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Triton Series Concludes After Player Death; Phil Ivey Snags Short Deck Title, Punsri Wins Main Event

The Triton Super High Roller Series came to an early conclusion in North Cyprus after the sudden death of a regular player on the tour.

The Triton Super High Roller Series came to an early conclusion over the weekend in North Cyprus after the sudden death of a regular player on the tour. The final tournament played to a winner on Saturday, cutting the series short by two events.

Seng Yee “Ivan” Leow, 41, passed away unexpectedly while in North Cyprus to play in the series. With the action now concluded, later events saw wins by Phil Ivey, Sam Greenwood, and others.

Here’s a look at the second half of the series. For a look at the first half of the series, click here.

Death of Leow stuns Triton players, organizers

Leow’s passing left many players on the tour stunned and organizers facing a difficult situation. After his death, the tour released a statement honoring the player originally from Malaysia. 

“Ivan was a hugely popular member of the Triton family,” the statement noted. “He was warm, generous, and enormous fun both at the tables and off – a loyal friend to us all. He was also a fantastic poker player, with a lifelong passion for the game.

“Ivan was a very special person who lived life to the full, was always smiling, and loved the game of poker. He will be sincerely missed by his family, friends, and everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him.”

In a poker career stretching to 2015, Leow had $13 million in live tournament winnings. In Triton events, he recorded 12 final table appearances, winning two of those. Numerous players offered condolences online and memories of playing with Leow.

“My first interaction with Ivan Leow was in Macau and it was nothing but positive vibes,” poker player Randy Lew noted on Twitter. “He was always smiling and welcoming to every single person. He will be greatly missed. Rest in peace my friend.”

Event 8: $100,000 Main Event

Punnat Punsri after his Main Event win. (photos courtesy Triton/Joe Giron)

At the tables, a few more events wrapped up over the last week including the series’ championship. Thailand’s Punnat Punsri took the title in this tournament that brought in 99 entries for a $9.9 million prize pool.

The Main Event featured some of the biggest names in poker with Punsri rising to the top for the biggest score of his career.

Describing himself as more of a cash game player, he now has a major bullet point on his resumé and $4.3 million in live tournament winnings. Hong Kong’s Wayne Heung took runner-up for $1.8 million. Here’s a look at the final table payouts.

  1. Punnat Punsri, Thailand – $2,600,000
  2. Wayne Heung, Hong Kong – $1,825,000
  3. Wiktor Malinowski, Poland – $1,210,000
  4. Henrik Hecklen, Denmark – $946,000
  5. Jason Koon, USA – $762,000

Event 9: $50,000 NLHE Turbo

This event brought the last of the traditional No Limit Hold’em action and saw 32 entries for a $1.6 million prize pool. Austria’s Matthias Eibinger found the winner’s circle for $545,000.

At the Triton Poker Cyprus Special Edition in April, Eibinger also scored the title in a NLHE Turbo at the same buy-in level. He took home $676,000 for that win and now has more than $12 million in live tournament winnings.

Jonathan Jaffe, of the United States, finished runner-up for $375,000 and Mikita Badziakouski, of Belarus, took third for $245,000.

Event 10: $30,000 Short Deck – Ante Only

One of the biggest names in poker rose to the top once again in a Triton Short Deck tournament. Phil Ivey (pictured in lead image) grabbed his third Triton title of the year in this event.

“I love playing short deck,” Ivey said after the win. “It’s a great game so I’m very happy.”

The Poker Hall of Famer scored $387,000 for his efforts. He also scored a Short Deck title in the Triton Series in Madrid in April.

Canada’s Sam Greenwood finished in second place for $268,000. Ivey also scored a Triton runner-up finish earlier this year and has lifetime career winnings of more than $38 million.

In June, the 10-time bracelet winner also cashed in at the World Series of Poker. He came in second in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller for $1.2 million.

Event 11: $40,000 Short Deck – Ante Only

Karl Chappe-Gatien after his Tirton Super High Roller Short Deck victory.

