Champion Alex Anton

It was a very busy night on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Jeju on Friday as a record-breaking Triton Invitational field chose their seats, a $20 million heads-up match took place between Patrik Antonius and Ossi Ketola, and the big $50K Event played to its winner.

But very quietly on a separate stage, 25-year-old American pro Alex Anton was letting his chips do the talking, sealing victory in the $30K NLH Turbo event for a first Triton title and $577,000.

Anton first came to Triton earlier this year, primarily to play Triton ONE in Jeju, but also fired two of the smaller Super High Roller Series events. He came back this week to play the beginning of this schedule too, hitting a first final table in the $40K Mystery Bounty.

Tonight, Anton lifts his first trophy after taking on an incredibly tough final table. There were Triton superstars everywhere he looked, but the chief nemesis was the tournament clock, which left the players playing hilarious short stacks by the end.

"It was really silly," Anton said, emerging from a wild heads-up battle against reigning Triton Player of the Year Artur Martirosian. Both players might have been knocked out on multiple occasions, and the tournament ended with an average stack of six blinds. But they played on in true Triton spirit until the end.

Anton goes heads up against Arturn Martirosian

"It was fun, but we were just flipping for a lot of money," Anton said. "It was definitely fun but extreme because the stacks are crazy...Just a lot of interesting spots. Very extreme."

He was, however, delighted to become a Triton winner so relatively soon after joining the hunt. "It's great, it's amazing," he said.

Anton is the second ever player born in the 21st century to win on the Triton Poker Series. (He doesn't turn 26 until November.) And the record will show that he beat not only Martirosian, but the likes of Stephen Chidwick, Adrian Mateos, Mikita Badziakouski and Winfred Yu at the final.

Artur Martirosian was the last of the old guard to

Those veteran talents will surely welcome, with trepidation, the emergence of a potential new star.

"Definitely," Anton said, when asked if he'll be coming back.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The first turbo event of the trip took place on the eve of the Triton Invitational, and you may think that would adversely affect the turnout. But the tournament schedule had been cleared specifically for the big one tomorrow, which meant a lot of poker players at a loose end on Friday night. And that meant the turbo was just as popular as ever.

An even 70 entries meant $2.1 million in the prize pool and more than half a million for the champion. So it was time to block out the distractions (the Invitational seat draw was taking place next door) and try to win a title.

First, they had to navigate the bubble, but that has proven especially difficult on this trip for poor Tony Ren Lin. After a near bubble in Event 7, when he finished two from the money, he was the stone bubble boy in Event 8. That was earlier today, and wouldn't you know it, Lin was all in and under threat yet again when Event 9 was one from the cash.

And once again, he couldn't win the crucial hand, going down with A9 to Stephen Chidwick's pocket kings.

Two bubbles in a single day for Tony Lin

Among all the many players to console Lin, Daniel Rezaei stood out, offering his fallen opponent a bear hug. Rezaei duly became the next player to perish, in 11th place, but at least securing an 11th-place payout of $52,000.

Jesse Lonis, a former turbo champion in this room, was out in 10th, which left an official final table of nine. It was an eye-catching line up, topped by Chidwick after that bubble elimination:

Stephen Chidwick - 3,510,000 (59 BBs)

Adrian Mateos - 3,260,000 (54 BBs)

Alex Anton - 1,800,000 (30 BBs)

Artur Martirosian - 1,720,000 (29 BBs)

Mikita Badziakouski - 1,230,000 (21 BBs)

Alisson Piekazewicz - 775,000 (13 BBs)

Winfred Yu - 685,000 (11 BBs)

Byron Kaverman - 660,000 (11 BBs)

Chen Mingcong - 360,000 (6 BBs)

Event 9 final table (clockwise from back left): Winfred Yu, Adrian Mateos, Artur Martirosian, Stephen Chidwick, Mikita Badziakouski, Alisson Piekazawicz, Byron Kaverman, