Champion Joao Simao!

One of the great hidden skills of a poker player is timing. Playing your best when it means the most is something only the very top players can manage, and Joao Simao is one of the best.

Tonight in Jeju, South Korea, Simao added a second title on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series to a $3 million pick up in the Bahamas last December. And this one was even bigger. Simao prevailed over the biggest field ever assembled for a $200,000 Triton Invitational, earning $7.25 million in the process.

It takes his lifetime Triton earnings past $13 million and represents a spectacular new high mark in this 37-year-old's career, and one that establishes him among Triton's biggest hitters.

"There's no comparison," Simao said when asked how this one ranks among all his accomplishments. "I've had so many good results that I'm very proud of, but this is by far the happiest moment of my career."

Describing himself as "blessed" and "chosen", Simao revealed that he developed some of his crucial endurance skills in conversations with his children, hoping to show them that even when things aren't going well, there's no need to give up.

"It's a skill that I have, I take a lot of what I talk of with my kids about how to deal with problems when things are not going your way in life," Simao said, admitting that he had been down and nearly out earlier in this enormous event. "So when it happens at the table, I like to think that I'm an example for them. I want to do what I teach to them, so I never give up."

Simao had been joined at the final table by his official Invitee, Winfred Yu, who finished the tournament in sixth place and then watched his playing partner all the way to the title. This is the event in which elite pros have to wait to be invited to play by one of the recreational players in the other half of the field. One Invitee, one pro, in a perfectly balanced field.

Winfred Yu joins his partner Simao to celebrate

When there were only two players left, Simao had to face one of the very strongest in the Invitee field: Ding Biao, the Chinese No 1, who already has three Triton titles to his name. And after slipping to the brink of elimination, Simao made the most of a tournament break to get some sustenance on board (timing again), before spinning his way to the win.

"He played great," Simao said of Ding. "A lot better than I expected. He played better than me in the beginning, for sure. I was lucky to have a break. I forgot to eat so I was very, very hungry, very, very tired, so I was lucky to get back the chips and win."

Simao also expressed his love for this unique format, which presents many different challenges to even the most experienced pros.

"It's completely different but a lot more fun," he said. "It's a great experience. Of course, because of the buy-in and the prize it's more special, but if it was a $10K, or a $1K buy-in, I would love to play this tournament. It's a really, really special tournament."

Ding Biao, beaten heads-up

Simao will now find his face on the banners that line the Triton tournament room, reserved only for winners of more than one events on the Series. He has earned his place on the gallery of the most accomplished champions in the game.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

In the run up to the event in Jeju, Triton tournament organisers knew we were in for a big one, but a late surge of interest pushed the field size higher than even the most optimistic expectations. The existing record of 48 pairings, from Montenegro in May, was always likely to be surpassed as the Invitational came to Asia for the first time. But on the last day of registrations, the interest list went not only past 50 for the first time, but all the way to 60.

A record-breaking field in Jeju

That meant 120 unique players and $24 million in the prize pool before anyone even sat down. When the poker gods then started their meddling on the opening day — Phil Ivey and Sosia Jiang were among players to be stacked when their aces were cracked — the re-entry total started moving similarly upward.

CRAZINESS ENSUES ON DAY 2

The rules of the Triton Invitational mean that players have only one hour after being eliminated before re-entering, with that grace period extending overnight if players bust in the final level of Day 1. And pretty much everybody who was allowed did indeed fire again before the second day: the field reconvened with 18 players unpacking fresh stacks.

That meant a confirmed 173 entries, a prize pool of $34.6 million, and a promise of $7.25 million to the winner.

"Another record, another milestone, for the Triton Poker Series," said Luca Vivaldi, Senior Director of Live Events, in his opening remarks to the field. "This is thanks to you players. Stop after stop, year after year, you put the trust in the Super High Roller Series and for your continuous support from the whole Triton family, thank you. We couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate our 10th year anniversary."

