The 2024 Triton festival in South Korea Poker Jeju is running full steam. Three more winners were crowned at the series with American pro Dan Smith being the latest champion. After a huge win in Monte Carlo in a three-day Invitational tournament, Smith showed his pedigree in Event #10 – $50,000 NLH Turbo Bounty Single Day Event in Jeju, which bagged him more than $1.2 million including bounty prizes. This was his second Triton title and he took home $951,000 and a hefty $300,000 in bounties as the champion of the event.
The 35-year-old poker pro now has almost $19.5 million in total Triton earnings. With this win, Smith surpassed Mikita Badziakouski to move into fifth place on poker’s all-time money list. The WSOP bracelet winner and WPT champion is one of just seven players to surpass $50 million in live earnings.
Interestingly, the final four in this event in Jeju were all Americans. David Coleman finished runner-up to Smith, earning $642,900. This was his seventh final-table finish of the year. The final hand of the tournament was an exciting one. It saw Smith with Ac 7d and Coleman with Qc Js. There was nothing to excite Coleman on the board and Coleman took home $642,900, plus bounties as the runner-up finisher.
Seth Davies was the final player to finish on the podium, exiting in third place for $418,000. Tom Dwan, who was recently announced as an ACR Poker ambassador, finished fourth for $346,000 after losing key pot to Smith down the stretch in a flush-over-flush situation.
Also Read: VAITIEKUNAS, MATEOS, AND MOSBOCK AMONG LATEST BIG WINNERS AT 2024 TRITON POKER JEJU
In the $50,000 bounty turbo event, an impressive 108 entries were recorded. With $15,000 from each buy-in set aside for bounties, a hefty $60,000 was awarded for every knockout once only 25% of the field remained. The main prize pool, totaling $3,780,000, was divided among the top 17 finishers.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Dan Smith $951,000
- David Coleman $642,900
- Seth Davies $418,000
- Tom Dwan $346,000
- Sirzat Hissou $279,000
- Punnat Punsri $220,000
- Webster Lim $168,000
- Tom Heung $126,000
- Damir Zhugralin $94,500
Punnat Punsri Wins Triton Jeju $50,000 Event For $2 Million
It was the Thailand No 1 Punnat Punsri who made waves for winning a jaw-dropping $2.01 Million. Thai poker legend emerged victorious in Event #8: $50K NLH 7-Handed after beating a field of 190 entries. He eventually outlasted the in-form Spaniard Sergio Aido in a gripping heads-up battle. Aido could not go all the way and took home a massive $1.35 Million payday as the runner-up finisher.
This was the third-largest score of Punsri’s career, with his six top paydays all coming in Triton events. “I honestly ran so good,” Punsri told Triton reporters after coming out on top. “I’ve run good, not just this event, but ever since I’ve played Triton.”
This event garnered a whopping $9,500,000 in prize money, which was finally shared by the top 31 finishers. Among the biggest names who ran deep were bracelet winner Sam Greenwood (20th), three-time Triton champion Matthias Eibinger (19th), bracelet winner Dan Smith (14th), WPT champion Seth Davies (13th), bracelet winner Pieter Aerts (10th), and Steve O’Dwyer (8th).
The first player to exit the final table was ten-time bracelet winner and five-time Triton champion Phil Ivey. Punsri then busted two-time Triton champion Michael Soyza to pull away from the pack. Soyza was then followed by Ren Lin and Michael Watson, falling in fifth and fourth positions, respectively.
Michael Watson’s pocket sixes lost against A-J suited for Punsri and he was eliminated in fourth place ($773,000). Bracelet winner Brian Kim was the shortest stack when three-handed action began. He soon moved all-in with K-6 trailing the pocket aces of a surging Punsri. Kim was unable to improve on the board and was knocked out in third place ($954,000).
Finally, Punsriwas able to crack the aces of Aido. The chips went in the middle with Punsri holding 7d 4d. The board ran out 5s 5h 3d 6s 9h, giving Punsri a straight and the title. Aido walked away with $1,353,000, the second-largest score of his career.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Punnat Punsri $2,010,000
- Sergio Aido $1,353,000
- Brian Kim $954,000
- Michael Watson $773,000
- Ren Lin $611,000
- Michael Soyza $465,000
- Phil Ivey $339,000
Dimitar Danchev Wins Event #7 – $40,000 Mystery Bounty NLH
Three Bulgarians made the eight-handed final table in the super-popular Mystery Bounty NLH event, with Dimitar Danchev making it to the top of the money list with his first Triton victory.
Danchev has cashed in four of the first six high-stakes events in South Korea, with his largest score being the most recent. Danchev emerged victorious from a field of 190 entries in the $40,000 mystery bounty, earning $804,000 from the main prize pool as the champion. Additionally, Danchev took home $540,000 in bounties, earning more than $1.3 million in this event.
“Actually, it’s a little bit about this,” Danchev told Triton reporters while gesturing towards the Triton trophy. “This is very special for me. The bounties, of course, are very important, but I’m kind of more excited to win the trophy.”
Down to three-handed play, Triton winner and WPT champion Jonathan Jaffe held the chip lead. He extended it further when his Q-10 held against the J-8 of short-stacked Adrian Mateos. The four-time bracelet winner was unable to come from behind and was knocked out in third place ($381,000).
Jonathan Jaffe had nearly a 3:1 chip lead over Danchev when heads-up began. However, Danchev was able to chip up and race ahead to finally ship it. In the final hand, Jaffe holding Jd 10d was at risk against the Ac 4s of Danchev. The board ran out Ad 5c 2h As 3c, giving Danchev a wheel to win the pot as well as the title. Jaffe earned $541,000 as the runner-up. This was his second final-table finish of the year, having placed fifth in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open main event at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood for $173,500 in January this year.
The top 31 finishers made the money in this event, with notables like Joseph Cheong (18th), Joao Vieira (14th), Pieter Aerts (13th), Sean Winter (8th), Chris Brewer (6th), Orpen Kisacikoglu (4th), and Alex Kulev (4th) all running deep.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Dimitar Danchev $804,000
- Jonathan Jaffe $541,000
- Adrian Mateos $381,000
- Alex Kulev $310,000
- Orpen Kisacikoglu $244,800
- Chris Brewer $186,000
- Yulian Bogdanov $135,800
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