Champion Xiaqing Ji!

China's Xiaqing Ji survived the craziest ride at the conclusion of the $10,000 Mystery Bounty event at the Triton ONE festival in Jeju tonight, closing out a marathon tournament at past 3.30 a.m. local time, and only after numerous wild pots played out, featuring multiple crazy outdraws.

Ji hit his fair share, including a spectacular two-outer on the river when facing what would have been elimination in third place. But buoyed by enthusiastic support on the rail, he became the second Chinese champion of the day at Triton ONE.

He said it felt "unreal", and added he was both lucky and excited to be lifting the trophy. He also made it clear, though, that he's got a lot of experience in unpredictable poker tournaments and wasn't surprised to see the number of times the chip leader seemed to lose in crucial spots.

He said it's about patience and waiting for the right moment to receive a blessing from the poker gods.

The tournament featured 273 entries and produced the first final under Triton Poker branding at which three women took their seats. However, Ebony Kenney, Kristen Foxen and, finally, Thi Xoa Nguyen were all powerless to halt Ji's march to the title, where he initially locked up $245,000 from the main prize pool.

Celebrations begin for Xiaqing Ji

His prize only began there because this was the Mystery Bounty event, where half the prize pool was awarded the following day in the official bounty draw ceremony. From his six bounty envelopes, Ji went on to pull a further $110,000 worth of prizes, bringing his total haul to $355,000.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The Mystery Bounty event was the first of the Triton ONE festival with a five-figure buy-in, and its 273 entries put close to $2.5 million in the total prize pool — though only half, of course, would be awarded during the regular tournament phase.

The rest was stuffed into Mystery Bounty envelopes, drawn during a special ceremony the following day. It gave everyone who played an added incentive to chase knockouts, and the tournament resultantly flew through its early levels to leave a final table as follows.

Ebony Kenney - 9,875,000 (66 BBs)

Xiaqing Ji - 8,975,000 (60 BBs)

Kristen Foxen - 8,650,000 (58 BBs)

Manh Tien Duong - 6,075,000 (41 BBs)

Kento Nasu - 5,675,000 (38 BBs)

Thi Xoa Nguyen - 4,825 (32 BBs)

Jingjun Xia - 4,675,000 (31 BBs)

Chenxiang Miao - 3,425,000 (22 BBs)

Hugues Girard - 2,425,000 (16 BBs)

Event 5 final table players (clockwise from back left): Kento Nasu, Chenxiang Miao, Ebony Kenney, Thi Xoa Nguyen, Xiaqing Ji, Kristen Foxen, Hugues Girard, Manh Tien Duong.

For the first time in Triton history, three women were at the final table and two had been here before. Ebony Kenney became the first woman in Triton history to win more than $1 million when she made it to the final of the Coin Rivet Invitational in Cyprus a few years ago, while Kristen Foxen made the final of the only event ever won by a woman in Montenegro this year. (Xuan Liu took it down.)

But it was the third woman who made the early running. When Thi Xoa Nguyen earned an early double up, with jacks beating Jingjun Xia's AK, Nguyen took over the chip lead. Kenney was second and Foxen third: three women at the summit.

All of them sat out the next major confrontation, however. Xia was left with only six blinds after his mishap against Nguyen and moved all-in pre-flop holding 108. Two of his opponents woke up with hands behind him, however, and both Chenxiang Miao and Kento Masu called. They had jacks and nines respectively.

No problem. Xia turned an eight and rivered another. He tripled up. Nasu was left short but doubled himself two hands later.

A remarkable triple for Jingjun Xia

Double-ups were now increasingly common. Hugues Girard spiked a nine to double with A9 through Xiaqing Ji's AK. Girard then won with pocket kings through Kenney's AQ, good for another double. This left Kenney as the second-shortest stack, and her descent from leader to first on the rail completed in another pot against Xia.

Kenney moved in from the button with 12 blinds and A5. Xia called in the big blind with KJ and flopped two pair. He duly added Kenney's bounty to his pile as the American pro headed to the sidelines and a $25,000 payday. Kenney added $35,000 in bounties the following day for a total $60,000 payout.

Ebony Kenney went on a steep descent from leader

Miao didn't play a hand as the early insanity kicked in at the final, but slipped to a short stack and found the wrong time to get involved. Nguyen had also slipped back to the bottom of the pile and opened her button from a seven-blind stack. Miao three-bet his big blind with K9, then called off when Nguyen jammed.

Nguyen had aces and the bullets stayed best. Miao was left with crumbs and Foxen's kings completed the job on the next hand, giving her the crucial bounty.

Miao earned $30,600 from the main prize pool and added a further $25,000 from two bounties, completing a $55,600 payday.