Vivaldi dropped the mic, and the game was on again.

Triton's mic-drop moment

Hidden among the details announced by Vivaldi was the news that 31 places would be paid. That meant that the vast majority of the returning field would still leave this tournament with nothing, and it ushered in a new degree of seriousness for the first few hours of the day.

Play gradually progressed to the point that the money was a tangible proposition. Plenty of superstars fell short, of course: Ivey's second bullet went the same way as his first; Dan Dvoress and Nick Petrangelo silently departed; both Paul Phua and Richard Yong perished before the money.

Yong's son, Wai Kin, was the player whose queens had beaten Sosia Jiang's aces very early on Day 1, and that seemed like months ago by the time the field had slimmed to 32 players and Wai Kin was now all in and called on the stone bubble.

Wai Kin Yong was among those under threat on the bubble

Yong was actually the seventh player put at risk of a bubble in an absurd drawn out phase of hand-for-hand play. Consecutively, Thomas Boivin doubled through Ramin Hajijev (kings beating queens); Winfred Yu doubled through Musk Thomas (AK beating Q); Ding Biao doubled through David Coleman (Ding rivered two pair with to beat Coleman's flopped two pair, holding ); Hajiyev doubled back through Adrian Mateos ( > pocket sevens); Jessica Teusl doubled through Seth Davies ( > ); then Wang Yang doubled through Jesse Lonis with holding against .

Jessica Teusl, already the last woman in the Invitational, survived the bubble

That last pot was the third in chips against the fourth, so it pushed Wang into the overall tournament lead. And that was important because of what happened after Yong's all-in. Back where we started this bubble coverage, Yong was the seventh player to double up in this madness. He got his chips in with A9 and beat Alex Wice's K.

But only moments later, a tournament defining hand took place elsewhere.

Semi Sun had been cruising with 59 big blinds. There were numerous players in the room with fewer than 10, and plenty more with fewer than 20. However, Sun wanted more and played a huge hand against the aforementioned Wang.

Wang opened from his big stack in mid-position, and Sun called on the button holding 58. He flopped top pair on the connected 7 flop. Wang bet out for 2.5 BBs and Sun called. Then the came on the turn. Wang bet half pot and Sen clicked back. Wang called.

Semi Sun gets it all

The Q completed the board and Wang checked. Sun decided to turn his hand into a bluff and fired out everything he had. The pot was 50 BBs already, and Sun piled in another 35. Wang couldn't get his chips in fast enough, though he had to wait until play on other tables had concluded before turning over his A7 for a boat.

Semi Sun, whose name suggests a partial eclipse, was completely blacked out. He was eliminated in 32nd place, the last player without a cash. Wang, meanwhile, stacked up 158 big blinds. Remember: he'd been all in and at risk of elimination three hands prior.

Total eclipse of the

Wang remained in the chip lead as a wild Day 2 played to its conclusion. He led the last 16 who returned to play to a champion.

DAY 3 PROMISES A WINNER

Of the numerous intriguing plots running through proceedings into Day 3, Adrian Mateos' quest to defend his title was perhaps the most compelling. Mateos had been putting on a show for all his numerous admirers, and was many observers' bet to reach the final once again and maybe even become the first player to win a Triton Invitational twice.

However, not long after the start of the concluding day, Mateos showed that even he is not immune to the swings of this game. He lost a flip for all his chips, seeing his JJ beaten by Emilien Pitavy's A. So Mateos' title defence ended in 14th.

