Champion Joao Simao!

When Brazil won its first title on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, in London back in 2023, it might have been accused of overkill. Not only did Pedro Garagnani take the title, but Bruno Volkmann finished second. Brazil had locked up the win before they even played heads-up.

On Thursday night in the Bahamas, Brazil went even more extreme. Joao Simao won a second Triton Poker Series title for the proud Latin American nation, standing at the top of the podium alongside two countrymen: Felipe Boianovsky, who finished second, and Yuri Dzivielski, who was third.

It was a Brazilian clean sweep of the medal positions, a likely unique achievement in Triton Poker Series history.

Felipe Boianovsky is first to congratulate João Simao

"I know how good the Brazilian players are," Simao said, referencing also Pedro Padilha's second place in the Main Event.

And now the rest of the world does too.

Simao won $3,067,000 and a third WSOP bracelet. Felipe Boianovsky's second place came with a $2,131,000 prize, while Dzivielski picked up $1,409,000 for third. All were career highs.

"It's kind of difficult for us to play these stakes because the Brazilian economy is different," Simao said. "To have investors is not that easy, and to travel. We don't have that much live poker to get the experience."

But he added: "Now it's just the first step for the Brazilian community. We are at the beginning. I think we're coming to stay."

Boianovsky in particular put up a spirited fight. He had the chip lead heading into heads-up play, and made Simao work supremely hard to overhaul that lead and close the tournament down in the small hours of Friday morning.

Felipe Boianovsky beaten into second place at the end of a long heads-up duel

But Simao got the job done, allowing the Brazilian contingent to celebrate wildly as the Triton Paradise festival ended with a big "Vamos!"

"I feel amazing of course," Simao said. "It was a dream to win a Triton. Actually, it was a dream to play a Triton. I think this is the main goal of a poker player."

Referencing humble upbringings in Brazil, he said: "I feel like I'm blessed to have the journey that I've had. It made me strong. My mum is a very tough person, who made me tough. That's why I can play these stakes, knowing that there's players better than me. But I don't hesitate. I do what I believe I have to do. That's where I feel I gain my edge."

TOURNAMENT ACTION

This was the final event of the Triton Paradise festival, with the biggest buy-in of the open events. Registration stayed open to the start of Day 2 and there was a mighty influx to bring the total field up to 77 entries and put $11.55 million in the prize pool. It also flooded the tournament floor with chips, which in turn promised a long day of competition.

Though many of the newcomers were unable to spin up their fresh 200,000 starting stacks, plenty of big stacks did emerge and it led to another prolonged, tense period ahead of the bubble, which was set to burst when 13 remained.

Christoph Vogelsang was knocked out in 16th, but it was a long time after that until the next person was out. Both Santhosh Suvarna and Felipe Boyanovsky doubled up, before Alex Theologis went out in 15th.

Then Kristen Foxen spiked an ace with A9 to beat Jun Obara's pocket kings and double, which left the three-time Triton winner Ding Biao to become this tournament's bubble boy.

Ding got his 16 blinds in as a three-bet shove from the big blind holding JJ. Jonathan Jaffe called with A and won the flip. It sent Ding home and left the rest waiting for another four knockouts until they reached the final. It duly arrived a few hours later, but only after an enormous collision that sent David Coleman vaulting up the counts.

Ding Biao, the final bubble boy of Triton Paradise

Coleman said that he ran "insanely well" when he built up a stack after late-registering the $125K 7-Handed event. It propelled him all the way to the title. He would have been similarly delighted by the hand that sent him alongside Jaffe near the chip lead at the final table in this one, turning a 20 blind stack into more than 50 with a double knockout.

Coleman picked up black pocket aces. That's nice. He raised. Bryn Kenney now shoved for 11 blind from one seat over. That's even nicer. And then Cary Katz, with 19 blinds, re-shoved over Kenney. Amazing!

Coleman, licking his lips, called to put them both at risk. All of the three finished the hand with a full house after the dealer put the 844 flop out there. But Coleman's aces made his boat the biggest and suddenly the tournament was down to one table, with only seven seats around it.

They lined up as follows:

Jonathan Jaffe - 3,135,000 (52 BBs)

David Coleman - 3,115,000 (52 BBs)

Danny Tang - 2,690,000 (45 BBs)

Yuri Dzivielski - 2,205,000 (37 BBs)

Felipe Boyanovsky - 1,620,000 (27 BBs)

Joao Simao - 1,610,000 (27 BBs)

John Pannucci - 755,000 (13 BBs)

Event 10 final table players (clockwise from back left): David Coleman, Yuri Dzivielski, Jonathan Jaffe, John Pannucci, Joao Simao, Danny Tang, Felipe Boyanovsky.

Though stacks appeared to be relatively healthy at the point the final table began, players very quickly found themselves in the familiar ICM handcuffs as a couple of levels ticked by. Jaffe pulled himself further ahead, but then slipped dramatically downward as John Pannucci and then Felipe Boianovsky doubled through him.

