Jason Koon Captures Record 10th Triton Poker TitleAmerican Poker Pro Now Has Twice As Many Victories Than His Nearest Competition On The High-Stakes Tour |
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Jason Koon is running away with the Triton Poker titles record, with twice as many wins as the nearest competition.
The 38-year-old American poker pro secured his record-extending 10th victory on the tour on Saturday, Nov. 4 by taking down the final of the 2023 Triton Super High Roller Series Monte Carlo $26,000 pot-limit Omaha turbo event. Koon raced through the 50-entry field to earn the hardware and the top prize of $365,000.
Koon has now won more Triton events in 2023 (six) than any player has in their lifetime. Phil Ivey and Danny Tang are now tied for second on the tour’s titles leaderboard with five a piece, with Tang nabbing his fifth just a few days before Koon’s latest win. Koon has won at least one title at each of the four Triton festivals held this year, with two earned at both the London and Cyprus stops. He now has more than $26.2 million in earnings across 41 cashes on the tour, which accounts for just over half of his $52.2 million in lifetime cashes.
In addition to the title and the money, Koon was also awarded 420 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his sixth title and 15th final-table finish of the year, with 6,620 points and more than $9.3 million in POY earnings accrued along the way. As a result, he now sits in ninth place in the 2023 POY standings presented by Global Poker.
This tournament took just a single day to play out inside the Salle des Etoiles at Monte-Carlo Sporting alongside the French Riviera. The 50-entry turnout resulted in a $1,250,000 prize pool that was ultimately split among the top nine finishers.
By the time this event was moved to the main streaming stage, just six players remained in contention with Koon in the middle of the pack and Lazlo Bujtas on top of the chip coutns. Ren Lin (6th – $77,500) was the first to fall, with his double-suited A-A-8-5 being outrun by the double-suited A-J-7-3 of bracelet winner Eelis Parssinen, who rivered trip sevens. This was Lin’s 24th final-table finish of the year, with two wins along the way. His 8,345 POY points are good for sixth place in the standings.
Laszlo Bujtas (5th – $100,000) was the next to hit the rail, with his pocket kings bested by the A-K-Q-8 of Parssinen. Both players turned a flush, but Parissnen’s was best to earn him the knockout.
Koon secured his first knockout of the day, eliminating short stack Sam Greenwood in fourth place. The bracelet winner from Canada took home $129,000 for his efforts. That left three-time bracelet winner Joao Vieira at the bottom of the counts heading into three-handed action. The Portuguese pro was soon all in for a handful of blinds with A10102 from the big blind. He was up against J655 for Koon on the button. The board ran out K5239 and Koon’s set of fives ended Vieira’s run in third place ($171,000).
Heads-up play began with Koon a few big blinds ahead of Parssinen. It didn’t take long for all the chips to get in. Koon raised from the button with A954 and Parssinen three-bet with AJ75 from the big blind, committing most of his stack. Both players whiffed on a Q83 flop, which went check-check. Parssinen moved the last of his 1,775,000 into the middle with his pair of sevens. Koon made the call with his newly found flush and straight draws. The 2 on the end completed Koon’s flush to give him the pot and the title. Parssinen cashed for $262,000 as the runner-up.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
1 | Jason Koon | $365,000 | 420 |
2 | Eelis Parssinen | $262,000 | 350 |
3 | Joao Vieira | $171,000 | 280 |
4 | Sam Greenwood | $129,000 | 210 |
5 | Laszlo Bujtas | $100,000 | 175 |
6 | Ren Lin | $77,500 | 140 |
7 | Tom Aksell Bedell | $61,500 | 105 |
8 | Sergio Martinez | $47,500 | 70 |
9 | Li Tong | $36,500 | 35 |
Photo credits: Triton Poker / Joe Giron.