Punnat Punsri and Elton Tsang Shine at the 2024 Triton Poker Jeju Series
The latest stop of the Triton Poker Jeju Series will go into the history books as one of the busiest so far, setting several records along the way. More than half-way through the series, which takes place from March 5 to 21, 2024, at the Landing Casino on Jeju Island, South Korea, nine winners out of 17 high-stakes contests have already been crowned.
Some of the biggest names in the world of poker showcased their talents during the extensive live-stream action already and some of Asia’s most talented poker players were among the big winners so far. Most notably, this includes the first on Thailand’s all-time money list – Punnat Punsri – as well as Hong Kong’s Elton Tsang.
International Poker Pros Among Early Triton Poker Jeju Series Winners
Event #1: $15,000 NLH 8-Handed
The series kicked off with a victory for German wizard Fedor Holz in Event #1: $15,000 NLH 8-Handed. He came out on top of a 269-entry strong field to claim the biggest slice of the USD 4,035,000 prize pool after defeating Seth Gottlieb in heads-up for a cool USD 786,000. Chinese WSOP bracelet winner Weiran Pu narrowly missed the final table and finished in 11th place whereas Ken Tong (8th for USD 98,000) and Lun Loon (6th for USD 182,000) made it even further. Also featured on the final table was Aussie Joshua McCully, who recently finished as the runner-up of the 2024 WPT Cambodia Main Event and scored a payday of USD 134,000.
Event #2: $20,000 NLH 8-Handed
Another 11th place by an Asian player followed in Event #2: $20,000 NLH 8-Handed in person of Wai Kiat Lee earned a payday of USD 439,000 for his third place. Champion Roland Rokita took home USD 904,000 in a field of 225 entries, fellow German speaking High Roller regular Sirzat Hissou had to settle for USD 599,000.
Event #3: $25,000 Silver Main
Only one player from China reached the final table in Event #3: $25,000 Silver Main and that was Paulius Vaitiekunas earned the most of it for USD 1,077,499.
Event #5: $30,000 NLH
Lun Loon reached his second final table of the series in Event #5: $30,000 NLH and bowed out in 8th place for USD 145,000 this time. There were a mighty 185 entries for a prize pool of USD 5,550,000 with runner-up David Peters (USD 790,000) and winner Adrian Mateos (USD ,175,000) claiming the biggest pieces of the pie.
Event #6 $25,000 GGMILLION$ Live
Event #6 $25,000 GGMILLION$ Live set a new Triton record once more with a staggering 305 entries, consisting of 187 unique players and 118 re-entries. The top 47 finishers earned a share of the USD 7,625,000 prize pool and two Asian players as well as one Aussie reached the final nine. Ehsan Amiri was the first to bust, taking home USD 152,000, followed by Japan’s Kosei Ichinose who cashed for USD 186,000.
The pay jumps kept getting bigger from there on and Singapore’s Adrian Chua received a staggering USD 573,000 for his fourth place. Heads-up play brought a deal between Mario Mosboeck and Sergio Aido, the latter earned more money (USD 1,237,804) but former footballer Mosboeck claimed his second Triton title and USD 1,191,196.
Event #7: $40,000 Mystery Bounty
There was no Asian player on the final table of Event #7: $40,000 Mystery Bounty as Dong Chen, Biao Ding and Ye Wang from China crashed out in 12th to 10th place. WSOP bracelet and PCA Main Event winner Dimitar Danchev from Bulgaria came out on top of an 190-entry strong field for a cash price of USD 804,000, Adrian Mateos narrowly missed a second title of the series and finished in third for USD 381,000.
Punnat Punsri Rides to Victory in Event #8: $50,000 NLH
Throughout the last few years, Punnat Punsri has become a force to be reckoned at the tables not only in Asia but all over the world. He has now accumulated more than USD 15.4 million in prize money and firmly occupies the top spot of the all-time money list of Thailand on The Hendon Mob database.
Punnat Punsri – Unstoppable Force in Poker
Known for his aggressive playing style, Punsri built a massive stack on the bubble of this $50,000 buy-in and cracked the pocket kings of Henrik Hecklen with ace-king when two aces came right away on the flop. There was no looking back from there on, as Punsri went all the way to lift the Triton trophy in a field of 190 entries to earn the biggest piece of the USD 9,500,000 prize pool.
Four Asian players made it to the live-streamed conclusion with several other big stars also among the contestants. Eng Siang Ewe was the first casualty for USD 205,000 followed by the likes of Steve O’Dwyer and Phil Ivey. Asian Poker Tour co-owner Michael Soyza claimed USD 465,000 for sixth while China’s Ren “Tony” Lin finished one spot higher and took home $611,000.
Sergio Aido reached his second heads-up duel of the ongoing series only to fall short of the triumph once more. The Spaniard had his aces cracked by the seven-four suited pf Punsri, who turned a straight. Aido was still not unhappy about the consolation prize of USD 1,353,000 while Punsri walked away with USD 2,010,000.
What others can only dream of, Punsri had achieved several times. It was his fifth seven-figure prize in the career thus far, all achieved in the Triton Series, and not even the biggest one of them either. In August 2023, he finished third in the $250,000 Luxon Invitational in London for a staggering USD 3,107,000!
First Triton Title for Elton Tsang in Event #9: $150,000 NLH
Nine of his last ten live poker MTT cashes came in Triton Events including three podium finishes, but the elusive Triton triumph had been missing on the resume of the second in Hong Kong’s all-time money list. Who are we talking about? That’s the recent poker resume of none other than Elton Tsang, who finally lifted the Triton trophy for the winner shots a few days ago in Jeju.
The most expensive tournament of the series until then came with a buy-in of $150,000 and attracted a field of 117 entries, a warm-up of sorts for the $100,000 Main Event that was to follow. Once the final river card was dealt, Tsang danced around the feature stage like a bundle of joy and was overcome with happiness.
Only the top 20 finishers in the event cashed with Triton co-founder Danny Tang recorded another 11th place finish for a payday of USD 351,000. Soon after, the official final table was set and five of the final eight hopefuls were hailing from Asia!
Ye Wang took home USD 737,000 while Taiwan’s James Chen – a Pot-Limit Omaha WSOP bracelet winner – made this one count for fifth place and USD 1,254,000. One spot better was Liang Xu (USD 1,563,000) and heads-up was an all-Asian affair once two-time EPT champion Mike Watson departed in third place (USD 1,895,000).
Tsang took on China’s Biao Ding and had the best of it to claim the top prize of USD 4,210,000, while Ding had to settle for a measly USD 2,870,000. Even with that huge cash, Tsang is only second in the Hong Kong all-time money list behind aforementioned Tang but that may change down the road if both keep participating in these high-stakes contests.
Dan Smith Joins the Two-Time Winner Club of the Triton Poker Series
The latest tournament to finish featured exhilarating bounty action in Event #10: $50,000 Turbo Bounty Quattro. There were 82 unique entries and 26 re-entries with each knockout awarding USD 60,000 cash right away out of a USD 3,780,000 prize pool.
Punnat Punsri was on the final table once again, where he was joined by Tom Heung (8th for USD 126,000) and Chin Wei “Webster” Lim (7th for USD 168,000). This time, the Thai prodigy bowed out in sixth place, denied the chance to become the first back-to-back champion on consecutive days in the history of the Triton Poker Series. His cash price of USD 220,000 was topped up by another USD 240,000 in bounties, not a bad day at the office.
The top four were all poker pros from the United States, though. Tom “Durrrr” Dwan re-emerged from the shadows with a tournament score worth USD 346,000 plus USD 60,000 in bounties while Seth Davies essentially received the same with a cash prize of USD 418,000. Runner-up David Coleman (USD 642,900) and Dan Smith (USD 951,000) both received another USD 300,000 in bounty prizes for their efforts.
It was the second Triton title for Smith, who is currently fifth on the overall all-time money list with nearly USD 54 million in live poker MTT scores. He had won The Special Triton Invitational $200,000 in Monte-Carlo for USD 3,870,000 in October 2023.
This has wrapped up nine of the 17 total events on the schedule in Jeju, but Asian poker pros still have several chances to claim one of the Triton trophies in the days to come.
*Article written by Christian Zetzche
