Jason Koon emerged victorious in the 2025 Triton Poker Montenegro $150,000 no-limit hold’em event, topping a field of 108 entries to capture a record-extending 11th title on the prestigious high-stakes tour. The 39-year-old American poker pro was also awarded $3,393,656, the second-largest score of his illustrious career, bringing his lifetime haul to more than $65 million. As a result, he climbed to fifth place on poker’s all-time money list.
“I’m just at a point in my life now where I’m very comfortable in myself,” Koon told Triton reporters after closing out the win. The father of two noted, “I have an incredible life outside poker, and what that allows me to do is sit down and feel free and play my best. At this final table, I think I did a good job of executing and I played to the best of my abilities.”
This win was made all the more special for Koon given that the final heads-up match for the title pitted him against his longtime friend, Ben Tollerene.
“I got heads up with my best pal and mentor, inspiration to be standing here. About 12 years ago, whenever I first saw an elite poker player, what it took for them to be great, it was through Ben,” said Koon. “Honestly, I never thought at that time I would have the ability to be standing here.”
Koon was already well out ahead of the rest of the pack on Triton’s title leaderboard before this latest triumph. Now, with 11 trident trophies to his name, his six-title lead over the nearest competitors. There is currently a four-way tie for second between five-time champions Phil Ivey, Mikita Badziakouski, Bryn Kenney, and Danny Tang.
While Koon is running away with the Triton title race, it had been a while since his last victory on tour. His tenth win came all the way back in November of 2023, when he took down a $25,000 pot-limit Omaha event in Monte Carlo. It was his sixth title of that year.
The majority of Koon’s career tournament earnings come from his incredible success in Triton events, with more than $33 million accrued across 60 cashes on the tour. That places him second on the Triton all-time money list, behind only Kenney ($48.2 million). Five of his top six paydays have come from title runs in Triton tournaments.
The strong turnout for this event built a final prize pool of $16,200,000 that was split amongst the top 17 finishers. Plenty of stars of the game ran deep, including Joao Simao (15th), Patrik Antonius (13th), Daniel Dvoress (12th), and Santhosh Suvarna (11th).
Final table set for Event #12 $150K NLH at Triton Poker SHRS Montenegro 2025.
This is a final table stacked with some of the most feared names in the game. @JasonKoon, @Matthias_Eibi, Wayne Heung, Ben Tollerene, Eelis Parssinen, @philivey, Christoph Vogelsang, @Limitless_poker,… pic.twitter.com/S0oGlDZQkp
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) May 24, 2025
The final table began with Koon leading the remaining nine contenders. Tollerene was middle of the pack to start, but he eliminated a pair of Super High Roller Bowl champions in Isaac Haxton (9th – $405,000) and Christoph Vogelsang (8th – $543,000) to see him pull closer to Koon near the top of the chip counts.
Polish high-stakes cash game regular Wiktor Malinowski was the next to fall. His last few big blinds went in with Q-7 trailing the A-6 of Koon, which held to narrow the field to six. Malinowski earned $721,000 for his seventh-place showing.
Finnish pot-limit Omaha tournament superstar Eelis Parssinen’s run in this two-card event concluded in sixth place. The all-time PLO money leader got his chips in good with pocket kings leading the pocket jacks of Tollerene, but a jack on the flop turned the tables. Tollerene held from there and Parssinen settled for $943,000.
Matthias Eibinger, who took down the $50,000 turbo event at this stop a few days earlier, ran pocket fives into the pocket kings of a surging Tollerene to finish fifth for $1,195,000. He now boasts career earnings in excess of $26 million after this latest seven-figure windfall.
Poker Hall of Famer and 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Ivey had spent most of the day on a severe short stack. After laddering several spots at the final table, he was eventually eliminated in fourth place when his A♠5♣ clashed with the pocket sevens of Koon in a preflop showdown. Koon made a full house to drag the pot, sending Ivey to the payout desk to collect $1,482,000. With this score, the five-time Triton winner surpassed $50 million in career tournament cashes.
Event #12 – $150K NLH.
Phil Ivey is out in 4th.
A five-time champion with 40 cashes and $15 million in Triton earnings, his legacy is already etched into poker history.
Still, every time he shows up, he reminds the world why he’s a legend. This time, he falls just short of the… pic.twitter.com/bMd5oJdFai
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) May 24, 2025
Wayne Heung bowed out in third place, with 10♦9♦ running into A♠10♣ for Tollerene. Heung pulled ahead after the flop came down K♠J♥9♠, but the Q♠ turn gave Tollerene a straight. The 8♣ river changed nothing and Heung was sent packing with a career-best score of $1,790,000.
Heads-up play began with Tollerene out in front, holding a bit shy of a 3:2 lead over Koon. The two hashed out a deal to redistribute the remaining prize money that saw Tollerene lock up $3,437,344. Koon was assured of at least $3,263,656, with the trophy and $130,000 set aside to play for. Koon doubled up with second pair fading flush and straight draws for Tollerene to see the final two swap spots ahead of the last hand of the tournament.
Koon limped for 300,000 with 6♠6♦ and Tollerene shoved for 6,900,000 total with A♥9♠. Koon called and the board came down 10♠4♦3♠8♠Q♦ to bring the event to an end. Koon’s pocket sixes held to earn him the pot and the title. The more than $3.4 million payout for Tollerene was the second-largest cash of his tournament career, trailing only the $3.5 he secured for a runner-up showing in last year’s WSOP $250,000 buy-in super high roller. His career haul now sits at over $26 million.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Jason Koon | $3,393,656 | 1200 |
| 2 | Ben Tollerene | $3,437,344 | 1000 |
| 3 | Wayne Heung | $1,790,000 | 800 |
| 4 | Phil Ivey | $1,482,000 | 600 |
| 5 | Matthias Eibinger | $1,195,000 | 500 |
| 6 | Eelis Parssinen | $943,000 | 400 |
| 7 | Wiktor Malinowski | $721,000 | 300 |
| 8 | Christoph Vogelsang | $543,000 | 200 |
| 9 | Isaac Haxton | $405,000 | 100 |
Jason Koon’s Eleven Triton Titles
11 titles.@JasonKoon has once again proven why he’s one of the most respected forces in the game, capturing his 11th title — the most in Triton Poker history.
Koon’s journey is built on discipline, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. And with every title, his… pic.twitter.com/pAXRkG28nf
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) May 25, 2025
Photo credit: Triton Poker / Drew Amato.
