Ben Tollerene Conquers Latest Triton Main Event for $3.7m Payday in Jeju

A field of stars competed in the Triton Jeju Main Event in South Korea this week. When the chips were piled up in front of a winner, it was the American poker professional Ben Tollerene who posed for the cameras and celebrated a win worth $3.76 million, the biggest of his illustrious career at the live felt.

Aido and Barbero Among Those to Cash

With just 31 players making the money places, sneaking into the money for a min-cash was worth double the average American’s annual salary at $157,000. Ben Lamb (31^st), Nacho Barbero (30^th) and Pedro Padilha (28^th) were among those to score that amount, with Sergio Aido (27^th for $174,500), Stephen Chidwick (21^st for $192,000), Aleks Ponakovs (14^th for $263,000) and recent Triton Poker Series winner Bernhard Binder, who came 12^th for $290,000.

When the final table began, it was Tollerene who led the field, sitting on 73 big blinds from Xu Yang in second place on 44 big blinds. It was a substantial lead for the American, but others were scrabbling for a foothold on his chip mountain, with Felipe Ketzer among them on just eight big blinds. The Brazilian soon found himself needing to hit in spectacular fashion when he moved all-in under-the-gun for those eight bigs with a suited queen-jack. Called by Philip Sternheimer with pocket jacks, the British player held but what no-one knew was that Kristen Foxen folded pocket kings in an ICM chokehold so early in the final table.

Ketzer was on the rail with $385,000 and soon, the field was reduced to seven players. Not until the previously timid Foxen had got lucky with a hand worse than kings. All-in with pocket nines for 17 big blinds, she needed to hit against the pocket queens of Tollerene and did so, making a set of nines on the flop and another on the river to give her quads to survive in style. Her survival put more pressure on the lower stacks and Tom Fuchs busted in eighth place for $484,000. All-in with pocket kings, he ran into Sternheimer’s pocket aces, as if to demonstrate how Foxen might have been right to fold them.

Winter’s End, Quads Return

With seven left, Chinese player Xu Yang was the next to bust, pocketing $635,000 when his run came to an end at the hands of Ben Tollerene’s pocket kings. Yang’s pocket queens started and ended the hand just short, and his elimination was followed by that of Sean Winter.

The American high roller, commonly playing PokerGO and Triton high rollers, won $870,000 in sixth place soon after. Committing his stack with ace-ten, Winter’s hand was dominated to defeat by Tollerene’s ace-queen as the all-American clash saw Tollerene further strengthen his stranglehold on the action.

The Thai player Punnat Punsri was at risk next, shoving with pocket fours for 12 big blinds. Sternheimer was his executioner, calling with jack-queen. A jack came on the flop, but it was joined by a seven and a four, making Punsri almost a dead cert to double up. Incredibly, a jack landed on both the turn and river to give the British player quad jacks and send a befuddled Punsri to the rail to collect $1,146,000.

Foxen Frozen Out as Tollerene Takes Title

In fourth place, it was the turn of Kristen Foxen to depart, agonisingly short of breaking records for a biggest ever cash by a female player, or at least on the Triton tour. Third place was needed for Foxen to become the most successful Triton player on the night but could only win $1,449,000 in fourth place as her ascension to those many thrones would have to wait. Ace-six was no good against the ace-king of Tollerene’s ace-king as no help came on the board to send the Canadian out just before the podium places.

Three remained, with both of Tollerene’s opponents barely holding half of his stack collectively. Elton Tsang’s ace-three fell to Tollerene’s king-six when a six paired the American’s hand on the flop and with Tollerene holding 91 big blinds to Sternheimer’s 20 big blinds, the writing looked to be on the wall. So it proved to be, although no-one would have predicted the dramatic manner in which the tournament was ended.

Tollerene completed with the ‘Texas Dolly’ hand of ten-deuce, the same hand Doyle Brunson famously won the 1972 and 1973 WSOP Main Events with. On a flop of A-T-2, Sternheimer check-called Tollerene’s bet holding just king-seven. A six of diamonds on the turn didn’t help Tollerene but did give Sternheimer a flush draw.

The deuce of spades on the river not only saw the British player miss his draw but completed Tollerene’s full house, and the American’s river bet of 5.5 million chips into a pot of 6.5 million was sized beautifully to look like a bluff. Sternheimer emptied the clip, moving all-in and giving Tollerene the easiest of snap-calls to claim the title and $3.76 million top prize, with the British pro ending as runner-up with $2.53 million.