Champion Zhao Wenjie
On the biggest stage of his career so far, China's Zhao Wenjie pulled off a seeming miracle in Jeju tonight when he overhauled the runaway chip leader Ander Vallinas and won the coveted Triton ONE Main Event.
Vallinas had a vast chip lead for almost all of the last two days, but after he and Zhao agreed a heads-up deal for the two biggest prizes, it was one-way traffic in Zhao's favour until he was holding the famous trophy.
Zhao's final prize was $1.16 million, while Vallinas earned $1.337 million. That was also a new career high for the Spanish player, who has now made six Triton final tables, all in Jeju.
But Zhao, a Triton first-timer, has a similarly stellar record. He has played only three events at Triton ONE this year and cashed all of them. This win marked a true breakout performance, and was characterised by some gutsy play throughout the final table to outlast a new record field of 1,230 entries.
Ahead of the one-sided heads-up, Zhao made one startling call with just a pair of threes to win a massive pot from eventual third-placed finisher Shota Nakanishi, and played with a confidence belying his rookie status.
Zhao Wenjie celebrates with his supporters
Players had deep stacks throughout, including in the very latest stages, but Zhao was relentless in applying pressure until every last chip had been prised in his direction.
There were three Japanese players at the final, alongside three from China and one each from Spain, the United States and France, underlining Triton ONE's global appeal.
But it was that man Zhao who stole the show and now has his glittering prize.
TOURNAMENT ACTION
Having set a stellar mark of 1,046 entries on its debut last September, the Triton ONE Main Event this time around quickly grew even bigger. Entries flocked in through four starting flights until the total settled at 1,230, a near 18 percent increase.
That meant a prize pool closing in on $9 million and more than $1.5 million to the winner.
Though that target seemed distant at the start of play, the tournament rapidly closed in on the bubble after Day 2 began with the combined survivors of the opening flights. It wasn't long before the player total ticked down to 200, of which only 199 would make the money.
Triton founding player Paul Phua was the first to have a chance of bursting the bubble. He had the covering stack and was holding AK after Sam Ameen jammed with AK. There was nothing too disgusting about the board, meaning Ameen survived thanks to a chop pot (but stream viewers could also see that Hiroyuki Tane folded pocket jacks and would have knocked out Ameen).
Ameen's survival meant that the next player under threat was Aliaksandr Shylko, who got his last four blinds in holding AA. It seemed to be a lucky break for Shylko, who was in the big blind when he looked down at the best hand in hold'em.
Aces cracked to bust Aliaksandr Shylko on the bubble
One of the table's big stacks, Shi Xiaochun raised from early position, and then called off after Shyklo committed everything he had. Shi only held 86. But the flop of 897 can scarcely have been more problematic for Shyklo, and the 6 turn made things worse.
The river J couldn't come to his assistance either, and with that the aces were cracked and Shylko day was done. The bubble burst and the remaining 199 got to play on in the knowledge they would be paid.
The startling turnout meant tournament organisers quickly realised a fourth day would be necessary. That allowed players to build stacks (or get knocked out) through 10 levels on Day 2, before playing down to the final, and maybe beyond, on Day 3.
Things duly started to take shape as the bigger money came into view, but then the penultimate day raced past. It was mainly because of the exploits of Ander Vallinas, the Spanish pro who has grown to love playing in Jeju. Vallinas has already been to five final tables during only two visits to this venue, and he quickly set his sights on a sixth, particularly after all but felting the PLO champion JP Rounce-Sue in the biggest pot of the tournament so far.
Vallinas and Rounce-Sue both had top five stacks when they went to war: Rounce-Sue had 87 and raised from the cutoff. Vallinas three-bet his button with A3 and Rounce-Sue called. The full run-out was 5633K, with Rounce-Sue betting his straight-flush draw while it still had potential, and then bluff-jamming the river when he had nothing. Vallinas picked him off with trips.