The Short Deck action continued and France’s Karl Chappe-Gatien entered the field having never played the game in his life. He proved to be a fast learner. 

Chappe-Gatien topped a field of 45 to take the title for $565,000 in a tournament that produced a $1.8 million prize pool. Kiat Lee, of Malaysia, finished runner-up for $401,000.

“I was feeling good but I didn’t expect anything,” Chappe-Gatien said of playing the tournament. “I wanted to have fun.”

This score came after finishing third in the $200,000 Coin Rivet Invitational (Event 6) for $2.6 million. The Short Deck title capped a huge series for the recreational player, accounting for more than $3.1 million in winnings.

Event 12: $50,000 Short Deck – Ante Only Single Bullet

This Short Deck event brought an early close to the series. Sam Greenwood continued his nice run in the festival by taking the title for $341,275 after finishing runner-up to Ivey earlier.

The event brought in 30 entries for a $1.5 million prize pool. Seth Davies, of the US, finished runner-up for $290,857 and Malaysia’s Paul Phua took third for $198,498. Ivey again showed his Short Deck prowess, finishing fourth for $181,784.

Beyond the Short Deck action, Greenwood also scored a runner-up finish in an earlier $75,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $1.2 million.

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PokerGO Super High Roller Europe Concludes with Huge Performances from Phil Ivey, Jake Schindler

The high stakes action headed to North Cyprus over the last couple weeks for PokerGO’s Super High Roller Series (SHR) Europe. Some big names came through with dominating performances.

That included Phil Ivey taking the player of the series title and Jake Schindler winning the championship event. The entire poker festival included 11 events with buy-ins ranging from €25,000 to €250,000. Here’s a recap of the action.

Ivey continues to shine

After already winning a title in the Triton Poker Cyprus Special Edition, which preceded the action, Ivey continued his stellar play in the SHR. He won two titles between the two series and cashed a total of five times for $2.8 million.

Triton and SHR events both counted toward the series leaderboard. Ivey added another $25,000 for his player of the series title.

“It’s still nice,” Ivey said. “It’s always nice to win a tournament.”

Schindler takes main event

Jake Schindler shows off his winner’s trophy. (photo courtesy Merit Poker/PokerGO)

The $250,000 Super High Roller main event attracted a top-notch field of high rollers. The event brought in 32 players for an $8 million prize pool.

In the end, Jake Schindler found the winner’s circle for a massive $3.2 million score. After returning as chip leader with seven players remaining on Day 3, he continued to cruise.

Eventually heads-up with Paul Phua, Schindler held more than a 2-to-1 chip advantage over his opponent. He hit the gas and dominated Phua on his way to the title.

Phua took $2.1 million for runner-up. Schindler now has more than $30 million in live tournament winnings.

“It’s sweet to get a title in one of these,” Schindler said. He added about his tournament record: “This has to be the biggest win.” 

Event 10: $25,000 NLHE Turbo

This was a late addition to the series and saw Canada’s Timothy Adams top the field of 31 for the title. The tournament attracted a prize pool of $775,000 with Adams grabbing $310,000 of that.

Germany’s Marius Gierse took the runner-up spot for $201,500. Daniel Dvoress continued to shine in the series, finishing third for $124,000. 

Event 9: $50,000 NLHE

This event saw 19 entries for a $950,000 prize pool. Malaysia’s Lee Wai Kiat took the win for $513,000.

Three players cashed in the event with Seth Davies taking runner-up for $285,000 and Jason Koon scoring third for $152,000.

Event 8: $50,000 NLHE

Elton Tsang, of Hong Kong, notched his fifth cash of the series in this event and took the crown for $684,000. Canada’s Dvoress found another nice score, taking second for $456,000.

The tournament attracted 38 entries for a $1.9 million prize pool. Dvoress would go on to finish runner-up in the leaderboard standings as well, just behind Phil Ivey.

Event 7: $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha

Eelis Parssinen, of Finland, topped a field of 20 in this four-card action in North Cyprus. He scored $270,000 for his efforts and then went on to take third in Event 8 for another $304,000.

