Triton Poker Series: Inside the World’s Biggest High-Roller Tour

The Triton Poker Series is the most exclusive live poker tour in the world, built around buy-ins that start at US$15,000 and climb past US$1,000,000 per seat. Launched in 2016 by a small group of high-stakes players, it has grown into a travelling festival that has awarded close to US$1.88 billion in prize money and produced some of the largest single payouts in poker history. This guide explains what the tour is, how it works, which games it spreads, who its biggest winners are and how it differs from mainstream tours such as the World Series of Poker.

What is the Triton Poker Series?

The Triton Poker Series is a travelling series of super-high-roller tournaments held several times a year at luxury venues around the world. “Super high roller” means events with very large buy-ins — the amount a player pays to enter — aimed at wealthy amateurs and elite professionals rather than at the general public. Where a typical tour runs qualifiers for a few hundred dollars, Triton’s smallest events cost five figures and its signature events cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to enter.

The tour is run as a premium, invitation-friendly “gathering place” for the richest players in the game. Fields are small by mass-market standards — often dozens rather than thousands of entries — but the money in play is enormous, which is why Triton is routinely described as the biggest high-roller tour on the planet. It is organised as a private, members-style circuit rather than a casino’s in-house schedule, and it moves between Asia and Europe through the year.

Who founded Triton Poker and who runs it now?

Triton was founded by high-stakes players Paul Phua and Richard Yong, together with the late Ivan Leow, as a legal, exclusive space for nosebleed cash-game players to compete in tournament form. The inaugural series was staged in Manila (Parañaque City), in the Philippines, in January 2016, where Germany’s Fedor Holz won the first main event for more than US$3 million.

Andy Wong joined in 2018 and is now the tour’s CEO. Under his leadership Triton has leaned into an “entertainment-first” identity: high production values, live streaming with commentary, and an atmosphere designed to feel, in his words, like “a million dollars from a staging perspective.” Co-founder Ivan Leow died in September 2022; a scheduled stop was cancelled in his memory, and the tour continues to honour him.

How does the Triton Poker Series work?

Triton works like other live tournaments in its mechanics but operates at a far higher stakes level. Each festival runs a schedule of individual events over roughly two weeks; players buy in (often with the option to re-enter if they bust early), play down to a final table, and the prize pool is paid out to a percentage of the field. If you are new to the format, our guide to how poker tournaments are structured covers blinds, levels and payouts in plain English.

Buy-ins and prize pools

Buy-ins at Triton range from about US$15,000 for its most accessible events to more than US$1,000,000 for its marquee invitationals. For most of the tour’s life the average buy-in sat near US$90,000, but as the schedule broadened it fell toward roughly US$27,000 by the 2024–2026 seasons — still far above any mainstream tour. Because the entrants are so wealthy, even small fields create multi-million-dollar prize pools, and seven-figure first prizes are common.

Where and when Triton events take place

Triton has staged festivals in Manila, Macau, Jeju (South Korea), Montenegro, London, Rozvadov, Madrid, Sochi, Monte-Carlo, Ho Chi Minh City and Northern Cyprus, and in late 2025 ran a stop in the Bahamas in partnership with WSOP Paradise. In recent seasons the calendar has settled mainly around Jeju and Montenegro. The 2026 season — Triton’s tenth anniversary — features four festivals: Jeju in March, Montenegro in May and Jeju again in September, played at Les A Casino in Jeju Shinhwa World and the Maestral Resort on Montenegro’s Budva Riviera.

Which games are played at Triton?

Triton spreads three main poker variants, each with its own events on the schedule.

• No-Limit Hold’em (NLH): the standard, most widely played form of poker and the backbone of Triton’s biggest events.
• Short Deck (Six-Plus Hold’em): a faster, more volatile version of Hold’em played with a 36-card deck — every card below a six is removed. Hand values shift (a flush beats a full house), and Triton is closely associated with popularising this format at the top level. You can read how it sits among the different types of poker and their rules.
• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO): a four-hole-card game with pot-sized betting that produces huge swings; see our overview of Pot-Limit Omaha for the basics.

What are the biggest moments in Triton history?

Triton’s reputation rests on a handful of record-setting events that drew the game’s wealthiest names to the table.

The Triton Million (2019)

The Triton Million, played in London in August 2019, is the defining event in the tour’s history. It carried a £1,050,000 buy-in, drew 54 entrants and built a prize pool of roughly £54 million. China’s Aaron Zang won the title for about £13.8 million (around US$16.75 million), but because the two finalists struck a heads-up deal, runner-up Bryn Kenney actually collected the larger share — roughly £16.9 million, about US$20.5 million. Kenney’s payout stood for years as one of the largest single cashes in live poker history, despite his not winning the tournament.

Other landmark events

In September 2022, the Coin Rivet Invitational in Northern Cyprus carried a US$200,000 buy-in, attracted 90 entries for a prize pool above US$23 million, and was won by Britain’s Sam Grafton for US$5.5 million. Across its history Triton has staged more than 300 events, awarding close to US$1.88 billion to roughly 2,000 distinct players from 87 countries — numbers that explain the “world’s biggest high-roller tour” label.