Ander Vallinas was the dominant player for most of the last two days
After that, Vallinas also knocked out Hugues Girard as he consolidated the tournament lead. He sat at the top of the leaderboard all the way to the final table, with only the comparably dominant Shota Nakanishi and Zhao Wenjie anywhere near him.
The last nine looked like this:
Ander Vallinas - 91,900,000 (153 BBs)
Shota Nakanishi - 65,500,000 (109 BBs)
Zhao Wenjie - 60,300,000 (101 BBs)
Jimmy Guerro - 31,200,000 (52 BBs)
Kai Yang - 18,100,000 (30 BBs)
Xiahu Liu - 16,200,000 (27 BBs)
Zhou Quan - 11,300,000 (19 BBs)
Issey Maeda - 8,200,000 (14 BBs)
Takumi Eguchi - 4,800,000 (8 BBs)
Triton ONE Main Event final table players (clockwise from back left): Kai Yang, Jimmy Guerrero, Liu Xiaohu, Takumi Eguchi, Zhou Quan, Shota Nakanishi, Issey Maeda, Ander Vallinas, Zhao Wenjie.
Those mighty stacks meant there was still tons of play in the tournament. They had reached the final table ahead of schedule. So tournament officials told them to play on a few more levels, or until six players were left.
France's Jimmy Guerrero has spent a lot of time near the Triton final table, but it's usually railing his wife Thi Nguyen, a three-time finalist in Triton ONE. But he now took a seat himself in the big one, and was well stacked to challenge. However, it all went wrong for Guerrero. His first mis-step came when he didn't notice Takumi Eguchi move all in during an early pot, and Guerrero tried to make what he thought was an opening raise with QJ. Geurrero was forced to call Eguchi's shove and the Japanese player's A8 held up.
That was a relatively small pot, at least in comparison with what was to come. Guerrero ended up losing a massive one — and his entire 46-blind stack — to Zhao Wenjie, in a pot he'll likely replay in his head in days to come.
Wenjie opened the button and Guerrero three-bet the small blind holding 109. The flop came 4J2. Guerrero bet his flush draw, Zhao called, and then the Q brought Guerrero a straight draw as well. Eguchi was still at the table, with a tiny stack, but Guerrero was now committed and shoved. Zhao had now turned top two with QJ and insta-called. Guerrero needed to hit on the river to survive.
He did hit. It's just that the J not only completed his flush, it gave Zhao a boat. Guerrero was out in ninth for $116,990.
A misclick then a bust out for Jimmy Guerrero
It had been a dramatic start to the final, with the Triton commentators stating that there had barely been a single hand playing out without some kind of interest. It didn't get any less thrilling either, with Zhao making a pretty spectacular fold of pocket aces soon after, seeing intense action from Vallinas and Nakanishi on a seven-high flop.
Vallinas had pocket jacks and Nakanishi was bluffing with ace high. But Vallinas would ended up rivering a jack and could have knocked out Zhao had he kept the aces.
By that point, Eguchi race was run. He took a final stand for eight blinds with K9 and Kai Yang found pocket nines to pick him off. Eguchi had made the final table on the very first Triton event he has ever played, but his run ended in eighth for $151,000.
The end of the fun for Takumi Eguchi
Zhou Quan, on the other hand, is something of a stalwart on the Triton Series, with one title and more than $5 million in earnings mainly on the Super High Roller Series. However, Zhou got nothing to play with at this final table and slipped down only three blinds when he picked up pocket fives.
Vallinas, who could do no wrong, called with Q6 in the big blind and flopped a six. Zhou was out in seventh for $213,000.
The man in the white suit, Zhou Quan, watches the dealer decide his fate
That was that for the day, with Vallinas bagging a monster stack. Shortly before Zhou's elimination, Vallinas picked up another massive pot from Shoto Nakanishi, rivering a set of sevens to beat Nakanishi's flopped set of deuces. Vallinas therefore had 147 blinds at the end of the day, the remaining Zhao (Wenjie) had 94 blinds, with Yang, Nakanishi, Liu Xiaohu and Issey Maeda with less than 25 blinds each.
