Daniel Dvoress has won his seventh Triton Poker title after defeating Xuan Liu heads-up in the $30,000 NLH 8-Handed event at Triton Jeju II. The Canadian collected $942,000 after controlling much of the final table before overcoming the woman who had previously beaten him to make Triton history.
For Liu, the $638,000 runner-up finish brought her within one opponent of becoming a two-time Triton champion. It also produced a rematch with a particularly appropriate opponent.
Liu defeated Dvoress heads-up in the WPT Global Slam in Montenegro to become the first woman ever to win a Triton Poker title. This time, Dvoress avoided a repeat.
Dvoress Takes Seventh Triton Title
Dvoress entered the final day with the chip lead and maintained control as the field was reduced to its final two players. His victory adds another major result to a Triton record that already placed him among the tour’s most successful regulars.
The $30,000 tournament continued a busy opening week at Triton Jeju II, where many of the world’s leading high-stakes tournament players have returned to South Korea. Dvoress and Liu were both among the recognizable names involved from the opening stages of the festival.
Dvoress eventually reached heads-up play after eliminating Lithuania’s Gytis Lazauninkas in third place. Liu was waiting for him again, but the circumstances were very different from their previous meeting.
Dvoress held the dominant chip lead and this time made it count.
Xuan Liu Comes Close to More Triton History
Liu’s presence in the final two created the possibility of another landmark result for women in high-stakes poker. She remains Triton’s first female champion and would have become its first woman to win two titles by beating Dvoress again.
Her run also follows another recent Poker Type appearance during Xuan Liu’s televised cash game battle with Jennifer Tilly on Hellmuth’s Home Game. Liu left that session with a small profit after winning its largest pot, but tournament poker presented a considerably bigger opportunity in Jeju.
She was not the only woman to reach the final table either. Taiwan’s Candy Lin finished fourth for $348,000 after running pocket nines into Dvoress, whose king-eight suited connected with the flop.
Two women therefore finished inside the top four of a $30,000 Triton event containing some of the strongest tournament players in the world.
$30K Triton Jeju II Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | $942,000 |
| 2 | Xuan Liu | Canada | $638,000 |
| 3 | Gytis Lazauninkas | Lithuania | $424,000 |
| 4 | Candy Lin | Taiwan | $348,000 |
| 5 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $279,000 |
| 6 | Jingyao Yan | China | $217,000 |
| 7 | Lun Loon | Malaysia | $160,000 |
| 8 | Ben Tollerene | United States | $118,000 |
The final table also included British high-stakes star Stephen Chidwick and American Ben Tollerene. Chidwick collected $279,000 for fifth, while Tollerene’s eighth-place finish was worth $118,000.
Jeju II Produces Another Established Champion
The opening tournaments of Jeju II produced a succession of players finally winning their first Triton titles. Alexandros Theologis and Klemens Roiter both broke through early in the festival, before Alex Boika won his first Triton title in the $25,000 NLHE 8-Handed event.
Dvoress belongs to a very different category. His latest victory is number seven on the Triton circuit and strengthens his position in the series’ Player of the Year race.
There was little opportunity to enjoy the result for long. With Jeju II continuing and the biggest tournaments still ahead, Dvoress moved directly into the $40,000 Mystery Bounty event after securing the trophy.
Liu will have to wait for another opportunity to become Triton’s first two-time female champion. Against Dvoress, at least, the score is now one apiece.
