Champion Alex Theologis

Greek pro Alex Theologis is a champion at last on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, landing $642,000 for besting a field of 206 entries in the curtain-raising first event of Triton's latest trip to Jeju, South Korea.

Theologis, 33, had been threatening this for a while, having previously picked up two third places and one runner-up finish on the tour, typically starting festivals brightly in the bigger-field events.

But he got over the line for the first time here at LES A Casino, Shinhwa World, by outlasting a high-spirited final table peppered with some of Triton's very brightest stars. Theologis led the field for almost all of the second day, and was the chip-leader heading to the nine-handed final. But as conversation flowed in some very relaxed final stages, he had to stare down stiff competition from the likes of Punnat Punsri, Kiat Lee and Adrian Mateos to close it out.

Ultimately, it was Malaysia's Victor Chong who put up the sternest resistance, getting heads up against Theologis with almost equal stacks. But Chong flew a little too close to the sun in the heads-up battle, with Theologis drawing on his immense experience to win a couple of crucial late pots.

It left Chong smiling his way to a career best $431,000 second prize, but Theologis now joining the esteemed ranks of champions.

Second place for Victor Chong

"I'm of course very excited and very fortunate that I run this well to win," Theologis said. "I value the Triton trophies above other trophies just because of the competition and the buy-in and so on. So I couldn't have asked for anything else."

Admitting that it always feels especially good to kick off a series with a big win, Theologis joked: "The idea is I don't play anything else. I have a profitable series, goodbye." He later added: "But of course it's always a relief to win early on because then even if the other tournaments don't work out, you don't have this burden of having a losing trip."

Acknowledging the knock-about nature of the final table, belying the significance of a big field, $15,000 buy-in event, Theologis said: "On one hand it is definitely more fun to have a final table like this because you can banter back and forth, make jokes. But I do think maybe you can lose a little bit of focus. If it's a final table where no one talks and everyone is 100% tuned in, I will also be more tuned in. Whereas here it's easier to maybe miss something here and there."

The new champion begins celebrations

But nothing seemed to be missing from Theologis's game as he deservedly got his name on the honours board.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

With a $15,000 buy-in, Event 1 offered a fairly gentle introduction to the Super High Roller streets, encouraging a host of new players to join proceedings. But after 206 entries and a bubble due when only 35 players remained, it quickly became clear that a lot of the games biggest names were also taking this tournament very seriously.

The four players knocked out just before reaching the money were Phil Ivey, Thomas Muhlocker, Danny Tang and Alisson Piekazewicz, indicating just how strong this event really was.

Piekazewicz, the big bounty hunter of the visit to Jeju in March, this time took the unwanted title of bubble boy. He had a stack hovering right around the average when he picked up KQ in the big blind and called Alex Theologis' button raise. The 5 flop looked good, and Piekazewicz check-raised to build a pot.

After Theologis called, Piekazewicz then check-called the J turn, and that took them to the 8 river. With a pot of around 30 blinds and Piekazewicz's stack now smaller than that, he checked for a third time. Theologis bet enough to put Piekazewicz all in.

Piekazewicz called for the last of it, quickly learning that Theologis had outflopped him with K3. That was the end of the road for the Brazilian, with the rest of the field now guaranteed $25,500 at least. Flash forward a couple more levels and 28 players remained at the end of Day 1, ready to coming back for the first restart of the week on Saturday.

Alisson Piekazewicz's average stack turned to dust on the bubble

Theologis had the bit between his teeth after the bubble knockout and maintained the momentum into Day 2. Though he was forced to jostle at the top of the counts with a litany of other Triton superstars, he was still at the summit as the short stacks started falling ahead of the final. Theologis did plenty of the work himself, including a come-from-behind knockout of Bernhard Binder with Theologis' kings cracking Binder's aces. By this point, Theologis had already accounted for Liu Qiang, when pocket kings (again) became quads.

Other Triton champions Nick Petrangelo (13th) and Joao Simao (10th) were among those who slipped away narrowly short of the final. Simao's departure at the hands of Daniel Rezaei meant a final table convened before 5pm local time.

