2019 Triton London Main Event Win Pays Malaysian Player Over $3 Million

The Triton Super High Roller London Series brought the best high stakes poker pros to London for a week of intense poker action that culminated with the Main Event. After three days of intense poker action at the Grand Ballroom of the Park Lane Hilton in London, a new Triton Super High Roller Main Event winner has been crowned. Malaysia’s Wai Kin Yong ended up topping a 130-entry field which was the largest field in Triton history.
Yong faced Triton Poker co-founder Paul Phua for the final battle of the event after both agreed to a heads-up deal, with the winner taking home an extra £150,000 plus the Triton Main Event trophy. Yong who is the son of Richard Yong, Phua’s business partner walked away with a whopping £2,591,695 ($3,148,391).
Winning a Triton Main Event title has always been Paul Phua’s goal, but the Malaysian businessman once again fell short of reaching the top spot as Yong remained steadfast in his goal to add another Main Event victory to his resume. Phua took home £2,558,305 ($3,107,828) for his second-place finish.
How The Final Table Played Down
From 130 players, the Main Event played down to just nine players on the final day, each looking to win the lion’s share of the £12.2 million prize pool. The Main Event was originally scheduled for just two days but it had to be extended for one more day due to the unexpectedly massive turnout.
Three hands into the final table, Yong eliminated fellow Malaysian Wei Leong Chan in ninth place for £305,000 ($371,584) after Chan got his last 10 big blinds in with AcJh against Yong’s 6s6d, with a six on the flop ultimately ending Chan’s bid.
Daniel Cates and Stephen Chidwick both failed to advance as well after losing in the same hand against Michael Soyza. Cates finished in eighth place for £410,000 ($499,507), while Chidwick finished seventh for £544,000 ($662,760) and suddenly there were only six players battling it out at the table.
The next elimination of the day took place after the UK’s Michael Chi Zhang ran pocket nines into Phua’s pocket queens, sending Zhang to the rail in sixth place for £711,000 ($866,218). Sam Greenwood then followed Zhang to the cashier after holding on to his tournament life for a very long time. Greenwood pocketed £902,000 ($1,098,915) for his fifth place finish.
After Greenwood’s exit, the four remaining players consisted of three Malaysians and one British pro, which meant that the final three could all come from Malaysia. That possibility was crushed after Yong finished off Soyza with queen-deuce against the latter’s pocket eights. Soyza was ultimately eliminated in fourth place for £1,120,000 ($1,365,507).
Ben Heath entered the Triton Main Event following his first bracelet win at the 2019 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas which earned him a seven-figure score. With only three players remaining, Heath was guaranteed to take home at least £1.35 million in prize money and he won just that after being eliminated in third place.
Paul Phua entered heads-up play against Yong with the lead – 61 to 47. Both players agreed to a deal, leaving £150,000 on the side. This time, each of them was guaranteed to take home nearly £2.5 million in winnings.
Phua won pot after to increase his chip advantage going into heads-up match against Yong. But the younger player was unfazed and was relentless in trying to get things work to his advantage. And, with 5d10cKc7s7c on the board, Yong made the right call for his tournament life with Kd5h, while Phua was bluffing with a missed draw.
After trying a number of shoves that were picked off by Yong, Phua had queen-six which ultimately lost to Yong’s king-jack after the latter picked up a dramatic pair on the river.
No Triton Trophy Yet But Phua’s Poker Journey Continues
Paul Phua is one of the co-founders of the Triton Poker series. While a Main Event win has continued to elude him, he has been very happy with the continued success that the Triton Poker has been enjoying through the years. Phua said that the founders felt a sense of pride knowing that the series is attracting more and more players.
Phua founded Triton Poker back in 2015 with Malaysian businessman and poker lover Richard Yong. Phua continues to be a main figure in high-stakes poker action with more than $14,611,017 in total live earnings.