With mere minutes to go before the tournament gets underway, Triton founders Richard Yong and Paul Phua took the stage to say a few words. After Yong spoke in his native language first, Phua then welcomed everyone to the Triton Million and said the biggest challenge was to get a big enough field to make the event a success and generate enough for charity.
Phua feels an immense sense of honor and pride in the fact that they did it and brought together a field of 54 players, making it a roaring success and raising at least £2,700,000 for charity. He thanked all those that made the event possible.
Rob Yong of partypoker LIVE, sponsor of the event, took the stage next to announce the shuffle up and deal. "Shuffle up and deal, guys!" he said with a smile, ready to get things underway. Triton Poker tournament director Luca Vivaldi then drew for the button, which will start in seat 7 at each table. Shortly after, cards went in the air to officially kick off the Triton Million.
At 1 p.m. London time (8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT), cards will be in the air for the richest poker event the world has ever seen. Fifty-four of the world's best professional poker players and richest recreational players will square off in the Triton Million - A Helping Hand for Charity with a buy-in of £1,050,000.
The event is the brain child of Triton Poker co-founders Paul Phua and Richard Yong, as well as partypoker LIVE'sRob Yong. With the combined efforts of Triton Poker and partypoker LIVE, what started as a dinner conversation during the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe will become a reality today. All eyes of the poker world will be glued to the screen to see who will etch his or her name in the poker history books as the champion of the richest poker tournament ever held.
As the name suggests, the tournament's primary goal is to provide a helping hand for charity, with £50,000 of the £1,050,000 buy-in going to charitable initiatives. With 54 players confirmed, a total of £2,700,000 has already been raised for charity. For a complete oversight of the beneficiaries, check the official Triton Million website.
Professional and Recreational Players Start Separately
A unique tournament like the Triton Million comes with an exceptional set of rules. The tournament consists of 27 businessmen/recreational players ("Invitation Holders") who were each allowed to invite a professional poker player ("Guests") of their choosing to bring the field to 54 total. The "rec's" have been separated from the "pro's," as the table draw shows. They will remain apart from one another for the first six levels of play.
After the dinner break (Level 6), there will be a new seat draw; merging the two groups. After the conclusion of Day 1, another redraw is to take place. Each Invitation Holder will be separated from their Guest until the final table.
Dress Code
Players will not be allowed to cover any part of their body from the neck up. This includes, but is not limited to, wearing scarves, funnel neck sweatshirts, turtle neck jumpers, hats, and caps. The only exception exists for sunglasses and hats that don't obscure any part of the face at any time due to stage lighting. Hoodies are not recommended to follow the rules above.
The nine players to make the final table will be required to wear a formal suit, something earlier seen at the final table of the 2016 Big One for One Drop.
PokerNews will be on the floor in the Hilton Hotel on Hyde Park to cover all the action of the biggest poker tournament of all time! In addition, the Triton live stream will be running continuously throughout the day with English, Chinese, Norwegian, Danish, and Russian commentary. Ali Nejad, Nick Schulman, Lex Veldhuis, Randy Lew, and Jeff Gross will be on commentary duties while, Marle Cordeiro, Liv Boeree, and Pete Latham will all be hosting.
Triton Million Day 1 Blind Structure
Level
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Big Blind Ante
1
60 min.
1,500
3,000
3,000
2
60 min.
1,500
3,000
3,000
Break
15 min.
3
60 min.
2,000
4,000
4,000
4
60 min.
2,500
5,000
5,000
Break
15 min.
5
60 min.
3,000
6,000
6,000
6
60 min.
4,000
8,000
8,000
Dinner Break*
60 min.
7
60 min.
5,000
10,000
10,000
8
60 min.
6,000
12,000
12,000
Break
15 min.
9
60 min.
8,000
16,000
16,000
10
60 min.
10,000
20,000
20,000
* Color up 500 chips, redraw to 50/50 Recreational & Professional players
Notes
The tournament plays in a freeze-out format.
Players are starting with 1,000,000 in chips.
All chips will be put in play at the start and players will be required to take their seats at the very beginning of the tournament.
The registration will close at the start of Level 2.
A dynamic shot clock will be in play: 20 seconds preflop, 25 seconds on the flop, and 30 seconds on the turn and river.
Players will receive twelve Time Bank cards at the beginning of the tournament.
At the end of Day 1, each player will receive five extra Time Bank cards.
Players receive an additional five Time Bank cards upon reaching the final table.
The opening event of the partypoker LIVE Triton Super High Roller Series London was the £25,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Turbo that was scheduled to crown its champion after a single day’s action. After a full day’s play, only seven players remain and it is Switzerland’s online legend Linus "LLinusLLove" Loeliger who returns to action on Sunday 4th August as the tournament’s chip leader.
