Alexandros Theologis Wins First Event of Triton SHRS Jeju II S5, Victor Chong Falls Just Short

Alexandros Theologis finally got his hands on a Triton Poker trophy, winning the opening event of the latest Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju II S5 at LES A Casino , Jeju, South Korea .

The Greek pro defeated a 206-entry field in the Event #1 $15k – NLH – 8-Handed  to collect $642,000 and his first Triton title. The event generated a $3,090,000 prize pool, with Malaysia’s Victor Chong finishing runner-up for a career-best $431,000.

“I’m of course very excited and very fortunate that I run this well to win,” Theologis said. “I value the Triton trophies above other trophies just because of the competition and the buy-in and so on. So I couldn’t have asked for anything else.”

The victory had been a long time coming for Theologis. Before this win, he had already recorded two third-place finishes and one runner-up finish on the tour, repeatedly coming close without getting over the line. This time, he started strongly and remained among the leaders for much of Day 2 before eventually closing it out at the final table.

But while Theologis entered the final table as the chip leader, it was Chong who emerged as his biggest obstacle.

Theologis Leads the Final Table

Theologis had built a sizeable stack heading into the nine-handed final table, sitting on 11,075,000 chips (74 big blinds). Daniel Rezaei  was second with 49 big blinds, while Punnat Punsri had 44. Chong sat fifth with 28 big blinds.

The final table was packed with familiar Triton names, including Punsri, Wai Kiat Lee , Adrian Mateos and Rezaei, making Theologis’ position at the top all the more significant.

He continued to apply pressure as the short stacks disappeared, including picking up a major knockout when his pocket kings cracked Bernhard Binder’s aces earlier on Day 2. He had also already accounted for Qiang Liu, making quads with pocket kings.

Chong, meanwhile, was quietly building his own route toward the title.

Event #1 $15k – NLH – 8-Handed – Final Table Results

Chong Takes Over

Chong’s run gathered serious momentum six-handed.

With the field down to six, he won a huge pot against Rezaei, getting his pocket jacks all in against Rezaei’s ace-seven. The jacks held, giving Chong a double worth 34 big blinds and moving him into the chip lead.

From there, Chong continued to apply pressure.

He eliminated Rezaei in sixth when his ace-six outlasted Rezaei’s queen-jack, then sent Punsri to the rail in third. Punsri, a six-time Triton champion, made his final stand with ace-three against Chong’s ace-jack. Chong flopped a jack and rivered another to close out the hand and collect the $302,000 third-place prize.

That knockout put Chong heads-up with Theologis – and with a sizeable chip advantage.

Chong Starts Heads-Up in Front

Chong began heads-up with 47 big blinds to Theologis’ 22, putting him in a strong position to finish the job and claim his first Triton title.

Theologis had other plans.

The Greek pro gradually closed the gap, finding an important pot after Chong flopped top pair with queen-four on a queen-seven-five board. Chong check-raised, but Theologis held queen-jack and the stronger kicker. An ace on the turn allowed Chong to escape without losing his entire stack, but Theologis had begun to shift the momentum.

The decisive hand came later.

After Chong limped preflop, both players checked a jack-nine-six flop. Theologis check-called a turn bet before Chong fired nine of his remaining 11 blinds on the king river.

Theologis held queen-nine for third pair.

He called.

Chong’s ace-ten was revealed, and Theologis’ read was perfect. The call left Chong with just two big blinds.

Chong managed one double-up, but could not complete the comeback. His eight-four failed to improve against Theologis’ jack-ten on the very next hand, ending an outstanding run in second place.

Alexandros Theologis Finally Gets His Triton Title

The victory gave Theologis his long-awaited Triton title and a $642,000 payday.

For Chong, the result was equally significant in its own way. He collected $431,000 for second, the biggest result highlighted in the event report, after taking the chip lead deep in the final table and entering heads-up with more than twice Theologis’ stack.

Theologis had threatened to win a Triton title several times before. This time, he finally finished the job.

Chong came even closer – but after controlling much of the late final table and starting heads-up in front, he was ultimately one big call and one flip away from joining Theologis on the Triton winners’ list.

Photos and quotes courtesy of Triton Poker Series.

Follow Us