The two-time dream ends for Adrian Mateos

Each of the next four players eliminated were also Triton champions: Mehdi Chaoui, Teun Mulder, Jesse Lonis and Matthias Eibinger perished in 13th through 10th. The latter lost the last of his chips to Joao Simao, a contributing factor in Simao's surge to the top of the counts. He took the most of the last nine to the final table:

Joao Simao - 11,725,000 (78 BBs)

Wang Yang - 8,425,000 (56 BBs)

Emilien Pitavy - 8,100,000 (54 BBs)

Seth Davies - 6,850,000 (46 BBs)

Thomas Boivin - 4,650,000 (31 BBs)

Winfred Yu - 4,250,000 (28 BBs)

Ding Biao - 3,425,000 (23 BBs)

Eric Tsai - 2,325,000 (16 BBs)

Hannes Jeschka - 2,150,000 (14 BBs)

Triton Invitational final table players (clockwise from back left): Joao Simao, Seth Davies, Thomas Boivin, Wang Yang, Eric Tsai, Ding Biao, Emilien Pitavy, Hannes Jeschka, Winfred Yu.

This line-up pitted five pros against four Invitees, as perfectly balanced a field as can be arranged. It was also neat that partners Simao and Winfred Yu lined up together, continuing something of a tradition of at least one partnership going all the way to the final.

There would obviously be no quarter given now, though. It was every man for himself. And Simao first targeted the Taiwanese player Erik Tsai in the first big skirmish of the final.

Simao had K9 and opened under the gun. Tsai was the only caller, from the big blind. Simoa flopped top pair as the 4 emerged, and though both players checked that, Tsai bet on both the turn and river. Simao called and Tsai's was beaten. Tsai was left with less than one blind, and although he doubled it once, it eventually went to Ding Biao for the final table's first elimination.

Tsai earned $749,000 for ninth place.

Eric Tsai was first out from the final

The 50-minute levels in this one meant that although stacks were not exactly ocean deep, there was no rush to do anything wild. However, Hannes Jeschka had gradually ebbed to five blinds, Winfred Yu had 12, Ding Biao had 15, with Emilien Pitavy sitting with 18 and even the formerly formidable Wang Yang had 19.

But the next massive pot featured none of them. Instead, Thomas Boivin and Seth Davies got involved in a levelling war, which did not end well for Boivin.

Joao Simao opened the pot from mid-position, and then Boivin three-bet the button holding AJ. Davies woke up with A in the small blind and put in a four-bet squeeze, covering Boivin. Simao folded, but Boivin was priced in. He called with the inferior ace and received no help.

Boivin became the eighth placed finisher, for $905,000.

Thomas Boiv

Davies was now all but tied with Simao in first, but he couldn't enjoy the spoils for very long. Only two hands later, Davies three-bet pocket eights over Ding's early-position raise and then called Ding's 17-blind shove.

Ding had pocket aces, but the dealer was auditioning for Hollywood. There was an eight on the flop, sending Davies into the lead, before an ace on the turn swung it back to Ding. Ding-dong, he doubled.

Hannes Jeschka had been the short stack for almost all of this final table, and finally he had few enough blinds that they had to go in. His previous pre-flop raises had all got through and earned him blinds and antes, but he had only three blinds and was UTG when K7 qualified as enough to get them in.

Five opponents folded, but the last one, Winfred Yu, had K10 in the big blind and called Jeschka needed a miracle to survive, but the dealer wasn't in that kind of mood anymore. Jeschka bust in seventh for $1,237,000, the first seven-figure payout of this tournament, and also of Jeschka's career. It seems certain not to be the last.

Hannes Jeschka's last few chips go in

The sight of Winfred Yu at this final table filled long-time Triton watchers with joy. Yu did as much as anybody to bring Triton to existence in its very early days, with his poker-room management know-how bringing this tour to life. But he's not only an architect, he's still a tremendous player and had sworn to add to his two titles here in Jeju.

However, Yu had his work cut out seeing his stack slip to only six blinds as the levels gradually edged up in this one.

Yu picked up A7 on the button and that was good enough to take a stand. However, Simao found pocket 10s in the big blind and called to put Yu in danger. Five cards without an ace later, and that was the end of Yu's run. He fell at the hands of his pro partner, and earned $1,693,000 for sixth place.

A Triton O.G. Winfred Yu departs

Simao had padded his chip lead and all four challengers were now a long way back. Emilien Pitavy and Wang Yang were particularly short, and they were the next two to fall in fairly short order.