A field of 117 players created a £2,925,000 prize pool that is being shared among the top 17 finishers.
Loeliger’s 5,055,000 stack is worth 51 big blinds when the action resumes on Aug. 4. The Swiss pro recently finished third in the HK$250,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed Turbo at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series event in Montenegro for HK$1,720,000 ($219,262). Now he is hoping to go a couple of places deeper in this London-based tournament.
Canada’s Luc Greenwood (4,400,000) and Timothy Adams (4,090,000) are the only other players with more than four million chips. They are joined by Australia’s Kahle Burns (3,755,000), Cary Katz (2,540,000) representing the United States, and Malaysian star Michael Soyza (2,055,000). Elior Sion of the United Kingdom brings up the rear with 1,500,000 chips.
Triton Poker Super High Roller Series London £25,000 Six-Max Turbo Final Table
Seat
Player
County
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Michael Soyza
Malaysia
2,055,000
21
2
Linus Loeliger
Switzerland
5,055,000
51
3
Kahle Burns
Australia
3,755,000
38
4
5
Timothy Adams
Canada
4,090,000
41
6
Elior Sion
United Kingdom
1,500,000
15
7
Cary Katz
United States
2,540,000
25
8
Lucas Greenwood
Canada
4,400,000
44
Each of the seven returning players is guaranteed to pad their bankroll with at least £122,300 after the money bubble burst on Jul. 31. With £690,000 awaiting the champion, none of those players will be happy with the smaller amount.
Triton Poker Super High Roller Series London £25,000 Six-Max Turbo Results So Far
Patrik Antonius was the first player to lock up some prize money, the Finn’s 17th place finish banked him £43,100. Others to reach the money places included Ben Heath (16th for £43,100), Dan Smith (15th for £45,300) Ben Lamb (12th for £49,500), and Erik Seidel (11th for $56,300).
Position
Player
Country
Prize (GBP)
Prize (USD)
1
£690,000
$835,411
2
£466,600
$564,931
3
£307,000
$371,697
4
£251,500
$304,501
5
£202,900
$245,659
6
£160,000
$193,718
7
£122,300
$148,079
8
Carlston Kyle
United States
£92.100
$111,489
9
Tong siow Choon
Malaysia
£68.700
$83,162
10
Orpen Kisacikoglu
Turkey
£56.300
$68,152
11
Erik Seidel
United States
£56.300
$68,152
12
Ben Lamb
United States
£49.500
$59,920
13
Paul Phua
Malaysia
£49.500
$59,920
14
Wai Leong Chan
Malaysia
£45.300
$54,836
15
Dan Smith
United States
£45.300
$54,836
16
Ben Heath
United Kingdom
£43.100
$52,173
17
Patrik Antonius
Finland
£43.100
$52,173
A whole host of stellar names failed to reach the top 17 places and endured an expensive day instead. Triton Poker High Roller series regulars Mikita Badziakouski, Tom Dwan, Justin Bonomo, and Isaac Haxton busted before the money, as did the likes of British duo Toby Lewis and Talal Shakerchi. Tennis legend Boris Becker participated as well but came up short, as did recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winners Luke Schwartz and Stephen Chidwick who also failed to add a Triton title to the gold they secured in Las Vegas.
Play has been suspended until Aug. 4 as Soyza, Adams, and Katz are set to compete in the largest buy-in poker tournament of all-time.
Cards will shortly be in the air in London for Triton Super High Roller Series, but the opening turbo is a mere appetizer compared to the titanic tournament on tap for Thursday. For the fifth time in the history of poker, tournament with a 1 million buy-in will run, and this one will be bigger than all the rest.
After editions in 2012, 2014, and 2018 with a $1,000,000 buy-in in Las Vegas, and an edition costing €1,000,000 ($1,097,140) in 2016, it's now time for the most expensive poker tournament in the history of the game. The Triton Million costs £1,050,000 to enter, the equivalent of $1,283,324 at the current exchange rate. The event runs Aug. 1-3 at London Hilton on Park Lane. Triton Million Live Reporting updates can be found in the PokerNews Live Reporting section once action gets underway.
The Triton Million website has released a list of players who have signed up for this unique event. While it's not set in stone that all of them will actually take their seat, the list is impressive already. Some of the richest recreational players and the best professional poker players have made their deposit for a chance of what's likely to be the biggest first-place prize in poker history.
What's more, they'll be entering play in a format different than any used before in poker. The field is evenly split between invited players — typically businessmen and recreational players — and their professional-playing guests. Not only that, each side of the field will be segregated for the first six levels of play, with no late registration allowed. After that tournament staff will still do their best to keep the tables relatively balanced between invited players and guests. Finally, an invited player and his or her guests will be kept separate until the final table.