Who are the biggest winners at Triton Poker?

Bryn Kenney is the biggest money-winner in Triton history, with earnings above US$50 million and five titles. The most decorated player is Jason Koon, who has won around a dozen Triton titles, more than anyone else. The table below lists the leading earners; figures are approximate and rise every season, so treat them as a snapshot rather than a fixed total. For the wider picture, see our all-time live tournament money list.

What is Triton ONE?

Triton ONE is a lower-buy-in tour that Triton launched in 2025 to open the brand up to players who cannot afford super-high-roller stakes. It debuted in Jeju with an US$8,000 Main Event that drew a 1,046-runner field — a very different scale from the tour’s million-dollar invitationals. The idea, according to the organisers, is to keep the Triton experience and production while offering a more accessible price point, particularly for the Asian market. Triton ONE now runs alongside the Super High Roller Series at the same festivals.

How does Triton compare to other high-roller tours?

Triton sits at the top of the stakes ladder, above the mainstream tours in buy-in size but far smaller in field size. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the sport’s largest and most famous festival, with a US$10,000 Main Event that draws tens of thousands of entries; the European Poker Tour (EPT) and the World Poker Tour (WPT) run accessible mid-stakes schedules with qualifiers. Triton, by contrast, is built for a few dozen to a few hundred elite entrants per event at buy-ins those tours reserve for occasional “high-roller” side events.

The practical difference is who can realistically play: mainstream tours are designed for recreational players to buy in or qualify cheaply, while Triton’s core schedule assumes you already have a very large bankroll. Triton ONE narrows that gap, but the flagship Super High Roller Series remains firmly out of reach for casual players.

Common misconceptions about the Triton Poker Series

Several ideas about Triton are widely repeated but inaccurate. Clearing them up helps set realistic expectations.

• “It is an online poker site.” Triton is a live tournament tour, not an online cardroom; you cannot sign up and play for real money from home. It does run a companion app for streams and hand data, but that is a viewing and information tool, not a gambling platform.
• “Anyone can enter if they pay.” While many events are technically open, the stakes and the private, high-end nature of the series make it impractical for ordinary players. Triton ONE is the realistic entry point for most.
• “The winner always takes home the most money.” As the 2019 Triton Million showed, final-table deals mean the player who lifts the trophy does not always collect the biggest cheque.
• “High buy-ins mean better odds for you.” They do not. Larger buy-ins simply mean larger sums at risk against some of the strongest players alive; nothing about the format improves an individual’s chance of winning.

How can you watch the Triton Poker Series?

You can follow Triton for free without ever entering an event. The tour live-streams its featured tables on YouTube with hole-card graphics and expert commentary, usually on a short security delay, and publishes full chip counts and results through poker media. A companion app pairs the stream with hand-by-hand data so viewers can see ranges and outcomes as they happen. Because production quality is central to the brand, Triton streams are a popular way for recreational players to study how elite professionals size bets, bluff and manage big pots — a far cheaper education than buying in.

Who is the Triton Poker Series for?

Triton is built for elite professionals and wealthy recreational players who can comfortably risk five- to seven-figure buy-ins, plus the global audience that follows high-stakes poker as a spectator sport. For everyone else, the value is in watching: the streams, the commentary and the results offer a window into how the best players handle the biggest pots. If you want to actually play tournaments, start with lower-stakes events and a solid grounding in poker strategy and bankroll management long before super-high-roller stakes ever enter the conversation.

Responsible Gambling

Poker is a form of gambling and carries real financial risk; the enormous sums seen on the Triton Poker Series are not representative of normal play, and high buy-ins do not improve anyone’s chance of winning. Most participants are professionals or very wealthy amateurs who can absorb large losses. Only ever play with money you can afford to lose, set firm limits, and never chase losses. Age limits apply (typically 18+ or 21+ depending on the jurisdiction). If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, free, confidential help is available through the organisations listed in the sources below. This article is informational and is not gambling, financial or legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the Triton Poker Series?

It is a travelling series of super-high-roller live poker tournaments, founded in 2016, with buy-ins from about US$15,000 to over US$1,000,000. It is widely regarded as the most exclusive poker tour in the world.

How much does it cost to play a Triton event?

Entry fees range from roughly US$15,000 for the most accessible events to more than US$1,000,000 for marquee invitationals. The newer Triton ONE tour offers lower buy-ins, starting around US$8,000.

What games are played at Triton?

Three main variants: No-Limit Hold’em, Short Deck (Six-Plus Hold’em) and Pot-Limit Omaha. No-Limit Hold’em anchors the biggest events, while Triton helped popularise Short Deck at the top level.

Who has won the most money at Triton Poker?

Bryn Kenney is the all-time money leader with earnings above US$50 million, while Jason Koon holds the record for the most Triton titles. Figures grow each season as new festivals are played.

Can anyone play in the Triton Poker Series?

Many events are open in principle, but the stakes make the main tour impractical for casual players. Triton ONE, with lower buy-ins, is the realistic entry point for most people, and even then poker involves real financial risk.