The tournament saw a prize pool of $500,000 with another Finnish player, Joni Jouhkimainen, taking runner-up for $150,000.

Event 6: $50,000 NLHE

Daniel Dvoress had a huge series in North Cyprus. (photo courtesy Merit Poker/PokerGO)

Daniel Dvoress shined throughout the series and snagged a trophy in this event as well as $731,000. He topped a field of 43 entries, which produced a $2.2 million prize pool.

Sam Greenwood took runner-up for $473,000 with Koon finishing third for $322,500. Dvoress worked his way up from fifth out of the final seven players on the final day to capture the title.

Event 5: $50,000 Short Deck

Short Deck continues to grow in popularity at these high stakes series. In this event, Hong Kong’s Danny Tang jumped to the top spot for $640,000.

The tournament brought in 32 short deckers with a $1.6 million prize pool. Malaysia’s Lun Loon took the runner-up spot for $416,000. Koon again made a deep run, scoring third for $256,000.

Event 4: $50,000 Pot Limit Omaha

Phil Ivey found yet another title in North Cyprus after coming up big in the Triton series. He took down this event for another $640,000 after topping Ali Imsirovic in heads-up play.

The tournament brought in 32 entries for a $1.6 million prize pool. Ivey is pleased to be back at the live poker tables.

“I’m enjoying playing these tournaments,” Ivey said. “It’s fun.”

Imsirovic pulled in $416,000 for runner-up with Jouhkimainen in third for $256,000. Plenty in the poker world have noticed Ivey’s reemergence, including Daniel Negreanu.

Event 3: $25,000 NLHE

This became the largest event of the series, attracting 64 entries for a $1.6 million prize pool. When the dust settled, Germany’s Marius Gierse won the title for $432,000.

Hong Kong’s Danny Tang finished runner-up for $320,000 with Koon grabbing third for $208,000.

Event 2: $50,000 Short Deck

Mikita Badziakouski celebrates a Super High Roller Series victory. (photo courtesy Merit Poker/PokerGO)

This Short Deck action found Mikita Badziakouski, of Belarus, raising the trophy and collecting $756,000. The online cash game high stakes grinder has notched some big wins in live poker events in recent years.

He’s also shown plenty of skills in Short Deck in recent years and securing this title wouldn’t be easy. Badziakouski faced Ivey heads-up for the title and was able to deny him another title.

Ivey scored a $504,000 payday for second. Koon finished third for $336,000 in an event that brought in 42 entries.

In 2018, Badziakouski won back-to-back Triton super high roller events. He now has another nice win for his resumé.

Event 1: $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha

The first event of the series saw 40 entries for a $1 million prize pool. The Netherlands’ Tom Vogelsang kicked off the series with a win and a score of $360,000.

The win becomes a nice bullet point for the longtime online player.

“It kind of feels like a breakthrough,” Vogelsang said. “Because I’ve always been doing well online, but I didn’t really have the recognition that comes after winning something like this.”

Hungary’s Laszlo Bujtas finished runner-up for $240,000 and Slovenia’s Rok Gostisa took third for $160,000.

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Phil Ivey Among Triton Winners in Cyprus, PokerGO European Series Next Up for High Rollers

The Triton Poker Special Edition Cyprus concluded this week with Phil Ivey scoring a title and the PokerGO Super High Roller Series Europe up next.

The Triton Poker Cyprus Special Edition wrapped up Thursday after four events and millions of dollars awarded to winners. One name stood out among the rest as 10-time World Series of Poker champion Phil Ivey grabbed a Short Deck title.

The Poker Hall of Famer added to his extensive poker resumé. This added a nice bullet point to the series, Triton’s first in three years. Here’s a quick look below at all the Triton winners from the Merit Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus.

The action in Cyprus now shifts to the PokerGO Super High Roller Series Europe.

Event 5: $25,000 Short Deck

The second straight short deck tournament saw Hong Kong’s Winfred Yu emerge as the winner. Well-known among Asian poker circles, Yu topped a field of 41 entries for a  $1 million top prize.

