Elton Tsang Wins Triton Jeju $150,000 Event For $4.2 Million

Elton Tsang is one of the few players in the world who can claim a victory in a seven-figure buy-in poker tournament. The Hong Kong native took down the 2016 World Series of Poker Big One For One Drop €1,000,000 buy-in for a bracelet and nearly $12.2 million. Nearly eight years after that massive win, Tsang has secured his second multi-million-dollar payday by taking down the 2024 Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju $150,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event. He outlasted a field of 117 total entries in the high-stakes affair at Landing Casino Jeju in South Korea to earn $4,210,000 and his first Triton trophy.

This latest title saw Tsang’s career earnings grow to $21,901,907 across just 32 total cashes. That means his average payout when he’s made the money on the live circuit has been good for more than $684,000.

In addition to the hardware and the money, Tsang also secured 1,200 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his first qualified score so far, but it alone was enough to vault him into 50th place in the 2024 POY standings presented by Global Poker.

With 117 entries, the prize pool for this event swelled to $17,550,000. The top 20 finishers made the money, with seven-figure paydays for the final five. Plenty of big names ran deep, including four-time bracelet David Peters (20th), Patrik Antonius (19th), Fedor Holz (17th), Mikita Badziakouski (17th), five-time Triton champion Danny Tang (11th), and four-time bracelet winner Michael Addamo (10th).

The final table began with Wang Ye in the lead and Tsang in the middle of the pack. 2022 Triton Invitational $200,000 winner Sam Grafton (9th – $422,000) was the first to fall, running A-J into the pocket aces of Tsang. Sean Winter soon followed, with his A-5 outrun by the 7-5 suited of bracelet winner Alex Kulev. Winter earned $544,000 as the eighth-place finisher.

Triton newcomer Wang Ye, who had cashed in four events already this series, got all-in with A-K suited leading the A-J of Tsang. Tsang spiked a jack on the flop and held from there to eliminate Ye in seventh place ($737,000). He has now cashed for more than $1.3 million during the festival, which accounts for the entirety of his career live earnings.

Play was halted for the night with six remaining. After action resumed on day 3, Kulev was the first contender to be sent to the rail. His last chips went in with A-J suited ahead of the A-10 of Michael Watson, who rivered broadway to win the pot and narrow the field to five. Kulev earned $983,000 as the sixth-place finisher, increasing his career earnings to nearly $9.5 million in the process.

The next key clash was a preflop coin flip, with bracelet winner James Chen holding pocket nines against another A-10 for Watson. An ace-high runout sent Chen home with $1,254,000 for his efforts. He now has more than $10.1 million in lifetime cashes to his name.

Biao Ding, who had a breakout year on the circuit in 2023, came out on top in the next all-in confrontation. He called an all-in from Liang Xu with pocket aces on a king-high flop. Xu held top pair. Neither player improved from there and Xu was eliminated in fourth place ($1,563,000). This was his second career seven-figure payday.

Watson’s run concluded when his A-2 was unable to come from behind against the A-Q of Tsang. Neither player connected with a 10-high runout and Watson was bounced in third place. The $1,895,000 payout he secured for his deep run was the largest of his career, topping the nearly $1.7 million he earned for winning the 2008 World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup main event. The two-time European Poker Tour main event winner from Canada now has nearly $25.5 million in lifetime earnings. This was his seventh final-table finish of the year, with one title won. His 2,616 POY points are good for fourth in the overall rankings.

Tsang entered heads-up with roughly a 5:3 chip lead over Ding. The lead changed hands briefly, but Tsang was soon able to regain control. He then won a big pot with top pair of aces against the king-high hero call of Ding to take a massive lead in time for the final hand. Tsang raised with 75 and Ding called all-in from the big blind with 103. The board came down K53J2 and Tsang’s pair of fives earned him the pot and the title.

Ding cashed for $2,870,000 as the runner-up, his largest score yet. The 2023 POY race 20th-place finisher now has $7,785,060 in career earnings, with the vast majority of that won since the start of last year.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Photo credits: Triton Poker / Joe Giron.

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