In advance of the start of play — Thursday at 1 p.m. local time, 8 a.m. EDT — we've taken a close-up look at all the players, with attention to their lifetime results, biggest cashes, ranking on the all-time money list and Global Poker Index. We've also checked which previous 1 million buy-in events they've played before.
Read on to get all the key facts and figures in advance of what promises to be the biggest 1 million event yet, with more than 50 players registered. In addition, PokerNews will post a seat draw when it's made available after 9 p.m. in London.
Highlights of the Triton Million Players
With 54 registered players, the Triton Poker Million is the biggest of all one million buy-in poker tournaments. The Big One for One Drop in 2012 attracted a field of 48, the 2014 edition saw 42 players sign up, 28 players bought in for the 2016 version, and last year's Big One for One Drop event in Las Vegas had 27 registrants.
Cary Katz, Rick Salomon, and Talal Shakerchi are the only three players who have played all four 1 million buy-in events so far. All three of them are registered for the Triton Million event.
None of the players participated in three of the 1 million buy-in events, but Dan Smith, Sam Trickett, Christoph Vogelsang, Paul Phua, Haralabos Voulgaris and Bobby Baldwin participated in two of them.
Rick Salomon cashed in 3 of the 4 one million buy-in events he played (4th in 2014 for $2,800,000, 3rd in 2016 for €3,000,000, and 4th in 2018 for $2,840,000.)
In the 2016 event in Monaco, Bobby Baldwin was the first player to bust. The WSOP Main Event champ and former casino executive, is participating in his third 1 million buy-in event after also playing the inaugural Big One for One Drop event in 2012.
10 players have lifetime earnings lower than the buy-in of this event. Sosia Jiang, Liang Yu, Zang Shu Nu, Chin Wei Lim, Chow Hing Yaung, Qiang Wang, Pat Madden, Rob Yong, Alfred DeCarolis, and Ferdinand Putra will wager more entering this event than they've won in their lives playing live poker tournaments.
Besides the aforementioned 10 players, the £1,050,000 buy-in is bigger than they've ever earned in a single tournament for another seven players. Orpen Kisacikoglu, Tom Dwan, Winfred Yu, Andrew Robl, Antanas "Tony G" Guoga, Matthias Eibinger, and Talal Shakerchi have never cashed for $1,219,833 or more in a single tournament.
Several players have a GPI ranking in the thousands or lack a position on the list at all. This is an indication they're not as active in the live poker tournament scene (anymore) since the Global Poker Index only takes into account results from the last three years. Fedor Holz, Trickett, Richard Yong, Stanley Choi, Dan Cates, Tony G, Robl, Timofey Kuznetsov, Bill Perkins, and Tom Dwan are familiar names for any poker fan, but they haven't cashed a ton in recent years.
Elton Tsang's last cash is from 2016, when he won the €1,000,000 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza for €11,111,111.
Trickett, Baldwin, Richard Yong, Vogelsang, Salomon, Katz, Tsang, Andrew Pantling, Justin Bonomo, Smith, and Holz have all cashed a 1 million buy-in event before. Salomon cashed three times, Katz twice.
Four of the five players that cashed in 2018's $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop event have signed up for the Triton Million. Byron Kaverman is the sole player who hasn't secured a spot in this week's £1,050,000 event.
