Champion Punnat Punsri!

The final no-limit hold em event on the record-breaking Triton Super High Roller Series trip to Jeju lived up to all expectations tonight in the Landing Casino and produced the kind of final table that was certain to give us an exceptional champion.

When the final card was dealt at a little past 2 a.m. local time, all the chips had once again found their way in front of Thailand's Punnat Punsri, one of the tour's most reliable performers over the past few years.

Punsri's victory had been predicted by the writing on the wall. Quite literally. An error on the LED screens around the tournament room had listed Punsri as a three-time Triton champion, when he had, at time of illumination, only two.

But this victory allows Punsri to catch up with his own LED banner, and gives him another $2,594,555.

The victory came after Punsri agreed a heads-up ICM deal with Germany's Christoph Vogelsang, with the eventual runner-up collecting $2.456,445. Vogelsang had been the chip leader for much of the day, but slipped down the counts at the final (thanks in no small part to a remarkable hand against Ben Tollerene; read down for details), before bouncing back with a double elimination where there were four left.

Christoph Vogelsang was one half of a near 50/50 ICM split

That hand eliminated five-time Triton champion Mikita Badziakouski and two-time winner Chris Brewer. It was really that kind of tournament: all the stars squaring off for one last NLH payday.

But Punsri, as he has before, beat every one of them. He won a $50,000 buy-in NLH event here a year ago, and he did it again in the busiest stop of them all.

Three for Punnat Punsri

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The magnificent turnout for the Main Event meant tournament organisers extended the entry period for this, the final hold'em event on the schedule, to allow players to join the action on the last day. The crowds duly arrived to put the final entry tally at 93, including 33 re-entries, and more than $11.6 million in the prize pool.

As the field numbers then went the other way, with players flying out of the tournament as quickly as they arrived, Christoph Vogelsang and Chris Brewer ascended to the top of the counts. They were among those able to apply maximum pressure as the bubble neared, with the likes of Brian Kim, Leon Sturm and Phil Ivey clinging on.

Sturm bust, and then Kim found himself staring at the exit when he ran pocket queens into Danny Tang's pocket aces. (Kim opened UTG, Chris Brewer three-bet the cutoff and Tang then tank-shoved the big blind. Only Kim called for all of his chips.) A queen in the window saved Kim, and left Tang with only four big blinds.

Tang doubled with pocket tens to stay alive. And just when it looked at though this was a bubble that would never burst, enter the combustible Tan Xuan.

Tan had 27 big blinds, considerably more than 10 opponents. But he is not a player who is going to try to fold into the money. Tan found AK and opened from the cutoff. Ben Tollerene three-bet the small blind. Tan moved it all-in and Tollerene, with pocket jacks and the covering stack, called to put Tan in danger.

All Tollerene needed was to fade an ace or a king. But the dealer made this a little more emphatic. There was a jack on the flop and another on the river, with Tan smashed by quads. The rest of the field breathed a sigh of relief as Tan headed over to the cash-game tables to take it out on opponents there for even higher stakes.

Easy come, easy go for Tan Xuan

Neither Tang nor Kim could spin their stacks all the way to the final. They fell, alongside Phil Ivey and Fedor Holz, just past the money bubble but short of the very final stages. When Michael Soyza followed Dan Dvoress out of the door, it left us with nine players, one from the final. But it took another 90 minutes or so before Masashi Oya was knocked out in ninth to confirm the final.

This was now the last table playing hold'em in the room, and it was filled with some of the best two-card poker players in the world. It lined up as follows:

Christoph Vogelsang - 5,075,000 (51 BBs)

Punnat Punsri - 3,090,000 (31 BBs)

Ben Tollerene - 2,970,000 (30 BBs)

Chris Brewer - 2,640,000 (26 BBs)

Mikita Badziakouski - 1,850,000 (19 BBs)

Joao Vieira - 1,820,000 (18 BBs)

Dan Smith - 585,000 (6 BBs)

Kiat Lee - 525,000 (5 BBs)

Event 12 final table players (clockwise from back left): Joao Vieira, Mikita Badziakouski, Kiat Lee, Chris Brewer, Punnat Punsri, Christoph Vogelsang, Christoph Vogelsang, Dan Smith, Ben Tollerene

The prolonged nine-handed marathon had left half the field with fewer than 20 big blinds, and Kiat Lee and Dan Smith in particularly dire straits. When Dan Smith found A10, it was easily good enough to get his six blinds in, but he was unfortunate enough to slam into Chris Brewer's pocket queens.

