageLV captures the $100K Main Event title at @WSOP Paradise, outlasting a monster field as everything aligned in the final stretch and the sun shined bright on his run to the finish.
Presented from @atlantisbahamas with @GGPoker. pic.twitter.com/azSSPWHb7G
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) December 12, 2025
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | $4,750,000 | 1920 |
| 2 | Pedro Padilha | $3,160,000 | 1600 |
| 3 | Manuel Fritz | $2,311,000 | 1280 |
| 4 | Ye Wang | $1,865,000 | 960 |
| 5 | Klemens Roiter | $1,462,000 | 800 |
| 6 | Eelis Parssinen | $1,107,000 | 640 |
| 7 | Yang Wang | $813,000 | 480 |
| 8 | Jean Noel Thorel | $597,000 | 320 |
| 9 | Adrian Mateos | $495,000 | 160 |
Photo credit: Triton Poker.