Pitavy took KJ up against Ding Biao's A. Ding flopped an eight, and Pitavy was finished. Only two hands later, Wang's pocket fives lost a race to Simao's and the field was down to three.

Pitavy once said that even playing on the Triton Poker Series represented a real milestone in his career. So picking up $2.245 million from a tournament of this nature was surely delightful. Meanwhile Wang, who had played many of the pots of the tournament, particularly on the bubble, earned a new high of $3.47 million. That's pretty good for three days' work as well.

Emilien Pitavy has nothing left

Wang Yang rode his big stack to fourth

The chip leader Simao was still a long way ahead, with Ding now fairly comfortable in second too. Davies was now sitting around 20 blinds and was most under threat, and he decided to take a stand from the big blind after Ding jammed the small.

Davies had Q9 but Ding had better than that. He had K. No one hit anything on flop, turn or river, and that meant the end of Davies. His run here earned him $3.47 million, another enormous score from a Triton Invitational. Having once finished runner-up to Aleksa Pavicevic in Montenegro in 2025, Davies may have felt a pang of disappointment to come so close again. But $3.47 million? He's not going to do too much complaining.

Another huge Invitational score for Seth Davies

When heads-up began, Simao had 66 blinds and was looking for a second career win. Ding had 38 and was eyeing a fourth.

The two players beckoned over Luca Vivaldi to discuss the particulars of a potential deal. For whatever reason, they couldn't come to an agreement so opted to play on. There was $7.25 million for the winner and $4.94 million for second place, so it was essentially a $2.3m duel.

The chop that didn't happen

Early exchanges didn't change much about the counts, but there was then a monster pot that swung things 180 degrees. Simao limped from the small blind but Ding played his AJ straight with a raise. Simao called taking them to the flop of A. Ding bet his top pair, but Simao asked for more. Ding called, with the pair then seeing the turn.

They both checked.

The K fell on the river. Ding checked again and, with 25 blinds in the pot, Simao bet another 14 more. Ding still had top pair and found a call, rewarded by seeing Simao's 63, a total airball. Ding picked off the bluff and moved into a 66-38 big blind lead.

Simao did some good work in pulling himself back into contention, but just as the stacks were approaching parity once more, Ding managed to pull away again in a second crucial pot. Simao flopped a straight draw with 76 but missed and so tried to bluff Ding off his hand on the river.

By that point the board read 524 and Simao led at it. Ding raised and Simao three-bet for heaps. But Ding had rivered a pair holding and was going nowhere. He scooped another big one and led by 71 blinds to 15.

It was very nearly all over not long after. Twice. In the first instance they got it all in, Ding's pre-flop call holding AJ was rewarded with a shove by Simao holding A. But they chopped it after a double-paired board and Simao survived. A few hands later, the tables were turned. They were all in again with Simao ahead and holding versus Ding's . This time the runout was and another split pot.

Simao, who could have been knocked out in either of the recent pots, seemed suddenly galvanised by the way they turned out. He won a big one with Q10 soon after and nosed back into the lead.

Though the levels are long in the Invitational, the heads-up battle, where duration is based on hands played rather than time passed, was eating through them. The game entered Level 32, where the average stack was now 26 blinds and each player had right around that amount.

Heads up for everything

Simao, however, returned from a tournament break rejuvenated. He won every significant pot in a five-hand burst that propelled him dramatically to the title. In one, he flopped trip eights holding Q8 and won 10 crucial blinds. A few blind steals later, and he had a lead of 41 blinds to 11.

And then he found pocket kings when his opponent's 109 hit top pair on a 5 flop. Simao extracted everything, and not even a chop could come to save Ding.

The Chinese No 1 earned another $4.94 million. But once again, Simao's timing was impeccable and he's a worthy Triton Invitational winner, $7.25 million better off.

The ticker tape rains for Joao