There was no ace to seen for Smith and he was first out from the final, picking up $413,000. It was a fifth cash of the trip for Smith and a second final table. His third title will follow some day.

he was unfortunate enough to slam into Chris Brewer's pocket queens.

Dan Smith takes the slow walk to the payouts desk

To this point, Vogelsang's chip lead had seemed unimpeachable, but Ben Tollerene considered it no such thing. He won a massive pot from Vogelsang to assume the lead himself, pegging the German back into third. Vogelsang had QJ and called Tollerene three times, pre-flop, then after the AK2 flop and the 2 turn.

Tollerene fired a third barrel on the river of 4, a virtual all-in, at which point Vogelsang let his hand go. But if Vogelsang had been suspicious, he might have wished he'd have followed his instincts. Tollerene had pulled off a sensational bluff with 95. Tollerene soared to the top as the chat went wild.

Meanwhile Kiat Lee had similarly been hanging around with a micro-stack, hoping for an opponent to succumb to the ICM pressure. He doubled once, from two to four blinds, and then nearly got his wish for a ladder when Brewer jammed the small blind and Mikita Badziakouski's call from the big blind put himself at risk.

Mikita Badziakouski agonises over a crucial decision

But Badziakouski's A6 stayed better than Brewer's 95 for the double, which left Lee once again the man most likely to hit the skids next. So it proved as A8 lost to Vieira's KJ. Lee was out in seventh for $540,000.

Another near miss for Kiat Lee

It was his 32nd Triton cash. He won't need reminding that he hasn't yet managed to convert. In a further insult, every other player left in the final six had at least one title already.

Stacks were short but none of these wizards was going to tumbling out at this stage without good reason. It's another reason Tollerene's bluff was so audacious. The sorry irony for Tollerene is that when he managed to pick up legitimate hands — ace-king, in back-to-back hands — he was knocked out in a classic one-two punch.

First up, AK lost to Punnat Punsri's queens. Punsri doubled his 23 blind stack and Tollerene was left with 10. Next hand, AK lost to Vieira's pocket jacks. Tollerene was done, earning $686,000 for sixth.

Two big flips accounted for Ben Tollerene

He'll always be remembered for that bluff against Vogelsang, but he ended on the rail anyhow. With the PLO starting, however, he'll be back.

Punsri now had the monster stack, and he was also hitting some cards. It was only a couple of hands after Tollerene's elimination that Punsri found a big pair again, jacks this time, and knocked out Vieira.

This one was four-bet pre-flop, with Vieira jamming AQ. He turned a jack to leave Vieira drawing dead and heading to the payouts desk, looking for $878,000. Vieira has also had a very good week, and is also a mean PLO player. So his trip isn't over either.

Joao Vieira's two-time charge ended

When they went on the next tournament break, Punsri was in total control. He had 63 blinds. Vogelsang had 15, Badziakouski 11 and Brewer 5. The good news was that the minimum payout was now seven figures.

This might have now become a cakewalk for Punsri, but Vogelsang doubled up quickly with a dominant ace. That at least gave the chip leader something to think about, while Badziakouski and Brewer were short. But Badziakouski doubled too, with J10 beating KJ and there were still four players with a chance.

Scratch that. All of a sudden, the field was cut in half.

Brewer, with eight blinds, raised his button with J10. Badziakouski, in the small blind, called with QJ. Vogelsang woke up with AQ and put it all in, covering his two opponents. But both of them called for all their chips.

Chris Brewer bust on the same hand as Mikita Badziakouski

Vogelsang was dominant and turned an ace to seal the deal. They were quickly down to two players: Vogelsang, with 42 blinds, against Punsri with 51. Time to get Luca Vivaldi to calculate an ICM deal.

They had just north of $5 million to split between these two places and the calculations gave Punsri a guaranteed $2,504,555 and Vogelsang $2,456,445. There was $90,000 on the side too, which meant whoever took it down would win the most — as well as the trophy and the bragging rights.

Luca Vivaldi arrives to help the last two negotiate a deal

It pretty much came down to just one hand. Punsri completed the small blind with 73 and Vogelsang checked with J2. The flop came 3K4.

Vogelsang checked and Punsri stabbed with his small pair and flush draw. Vogelsang raised. Punsri three-bet and Vogelsang called.

Vogelsang, left, congratulates Punsri on his victory

They both checked the A turn, but then Punsri moved further into the lead with the 7 river. Vogelsang saw his chance to have a stab at it and made a hefty bet of almost all his stack. Punsri had two pair and made the big call.

Vogelsang had less than a blind left and it went to Punsri on the next hand.

That's the ACTUAL three-time for the Thai pro. Each has come with a prize of more than $2 million. Very nice indeed.