Champion Richard Yong!

Whatever happens through the next two weeks at the latest festival on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Jeju, there will not be a more popular winner than the man who just took down the opening event.

Richard Yong, a founding player of Triton Poker Series, is the first champion on this trip to South Korea, winning the $50,000 Short Deck event for $705,000.

The money is significant, but it's the title that continues to mean the most to this most enthusiastic poker fan, a man who liked playing the high stakes game so much that he created a whole tour to allow him to do so.

"I want to play poker until I'm 80 years old!" Yong said, agreeing heartily when someone suggested he could play even longer than that. "It's a very good feeling. It's very difficult to become a Triton champion because so many super pros are here."

He added that the nature of the tournament he won — a high stakes short deck event — played to his particular strengths. "I was very lucky," he said. "Gamble, gamble, gamble."

Yong was of course doing himself a disservice. This is the third time he has now taken on and defeated a Triton Super High Roller field, adding this title to success in Montenegro in 2018 and Northern Cyprus in 2023.

He also had to face down and beat an undisputed short deck master Michael Zhang heads up. Zhang finished second and third in short deck events in Vietnam, then second and third in short deck events in Jeju in March this year. He is still searching for a title, but he's a crusher.

Heads up between Michael Zhang and Richard Yong

With the title secured, friends and poker fans from across the two tournament floors rushed to celebrate with Yong. Everyone here knows the debt of gratitude they owe the man known widely as "Mr Richard", and the Triton community celebrated alongside him.

He gazed out over the packed tournament room in Jeju and, sucking on a celebratory Chupa Chups lollipop, said: "It's a very good feeling. I'm very happy. I enjoy seeing this, in Jeju or anywhere in Triton."

He's already committed to playing as much as he can here this trip, and it's a pleasure for everyone to know he'll be back for more.

The Triton family celebrates with Mr Richard

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The short deck portion of the Jeju schedule is taking place this time at the beginning of the Super High Roller Series, which seemed to suit many of the players who had come to South Korea for the Triton ONE festival.

By the time the 47-entry field neared its business end, however, there was a familiar gallery of faces still involved, including multiple champions and short-deck experts.

Even after two double champions in Winfred Yu and Dan Dvoress were knocked out in 10th and ninth respectively, taking the field into the money, this was still a mouthwatering line-up. China's Wang Jun then hit the rail in ninth, earning $94,000, and securing the final table line-up.

Wang Jun can't look as he is knocked out

FINAL TABLE LINE-UP

Martin Nielsen - 7,765,000 (194 antes)

Michael Zhang - 6,165,000 (154 antes)

Kiat Lee - 2,470,000 (62 antes)

Mikita Badziakouski - 1,555,000 (39 antes)

Richard Yong - 1,200,000 (30 antes)

Rene Van Krevelen - 1,090,000 (27 antes)

Ruslan Khadartsev - 905,000 (23 antes)

Event #18 final table players (clockwise from back-left): Kiat Lee, Richard Yong, Ruslan Khadartsev, Mikita Badziakouski, Michael Zhang, Martin Nielsen, Rene Van Krevelen

Kiat Lee was something of a form player on the Triton Poker Series having won titles on the tour's two most recent stops, in Montenegro in May and here in Jeju in March. But as Lee knows better than most, there are no guarantees in this volatile world and even the third biggest stack heading into the final did not ensure anything.

Lee toppled quickly out of contention. His pocket tens lost to Rene Van Krevelen's AQ all-in pre-flop, doubling Van Krevelen. And then when Lee and Mikita Badziakouski went into battle, with Lee holding A10 and Badziakouski pocket queens, the pair stayed best again.

It was the last hand Lee saw as he took $120,000 for seventh.

Kiat Lee was at yet another final table

Although Van Krevelen's stack enjoyed a timely boost thanks to Lee's demise, he wasn't able to cling on either. The Dutchman, whose three previous Triton cashes have all come in short deck events, lost a large slice of his chips to the chip-leader Martin Nielsen, before Badziakouski applied the finishing touch.

Van Krevelen and Badziakouski got everything in pre-flop, with the latter's AK dominant at all stages against K10. By the end, there were two more aces on the board, alongside a pair of sevens, and Badziakouski's full house was plenty good enough. Van Krevelen won $150,000 for sixth.