It lined up as follows:

Alex Theologis - 11,075,000 (74 BBs)

Daniel Rezaei - 7,275,000 (49 BBs)

Punnat Punsri - 6,550,000 (44 BBs)

Kiat Lee - 5,675,000 (38 BBs)

Victor Chong - 4,175,000 (28 BBs)

Wang Yang - 1,825,000 (12 BBs)

Yin Tao - 1,675,000 (11 BBs)

Ehsan Amiri - 1,625,000 (11 BBs)

Adrian Mateos - 1,330,000 (9 BBs)

Event 1 final table players (clockwise from back left): Daniel Rezaei, Alex Theologis, Punnat Punsri, Wang Yang, Kiat Lee, Yin Tao, Victor Chung, Adrian Mateos, Ehsan Amiri.

The bottom four stacks on the leaderboard could ill afford to lose any significant pots early in proceedings. But Wang Yang had the misfortune to pick up A10 in early position and open jam it, only to slam into Yin Tao's pocket aces in the big blind. The only saving grace was that Yin had the slightly smaller stack, so Wang survived this one with two blinds left.

He couldn't spin that up, however. Fairly quickly afterwards, he was in the big blind and all in blind, facing an open from Punnat Punsri and a three-bet from Victor Chong. Punsri folded, and Wang had A7 -- pretty good for forced all-in. However Chong's A was better and stayed good. Wang was out in ninth for $65,000.

Wang Yang never recovered from running into aces

The next player at risk was the man who came to the final with the shortest stack but arguably the biggest reputation. And though Adrian Mateos initially found a way to wriggle out of the hole he was in, winning a flip with AQ against Chong's pocket sixes, it proved to be only a short stay of execution.

He was at the table to see another short stack, Yin Tao, double through Ehsan Amiri with aces beating kings. (Punsri was also in this hand, but let his pocket sixes go.) However it was soon Mateos under pressure again, and when he had over-cards to Chong's pair once more, this time pocket eights held against KJ. That was the end of Mateos. It's ominous that Mateos made the final table in his first event here, but it ended in an eighth place for $79,000 rather than a fourth Triton title.

The Montenegro Invitational champion Adrian Mateos finished eighth in this one

Largely thanks to the aces-versus-kings cooler, Amiri was now in most peril. However, he doubled with AK beating Theologis' Q and was able to cling on some more.

For the most part to this point, Theologis had maintained his strong position at the top of the counts, with Punsri and Rezaei his closest challengers. But as the blinds continued to increase and no one else departing, the stacks shallowed out significantly. The average, seven-handed, slid to 20 blinds, and when Yin then doubled again, through Theologis (Q9 beating when a queen came on the river), Theologis fell down into the middle of the pack.

Yin Tao became a magnet for aces

Meanwhile Kiat Lee leapt into the lead thanks to a cold four-bet from the big blind that got folds from the opening raiser, Punsri, and the three-bettor Yin in the small blind. All of a sudden, this was far too even to name a favourite.

Amiri was just about surviving with nine blinds, but knew he needed to make something happen. He picked up KQ under the gun and put in a committing opening raise, leaving himself less than a big blind. It initially seemed as though he was going to get it through, but Rezaei found A in the big blind, and put in the raise that made Amiri wager everything.

Rezaei flopped a jack and that was all that mattered. The rest of the board was blank and Amiri's tournament was over. This was the third Triton cash of his career, all earned here in Jeju. It was worth $108,000 this time.

Ehsan Amiri's ride ended in seventh

The topsy turvy nature of this final table so far meant that when six players went to their next break, Victor Chong had assumed the chip lead. He won a huge pot through Rezaei, getting everything in as a three-bet shove from the big blind holding jacks, with Rezaei's A7 not enough. It was a double worth 34 blinds at the time, but only 26 when they returned from the break to a 400K big blind.

Kiat Lee was one of those players who had managed to leapfrog the early leaders and stake his own claim for the title, but he suddenly found himself pegged back as Theologis roared again. Lee open-jammed his button with 18 blinds (the third most at the table) but Theologis found pocket nines in the big blind and called for his whole stack.

