Alin Ivan Wins $450,000 as Triton ONE North Cyprus Opens With 912-Entry QQPK Genesis
The opening four days of Triton ONE North Cyprus 2026 saw several champions crowned at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel in North Cyprus, as the festival made its European debut on November 5.
Romania's Alin Ivan claimed the biggest prize so far, winning the $3,000 QQPK Genesis for $450,000 after the opening tournament attracted 912 entries and generated a $2,443,248 prize pool.
Other early winners included Elena Yasyuchenya in the women's ONE-W Championship, Yan Jingyao in the $4,000 Big Bounty, and Ran Azor in the $2,000 One Night NLH.
The 11-day Triton ONE festival continues through November 15, with the $8,000 Main Event beginning November 10 before the Triton Super High Roller Series takes over later in the month.
Alin Ivan Claims $450,000 QQPK Genesis Title on Triton Debut
Romania's Alin Ivan made an immediate impression on his Triton debut, winning Event #1, the $3,000 QQPK Genesis, for a career-best $450,000.
The tournament attracted 912 entries, including 558 re-entries, across four starting flights, generating a $2,443,248 prize pool with 146 players finishing in the money.
Ivan returned for Sunday's final day second in chips behind Russia's Viktor Kudinov, who held the overnight chip lead
The 26-year-old Romanian eliminated former Triton ONE winner Chen Peng in sixth place for $82,000 before sending China's Yang Zhang out in fifth for $111,000.
Once Pavel Ignatov finished fourth for $143,000, Ivan then made the call of the final table during three-handed play, calling Kudinov's river shove with just second pair to catch his opponent bluffing. The pot gave Ivan a huge chip lead and put him in the perfect position to get his hands on the trophy.
He subsequently eliminated Ruslan Kasper in third place for $191,000 before defeating Kudinov heads-up. The final hand saw Ivan's ace-queen hold against Kudinov's ace-four, securing his first Triton trophy.
Speaking after his victory, Ivan described the experience as "completely surreal," having claimed a $450,000 prize in the first Triton tournament of his career.
The final table also featured Canada's Xuan Liu, the first woman to win a Triton Super High Roller Series event. Liu finished seventh for $59,048, while Aleksandr Kirichenko and Sardor Shagulyamov completed the nine-handed final table.
QQPK Genesis Final Table Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alin Ivan | $450,000 | |
2 | $272,000 | ||
3 | Ruslan Kasper | $191,000 | |
4 | $143,000 | ||
5 | $111,000 | ||
6 | $82,000 | ||
7 | $59,048 | ||
8 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | $42,000 | |
9 | $33,000 |
Elena Yasyuchenya Wins ONE-W Championship on First Triton Appearance
Russia's Elena Yasyuchenya won Event #6, the $3,000 ONE-W Championship, collecting $35,500 after defeating fellow Triton newcomer Kseniia Kolotiuk heads-up.
The women's tournament attracted 42 entries, including 15 re-entries, creating a $112,518 prize pool. Seven players reached the money.
Yasyuchenya took control during the closing stages of the final table, eliminating her final three opponents to secure the title.
Among those she defeated were Austrian professional Jessica Teusl, who finished fourth for $12,400, and China's Lili Tang, the previous ONE-W Championship runner-up, who collected $16,318 for third place.
Neither Yasyuchenya nor Kolotiuk had previously competed on the Triton Poker Series, making it an all-Russian heads-up match and guaranteeing a new Triton Champion.
Kolotiuk earned $25,500 for second, while Ye Yi, Zhao Yue and Yuan Yiwen completed the seven paid positions.
ONE-W Championship Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $35,500 | ||
2 | Kseniia Kolotiuk | $25,500 | |
3 | $16,318 | ||
4 | $12,400 | ||
5 | $9,600 | ||
6 | Zhao Yue | $7,300 | |
7 | $5,900 |
Yan Jingyao Claims Big Bounty Title for $51,000
China's Yan Jingyao added a result to his Triton record after winning Event #7, the $4,000 NLH 7-Handed Big Bounty, on Sunday night.
