Kayhan Mokri Wins $7.7 Million In WSOP Paradise Triton Invitational

The Triton Invitational has become a staple of the super high roller tour’s festival schedule. The unique offering includes gaudy buy-in, even by high roller standards, and an effort to balance the scales by having an equal number of professionals and wealthy amateurs in the field.

At the 2025 World Series of Poker Paradise festival, in a $250,000 edition of the Triton Invitational that drew tremendous numbers, Kayhan Mokri stood alone when the final card of the tournament hit the felt. The Norwegian pro earned a career-best $7,725,000 first-place prize, his first WSOP bracelet, and his third career Triton title.

“I don’t know what’s going on, to be honest,” the 31-year-old said to Triton media staff, of winning his third Triton title in the last 13 months. “I’m very perplexed by the whole thing. I don’t know, I keep showing up, and I keep turning it into a win somehow. I’m having the year of my life, and honestly, I’m very happy. I don’t know what to say.”

Mokri’s tournament record for 2025 is particularly impressive, on a limited schedule. He’s cashed in eight live tournaments, all high rollers, and won five of them. With this latest marquee triumph, his earnings on the year have ballooned to more than $12.9 million, while his career haul sits at over $20.8 million.

Seven-Figure Paydays

Even on Triton‘s inflated scale of payouts, the 2025 WSOP Paradise edition of the Triton Invitational was enormous. There were 49 amateurs with invites and 49 pros who turned out to the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas, each forking over $250,000. Before registration closed, there were an additional 35 re-entries. In all, the total prize pool swelled to a staggering $33,250,000.

Mokri entered the final day of this tournament with a considerable chip lead, but there were still 14 players in the field. He never yielded the top position, though there were a few moments that nearly knocked him off his perch.

He eventually defeated Gabriel Andrade heads-up for the title. Andrade, who is from Ecuador, was one of five non-professionals at the final table. That group also included Albert Daher. Daher, who was the player who invited Mokri into the tournament, finished third, falling at Mokri’s hand.

“Albert and me are great friends and I always enjoy playing with him,” Mokri said, jokingly adding, “But he got kind of annoying, so I kicked him to the curb in the end.”

The Triton Invitational format sequesters players in one of two starting sessions. In this instance, the 49 amateurs played in one day 1 group and the 49 pros played in a separate starting session. On day 2 they combined and reached the money, with 23 players cashing for at least $389,000.

The 14 players who came back were guaranteed at least $515,000, and half of them, the top 7, would each earn a seven-figure payout.

The Power Of Pocket Nines

Getting down to a final table of nine took less than three hours, with Mokri knocking off multi-time Triton champion and 2023 WPT Big One for One Drop winner Mikita Badziakouski in 10th place.

On that hand, Mokri’s pocket nines held against Badziakouski’s overcards, A♦10♥. Those pocket nines would come up big again in short order.

The breakdown of the final table was four pros and five from the other side of the day 1 divide. Mokri, Jonathan Jaffe, Thomas Boivin, and Sergio Aido on the pro side, and Andrade, Daher, Tyler Stafman, Cong Pham, and Monika Hrabec among those who had invites to share.

Stafman knocked out Hrabec in the first elimination of the final table, as pocket aces flopped a set to crush Hrabec’s pocket eights. For ninth place, Hrabec won $771,000. Her previous best result in a live tournament came in the 2025 EPT Malta main event, where Hrabec finished 101st for $11,291.

Mokri played one of the biggest pots of the tournament against Pham, in another coin flip in which Mokri held pocket nines. Pham had A♠K♠, and flopped two aces. After a blank on the turn, Mokri drilled the 9♥ on the river to make a full house. Mokri had not only bolstered his chip lead but also knocked off Pham in eighth ($967,000).

FINAL TABLE MADNESS!

This one will have your heart racing (@KayhanMok‘s certainly was).

The drama continues at the Triton Invitational Final Table, presented by @GGPoker and @YEET. pic.twitter.com/cAuunXG2ZO

— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) December 9, 2025

Mokri Maneuvers Masterfully

With $1.3 million locked up, the eliminations continued to roll. Aido, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, lost a coin flip with pocket sevens against Daher’s A♠J♥ to go out seventh ($1,320,000). Andrade coolered Stafman, with pocket eights against 8♣6♣ on a K♣8♠6♦3♠ board for a massive double-up. Daher then took the last of Stafman’s (6th – $1,780,000) chips with a turned king-high straight.

Mokri and Daher weren’t the only invitee/pro pairing to collectively make the final table. Stafman’s invited player, Boivin, was still in the running five-handed. Andrade picked him off too, though. The chips went in preflop, with Boivin’s A♥10♣ against Andrade’s pocket tens. Andrade extended his lead on a Q♥J♥10♠ flop, but Boivin had outs, which grew on the A♠ turn. The river bricked, though, and Boivin was out in fifth place ($2,290,000).

For the third time in 2025, Boivin recorded a seven-figure live result that set a new career high. He also finished runner-up in the NAPT Las Vegas main event in November.

While he avoided the dirty work for long stretches, Mokri maintained a comfortable lead heading into four-handed play. It grew once again when Mokri eliminated Jaffe in fourth place. On this occasion, the pocket nines belonged to Mokri’s opponent. His K♦Q♦ improved on every street, and his two-pair, kings and queens, were best. Jaffe secured a career-best payday of $2,860,000 as the fourth-place finisher. The World Poker Tour main event winner surpassed $20 million in lifetime earnings with this score.

Mokri extended his chip lead further still when a flopped gutshot straight turned into a runner-runner spade flush. He held 32 million chips at that point, compared to a combined 11 million between Daher and Andrade.

Finishing The Job

Daher’s stack continued to dwindle from there until he got his last few chips in with Q♥8♣ against Mokri’s A♦K♥. There was a king and a queen on the flop, and the turn and river changed nothing. Daher earned his first career seven-figure tournament result, taking home $3,490,000 for third place. He also made the final table of another prestigious WSOP event this year, placing sixth in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $224,077.

Andrade battled for a short stretch, but he never gained much momentum during the heads-up clash. Andrade called off the last of his chips with 9♠5♥ on a Q♦9♣7♦ flop. He was up against two pair for Mokri, who held 9♥7♣. The K♠ turn card offered a few extra chop outs, but the 2♦ river ended the tournament in Mokri’s favor. For finishing second, Andrade’s first-ever Triton cash was worth $5,240,000. He now has nearly $7.7 million in total scores to his name.

This win doubles Mokri’s previous career best, a $3,835,059 Triton victory in Jeju back in September. It also saw Mokri surpass Espen Jorstad to claim the top spot on the Norwegian money list. The 2022 WSOP main event champion has $20,015,823, while Mokri’s current total sits at $20,866,877.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: Triton Poker.