GGPOKER

The Story of the 2017 Triton Poker

The first full season of the Triton Poker Series kicked off in 2017, with six events, the success of which would decide whether the newly formed tour would take off. As it turned out, magic took place as the Triton Poker Series not only took off but soared higher than imagined, establishing itself as the premier high roller poker tournament series.  

JOIN THE POKER TABLES AT GGPOKER!

Pastures New for Poker’s Newest Tour

Triton Poker began as a concept for a new high roller series. A trio of events took place in 2016, as the Far East played host to tournaments won by Wai Yong and Daniel Cates. The official Triton Poker Series events began in earnest in 2017, as it announced three stops in Manila, Macau, and Montenegro.

The first Triton Poker Series event in 2017 was one of two in Paranaque City, the Philippines. On February 17, 2017, 43 entries, each buying in for approximately $30,000 USD, contributed to a prize pool of over $1.3 million and a top prize of $469,246. Just seven of those initial 43 entries would be paid in the No Limit Hold’em 6-Max Event #1. When it ended, the former Big One for One Drop champion Daniel Colman took the Triton trophy for the first time, beating the now 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel heads-up. 

Seidel scored $299,721 for his runner-up finish, and there were also bashes for Rainer Kempe (3rd for $188,904) and Mikita Badziakouski (7th for $51,187) as players battled for the honor of taking that first title of the Triton Poker Series era in 2017. Not that they had long to wait for another opportunity, for as soon as Event #1 finished, the second and final event in the Philippines began. 

Costing just under $125,000 to play, 39 entries packed what was essentially the first Triton Poker Series Main Event. Only six players would make the money this time around. Malaysian player Wai Yong bowed out in sixth place for $286,512, unable to add to his two previous titles from 2016. He was followed by Devan Tang (5th for $358,140) and Bryn Kenney (4th for $501,525). Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates finished third for just over a million dollars as he became the Triton Poker Tour’s early big earner following his success from the past November. Heads-up, it was a battle between two European heavyweights, as Koray Aldemir from Germany toppled Sergio Aido, preventing the Spaniard from getting over the line, close for the second time in Triton’s five events to date. 

Koray Aldemir’s win was worth a massive $1,292,509, slightly less than Aido’s $1.33 million after a three-way deal took place close to the end of The Philippines Main Event. However, Aldemir’s biggest career score would not remain the seven figures he banked on the Triton Poker Series tour. He went on to win the 2021 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas for a life-changing $8,000,000.

Triton Moves on to Montenegro

Summer arrived, and while the WSOP took place in Las Vegas, preparations were underway for two events that would follow immediately after the World Series of Poker. Taking place in mid- to late July, the Triton Poker Series opener in Montenegro saw players gather at the Maestral Resort & Casino in Budva, with 41 entries each costing $30,000.

Again, just seven players would make the money, with Xuan Tan (7th for $49,458), Richard Yong (6th for $67,909), and John Patgorski (5th for $86,488) all finishing at the bottom of the money ladder. Alan Sass was the longest-lasting American player, cashing for $123,517 in fourth place before Predrag Lekovic missed out on heads-up in third place for $179,126. The final heads-up was between German player Fedor Holz and Chinese player Hao Su. Holz eventually took the title, winning $444,893 as he entered the Triton winner’s circle for the first time. 

A couple of days later, Holz had the chance to go back-to-back, but another German lifted the trophy instead in the 52-entry $120,000 Montenegro Main Event. After players such as Mikita Badziakouski (8th for $219,370), Steffen Sontheimer (6th for $313,423) and John Juanda (4th for $595,581) all cashed, Manig Loeser got the better of Richard Yong heads-up, with top prize worth $2.16 million and Yong still cashing for seven figures, winning $1.44m in second place.

Macau Calls for 87 Entries

In October, Macau became the third and final Triton venue of 2017. With an opening event populated by 87 entries, each worth $30,000, a fourth German winner of 2017 emerged, as Stefan Schillhabel conquered the field, winning $752,446 in the process. Other big names to make the money included four Americans, as David Peters (10th for $75,957), Isaac Haxton (6th for $115,280), Steve O’Dwyer (5th for $154,063), and Dan Smith (4th for $233,250) all came close. None went closer than the runner-up, Canadian Mike ‘Sir Watts’ Watson, who earned $550,399, one of the biggest scores of his illustrious career ot that point. 

The $120,000-entry Main Event in Macau was a celebration of the high-stakes world in general and the Triton Poker Series, whose immediate impact on the game was incredible. A total of 83 entries meant the prize pool snuck over $10,000,000 and would pay 12 players. Manig Loeser (12th for $269,970) was among those to do so, with Watson (10th for $290,077), Haxton (8th for $310,056), Timothy Adams (7th for $360,003), and Stephen Chidwick (6th for $440,047) all finishing with a healthy return on their money. 

Down to the final five, Dietrich Fast won $590,425 in fifth place after losing a coinflip to Kahle Burns, the Australian’s pocket nines holding against Fast’s luckless ‘Big Slick’ in spades. Soon, four became three, as John Juanda took care of Adrian Mateos. It was blind on blind action, as Juanda’s king-ten from the small blind beat Mateos’ suited queen-deuce to send the Spaniard home with $890,757.

In 2017, Kahle Burns was a very successful poker player. On this day, his success eclipsed his previous successes. He won $1.3 million when Juanda’s ace-ten beat his king-queen, doubling his career live earnings in poker. Since then, Burns has become a worldwide poker superstar, and his cash in the Triton Macau Main Event of 2017 pushed him towards that stardom even quicker.

The Champion in His Own Words

Heads-up, Juanda led with 13.5 million to Fedor Holz’ 7.25 million, but over the course of a wild couple of hours, that all changed. The final duel began with Holz dropping to just 2 million chips, but the German then fought back to lead by almost the same margin Juanda had held at the beginning of their match to decide the winner.

Juanda bullied his way back into the lead, though, and when Holz shoved with ace-three, Juanda made the call with ace-five. A flop of T-9-6 only made it more likely that there would be a chopped pot at the end of the hand. Another six on the turn did nothing to change that, but Juanda called for a “Five!” on the river, and it came in, giving him victory and the $2.87 million top prize, as Holz took home $2.1m as runner-up. 

“Playing against Fedor was really tough – he’s a really awesome player, and obviously, he’s the guy winning all the super high rollers,” said Juanda minutes after his triumph. “I’m really fortunate to play heads up and come out on top. I think we have a different style of playing. It was a good long match and I’m pretty sure he enjoyed it too.”

Juanda admitted it feels great anytime you win a tournament of this magnitude.

“First, you have to play pretty well, and you also have to get lucky,” he said. “Especially nowadays with the tough fields we have. For example, the final table. Everybody is an amazing player. There are so many things I like about the Triton tournaments; they always treat the players nicely and of course I’m good friends with all the organizers. I feel very comfortable every time I come here. Manila, Montenegro, and here [in Macau], it’s like being around friends. The field is always really good. There’s never any line at the registration desk and the buffet is probably the best from all the poker tournaments.”

With John Juanda loving the festival and becoming its biggest winner, and in turn taking home the biggest prize of his career to date, the Triton Poker Series was a huge success. The following year, things were going to get even bigger.

About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.