Jason Koon’s name is all over the Triton Super High Roller Series record books, and rightfully so. His 12 Triton titles, more than twice as many as any other player, are all the more impressive given his impeccable 12-3 heads-up Triton record heading into the conclusion of the $100,000 buy-in short deck event in Jeju.
But after a drawn-out final table, at which Koon’s 13th trident trophy seemed in reach, Daniel Dvoress ultimately saddled Koon with his fourth career runner-up Triton finish. Dvoress earned his third career Triton title, and first since 2023, claiming a first-place prize of $1,380,000. The 37-year-old Canadian’s eighth career seven-figure tournament cash pushed his career earnings to over $53 million.
Dvoress’ win in Jeju also earned him 600 Card Player Player of the Year points. His third qualifying result of 2026 moved him into the top 100 of the yearlong leaderboard presented by CoinPoker.
Koon settled for second place and $997,000, swelling his lifetime career earnings to $71,812,748. That’s good for third place on poker’s all-time money list, trailing only Bryn Kenney ($82,040,039) and Stephen Chidwick ($77,037,386).
A Long Day In Korea
A total of 46 entrants put up the six-figure buy-in to play this short deck showdown. There was still a lot of work left to be done on day 2 of the tournament, with 20 players having bagged up at the end of the previous night. It would take seven hours of poker just to reach the money bubble.
Koon did the dirty work from there, eliminating Ferdinand Putra in ninth place in brutal fashion. His pocket queens were well behind Putra’s kings, but Koon ran out a runner-runner queen-high straight to knock Putra out on the bubble for the second time this week.
Ferdinand Putra gets it all-in with kings against @JasonKoon on the stone-cold bubble.
What could go wrong..? pic.twitter.com/BVEIYZTcB7
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) March 17, 2026
Michael Zhang went out in eighth place, the second straight time he’d finished in that exact position. It was a strong week of short deck poker overall for Zhang, who also finished fifth in another short deck event earlier in the week. He cashed for $381,000 across his three final-table finishes in as many days.
Koon had a sizable chip lead as the official final table got underway. That advantage grew when the 40-year-old American poker pro picked up pocket aces and held against Michael Watson’s pocket queens. Watson, a five-time Triton champion, WSOP bracelet winner, World Poker Tour, and European Poker Tour winner, earned $235,000 for his seventh-place finish.
On the very next hand, Wai Leong Chan got the last of his chips in with K♦J♦ against Dvoress’ A♦9♦. Both players eventually made diamond flushes, but Dvoress’ ace-high flush claimed the pot and knocked out Chan in sixth ($293,000).
Grinding It Out
After an extended stretch of five-handed play, Winfred Yu battled Ruslan Khadartsev in the next key pot. Khadartsev committed his stack with a preflop raise, holding A♠9♠, and ran into Yu’s A♣J♥. Yu made a straight by the turn, knocking Khadartsev out in fifth place ($378,000). This was Khadartsev’s second career Triton cash, following another fifth-place finish in a short deck event in Jeju back in September.
Koon picked up pocket queens once again four-handed, and he had Kiat Lee’s A♣J♥ in trouble. Koon flopped top set and rivered a full house, ending Lee’s hopes of going back-to-back. One day after winning a $50,000 short deck event for his third Triton trophy, Lee settled for fourth place and $487,000.
Koon, Dvoress, and Yu each took turns exchanging the lead three-handed. As action stretched deep into the night, the stacks got shallower and the pressure ramped up higher.
Dvoress found a stroke of good luck with his tournament life on the line. He got all in with K♥7♣ against Yu’s A♥10♥, and fell well behind on a A♣10♣7♦ flop. Dvoress found a runner-runner straight, though, and the three stacks tightened up once again.
Fighting Finale
Yu had to fight back, but he earned two double-ups to pull himself back into contention. But with big antes coming around quickly at the three-handed table, he soon slipped back down to the edge. Dvoress picked up the last of Yu’s chips when his 9♣7♦ flopped a pair to beat Yu’s A♠10♦.
There would be no deals on this day, essentially making the heads-up battle between Dvoress and Koon a $383,000 match. With the stacks nearly even, Koon found deja vu, as his pocket queens took on Dvoress’ A♦J♥. Koon had a slightly smaller stack to start the hand, but he’d have almost all of the chips in play if pocket queens once again served him well.
Short Deck. Long Game.
After a grueling, all-night battle, @DDvoress outlasts the field to claim his 3rd Triton title. pic.twitter.com/coW6Oghupj
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) March 17, 2026
This time around, though, the deck had other ideas. An A♥ on the flop left Koon searching for a two-outer to pull out the victory. There would be no relief, though, as Dvoress won the pot and stood tall.
Koon grew his Triton earnings to over $37.4 million with this close call, keeping him in second-place on the tour’s all-time money list. Bryn Kenney tops that leaderboard with $50.8 million.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | Points |
| 1 | Daniel Dvoress | $1,380,000 | 600 |
| 2 | Jason Koon | $997,000 | 500 |
| 3 | Winfred Yu | $646,000 | 400 |
| 4 | Kiat Lee | $487,000 | 300 |
| 5 | Ruslan Khadartsev | $378,000 | 250 |
| 6 | Wai Leong Chan | $293,000 | 200 |
| 7 | Michael Watson | $235,000 | 150 |
Photo credit: Triton Poker.
