Michael Watson woke up on May 18, 2026 with five trident trophies in his collection. However, by the time he went to sleep, he had become just the fourth player in Triton Poker history to capture six or more titles.
The 42-year-old triple crown winner from Canada is now tied with Matthias Eibinger and Punnat Punsri for second on the tour’s title leaderboard. Only Jason Koon, a 12-time champion, has managed more victories in Triton events.
“Any time you get to lift a Triton trophy, it’s definitely meaningful,” Watson told Triton staff after closing out the win. “I’m now back in a tie for second in the most Triton trophies, so it’s pretty cool.”
Ultimately, Watson defeated a field of 84 entries in the $30,000 no-limit hold’em turbo event at the 2026 Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro presented by CoinPoker. Watson earned $659,000 as the last player standing, growing his career haul to more than $38.8 million. His 47 Triton cashes account for more than $19.4 million of that total.
In addition to the title and the money, Watson also earned 672 Card Player Player of the Year points for this triumph. This was his first title and seventh final-table finish of 2026. With 1,991 total points, he now sits just outside the top 50 in the yearlong standings.
From 84 To Seven
The solid turnout for this fast-paced affair made for a prize pool of $2,520,000, with the top 14 finishers splitting that sum.
Mehdi Chaoui burst the money bubble when his A♥Q♣ outran the K♠10♠ of two-time Triton champion Adrian Mateos.
A flurry of eliminations quickly narrowed the field to the final table as Hannes Jeschka (14th – $48,000), Sebastian Gaehl (13th – $48,000), Selahaddin Bedir (12th – $48,000), Benjamin Tollerene (11th – $54,000), and Jesse Lonis (10th – $54,000) all hit the rail fairly soon after Mateos was knocked out.
Maher Nouira (9th – $66,000) was the first to fall at the final table, with his A♥Q♣ unable to hold against the dominated K♥Q♥ of Anatoly Zlotnikov. In short order, he was joined by Cong Pham (8th – $91,000), whose K♥10♦ was bested by the J♥10♠ of Chaoui after the chips went in preflop.
Setting The Final Three
Patrik Antonius hopped into this event after finishing seventh in the $50,000 eight-max event that wrapped up earlier in the day for $261,000. He hit the rail in the exact same position after Zlotnikov’s K♥J♠ outdrew his A♥Q♦. Antonius earned $118,000 for his efforts in this event. With this deep run, the Poker Hall of Famer from Finland has now made three final tables at this festival. He also placed fifth in the $30,000 eight-max event for $275,000.
Chaoui scored another knockout with K♥5♠. He held against the Q♠2♠ of Thomas Boivin (6th – $151,000) to narrow the field to five. Not long after that, he looked down at K♥K♣ facing a jam from Samuel Mullur, who had K♦Q♠. Mullur was unable to pull off the come-from-behind win and was eliminated in fifth place ($193,000).
The next bustout was quite similar, with Tom Fuchs running K♦Q♦ into the Q♠Q♥ of Watson. The flop brought a queen and Watson held from there to send Fuchs packing in fourth ($241,000).
Over In A Flash
Zlotnikov, who won the $25,000 eight max event a few days earlier for $715,000, was the next to run into the Chaoui buzzsaw. His last stand in this event pitted Q♦10♠ against pocket kings for Chaoui. The big pair held and Zlotnikov headed to the payout desk to collect $299,000 as the third-place finisher.
Chaoui, who won the turbo at the Triton Jeju stop a couple of months earlier, was out in front to start. However, the momentum shifted when Watson won a big one with a rivered king-high straight besting flopped trips for the Moroccan. Chaoui was left with a dozen big blinds while Watson surged to 56 big blinds.
There was one double-up for the shorter stack from there, but Watson was still well out in front by the time the final hand arrived. Chaoui got the last of his chips in with J♣8♣ flipping against pocket fives for Watson. Chaoui was unable to win the race and was eliminated in second place ($450,000). This was his 10th final table of 2026. He now sits in 11th place in the POY rankings, which are presented by CoinPoker.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Michael Watson | $659,000 | 672 |
| 2 | Mehdi Chaoui | $450,000 | 560 |
| 3 | Anatoly Zlotnikov | $299,000 | 448 |
| 4 | Tom Fuchs | $241,000 | 336 |
| 5 | Samuel Mullur | $193,000 | 280 |
| 6 | Thomas Boivin | $151,000 | 224 |
| 7 | Patrik Antonius | $118,000 | 168 |
| 8 | Cong Pham | $91,000 | 112 |
| 9 | Maher Nouira | $66,000 | 56 |
Photo credits: Triton Poker.
