Champion Nguyen Huu Dung!

It was a landmark day on the Triton Poker Series: the concluding stages of a record-breaking Triton ONE event, featuring two female players at the final, alongside the start of the first ever Women's Event on the storied tour.

All on International Women's Day.

There was a celebratory atmosphere inside the LES A Casino, at Shinhwa World, Jeju, South Korea as these pivotal moments played out. The day ended with Nguyen Huu Dung, of Vietnam, landing the first trophy of the Triton ONE festival, in the $3K QQPK Genesis event, earning a payday of $586,000.

But he will be happy to share some of the spotlight with France's Nguyen Thi Xoa and Chunnuan Xu, of China, who finished seventh and fifth, respectively.

They demonstrated once again that poker is far from just a man's game, a fact confirmed by the buoyant turnout for the $3,000 One-W Championship that played its opening day. There are two women's events on this Triton ONE festival, and surely many more to come in the future.

But back to today's tournament, and a breakout winner in the form of Nguyen. He managed to defeat a field of 1,236 entries over three long days of poker, turning his $3K buy-in into more than half a million.

Nguyen begins his life as a champion with his first interview

"I feel very happy because it was a really long tournament, and I won the trophy," Nguyen said. "I'm so happy."

He said he's got a special person to dedicate the success to as well.

"It's for my son," Nguyen said. "This month is his birthday, so I want to give this trophy to him."

Nguyen made his debut on the Triton Series during Triton ONE's debut last September. He cashed in the equivalent event last time, and added two more deep runs, which then persuaded him to take a few shots in the Super High Roller Series. He earned three more cashes there.

With renewed confidence, he took to the felt once more this time around and built the dominant stack through the opening two days. He was chip-leader heading into an unscheduled final day, and never surrendered that position. He eventually downed the spirited Zhou Yinan in second place, with the Chinese player earning $338,000 for his runner-up finish.

Referring to his chip lead, Nguyen said: "It made me feel comfortable, but every player is so good, so tough, I needed to be careful and play my best game."

And on the specific subject of Zhou, he added: "He is very, very fantastic player. But today is my day."

Runner up Zhou Yinan

TOURNAMENT ACTION

As the players piled in through four opening flights, it seemed all but certain the tournament would break the Triton Series’ record for the biggest ever field. By the time registration closed, it was confirmed: 1,236 entries was 51 more than the same tournament of September last year.

That put a breathtaking $3,311,244 in the prize pool, with $586,000 reserved for the winner. It also made it somewhat inevitable that the tournament would need an additional day to complete.

Just after midnight on Saturday night (Sunday morning), therefore, the tournament paused as it hit its final table. Nine players knew they'd need to dig deep for another session on Sunday, but the compensation they were due was lavish.

The last nine sized up as follows:

Nguyen Huu Dung - 82,300,000 (82 BBs)

Takashi Kawauchi - 57,400,000 (57 BBs)

Zhou Yinan - 55,100,000 (55 BBs)

Chuang Zheng - 46,900,000 (47 BBs)

Chunnuan Xu - 20,300,000 (20 BBs)

Lu Zeping - 18,100,000 (18 BBs)

Mengdian Peng - 15,000,000 (15 BBs)

Nguyen Thi Xoa - 8,200,000 (8 BBs)

Nguyen Nang Quang - 5,500,000 (6 BBs)

Triton ONE Event #1 final table players (clockwise from back left): Chunnuan Xu, Nguyen Nang Quang, Nguyen Thi Xoa, Chuang Zheng, Takashi Kawauchi, Zhou Yinan, Mengdian Peng, Nguyen Huu Dung, Lu Zeping.

Tournament organisers rolled the blinds back one level, to allow for some additional play at the final. Even so, there were still four sub-20 BB stacks, and plenty of action guaranteed from the outset. So it proved, with the first player out before even one orbit had been completed.

Chip-leader Nguyen Huu Dung came out firing, but Chunnuan Xu ensured he wouldn't have it all his own way, with an early three-bet shove getting through. However, the critically short-stacked Nguyen Nang Quang wasn't quite so successful after he picked up K10 and moved all in. Zhou Yinan sat behind him in the big blind and made the call with A10.

The dominant hand held up and sent Nguyen out in ninth, for $44,000.

It was a short day for returning short stack Nguyen Nang Quang

Despite this being only the second Triton ONE festival, Lu Zeping is already a familiar face, cashing in both the $8K Main Event in the inaugural Triton ONE Main Event, and picking up a second cash in a single-night event back in September. Now here he was at a major final, aiming for a first title.

But for Lu, the first cooler of the final sent him heading out in eighth. There was little he could do about it.

Lu was in the big blind, with a 16-blind stack, and he saw the raise-happy leader Nguyen open from under the gun. Zhou Yinan and Chuang Zheng both called from mid-position, and Lu peeked down to see AQ. It was the perfect shoving chance, which Lu seized. Nguyen got out of the way, ditching A5, but Zhou had laid a dastardly trap. He called, holding AK.

Chuang had the best hand, but folded pocket eights. That left the two other big hands to clash. A king on the flop left Lu drawing to running cards. Those hopes ended on the turn. Lu took $57,000 for eighth.

Great shoving spot proves costly for Lu Zeping

Back in September, France's Nguyen Thi Xoa fell agonising close to becoming Triton ONE's first female champion, when she finished runner-up to Ji Xiaqing in the $10K Mystery Bounty event. (That allowed Japan's Yoko Sasaki to become the first woman to hold a Triton ONE trophy when she won the $2K One Night event later on the same day.) But Nguyen, a professional of many years standing, returned to Jeju this week and made another deep run, booking a spot in the final of this monstrous event.

