Champion Jonathan Jaffe

The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series can be a punishing place to play. Though the prestige is assured and the riches can be significant, it can be exhausting and expensive if things are not going your way.

But the top players know they have to dig deep. They have to back their abilities, understand the nature of the tournament game, and continue to apply themselves and improve.

In short, they have to be like Jonathan Jaffe.

Tonight in Jeju, Jaffe won the second Triton Poker Series title of his career, nearly three years since his first. It came after a swingy heads-up duel with China's Mao Renji, and brought a deal-adjusted first prize of $1,061,672.

It also ended a very long and testing dry spell for Jaffe, who came and went from Montenegro in May with nothing, shortly after a prior visit to Jeju yielded nought more than one min-cash. But Jaffe battled through the famine to earn today's feast.

"It's a grind," Jaffe said in the moments immediately after the tournament's conclusion, speaking to Triton commentator Ali Nejad. Jaffe added that he had previously noted how his friends and fellow top pros Seth Davies and Nick Petrangelo had also endured long winless spells on the tour.

"Kind of knowing that great players that I'm friendly with had crazy long dry spells helps you not feel so entitled that there's something good coming your way," Jaffe said. "You really don't even control it."

Jonathan Jaffe never lost focus during a long spell without a big score

But there's little option except to remain composed and focused, knowing that the day will come again. Jaffe is also a poker coach and said that this role helps him keep his game fresh.

"It's good, it's really helpful," Jaffe said. "I didn't grow up a fundamentals player. I was street poker, improv player. And by coaching others you have to learn the fundamentals in such a way that you can explain it to them. That's kind of a different level. It forced me to do some of the work that I don't enjoy doing otherwise. "

Jaffe certainly had to use his street-fighting spirit for this one. While much of the final table played out without anything unusual occurring, the last two players engaged in a tumultuous ding-dong affair, even after they had agreed to chop the prize money. There were multiple all-ins and double-ups, with ever shortening stacks moving from one to the other.

Jaffe said: "It was fun. We made a deal so we were only playing for forty, but that forty was hard-fought. Lots of all ins. Lots of three x hands made their way in. It went my way at the end."

Jonathan Jaffe: 'It went my way at the end'

TOURNAMENT ACTION

With the tournament room at the Landing Resort & Casino now essentially a constellation of superstars, it only followed that many would remain when a 183-entry field condensed to its closing stages.

Liu Chun Keat burst the bubble late on Day 1, and then as the final table neared, the field lost Mustapha Kanit, Tobias Schwecht, Matthias Eibinger, Xu Yang, Artur Martisorian, Aram Oganyan and Daniel Rezaei.

There was still bundles of experience in the last nine, including double-champions Ramin Hajiyev and Michael Soyza, Japan No 1 Masashi Oya, and other former Triton winners Brian Kim and Jonathan Jaffe.

The full final table line up was as follows:

Mao Renji - 8,775,000 (59 BBs)

Jonathan Jaffe - 7,900,000 (53 BBs)

Ramin Hajiyev - 4,225,000 (28 BBs)

Chi-Jen Chu - 3,825,000 (26 BBs)

Clemen Deng - 2,825,000 (19 BBs)

Masashi Oya - 2,575,000 (17 BBs)

Edward Pak - 2,400,000 (16 BBs)

Michael Soyza - 2,075,000 (14 BBs)

Brian Kim - 2,000,000 (13 BBs)

Event 2 final table players (clockwise from back left): Michael Soyza, Chi-Jen Chu, Edward Pak, Jonathan Jaffe, Clemen Deng, Ramin Hajiyev, Brian Kim, Masashi Oya, Mao Renji.

The opening exchanges of the final were marked by its relative lack of surprises. Soyza lost a straightforward flip with AK against Oya's 99, before Kim's last nine blinds went in as a button jam with J10. Jaffe had JQ in the big blind, called, and made a straight.

Soyza won $119,000 for ninth and Kim picked up $144,000 for eighth.

