Alexandros Theologis has finally added a Triton Poker trophy to his collection after winning the opening event of Triton Jeju II for $642,000.
The Greek high-stakes player defeated a 206-entry field in the $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed event at Les A Casino in Jeju, South Korea.
It was a significant breakthrough for a player who had already accumulated millions of dollars on the Triton circuit without winning a title.
Theologis entered the latest festival with more than $4.5 million in previous Triton cashes. Now he has the trident trophy to go with them.
Theologis Converts Chip Lead Into Triton Victory
The opening tournament attracted 206 entries and generated a $3.09 million prize pool, immediately providing a strong start to the latest Jeju festival.
The final 35 players were paid.
A typically difficult Triton field meant plenty of major names disappeared before the final table, including Artur Martirosian, Ethan “Rampage” Yau, Daniel Dvoress, Xuan Liu, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Justin Saliba, Bernhard Binder, Jesse Lonis and Nick Petrangelo.
Theologis reached the final table with the chip lead, but his route to the trophy included one particularly important decision.
Holding pocket kings against six-time Triton champion Punnat Punsri, Theologis managed to escape from a huge pot after Punsri had flopped a set of sevens.
Losing significantly more chips in that hand could have completely changed the tournament.
Instead, Theologis survived near the top of the leaderboard and continued his push toward a long-awaited Triton title.
Adrian Mateos Falls Short in Jeju Opener
Adrian Mateos was among the biggest names to reach the final table.
The Spanish high roller eventually finished eighth for $79,000 after his king-jack suited failed to improve against Victor Chong’s pocket eights.
Mateos’ presence was another indication of the strength of the field assembled for the opening tournament.
As we noted in our coverage of Triton Jeju II beginning in South Korea, the festival has brought many of high-stakes poker’s biggest players back to Jeju.
Poker Type has previously looked at just how difficult these fields can be through Jason Koon’s extraordinary Triton record, which became an important part of his Poker Hall of Fame case.
Theologis had already proved he could compete at that level.
What he had been missing was a victory.
Punnat Punsri Chases Seventh Triton Trophy
Punsri came considerably closer to adding another title.
The Thai star reached the final three and was attempting to win what would have been his seventh Triton title.
His run ended when ace-three ran into Chong’s ace-jack. Chong made trip jacks by the river, sending Punsri out in third for $302,000.
That left Chong and Theologis heads-up for the trophy.
Chong initially held an advantage of better than 2:1.
It didn’t last.
Theologis Turns Heads-Up Battle Around
Theologis began his comeback by winning a significant pot with a turned straight.
Another major confrontation followed when he correctly picked off an ace-high bluff from Chong while holding third pair.
Suddenly, the player who had begun heads-up at a substantial disadvantage was firmly in control.
Chong managed to double once, but couldn’t complete a comeback.
In the final hand, Chong moved all-in with eight-four against Theologis’ jack-ten.
Neither player paired on the ace-nine-six-seven-three board.
Jack-high was enough.
After years of Triton cashes and final-table appearances, Alexandros Theologis was finally a Triton Poker champion.
Triton Jeju II $15,000 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandros Theologis | $642,000 |
| 2 | Victor Chong | $431,000 |
| 3 | Punnat Punsri | $302,000 |
| 4 | Kiat Lee | $245,500 |
| 5 | Yin Tao | $194,500 |
| 6 | Daniel Rezaei | $147,000 |
| 7 | Ehsan Amiri | $108,000 |
| 8 | Adrian Mateos | $79,000 |
First Triton Trophy Takes Theologis Past $10 Million
The $642,000 victory takes Theologis to approximately $10.8 million in recorded live tournament earnings.
Remarkably, it is only the sixth-largest score of his career.
He is already a WSOP bracelet winner and had been playing Triton tournaments successfully for years, making the absence of a Triton title increasingly conspicuous.
That explains why this particular trophy mattered.
Speaking after the victory, Theologis said he valued Triton trophies particularly highly because of the level of competition and the stakes involved.