Chenxiang Miao couldn't get involved in the final table

Xia's thrill ride at the final table became the next to conclude. Having been both high and low over the first hour or so, Xia once again slipped to the bottom of the counts when he looked down at A9 in the small blind. Xiajing Ji opened with pocket sixes from mid-position and Xia ripped it in. Ji called and flopped a set to win the flip.

Xia was finally done. He picked up $41,600 initially, and found $70,000 more from four bounty pulls. That put him into six figures with a $111,600 win.

Nguyen was the other player who had been riding the roller coaster at the final table, and having survived with aces a while ago, she then found kings at precisely the right moment to enjoy another surge.

Kento Nasu had pocket jacks and opend from the hijack. Manh Tien Duong, the sole Vietnamese at the final, jammed form the button with A9. Nguyen then saw that she had pocket kings in the big blind and called to lay a trap.

Nasu fell right in. He jammed with the covering stack, and Nguyen was able to call all in. There was both a jack and a king on board and Nguyen won it all, busting Duong in the process.

Duong's sixth place won him $56,500. He hadn't managed to knock out anybody, so added nothing more in bounties.

Manh Tien Duong's challenge ended in six

Nasu too was left short and survived only four hands more. He picked up pocket threes on the button, and watchd Ji open the cutoff. Nasu jammed over the top, but Ji called with AJ to set up another flip.

Nasu survived through the first four cards, but the J river was all Ji needed to swing things back in his favour. Nasu won $74,000 as he went out in fifth and more than doubled it thanks to $80,000 via four bounty tokens.

Kento Nasu got rivered out of it

Foxen brought the most bounty tokens to the final table thanks to her post-bubble exploits. But by the time they were four-handed, the other three were hunting Foxen's bounty. She was the shortest stack by some measure. Quads earned her her first double up: J6 hit two sixes on the flop and a third on the river. Girard's A4 never stood a chance. Foxen then chipped up further with two uncontested shoves.

With a playable stack, she started to play again and chipped up back beyond 20 blinds. And then when she doubled up again, this time with pocket nines through Girard's AJ, Foxen was in the lead again.

It was very bad news for Girard, in particular. The pair tangled in another pot soon after, and it turned out to be Girard's last. All the chips went in blind-against-blind, with Foxen's A8 going up against Girard's AQ. Girard had the chance to double straight back, but two diamonds on the flop, followed by a third on the river, ended that prospect.

Girard bust in fourth for $94,000 but added another $85,000 through his six bounty pulls. He finished with $179,000 from the tournament.

Huhues Girard was another leader who couldn't cling on

Foxen was firing now, but she soon landed on the wrong side of another of this tournament's bitter twists. Ji found pocket nines and shoved his small blind, only to find Foxen with jacks and the bigger stack to his left. Foxen called and four cards posed no threat to her bigger hand. But at the exact moment one of Ji's supporters called for a nine on the turn, the dealer obliged. The 9 kept Ji involved and cut Foxen back again.

She had another pocket pair on the next hand. Pocket fours. But Nguyen called the latest shove with AJ and flopped two aces. Foxen was finally hunted to extinction. She took $116,000 but had six bounty tokens too. They eventually gave her another $90,000 for a $206,000 payout.

Kristen Foxen has six bounty pulls, despite a disappointing end to her tournament

Tournament staff reset the table for heads up play, with Nguyen's 40-blind stack more than double Ji's 15. They both had four bounties each, but whoever won would end the tournament with six, taking their opponent's and keeping their own.

After a slow start, Ji doubled with QJ beating K8. "Lady Gaga!" Ji's supporter shouted this time, and was duly rewarded again with a queen on the flop. Nguyen still led, however, until the next double up.

This time, Ji's shove with pocket tens got called by Nguyen's A4 and the pocket pair held. Ji edged into a narrow lead. Though he surrended it again, Nguyen had only the smallest of advantages when the next confrontation occurred. This time, Ji's 65 turned two pair to beat Nguyen's A10.

Nguyen had only six blinds left. Ji had 22. And the next hand, it was all over.

Thi Xoa Nguyen was powerless to stop Ji

The final deal put Q2 in Nguyen's hand and K10 in Ji's. The rail-birds called for all the cards they thought they needed, but a dry board missed everyone. And that meant Ji was the newest champion.

Nguyen earned $155,000 from the main prize pool and added $40,000 in bounties. But Ji's $355,000 total haul remained the biggest.

Xu Jieming pulls the top bounty

The tournament's other big winner, however, turned out to be Xu Jieming, who somehow managed to turn his two bounty pulls into a $150,000 bonus. He snagged the $100K top bounty in his first pull, and added another $50K from the second—all while pulling karate moves to entertain the crowds at the ceremony.

Xu didn't even cash the event proper, so here was a nice little bonus thanks to the Mystery Bounty.