Triton Co-Founder Paul Phua Wins 10th Anniversary Special Tournament For $3.2 Million

In 2016, Paul Phua co-founded the Triton Poker Series with Richard Yong. In the decade that followed, the tour rose to the highest levels of prestige. All the while, Phua matched the success of the tour with his own victories on the felt. It is only fitting that Phua emerged victorious in the 2026 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju $150,000 no-limit hold’em 10th Anniversary Special tournament. For the win, the Malaysian businessman and poker player secured his second trident trophy and a career-best score of $3,226,000.

Phua now has more than $37.8 million in lifetime earnings, with over $25.2 million of that coming from his 55 Triton cashes over the years.

“I’m a bit lost for words,” an emotional Phua told Triton staff after coming out on top. “We have a great team, and many great supporters. Many of them are not professional tournament players. They keep coming back. I just want to thank you all.”

Phua also took time to speak about his late friend and Triton regular Ivan Leow, whose name now graces the tour’s Player of the Year award.

“I also want to thank Ivan, who is upstairs. Ivan was one of our founding players. Thank you, Ivan.”

In addition to the trophy and the money, Phua also scooped 960 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his first win and second final-table finish of 2026, having also finished second in the $50,000 short deck earlier this festival for $594,000. His 1,470 total points is currently good for 50th place in the POY rankings presented by CoinPoker.

Phua Tangles With Stacked Field

With 81 total entries, the top 13 finishers ultimately earned a share of the $12,150,000 prize pool. Several of the biggest names in the game were among those who cashed but fell short of the final table, including Isaac Haxton (13th), 12-time Triton champion Jason Koon (11th), and Kayhan Mokri (10th).

Rising high-stakes American pro Brandon Wilson held the chip lead when the final nine converged onto a single table, with Phua in fourth chip position. Russia’s Artur Martirosian was the first to fall, with his Q♠J♠ unable to come from behind against Wilson’s A♣10♥. The four-time Triton champion and three-time bracelet winner earned $340,000 for his ninth-place showing.

Phua’s push towards the upper reaches of the chip counts began when he knocked out Germany’s Klemens Roiter in eighth place ($450,000). It was a preflop cooler, with pocket aces against A-K. The superior hand held up and Phua scored his first knockout of the final table. His second soon followed, with his A♦3♠ besting Q♠J♥ for three-time bracelet winner Aleksejs Ponakovs. Neither player improved, and the Latvian pro was sent packing in seventh place ($577,000).

Two Triton Titans Bow Out In Quick Succession

Mikita Badziakouski is among the seven tournament superstars who are currently tied for the second-most Triton titles, having won five times on this tour so far. The Belarusian’s latest deep run concluded in sixth place ($729,000) when his K♦J♠ was unable to outrun the pocket nines of Elton Tsang.

This score pushed Badziakouski’s career tournament earnings over $71.1 million. He is one of just four players in the history of the game to surpass the $70-million mark.

The very next hand also saw a five-time Triton champion sent to the rail. Danny Tang also got all-in preflop in a coin flip situation. For him, it was A♥K♥ against the pocket sixes of Wilson, who spiked a set and held from there to narrow the field to four. Tang earned $936,000 as the fifth-place finisher, growing his lifetime haul to $38.5 million in the process.

Setting The Final Showdown

Wilson kept up his momentum with the elimination of Dutch pro Johannes Straver. The short-stacked Straver got all-in with K♠10♣ leading the 5♠4♠ of Wilson, but a K♥8♦6♥7♠4♦ runout gave Wilson an eight-high straight and the knockout.

With that, Wilson took a hefty lead into three-handed action. Phua closed the gap a bit thanks to a key clash with Tsang. Phua opened with A♠6♦ and received a call from Tsang, who held Q♠10♦ in the big blind. Both checked after a K♠J♥3♠ flop and the turn brought the J♠ to give both players flush draws. Tsang bet 300,000 and Phua called. Both hit on the 9♠ river. Tsang led out for 800,000, only to have Phua move all-in. Tsang thought it over for a bit before making the call for 1,975,000 total. Phua’s higher flush earned him the pot and the knockout, ending Tsang’s run in third place ($1,482,000).

💥 When @paulphuapoker and Elton Tsang battle, you already know it’ll be fireworks. pic.twitter.com/tprYC72tMq

— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) March 27, 2026

This was the third final-table finish of the series for Tsang, who also finished third in the $100,000 no-limit hold’em main event ($1.8 million) and sixth in a $50,000 short deck event ($188,000). With 1,884 total POY points, he has climbed inside the top 20 in the overall standings.

Wilson Vs. Phua

The heads-up showdown began with Wilson holding 69 big blinds to Phua’s 39. That gap was all but erased in the early going. Then, Phua picked off a big bluff attempt with ace high to overtake the lead.

Phua then began to extend his advantage ahead of the final deal of the tournament. Wilson limped in with A♥8♦ on the button for 300,000 total and Phua raised to 900,000 from the big blind with Q♥Q♦. Wilson limp-shoved for 6,775,000 and Phua made the quick call.

The board came down K♦2♥2♣4♣8♠ and Phua’s pocket queens held to lock up the pot and the title.

Wilson earned a new career-best score of $2,241,000 as the runner-up. This was his third final table and second-runner-up finish of the festival, having placed eighth in a $30,000 buy-in and second in the $50,000 seven-max. This spree in South Korea has brought Wilson’s total final-table finishes on the year to 11, with three titles won. His 5,205 POY points give him a 1,705-point lead over second-ranked Quan Zhou in the 2026 standings.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: Triton Poker Series.