All Triton Million Players Data
Player
Country
Status
Earnings
ATML
GPI
Best Cash
2012
2014
2016
2018
Justin Bonomo
United States
PRO
$45,014,705
1
45
$10,000,000
✓
Bryn Kenney
United States
PRO
$34,942,306
4
4
$3,062,513
✓
David Peters
United States
PRO
$33,146,068
5
8
$2,699,752
✓
Fedor Holz
Germany
PRO
$32,556,377
6
6,435
$6,000,000
✓
Jason Koon
United States
PRO
$28,915,360
8
22
$3,579,836
✓
Dan Smith
United States
PRO
$27,921,941
9
215
$4,000,000
✓
✓
Mikita Badziakouski
Belarus
PRO
$25,169,363
15
16
$5,257,027
✓
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
PRO
$25,166,430
16
2
$1,618,417
✓
Sam Trickett
United Kingdom
PRO
$20,924,052
21
26,607
$10,112,001
✓
✓
Christoph Vogelsang
Germany
PRO
$20,181,475
23
74
$6,000,000
✓
✓
Cary Katz
United States
REC
$19,904,059
24
48
$1,929,203
✓
✓
✓
✓
Sam Greenwood
United States
PRO
$18,753,213
27
12
$1,853,387
Igor Kurganov
Russia
PRO
$18,429,469
29
189
$1,559,373
✓
Nick Petrangelo
United States
PRO
$17,318,983
32
46
$2,910,227
✓
Timothy Adams
Canada
PRO
$15,070,654
37
23
$3,536,550
Elton Tsang
Hong Kong
PRO
$12,752,989
49
-
$12,248,912
✓
Richard Yong
Malaysia
REC
$12,254,112
56
1,734
$2,130,848
✓
Paul Phua
Malaysia
REC
$11,437,324
67
650
$2,178,871
✓
✓
Rick Salomon
United States
REC
$9,906,283
87
-
$3,307,206
✓
✓
✓
✓
Martin Kabrhel
Czech Republic
PRO
$8,150,450
111
301
$2,990,088
Stanley Choi
Hong Kong
REC
$7,768,874
122
5,564
$6,465,574
✓
Rui Cao
France
PRO
$7,753,864
124
1,601
$3,351,130
Ivan Leow
Malaysia
REC
$7,597,279
129
127
$1,422,140
Talal Shakerchi
United Kingdom
REC
$7,354,464
136
790
$1,188,000
✓
✓
✓
✓
Matthias Eibinger
Germany
PRO
$7,162,469
140
59
$1,006,060
Dan Cates
United States
PRO
$6,882,879
148
4,827
$1,774,145
✓
Wai Leong Chan
Malaysia
PRO
$6,797,407
152
296
$3,252,348
Danny Tang
Hong Kong
PRO
$6,310,799
172
11
$1,796,498
Antanas "Tony G" Guoga
Lithuania
REC
$6,094,182
182
11,515
$552,239
Andrew Robl
United States
PRO
$5,780,890
200
6,574
$1,055,699
✓
Michael Soyza
Malaysia
PRO
$5,542,534
207
13
$1,420,581
Timofey Kuznetsov
Russia
PRO
$5,428,099
212
11,201
$2,150,000
Vivek Rajkumar
India
PRO
$4,427,667
282
-
$1,424,500
✓
Wai Kin Yong
Malaysia
REC
$4,259,848
298
2,945
$2,080,556
Andrew Pantling
Canada
REC
$4,055,438
317
12,465
$1,653,603
✓
Winfred Yu
Hong Kong
REC
$3,906,078
334
2,172
$1,172,727
Leon Tsoukernik
Czech Republic
REC
$3,545,175
397
3,236
$1,800,000
Tan Xuan
China
PRO
$3,425,035
423
4,096
$2,308,384
Tom Dwan
United States
PRO
$3,166,253
478
72,770
$447,844
✓
Haralabos Voulgaris
Canada
REC
$3,091,797
492
119,754
$1,158,883
✓
✓
Orpen Kisacikoglu
Turkey
REC
$3,066,484
495
92
$271,118
Bill Perkins
United States
REC
$2,711,086
568
9,370
$1,965,163
✓
Bobby Baldwin
United States
REC
$2,354,179
708
-
$1,408,000
✓
✓
Sosia Jiang
New Zealand
REC
$1,177,584
1,633
1,434
$498,073
Liang Yu
Marshall Islands
REC
$1,100,618
1,751
51,580
$453,243
Zang Shu Nu
China
REC
$857,413
2,312
33,866
$248,200
Chin Wei Lim
Malaysia
REC
$806,635
2,471
839
$200,908
Chow Hing Yaung
Malaysia
REC
$772,825
2,585
7558
$336,383
Qiang Wang
China
REC
$745,514
2,680
18,561
$726,170
Pat Madden
United States
REC
$677,640
1,577
-
$185,310
✓
Rob Yong
United Kingdom
REC
$330,349
6,389
-
$111,518
Alfred DeCarolis
United States
REC
$290,622
7,300
-
$290,622
✓
Ben Wu
United States
REC
$35,195
54,745
44,890
$30,453
Ferdinand Putra
Indonesia
REC
$46,418
39,175
16,077
$20,200
* PRO = professional poker player, REC = recreational poker player (status defined by Triton Poker)
* ATML = All-Time Money List
* The buy-in of the One Drop events in Las Vegas in 2012, 2014, and 2018 was $1,000,000
* The buy-in of the One Drop event in Monaco in 2016 was €1,000,000
* All earning stats via TheHendonMob.com. GPI status via GlobalPokerIndex.com.
* We're unsure of the accuracy of the stats for the latest addition to the list of players, Ben Wu from the United States.
Triton Million Live Updates on PokerNews
PokerNews will be on the ground for the Triton Million in London. We'll bring you live updates from the tournament floor for the £1,050,000 event, and the £100,000 Main Event and £100,000 Short-Deck events.
Previous One Million Reporting on PokerNews
PokerNews has been present for all four previous 1 million buy-in events: