Czech Mate! Roman Hrbaec Wins Triton Poker Series Jeju Main Event for $4.3 million

The Triton Poker Series Main Event in Jeju saw Czech player Roman Hrabec win the biggest prize of his poker career so far as he took the title and an incredible $4.33 million. The South Korean Island of Jeju has seen some amazing drama over the past fortnight and the $100,000-entry Main Event was no different, with a record-breaking turnout, a final table full of stars and an epic winner celebrating in style.

Legends Make the Money

With an awe-inspiring 216 entries, including 77 re-entries, the $100,000 buy-in Triton Event set records for that level of buy-in and those kinds of numbers. The Main Event on a Triton stop truly is something special. With a prizepool of $21.6 million, the top prize of $4.33 million was life-changing to every one of the players involved, and as such, the field was full of the kind of crushers you can imagine.

A total of 39 players got paid and among their numbers were some of the best in the world, with Timothy Adams, Ren Lin, Mike Watson, Henrik Hecklen and Biao Ding all sneaking into the money places for a cash worth $151,000. Closer to the final table, Leon Sturm from Germany finished 26^th for $190,000, American Sean Winter came 21^st for $212,000 and Mario Mosboeck came 15^th for $298,000. By the time Stephen Chidwick bubbled the final table, finishing 10^th for a score of $378,000, the final nine were set and Hrabec’s run to the final gave him a marginal lead over Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel.

The first player to lose their stack at the final table was one of two Bulgarians to make the showdown. Alex Kulev has enjoyed a superb rise to prominence over the last two years in particular and his exit in ninth for $451,000 was nothing to be ashamed about, his pocket queens losing to Hrabec’s A♣K♥ when an ace landed on the flop.

Brewer Drops Out Early

Eight remained, but not for long. Two-time 2023 WSOP bracelet winner Chris Brewer moved all-in with K♥J♣ but this time it was Hrabec who had the pocket queens and another on the flop did for the American. Brewer cashed for $543,000 after another solid performance but will have been disappointed not to go just a little further and push for the really big prizes.

All-in with A♦6♠ next was Ukrainian Yaroshevskiy. Called by Elton Tsang with A♥Q♥ and only a small number fewer chips, the Hong Kong player got a huge double-up and Yaroshevskiy lost the remaining few chips he had to Fahredin Mustafov moments later, cashing for $739,000 in seventh place. Sadly for Mustafov, that only boosted his short stack by a small amount and when he was committed with K♦9♦ he started and ended his final hand behind Matthias Eibinger’s A♠K♠, leaving with a score of $1.08 million in sixth.

Out in fifth place was, once again, the last player to elicit an elimination. Eibinger, who co-founded Pokercode with fellow poker boss Fedor Holz, shoved with pocket threes but was crushed both pre-flop and post-flop by Hrabec’s pocket tens, who flopped a set of them and rivered quads, sending Eibinger home with $1.33m.

Thorel Czechs Out Early Again

“SOMETIMES IT WORKS, SOMETIMES IT DOESN’T [BUT] I JUST PLAY MY GAME”

With four remaining, poker legend Patrik Antonius was short stacked and made a move with pocket queens. Again, Hrabec it was who had the goods too, calling with the only slightly inferior pocket jacks. If the fantastic Finn thought a double was on the cards, he was in for a shock as a jack landed on the flop and with no help, Antonius left just outside the podium places for a result worth $1,697,000.

Elton Tsang is a known legend at these nosebleed stakes and got oh so close to another major title, only to miss out in third place for $2,105,000. Tsang shoved with A♦T♠ but Thorel made the call with a A♠Q♣ and was right to do so, the dry board rewarding the call as it sent Tsang home.

That pot was important for Thorel but it gave him a thin foothold on the mountain of Hrabec’s lead that he needed to ascend. In the end, Hrabec had K♠K♣ and after the board ran out J♠9♦3♣K♥, Thorel’s shove with A♣4♣ was quickly called. Only a ten would prevent the Frenchman celebrating or commiserating another runner-up result but it didn’t come, and Hrabec had the victory and the biggest cash of his poker career.

“I play a little bit [of a] different style,” Hrabec admitted after the event. “Some people say I’m a punter. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t [but] I just play my game. I will say, it feels quite amazing – is that real money?”

If Hrabec was living in a dream world when he won the Main Event, he wakes up as one of the most powerful poker players in the world, moving up The Hendon Mob All-Time Money List by an incredible 785 places to number 180.