This had the potential to turn into another one of those tournaments that just wouldn't end, but two quick eliminations got the ball rolling again. But that was bad news for Pannucci.

With 14 blinds, he must have expected to have at least double that when he looked down at a red pair of aces. After Felipe Boyanovsky opened, another Brazilian Joao Simao then shoved the small blind.

Pannucci happily got his last chips in in the perfect spot and only Simao called, tabling AQ. It was a horrible flop though for Pannucci. It came Q and the case ace did not come on turn or river.

Pannucci, a debutant here in the Bahamas, quickly learnt how brutal the Triton streets can be. But with $548,000 in his pocket, he'll also know how lucrative this tour is as well.

Aces no good for John Pannucci

That's something David Coleman also knows all about, of course. The American only recently won his first Triton title, along with $3.1 million. But the back-to-back dream was harshly snuffed out as he tried to get back involved at the final.

After the excitement of his earlier double elimination, Coleman had dwindled down to 10 blinds and opened his small blind with A10. Boyanovsky jammed the big blind, with a 36-blind stack. Coleman called, but Boyanovsky's K flopped a king and it won the day.

Coleman left this tournament in sixth, winning $693,000.

A good week ends for David Coleman

There then followed one of those familiar slowdowns at short-stacked final tables as everybody did everything they could to avoid elimination. Even if it meant watching stacks dwindle away.

Felipe Boyanovsky led the way, continually chipping up and putting distance between him and the rest of the field. And then he won an absolute blockbuster, which sent two players to the rail simultaneously and cleared out anyone who didn't speak Portuguese as a native language.

Boyanovsky had the covering stack and open-ripped from the cutoff holding pocket fours. The three players to his left had no more than 18 blinds in their stacks, and although Yuri Dzivielski folded, both Jaffe in the small blind and Danny Tang in the big had hands they wanted to call with.

At least Jonathan Jaffe can see the funny side

Jaffe had AJ and Tang had A. They were clear calls given their table positions and the ICM abuse being dished out at the time by the chip leader.

But with four cards delivered to the table lower than a jack — and the last of them a four — Boyanovsky scored a spectacular double knockout. Jaffe, with the smaller stack, signed for fifth and $891,000. Tang took $1,103,000 for fourth.

Triton Ambassador Danny Tang was the last non-Brazilian in the event

So it was that three were left and all of them were Brazilians — the Triton Poker Series essentially imitating the lobbies of many low-stakes online tournaments, where Brazilians absolutely proliferate.

But this one was considerably bigger. There was still $6.6 million up for grabs.

Boianovsky had heaps of chips. His 77 blinds was bigger than both his opponents' stacks combined. Simao had 30 blinds and Dzivielski had 16. And it only got more lop-sided from there.

Dzivielski couldn't survive much longer. After Boyanovsky shoved from the small blind for the umpteenth time, Dzivielski determined Q9 was good enough to commit his last 10 blinds. Boianovsky had pocket fours and won the race.

That meant Dzivielski went out in third, banking $1,409,000.

One down. Brazil's money list leader Yuri Dzivielski out in third

Boianovsky had 76 blinds to Simao's 27 as they settled down for the Triton Poker Series' second all-Brazilian heads-up duels. But Simao won the first pot with a straight to narrow the gap somewhat and, with a 51-blind average, Triton Paradise 2025 prepared for perhaps its first lengthy heads-up duel.

Two hands later and Simao was in the lead by 56 blinds to 47.

Heads up gets under way

He flopped two pair with 52 and Boianovsky stuck around with a pair of jacks until the river, when he made a very shrewd fold.

But then it was 65 to 17. Simao was seemingly unstoppable.

It wasn't necessatily sustainable and Boianovsky secured a double with pocket kings against 79. All the money went in pre-flop, but both players ended with a straight. Boianovsky's was higher.

On they went. Simao won another big one with AQ staying better than K on a double-paired board. There was plenty of betting on the flop, both players bluffing and neither believing, but they shut down on turn and river. Still, the pot went to Simao.

It ticked past 2 a.m. in the Bahamas and there was still an average of 31 blinds between these two battlers. Simao remained ahead, but Boianovsky wasn't budging. Until he found himself in a corner from which there was no way out.

Simao picked up pocket jacks and laid the trap with a limp from the small blind. Boianovsky checked his opeion with 104 and had good reason to think he flopped best when the A appeared. Boianovsky check-called Simao's bet.

The 5 turn changed nothing, and it went check/bet/call once again. The 7 was the last card out.

Boianovsky checked for a final time, and Simao moved in. Boianovsky had to decide if he thought his tens were good. He took his time and burnt a couple of time banks, but that's exactly what he thought and put forward his last few blinds. Simao tabled his jacks and the glory was his.

It was, in truth, a superlative heads-up performance, prompting the Triton commentators to speculate whether Simao had an incredible read on his opponent. He never put a foot wrong.

And when you do that, providing the deck co-operates, the Triton Poker Series is a very fine place to be.

Goodnight from the Bahamas. See you in Jeju in March.