Yan topped a 96-entry field, including 25 re-entries, to earn $51,000, which included $10,000 in bounties.
The tournament generated a total prize pool of $349,152, including $192,000 allocated to bounties.
Unlike many Triton ONE newcomers, Yan arrived with considerable experience on the Triton Super High Roller Series, having previously recorded eight cashes and two final tables on the higher-stakes tour.
He began the seven-handed final table outside the top positions but moved ahead after eliminating several opponents, including fellow Chinese player Xiaosheng Zheng in fourth place.
Yan eventually faced USA's Terrance Reid heads-up, holding approximately twice his opponent's stack. The final hand saw Yan flop a flush against Reid's flush draw, which failed to improve, and Yan was awarded the title.
Reid finished runner-up for $36,000, including $8,000 in bounties, while Austria's Siegfried Friedl collected $30,400 for third place.
Roman Stoika also reached the final table, finishing sixth for $21,400 after making his third cash of the festival.
Big Bounty Final Table Results
Place | Player | Country | Total Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $51,000 | ||
2 | $36,000 | ||
3 | $30,400 | ||
4 | $26,800 | ||
5 | $25,900 | ||
6 | $21,400 | ||
7 | $13,500 |
All listed payouts include bounty winnings.
Ran Azor Wins One Night Bounty Quattro on Triton Debut
Israel's Ran Azor claimed his first Triton title on Friday, November 6, winning Event #2, the $2,000 One Night NLH Bounty Quattro.
The tournament attracted 54 entries and generated a $100,008 prize pool, with nine players finishing in the money.
Azor collected $29,000, including $8,000 in bounties, after defeating Finland's Hengtao Zhu heads-up. Zhu earned $19,200 for second place.
Fellow Finnish player Luka Sorainen finished third but received $20,800 after collecting $11,000 in bounties from 11 eliminations, the highest knockout total of the tournament.
The victory marked a successful Triton debut for Azor, who had already accumulated more than $2.3 million in career live tournament earnings, including a $1.4 million runner-up finish in 2009
China's Yixi Tang finished fourth for $7,400, followed by Germany's Sebastian Gaehl and Russia's Roman Stoika.
*All listed payouts include bounty winnings where possible.
One Night NLH Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD)* |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ran Azor | $29,000 | |
2 | $19,200 | ||
3 | $20,800 | ||
4 | $7,400 | ||
5 | $5,800 | ||
6 | $6,500 | ||
7 | $5,508 | ||
8 | Haroldas Usevicius | $3,700 | |
9 | Aleksandr Kropotov | $2,100 |
Mystery Bounty Continues as $8,000 Main Event Approaches
The $5,000 NLH 8-Handed Mystery Bounty, which began on November 7, plays out on November 9, with the bounty prize pool to be announced.
Attention will also turn to the $10,000 NLH 7-Handed, which runs November 9–10, and the $8,000 Triton ONE Main Event, beginning Tuesday, November 10.
The Main Event features three starting flights before the remaining field combines on November 13, with the champion scheduled to be crowned on November 15.
Upcoming Triton ONE Schedule
Date | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|
Nov 9 | Mystery Bounty Final Day | $5,000 |
Nov 9–10 | NLH 7-Handed | $10,000 |
Nov 9 | ONE-W One Night Bounty Quattro | $2,000 |
Nov 9 | Main Event Qualifier | $1,500 |
Nov 10 | Triton ONE Main Event Day 1A | $8,000 |
Nov 10–11 | PLO 6-Handed | $6,000 |
Nov 10 | One Night NLH 8-Handed | $2,000 |
The Triton ONE festival continues until November 15, when the $15,000 High Roller concludes and the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series begins its November 15–30 schedule.
Follow the Triton ONE North Cyprus 2026 festival page for tournament results and the remaining schedule.
All images courtesy of the Triton Poker Series.
About the Editor
Tim Baker is a UK-born Live Poker Reporter based in Indonesia, covering major poker tournaments across Asia and around the world since 2023. With nearly two decades of experience around live and online poker, he brings deep knowledge of the game and the international poker scene to his tournament coverage.