There was one more day's play before they would reach a winner.
THE FINAL DAY AT LAST
The fourth and final day started in similar fashion. The day was only four hands old when a huge three-way collision occurred that put two players at risk. The only surprise was that Vallinas sat this one out as Kai Yang opened AJ, Issey Maeda jammed four blinds with pocket fours from the button and Liu Xiaohu moved his last 11 blinds in too from the big blind. Liu had pocket jacks.
Yang called the extra to put them both at risk, and duly flopped the ace he'd need to win. But the case jack also appeared, which made Liu a set. It was a full house by the turn and the jacks prevailed. Maeda, meanwhile, was finished. He took $279,000 for sixth.
Issey Maeda made it all the way to the last day
Neither Yang nor Liu went much further, however. Left with only 15 blinds after that skirmish, he nursed them as they reduced to only eight, then got them in with K3. Zhao Wenjie's A9 stayed best, turning a nine to make sure. Yang's first trip to Triton from his home in Texas, earned him $371,000.
Liu had 24 blinds and was third of the four remaining at this point, but he lost with AK to Shota Nakanishi's pocket eights, doubled up the last Japanese player, and then slammed into Vallinas to lose his last chips. Liu shoved A9 from the button and learned that Vallinas had AK in the big blind.
The dominance didn't slip and Liu was eliminated in fourth for $475,000.
Liu Xiaohu sampled the highs and the lows
Vallinas had 167 blinds, crushing Zhao's 63 and Nakanishi's 26. But the two short stacks did what they could to try to wrestle back control. It depended on finding a hand, which is precisely what happened to Nakanishi after the latest small-blind jam from Vallinas. Nakanishi found pocket eights again and they beat Vallinas' 97. That at least meant Vallinas had to be careful about doubling up anyone again.
But that double turned out to be false dawn for Nakanishi. He lost a big pot to Zhao with K2 when he bluffed and bluffed on every street on a board full of high cards, but couldn't get Zhao to fold his pair of threes. Zhao seemed to have a perfect read and left Nakanishi licking his wounds.
Zhou also took the very last of Nakanishi's chips a few hands later when Nakanishi all but jammed the button holding J4 and Zhao had AQ in the small blind and asked for the rest of it. Nakanishi committed his last blind, but lost after a queen-high flop.
That was the end of a spirited performance from Nakanishi, who landed a first Triton cash worth $641,000.
Shota Nakanishi was the last of three Japanese at the final
Zhou's excellence in these stages built his stack up to 88 blinds. That was more than enough to set up what could easily be a titanic heads-up battle against Vallinas, with 105 blinds.
It was also enough to encourage the pair to discuss a deal. After an extended period, assisted by Triton tournament director Luca Vivaldi, they agreed to split the remaining prize money as follows: Vallinas locked up $1,337,000, Zhou would take $1,080,000 and there was $80,000 and the trophy to play for.
Luca Vivaldi helps players negotiate a deal
Zhou had seemed willing to give up more in return for securing the trophy, and they may have agreed something further away from the table. But regardless, they eventually settled back down to play it out.
Zhou took all the initiative and steadily edged upward. There were no huge pots, but Vallinas couldn't do much to halt a stream of chips heading to his opponent.
The first really big pot came when Vallinas bet the river with a straight on board -- 97658 -- and Zhao raised big. Vallinas gave him credit for the top end of it and let his hand go, even though viewers on the stream later discovered Zhao had only 43 and, having turned the straight, had bluffed Vallinas off a chop on the end. When they went to a tournament break, Zhao now had 105 blinds to Vallinas' 23 and the end was clearly in sight.
Heads up for the trophy
It duly arrived when the slow bleeding left Vallinas with only seven blinds, which he committed with A9. Zhao had only 74 but flopped a flush, leaving Vallinas dead. And with that, our latest Triton ONE superstar is officially revealed.
Zhao Wenjie and friends begin celebrations