Having laddered two spots, her situation was getting critical with only six blinds, and she made a mandatory shove with A10 from under the gun. Action folded to Chuang Zheng in the big blind, an he found KJ. With a near 60-blind stack, he called to put Nguyen at risk.

The flop of KQ10 gave both players a pair, but Chuang had flopped best. Nguyen missed her possible redraw, as the turn and river came 5 and 2. That sent Nguyen out in seventh for $79,000. It was another tremendous showing from one of Triton ONE's brightest-shining stars.

Another exceptional Triton performance from Nguyen Thi Xoa

So far, three of the four shortest stacks from the overnight returning field had perished, but the fourth of them, China's Mengdian Peng, was holding firm. He had previously scored a double-up in a blind-versus-blind battle to stay alive, and bolstered his stack with a four-bet shove pre-flop a few hands later.

However, two unfortunate defeats holding ace-king ultimately spelled the end.

In the first, Peng found AK and saw Chunnuan Xu jam her seven big blind stack in from the cutoff. It was an easy call, but Xu's pocket fives held firm. That was a comparatively small pot, but after the blinds went up, Peng found himself with only 11 blinds on the button an orbit or so later, and looked down this time at AK.

He moved in, but slammed straight into Zhou Yinan's AA. Zhou called from the small blind, and the board offered no help to Peng. He was out in sixth for $105,344. His first Triton cash was worth six figures.

Mengdian Peng slammed into aces for six figures

Yinan now joined three rivals at the top of a comparatively flat leaderboard. All of Nguyen Huu Dung, Chuang Zheng and Takashi Kawauchi had between 30 and 45 blinds. That left Xu as something of an outlier. Though she managed two doubles, with pocket sixes holding against Kawauchi's A10, then A7 holding against the same opponent's 86, she was back down to only 13 blinds when she sensed another opportunity from the small blind.

Action folded to Xu, and though she had only Q3, she also only had Nguyen, in the big blind, to get past. And she moved all in. But the timing could not have been more unfortunate. The chip leader looked down at red pocket aces and made an easy call. Xu flopped a queen, giving hope to poker fans watching across the world. But the turn and river bricked out, and Xu's day was done.

Xu earned $138,500 from her first ever Triton tournament. It was a fine way to celebrate International Women's Day.

Chunnan Xu's skills took her to fifth place and nearly $150

None of the action to this point had really threatened Nguyen's chip lead. The last remaining Vietnamese player, who came into the final way ahead, had managed to stay at the front during the wild early action. And then came the kind of hand that can convince anybody the title is theirs.

Chuang Zheng opened the pot from under the gun, holding the short-deck monster J10. Nguyen was in the small blind, and he looked down at the monster-in-any-variant KK. He put in a three-bet. Chuang called, and saw a delightful 105J flop.

Zheng started the hand with 28 blinds and probably now expected to end it with double that. After Nguyen made a small bet, Zheng just called.

The 5 turn was one of those silent killers, however. Chuang probably didn't put a five in Nguyen's range, but his two pair were now counterfeited by Nguyen's better two pair. Nguyen shoved, asking for the rest of Chuang's stack. Chuang thought long and hard, but couldn't let it go.

The 3 river completed the board, and just like that, Chuang was out in the biggest pot of the tournament to that point.

He took $176,000 for fourth. Nguyen was now a big leader again.

Chuang Zheng lost a monster to bust in fourth

Nguyen did what he had to do, which was raise a lot of pots and win them uncontested. Zhou Yinan found a double with A2 beating Nguyen's KQ, and exploded in delight. Kawauchi also managed a double, when he took pocket kings up against Nguyen's A8.

But Nguyen was still holding firm at the top of the charts, and managed to continue to build. The pressure fell back on to Zhou and Kawauchi, with the latter in particular sliding back down.

Zhou Yinan roars his delight at a double

The last Japanese in the field dwindled down to his last nine blinds, and he found K5 in the small blind. That was good enough to get his chips in, first into the pot. However, Nguyen had a pocket pair -- red sixes -- in the big blind. Nguyen called to put Kawauchi at risk.

The flop of 1074 gave little encouragement to Kawauchi. But the 5 turn gave him reason to believe. The river A was not was he was looking for, however. Kawauchi headed out in third for $237,000.

A tough way to end it for Takashi Kawauchi

Two players therefore remained. Nguyen had 48 blinds to Zhou's 14. Could Nguyen close it out, or would there be one of those heads-up comebacks we've come to know and love? It really could have gone either way, and the poker gods kept us guessing.

After a brief period of back and forth, a few blind steals extended Nguyen's lead. But then Zhou found a priceless double, open-ripping his last seven blinds with 109 and getting a miracle turn and river to beat Nguyen's KJ. The flop of 8AJ had seemed likely to end it, but the 9 and 10 rolled off, to keep Zhou alive.

Heads-up for the title

It was the most temporary of stays, however. On the very next hand, Nguyen limped his small blind holding Q10 and Zhou raised the big blind with AJ. Nguyen called and they saw the all-action 10J9 flop. Technically, Zhou was still ahead with a bigger pair, and he bet. Nguyen, who also had a pair and an open-ended straight draw, moved all-in, putting maximum pressure on Zhou.

Zhou called for the last of it, but the K on the turn swung the momentum back to Nguyen. The river of 7 was a blank, and that was the end of it all.

The tournament, which lasted five hours into an additional day, crowned its new champion. Nguyen by name, win by nature. Vietnam has its second Triton ONE champion, and this second season is off to a spectacular start.

"I'm really happy to be here in this game, I want to try my best in every tournament," Nguyen said. "The Triton is so professional. The TV, the staff, the dealers, and of course the players. I will come here many times, for sure."