Hall of Famer Nick Schulman Finds His Second Triton Title Eight Years After His First – Both in Jeju

Imagine deciding not to make the trip, only for circumstances to change and eventually find yourself heads-up for a prestigious Triton Poker title worth nearly $4 million.

That was how Nick Schulman’s Jeju story began.

The 41-year-old American had originally planned to stay home, but his friend Eric Wasserson needed to win $5 million on High Stakes Poker for Schulman to make the journey to Korea. Wasserson got there, Schulman made the trip, and several days later he was sitting at the final table of the Triton Jeju $100K Main Event .

There was another twist before he got there. Just two days earlier, Schulman had lost a heads-up battle to Matthew Wantman . This time, he would get all the way to the other side of the tournament.

Nick Schulman Wins Triton Jeju II $100K Main Event

After defeating Bernhard Binder heads-up, Nick Schulman won the $100K NLH Main Event at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju II S5 in LES A Casino , for $3,854,888 from a $19.6 million prize pool. It was his second Triton Poker title and his first Triton Main Event championship.

And after a tournament that took him from an unexpected trip to a seven-figure victory, Schulman’s thoughts were already somewhere else. “I really want to go home and see my wife. The champ is coming home soon, baby, get ready.”

#12 $100k - NLH Main Event ($100,000)

Total Prize USD

$19,600,000

Total Prize

19.6M USD

Entries

196

ITM

32

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$3,854,888	NS Nick Schulman United States of America	6,498.22
2	$3,080,112	BB Bernhard Binder Austria	4,594.94
3	$1,968,000	GL Gytis Lazauninkas Lithuania	3,751.75
4	$1,596,000	XY Xu Yang China	3,249.11
5	$1,263,000	RN Ryuta Nakai Japan	2,906.09
6	$958,000	IH Isaac Haxton United States of America	2,652.89
7	$700,000	DV Danilo Velasevic Serbia	2,456.10
8	$512,000	WF Wesley Fei China	2,297.47
9	$424,000	RP Roberto Perez Spain	2,166.07

Check the 32 Payouts & Results ...

Final Table Action

The $100K NLH Main Event attracted 196 entries, including 78 re-entries, creating a $19.6 million prize pool. Nine players returned for the official final table, with Schulman sitting fifth in chips on 43 big blinds.

Xu Yang and Ryuta Nakai held the biggest stacks, while Bernhard Binder and Roberto Perez were among the shorter stacks. Schulman had room to maneuver, but there was a long way to go before the title was decided.

Perez was the first player eliminated, finishing ninth for $424,000. Wesley Fei followed in eighth, while Danilo Velasevic took seventh. Isaac Haxton then finished sixth for $890,000, leaving five players in contention.

Nakai was eliminated in fifth place for $1,263,000, recording the biggest live tournament score of his career. Yang followed in fourth for $1,596,000, bringing the field down to three.

Schulman, Binder and Gytis Lazauninkas remained.

Lazauninkas had already made another deep run earlier in the Jeju series and added another strong result here, finishing third for $1,968,000. That left Schulman and Binder heads-up for the title.

A Deal Leaves $140K to Fight For

Schulman began heads-up play with 62 big blinds against Binder’s 20. With the difference in stacks, the two players asked the tournament director to calculate a deal before continuing.

The ICM numbers awarded Schulman $3,714,888 and Binder $3,080,112, leaving $140,000 to play for.

The deal removed most of the financial pressure, but the title was still undecided. Schulman continued to use his chip advantage, winning a significant pot with 10♣ 3♣ after making trips on the river and leaving Binder with around 10 big blinds.

Binder managed to survive, but Schulman continued to collect pots. He won another hand with Q♦ 2♥ before finding Q♥ 7♥ and turning a queen, putting himself even closer to the finish line.

Kings End Binder’s Run

The final hand saw Schulman pick up pocket kings while Binder held K♣ J♦ . Binder needed to improve to stay alive, but Schulman’s kings held through the board to end the tournament.

Binder finished runner-up for $3,080,112 under the deal, while Schulman received the remaining $140,000 and the Main Event title, bringing his total payout to $3,854,888.

It was Schulman’s first Triton Main Event victory and his second Triton title, eight years after his first Triton win, which also came in Jeju when he won a $13K Short Deck event in 2018.

The latest result adds another major achievement to an already decorated career. Nick Schulman has eight WSOP bracelets and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2025.

Photos, quotes, and information courtesy of Triton Poker Series.

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