Michael Soyza, left, was first out from the final

Brian Kim's two-time aspirations ended in eighth

Edward Pak was a newcomer to the Triton scene here in Jeju, playing a couple of Triton ONE events, before firing the first two Super High Roller tournaments as well. He cashed in 38th place in the WPT Global Slam, but was now here at the final of the $30K.

His chip graph at the final was one of slow decline, however, and he only had three blinds left when he found K8 on the button. The chips went in and Mao Renji called from the big blind with J8. The inferior hand pre-flop became best after a board of 92Q109, however. Pak won $196,000 for seventh.

Edward Pak packs his bags

Hajiyev will always be remembered most as the winner of the Luxon Invitational in Cyprus, which earned him more than $4 million, but his second Triton win came here in Jeju in March, in a $30K buy-in NLH event. This was, in effect, a title defence, and he did his very best.

However, Hajiyev couldn't get pocket eights to stay ahead against Oya's Q10. A queen on the river sealed it in Oya's favour, and Hajiyev won $268,000 for sixth.

Ramin Hajiyev bids farewell

The pattern of button jamming into the big blind continued to account next for Clemen Deng. Deng picked up J9 and shipped his eight blinds into the middle, with Mao picking him off in the big blind holding A5. Nobody hit anything, which meant Mao won the hand and Deng banked $353,000. He was another player who had cashed the opening event here in Jeju, so was two from two.

Clemen Deng has gone two-from-two in Jeju

As is so common, the stacks were now very shallow and Jaffe held the chip lead with 33 blinds. Anyone doubling up would likely assume top spot, however, and Oya now found what looked like a good opportunity. He ripped in 15 blinds from the button holding A9, but unfortunately for him, Jaffe looked at AQ in the small blind.

After Jaffe's call, the best hand remained ahead and Oya was now on the rail. He won $447,000, which is a new Triton best. He is knocking on the door a lot these days.

Masashi Oya extends his lead at the top of the Japan money list

Chi-Jen Chu was something of an unknown quantity coming to the Triton series this trip, but he made himself known when making the last three of the $20K High Roller in Triton ONE. his re-investment of some of his $146,700 prize in that one turned out to be well spent as he also took third in this tournament. This time it was worth $551,000.

Chu held firm through much of the early going at the final, but then lost big pots back-to-back against Jaffe and Mao. Chu flopped a flush draw with J5 on a board of 778 but Mao was happy to get his chips in at that point with pocket 10s.

Chi-Jen Chu ducked out before heads-up

Chu missed and departed, leaving a heads-up battle between Mao (30 blinds) and Jaffe (61). And they quickly beckoned Luca Vivaldi to the table to discuss terms on a deal.

There was little to no dissent as Jaffe agreed to take $1,021,672 to Mao's $882,328. They left $40,000 to play for, plus the trophy.

Players make a deal

Anyone expecting this to be a walkover was quickly corrected. Mao came third in the equivalent event here in Jeju in March, and was clearly not here by good fortune alone. He showed plenty of fight in the heads-up phase.

Slowly but surely, he moved up onto Jaffe's shoulder and then he won a big all in with pocket threes holding against Jaffe's K3. Mao was made to sweat when three spades were among the first four cards, but he faded the outs on the river. He assumed the lead with 50 blinds to Jaffe's 11.

Mao Renji came very close to a maiden win

The blinds went up again, and so did Jaffe. He got back to within eight blinds (including turning seven-deuce into a full house) and there were only fewer than 50 between them. Then he doubled with JQ against 87 after they both got excited by two hearts on the flop. The flush draw missed, but Jaffe ended with a straight.

Jaffe now led again and finally closed it out. The hard way. All the chips went in once more with Jaffe holding A5 and Mao holding QJ. Mao flopped best when the QJ5 appeared, and he turned even better with the Q. But the river A swung everything back to Jaffe, and his drought was finally at its end.

Jaffe's total prize came in at $1,061,672, but his principal concern at the tournament's conclusion was making sure he could buy in to the $40K Mystery Bounty, where registration was closing imminently.

That's just what the professionals do.

Jonathan Jaffe, center, with Brian Kim, left, and Nick Petrangelo