All Rene Van Krevelen's Triton cashes have come in short deck

Nielsen and Zhang had pulled away from the rest of the field at the top of the counts, but Nielsen doubled up Richard Yong to lose a handful, then Zhang did the same to Badziakouski. It stopped anyone running away with things too soon.

The only player who couldn't seem to gain any traction during this period was Ruslan Khadartsev, a Russian player making his debut on the Triton Super High Roller Series. Although he had doubled up through Nielsen when they were six-handed, he was short again when opened with KQ and then called all-in when Zhang jammed.

Zhang had pocket 10s and stayed best. Khadartsev was out in fifth for $193,000.

Ruslan Khadartsev became Zhang's latest victim

Poker, as we all know, is riddled with volatility. And short deck poker ramps it up even further. As one of the leading short-deck experts in the world, Nielsen surely knows that more than most, but it didn't stop him nearly leaping out of his seat at what happened next.

Zhang, with his chip lead now restored, opened from under the gun, but two seats around, Yong put in a three-bet. Nielsen looked down at pocket kings on the button and pushed everything over the line.

Zhang folded, but Yong called, turning over AK. With Nielsen and Yong's stacks incredibly close, it looked like being decisive for either of them.

The flop fell Q69, which kept Nielsen ahead. But when the A came on the turn, there were two yelps, one of despair and one of delight. The 8 completed the board and the pot was Yong's.

Martin Nielsen's tournament came to an abrupt hal

There was now the matter of who had the bigger stack. The tournament information boards (which are very accurate but not flawless) had it that Nielsen had slightly more chips than Yong. But when the dealer counted down both stacks, it appeared that Yong had the larger. Nielsen was therefore forced to pay his massage therapist and wander away, picking up $249,000 for fourth.

Zhang, Yong and Badziakouski settled down to play three handed, with stacks in that order. Zhang had more than both his opponents combined, but nobody was taking anything for granted.

Badziakouski built up some chips from Zhang. But then Zhang earned them back. And the Zhang took a back seat as his two opponents, with near perfectly equal stacks played a big one.

This was a terrible few minutes for Badziakouski. The dinner he had ordered a little while before arrived to the table, and he was just discussing things with the server when he looked down at KQ, then saw Zhang open the pot from his right. Badziakouski three-bet, only for Yong to announce all-in from his left.

It wasn't immediately apparent if the all-in would stand (it's pot-limit betting pre-flop in this one), but they determined that it would. It then meant that Badziakouski had to calculate whether he was priced in to call for all he had left, and he decided that he was.

Yong showed his QQ, which in regular hold'em is a significant favourite. But this is short deck and the 107J flop gave Badziakouski a whole lot of optimism.

The 10 turn drained some of it away. Then the 8 river took the last of it.

"Oh my god, how it didn't hit?" a baffled Badziakouski lamented. "How many outs!?!"

Too many outs for Mikita Badziakouski

They looked at the stacks and again Yong has his opponent narrowly out-chipped. It at least gave Badziakouski enough time to establish his correct restaurant order, and it earned him $329,000 for third. But he desperately wanted to still be involved.

Heads up play began with 200 antes shared almost precisely equally between the two. But it was Yong who burst out into a big lead, grinding Zhang down thanks to a series of pots that did not go to showdown. However, when Yong had the chance to finish things, all-in with AQ against Zhang's 109, the short deck demons did their thing.

The board ran 7KJ86 and Zhang's straight put him on the brink of victory.

Or so it seemed. But Yong doubled on the next two hands, bringing the stacks all but even once again. And the pair played on into another level.

Yong was in the groove. He chipped up and then jammed twice, forcing folds from Zhang. On one occasion, the flop was JQK and Yong showed A6 after he had secured the pot. "Gamble, gamble," he said.

And it paid off. Soon after, Yong won a monster with KQ hitting both king and queen to beat AJ. And then it all went in for a final time, with Yong's 106 beating Zhang's K10 and every last chip heading to Yong.

Michael Zhang was beaten heads up

Zhang earned $510,000 for his latest second place finish, but with Triton continuing to offer him the high stakes short deck tournaments he loves, and his opponent essentially being Mr Triton, he was possibly as happy as anyone to see his opponent take this one down.

And that was that for a thrilling curtain raiser to the latest stop on the Triton Super High Roller Series. If the rest of the festival can be even half as exciting, we'll be very happy indeed.