This was the second Triton title of his career after winning a short deck event in Montenegro in 2019. Yu has a reputation as the go-to organizer of high stakes cash games in Asia. Many of the region’s top pros took to the stage to celebrate with the winner.

 Malaysia’s Ivan Leow took the runner-up spot for $699,500 and Danny Tang, of Hong Kong, took third for $447,000. 

* Note: There was no fourth event scheduled, per Triton custom.

Event 3: $75,000 Short Deck

Ivey showed his poker skills in this one, topping a field of 51 entries for his second Triton title. This score brought a payday of almost $1.2 million, the largest share of a $3.7 million prize pool.

Away from the live poker scene for a few years, the 45-year-old certainly made his presence known in Cyprus. Along with the title, Ivey made two other final table appearances. That fact wasn’t lost on fellow poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu.

“You love to see it!” he noted on Twitter. “One of his biggest strengths has always been figuring out new games faster than everyone else, and it appears he gets short deck.”

That appears to be true and Ivey’s previous Triton win also came in this format in Montenegro in 2018. In this week’s win, he eliminated five of his final six opponents.

 Malaysia’s Kiat Lee finished runner-up for $840,000 with Mike Watson, of Canada, finishing third for $538,000.

Event 2: $100,000 NLHE Eight-handed

The Triton action ramped up to a six-figure buy-in for this one with Dutchman Teun Mulder coming out on top. He prevailed over a field of 69 entries, which produced a prize pool of $6.6 million.

Mulder won $1.9 million for his efforts after beating his best friend and countryman Tom Vogelsang heads-up. The two even predicted their own heads-up battle.

“We talked about it,” Mulder said. “We said today it’s going to be the Dutch guys first and second.”

Vogelsang grabbed almost $1.4 million for runner-up and Jake Schindler, of the United States, won $903,000 for third.

Event 1: $50,000 NLHE Six-handed

Online poker superstar Andras Nemeth, of Hungary, kicked off the series with a nice win for $1.1 million. He topped a field of 82 entries that produced a $3.9 million prize pool.

“It wasn’t easy,” Nemeth said. “The final table was really tough. I was a little bit nervous at the start and I made a couple of … well, it was close but I made some not good decisions. Then when we got short stacked, it was all about who was going to win the first major all-in.”

Nemeth found himself heads-up against friend and fellow Hungarian Laszlo Bujtas for the title. Bujtas added $770,000 for second place.

“It was surreal to play for the first time and to then get heads-up against one of my best friends in poker,” Nemeth said. “I had to pinch myself.”

South Korea’s Tommy Kim placed third for $503,800 and Ivey finished fourth for $387,100.]

Triton strikes deal with GGPoker

The Cyprus series was the first tournament series run after the tour announced a deal with GGPoker. The poker operator becomes Triton’s official online poker sponsor.

The two companies are promising online qualifiers to some of the biggest events in poker. Could a Triton online high roller series also be heading to GGPoker? No word on that, but it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. 

GG also grabs a presence in a popular live poker series with the deal. Triton next heads to Spain from May 13-25 for more high-stakes action.

Super High Roller Series Europe kicks off

After the Triton series wrapped up, the high roller action shifted to PokerGO’s Super High Roller Series Europe. The schedule features another 10 events and the first tournament kicked off Thursday.

Buy-ins range from €25,000 to €250,000 and a $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha event kicked off the series. The final table is set for Friday with Laszlo Bujtas returning as chip leader.

PokerGO will stream all final table action.  Here’s a look at that complete schedule:

DateEventBuy-in
April 7#1 – Pot Limit Omaha$25,000
April 8#2 – NLHE$25,000
April 9#3 – Short Deck$50,000
April 10#4 – Pot Limit Omaha$25,000
April 11#5 – NLHE$50,000
April 12#6 – Short Deck$100,000
April 13#7 – Pot Limit Omaha$25,000
April 13NLHE Championship$250,000
April 14#8 – NLHE$50,000
April 15#9 – NLHE$50,000

★★★ Ready to get in the action at GGPoker? Click here for a complete site review with exclusive USPoker bonus offers. ★★★

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Phil Ivey, Tony G Score Titles In Super High Roller Bowl Europe

The Super High Roller Bowl Eruope is underway in North Cyprus and some of the early event winners include Phil Ivey and Tony G.

The Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) is underway in North Cyprus and some big names are rising to the top. Some of the early event winners include Phil Ivey and Tony G in one of PokerGO’s premier events.

The series is attracting some of poker’s elite with nine events running Aug. 23-31 featuring buy-ins starting at $25,000. The $250,000 Super High Roller Bowl is the signature tournament and should build a massive prize pool. Here’s a look at some of the action so far.

Event 1: $25,000 Short Deck

Phil Ivey came out on top in this game featuring a stripped-down deck. In Short Deck, deuces through fives are removed from the deck.

This makes for plenty of action and big hands. Because of the differing mathematics in the game, straights are worth more than flushes.

The Short Deck win earned Ivey $408,000 and continues a big run he’s been on since March. That included a runner-up finish in the fourth event in this series as well. Short Deck has been especially good to the 10-time World Series of Poker champion. Beyond the SHRB, here’s a look at his major scores since March:

  • 2nd,  partypoker LIVE Millions $51,000 Short Deck – $525,000
  • 1st – partypoker LIVE Millions $50,000 Short Deck – $856,050
  • 1st – WPT Heads-Up Championship – $400,000

The SHRB Short Deck event attracted 48 entries for a $1.2 million prize pool. High stakes regular Stephen Chidwick finished runner-up for $264,000.

Event 2: $25,000 No Limit Hold’em 

French player and popular Twitch poker streamer Johan Guilbert scored this title for a nice score of a half-million bucks. He topped a field of 81 entries for a top prize of $506,250.

Turkey’s Selahaddin Bedir finished runner-up for $364,500 and continued his huge run in the series by winning the fourth event. The event attracted 81 entries for a $2 million prize pool.

Guilbert has $2 million in live tournament winnings and has become a regular on the high roller scene. In May, he finished runner-up to Matas Cimbolas in a $10,000 Aria High Roller event for $108,000.

Some other big names cashing were Seth Davies (third, $243,000) and Ali Imsirovic (6th, $121,500).

Event 3: $25,000 Short Deck

The stripped-deck action returned and another familiar name rose to the top. Lithuania’s Tony G scored the title for $382,500.

The event attracted 45 entries for a $1.1 million prize pool. American Chris Brewer finished runner-up for $247,500.

A regular on the poker scene since running deep in multiple World Poker Tour events during the poker boom. For several years, the businessman and poker player (real last name Guoga) has also served as a member of the European and Lithuanian parliaments. 

Guoga now has $7.6 million in live tournament winnings. This win followed another Short Deck score in a $25,500 partypoker MILLIONS event in the game. He won that event in 2019 for $265,859.

Event 4: $50,000 NLHE

The battle for this title came down to two players who’ve already been heads-up in the first three events. Phil Ivey won the first event of the series and Selahaddin Bedir took runner-up in the second.

This time, Bedin came out on top for $832,000 in an event that attracted 52 players for a $2.6 million prize pool. For second place, Ivey earned another $546,000. Both players have had impressive runs in the series so far.

More action ahead

The weekend brings some more high roller action, all available to stream live on PokerGO. Players can jump in $50,000 and $100,000 NLHE events on Friday and Sunday.

The Short Deck action returns on Saturday with a $50,000 event on tap. The final two events in the series play out next week and PokerScout will provide a recap of those events as well. Here’s a look at the events remaining on the schedule:

2021 Super High Roller Bowl Europe

Start DateEventTournamentBuy-inRe-entry
Aug. 275Short Deck Hold’em$50,000Unlimited
Aug. 286No Limit Hold’em$100,000Unlimited
Aug. 297Short Deck Hold’em$100,000Unlimited
Aug. 30Main EventNo Limit Hold’em$250,000Single
Aug. 318No Limit Hold’em$50,000Unlimited