Lee had KJ but the pair held up, doubling Theologis to 26 blinds. That was the chip lead again. Chong now sat second with 23 blinds, Punsri had 21 in third, and the bottom three -- Yin, Lee and Rezaei -- were all neck-and-neck with 11 blinds each.

They then began to fall, and it was Rezaei's time to walk first. The Austrian pro, who recorded his first win here in March, opened for almost all he had from the button, holding QJ. Chong, who was enjoying his role as chief assassin, looked down at A in the big blind and put in a raise that would commit Rezaei's last chips.

Rezaei called and the dealer put an ace on the turn to leave Rezaei drawing dead. Rezaei takes $147,000 into the rest of this series. Chong led again.

Triton title No 2 will need to wait for Daniel Rezaei

Lee doubled, turning four blinds into eight with J3 beating Chong's K. That allowed him to ladder at least one more spot as it was finally time for Yin's dream Triton debut to run out of steam.

Yin was playing his first ever event on the tour and had enjoyed a wonderful run to the final, where he twice found aces to pad his stack. But he eventually became a victim of the ever-escalating blinds and had only four of them left when he wagered them from the button with J10.

Lee, with his newly doubled stack, called with A7. An ace and seven on the flop sealed Yin's fate. But he left his first event with a $194,500 payday.

Yin's dream debut finished in fifth

Having won back-to-back hands, Lee might have fancied his chances of properly launching a comeback. And he'd have felt even more confident when, on the very next hand, he found A10 and opened his button. Theologis shoved with the covering stack from the small blind and, after Lee called, tabled A. It was looking very rosy for Lee.

However an eight on the flop vaulted Theologis ahead in the hand, and Lee couldn't find his redraw outs. Just when he looked like getting back into the lead, Lee was on the rail, picking up $245,500.

Kiat Lee was on the comeback trail before he hit the skids

Theologis had nosed back into the lead, with 36 blinds to Chong's 34. Punsri was still alive too, holding 13 blinds. There were just about enough chips for some subtlety in the play, but levels were still very short and the end was in sight.

It never pays to write off Punnat Punsri. The six-time winner has shown time and again that he is a closer. However, in this instance he couldn't find a way to spin up the shortest of the three stacks at the table.

He took his last stand with A3, which he raised for almost everything from the small blind. But Chong had A in the big blind, which was plenty good enough to get the rest of the chips in. Chong flopped a jack and rivered another. That was curtains for Punsri.

Of the three left, Punsri was the only player who previously had a title to his name. But he left the others to decide who would earn their first trident trophy as he picked up $302,000 for third instead.

The dangerous Punnat Punsri got no further than third this time

Chong led as they went heads up. He had 47 blinds to Theologis' 22.

The pair exchanged small pots for the opening exchanges, but when Theologis turned a straight holding K5 he managed to extract enough from Chong to edge ahead. The blinds went up soon after, with Theologis' 28 blinds edging Chong's 23.

It was then a question of two big hands.

On the first, Chong got unlucky, hitting top pair with Q4 on a flop of 7. Chong check-raised the flop, aiming to get piles in, but Theologis had the better hand with . Chong survived the hand when the came on the turn, with Theologis making a great read to raise Chong off the hand. Chong was now on the ropes.

Despite having his wings clipped, Chong still had game. Shortly after, he limped in pre-flop and saw the 6J9 fall after Theologis checked his option. Both players checked.

The 5 came on the turn and Theologis check-called Chong's stab. It took them to the K river. Theologis checked again, but Chong stuck in nine of his 11 blinds. Theologis had Q and made a terrific call with third pair. Chong showed his and was in big trouble now.

A dialled in Alex Theologis

The extravagant bluff, picked off confidently by Theologis, left Chong with only two blinds.

Lun Loon arrived on the rail and said to his friend and countryman, "One time!"

"I need 10 times," Chong replied with a chuckle.

"You do the one time first," Loon said.

He did it, doubling immediately. But that was unfortunately as good as it got. On the next hand, Chong couldn't get 84 to beat J and his tournament was over.

With that, Theologis made good on his years of promise and can now, finally, call himself a Triton champ. Klemens Roiter, Kiat Lee and Bernhard Binder were among those to pour on stage to congratulate him. The wait is over.