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Triton Million threatens records as players prepare for All-Time Money List shake-up

The most expensive tournament ever held is getting closer each day. The Triton London series will feature a £1,000,000 (US$1,220,000) buy in tournament which could yet make drastic changes to poker’s all-time money list. In recent weeks we have been drip-fed news about invited players and guests, and with another pairing announced yesterday, we now have an expected field size of 50. This number of entries is unprecedented for a seven-figure buy in event.

Triton Last Sunday
Triton London – Photo Tritonpoker.com

Impressive formula for success

The format for this event is something quite unique in the world of tournament poker. Businessmen and recreational players are initially invited, before each of them selects a guest to also play. This allows high-profile professional players to then take a seat in the tournament, with all players paying an extra £50,000 on top of their entry fee as a donation to charity.

23 pairs of players are now officially registered, with the latest pairings being Bill Perkins/Dan Smith and Andrew Pantling/Andrew Robl. Rick Salomon brings the total to 47 having not yet chosen a guest and Winfred Yu is now also officially confirmed as the 48th entry, with the identity of his guest soon to follow.

These two extra guests will bring the current tally up to 50, with registration still open.

WinfredYu
Winfred Yu confirmed – Photo Tritonpoker.com

In recent years, seven-figure buy in events have made tentative attempts to match the high-water mark left by the Big One for One Drop in 2012, but none has matched it in terms of prize pool, or top prize. Triton London will now finally break that prize pool figure of $42 million, setting a record for a non-WSOP Main Event tournament.

The field size for Triton London will also surpass the 49 who took part in One Drop 2012, and it seems increasingly likely the $18,346,673 champion’s prize in that tournament may be topped too.

Potential to reshape the all-time money list

The final payouts figures for Triton London are far from set in stone, especially with registration still being open, but working from a reasonable top prize estimate of between $15,000,000 and $20,000,000 it is clear this event will cause a significant shake up in the all-time money list.

The current standings are as follows:

1st – Justin Bonomo – $45,014,707
2nd – Daniel Negreanu – $41,857,384
3rd – Erik Seidel – $35,658,427
4th – Bryn Kenney – $34,942,310
5th – David Peters – $33,146,070
6th – Fedor Holz – $32,556,379
7th – Daniel Colman – $28,925,059
8th – Jason Koon – $28,915,361
9th – Dan Smith – $27,921,940

If  Justin Bonomo has a good tournament in London, a huge chasm could open between himself and 2nd place on the list. If Kenney, Holz or Peters win the tournament and Bonomo fails to cash then any of those players could find themselves top of the list by more than $5 million. Koon and Smith also have an opportunity to catapult themselves to the top of the standings if they win. There will of course be side events running during Triton London, which could also have an impact on those standings.

Missing stars

The opportunity for significant change in this list is magnified by the fact that currently, the players in 2nd and 3rd and 7th on the list are unlikely to take part. Daniel Colman has been keeping himself out of the spotlight in recent years, Erik Seidel is running out of time to secure a seat and seems unlikely to play and Daniel Negreanu has said on Twitter that his chances of playing this event are “0.01%”.

In addition, global star Phil Ivey has not appeared on the roster either and with his recent legal troubles having resurfaced at the WSOP, it would be a surprise to see him make the trip to London for this event.

Despite there being a few big names missing however, fans will get to see online superstars Daniel Cates and Tom Dwan alongside a brutally talented bunch of adversaries and businessmen. With that in mind, it is safe to say that Triton London will be a riveting contest once the cards hit the air a few days from now.

Article by Craig Bradshaw