The action seamlessly transitioned from the mid-stakes Triton One to the nosebleed-stakes Triton Super High Roller Series over the weekend at LES A Casino on the South Korean island of Jeju. The early offerings from the new slate of tournaments were centered around short deck action, with millions in prize money already awarded through two completed events.
The larger of the two tournaments in question was a $50,000 buy-in short deck affair, which drew 60 entrants to build a $3 million prize pool. After two days of high-octane competition, Kiat Lee emerged victorious with the $840,000 top prize and his third career Triton title. The Malaysian player now boasts more than $21.4 million in lifetime earnings, with more than $18.1 million of that coming from his 48 cashes on this particular tour.
The final battle for the trophy pitted Lee against Triton co-founder Paul Phua, a bracelet winner and Triton champion in his own right. Lee was ultimately able to overcome his countryman, closing out the win to send Phua packing with $594,000.
“He’s like a father to me,” Lee told Triton staff when asked about the showdown for the trophy. “Paul is pretty important in my poker career. Without him, I wouldn’t be here in this Triton field.”
Several other high-stakes fixtures were among the ten players to make the money in this event, including Michael Zhang (8th), Winfred Yu (7th), Elton Tsang (6th), Mikita Badziakouski (5th), Ding Biao (4th), and Lun Loon (3rd).
$50,000 Short Deck Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Kiat Lee | $840,000 | 612 |
| 2 | Paul Phua | $594,000 | 510 |
| 3 | Lun Loon | $400,000 | 408 |
| 4 | Biao Ding | $304,000 | 306 |
| 5 | Mikita Badziakouski | $240,000 | 255 |
| 6 | Elton Tsang | $188,000 | 204 |
| 7 | Winfred Yu | $146,000 | 153 |
The Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju began in earnest with the $25,000 buy-in short deck event, which wrapped up one day before the $50,000 version.
Rene Van Krevelen came out on top of a field of 40 entries, securing his first trident trophy and the top prize of $308,000. The Dutch player now has nearly $4.1 million in career cashes to his name. Like Lee, the majority of Van Krevelen’s earnings ($2.7 million) have come from Triton scores.
Both Michael Zhang (5th) and Lun Loon (2nd) managed to make the final tables of each of these two tournaments, with Loon scoring a pair of podium showings. He already has $622,000 in cashes for the series.
Several superstars of the tour were among the seven players who earned a share of the $975,000 prize pool, including five-time champion Danny Tang (6th), three-time champion Stephen Chidwick (4th), and 12-time champion Jason Koon (3rd).
Koon now has more than $36.4 million in Triton earnings, which is the second-most of any player. He trails only Bryn Kenney ($50.8 million) on that illustrious leaderboard. Chidwick is close behind with $33.3 million.
$25,000 Short Deck Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Rene Van Krevelen | $308,000 | 420 |
| 2 | Lun Loon | $222,000 | 350 |
| 3 | Jason Koon | $141,000 | 280 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | $107,000 | 210 |
| 5 | Michael Zhang | $83,000 | 175 |
| 6 | Danny Tang | $63,000 | 140 |
| 7 | Alp Lin | $51,000 | 105 |
Photo credits: Triton Poker.
