Champion Chan Wai Leong!

It's been a long, long wait for Chan Wai Leong, but one of the original players on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series finally has a title.

The 39-year-old Chan made his Triton Poker debut in the Philippines in 2016, at the second event Triton ever hosted. But as the prestigious tour celebrates "a decade in gold", Chan finally ended his trophy drought after 23 previous cashes and 14 final tables.

The victory came in the $25,000 PLO in Jeju and earned him $387,000. It's far from his biggest result — his previous Triton earnings already sat at more than $12 million — but it came in a tournament where he clearly meant business from the very start.

Chan was a massive chip leader for almost all the first day of this 53-entry tournament, carried that lead into the final, and even when eventual runner-up Sean Rafael seemed to be pulling clear at the most crucial moment, Chan redoubled efforts and closed it out.

A popular champion gets over the line at last

Chan has twice been a runner-up himself, both times in NLH Main Events, but he wouldn't let it happen again.

The new champion was not keen to give interviews. He preferred to let his skills do the talking. But as all the superstars of Malaysian poker poured onto the stage to celebrate with him, including Triton founding player Paul Phua, it was clear this was a very popular result indeed.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The smallest buy-in PLO event got started as the highest, the Main Event, was funnelling towards its final. It meant that for long periods, the 53-entry field played on outer tables in the gradually-emptying Triton Poker Series tournament room. What had once bustled with the hordes of Triton ONE was now more of an exclusive club for the four-card studs.

One man rose to almost immediate prominence and never looked down: Chan Wai Leong was the first player with a chip lead big enough to be called significant, and he held on to it through the entirety of the first day, overnight, and then as the rest of the field battled to make the money.

Twelve players bagged Day 1, nine cashed. That meant the eliminations of Thomas Eychenne and Gruff Jones in 12th and 11th took the field to its stone bubble.

At this point, there were three players with sub-20 blind stacks, but things were about to get a whole lot shorter. Nobody was knocked out for around two hours of hand-for-hand play, and that meant things got critical for more than half the field.

While Isaac Haxton managed to chip up ahead of Chan at the top, all of Ben Tollerene (12 blinds), Lautaro Guerra (10 blinds), Paul Phua (9 blinds) Philip Sternheimer (9 blinds), Danny Tang (5 blinds), Laszlo Bujtas (4 blinds) and David Wang (3 blinds) were all surviving on crumbs. Something had to give.

When it came to it, it was Tang who couldn't survive the blinds moving past him. Haxton raised him off his big blind, then Tang took a stand against the same opponent from the small blind, holding AQ97.

Haxton had J965 and ended up turning a club flush. Tang's departure in 10th took them into the money, with the focus now shifting to the final.

DANNY TANG'S ELIMINATION ENDED A TORTUOUS BUBBLE PERIOD

With all the short stacks around, it was obviously not going to take long. David Wang quickly bust to Paul Phua, but then simultaneous big hands, one on each table, sent two players to the rail at once.

Lautaro Guerra's AJ96 went down to Chan QQ66, all-in pre-flop. Laszlo Bujtas's AQ106 lost to Sean Rafael's AKJ2. Similarly, all the money was in before the flop.

They were both significant pots, which put Chan back into the chip lead and made Rafael his closest challenger. The final table lined up as follows:

Chan Wai Leong - 3,845,000 (77 BBs)

Sean Rafael - 2,395,000 (48 BBs)

Isaac Haxton - 2,070,000 (41 BBs)

Paul Phua - 1,170,000 (23 BBs)

Philip Sternheimer - 720,000 (14 BBs)

Ben Tollerene - 405,000 (8 BBs)

EVENT 19 FINAL TABLE PLAYERS (CLOCKWISE FROM BACK LEFT): PHILIP STERNHEIMER, CHAN WAI LEONG, ISAAC HAXTON, PAUL PHUA, BEN TOLLERENE, SEAN RAFAEL.

Players moved over to the feature table stage and they rolled back the blinds, all part of the service when final stages are to be streamed.

They didn't hang around.

Ben Tollerene, the NLH Main Event champion, came into this final as the short stack. And those last chips were quickly in the possession of Haxton. Tollerene's last six blinds were in the middle pre-flop after he raises from the button holding KQJJ and Haxton three-bet the big blind with AA65.

There was nothing to put Tollerene ahead on flop, turn or river. Tollerene took $82,000 for sixth.

NLH MAIN EVENT CHAMP BEN TOLLERENE DOWNED IN SIXTH

Philip Sternheimer, the runner-up to Tollerene in that NLH Main Event, had made another final table with his new friend. But he was now the short stack and followed Tollerene out the door.

This was a set-up: Sternheimer had 22 blinds and AKK7 when Rafael found AAK2. All the money went in pre-flop in a hand that hold'em fans will understand: aces against kings for all of it.

Again, the dealer changed nothing and Rafael's aces held. Sternheimer bust in fifth for $106,000.

ANOTHER FINAL TABLE FOR PHILIP STERNHEIMER

Rafael was on a charge and he next eliminated Haxton to go even further ahead. He picked up the nice double-suited AK98 and opened first to speak. Haxton, in the small blind, three-bet with AKJ2 and Rafael's call took them to the 97Q flop.

Haxton put his last eight blinds in the pot, and Rafael called. His pair of nines were in the lead and stayed that way through the 7 turn and 4 river. Haxton earned $136,000 for this one, having also cashed the PLO Main Event, which was still playing out at the same time.

ISAAC HAXTON BECAME SEAN RAFAEL'S NEXT VICTIM

Rafael now had a wide lead and was able to chip up further without much resistance. When Paul Phua took a stand, he ended on the rail.

This has already been a tremendous series for Phua, whose emotional victory in the $150K 10th Anniversary Special will become the defining moment of this festival. But he was now at his third final table of the trip, with serious designs on a third career title. But Rafael had no room for sentiment.

Rafael had AKQ10 and opened from the button. Phua had AK85 and moved in from the big blind. Rafael called and paired his queen on the turn to win it.

Phua won $181,000 this time and completed the gold, silver and bronze finish for this series.

A FIRST, A SECOND AND NOW A THIRD FOR PAUL PHUA

Heads-up began with Rafael holding a lead of 81 blinds to 25.

Rafael did not let up, and Chan was quickly down to 11 blinds. That's when the red lights went on above the stage signalling the first potential end of the tournament. However, Chan's AJ52 beat Rafael's J932 and Leong doubled to survive.

The next time Chan was under threat, the same thing happened. This time his KKQ7 defeated Rafael's 9882 and Chan doubled once more. With 35 blinds to play with, he was much closer to Rafael's 50.

At the same time on the opposite feature table, Matthias Eibinger was gradually hauling in Richard Gryko's heads-up chip lead. And the same thing was happening here, with the same result.

Sean Rafael held the heads-up lead at the star

Chan doubled again, this time with KKJ6 beating KQ109. Rafael flopped top pair and a wrap when the flop came 7KJ. But the top set stayed best when turn and river blanked. Chan was now in the commanding lead.

They shared the blinds for a few hands, before it all ended when Chan's 1056K finished with a full house to beat Rafael's 8964. The final pot started with a call from Chan in the small blind. Rafael raised and Chan called again.

The flop fell 595 and Chan called Rafael's c-bet. That brought the 10 on the turn and the boat for Chan. Rafael checked, Chan bet and Rafael jammed. But he'd slammed right into the top of it, and this tournament -- like Chan's long wait -- was over.

Chan Wai Leong, a champion at last