The Triton London high roller series, a poker event which drew hundreds of the game’s brightest stars, is now complete. In total, more than $100 million was awarded over eight tournaments. To call the series a rousing success would be quite an understatement.
Pros such as Bryn Kenney and Justin Bonomo came to London to compete in high stakes poker tournaments. And won. The poker world also familiarized itself with some Asian poker greats like Wai Kin Yong, Paul Phua and Aaron Zang.
Biggest Winner in Poker History Wasn’t Technically the Winner
Speaking of Aaron Zang, he won the most expensive buy-in poker tournament in history. But, strangely enough, he wasn’t actually the biggest winner in that event. Bryn Kenney, however, was.
Kenney finished in second place in the £1,050,000 buy-in Triton Million, the prized event of the Triton London series. But he began heads-up play against Zang with a massive chip lead. So, the two poker players agreed to a chop before the match concluded, giving Kenney the largest share at $20.5 million, which is also the biggest score in tournament poker history, surpassing the $18.3 million won by Antonio Esfandiari in the 2012 $1 million buy-in WSOP Big One for One Drop.
Zang, however,was crowned champion and took home $16.8 million and a shiny gold trophy.
Justin Bonomo Does it Again
With his $20.5 million score, Bryn Kenney overtook Justin Bonomo as tournament poker’s all-time winningest player at $55.5 million. But “ZeeJustin,” who now has $48.5 million in career earnings, closed the gap a few days later with a $3,248,000 cash for winning the £100,000 Short Deck Main Event.
Immediately after winning, Bonomo dropped a bombshell on the poker world. He hinted at retirement from the game at age 33. The 2018 WSOP Big One for One Drop champion says he will scale back on his poker playing. That means Kenney will likely hold onto the top spot for the foreseeable future, if not forever.
Don’t Forget the Name: Wai Kin Yong
Kenney earned poker’s biggest payday ever and Zang won the most expensive buy-in tournament in history. But the greatest accomplishment at Triton London was the performance of Wai Kin Yong.
The Malaysian poker pro and son of Triton co-founder and poker player Richard Yong, won the £100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for £2.6 million. If you thought that was a fluke, he proved you wrong two days later by finishing runner-up to Bonomo in the short deck tournament for another £1,835,000.
Triton London showcased some talented high rollers such as Yong who don’t regularly compete in the US-based high stakes events.
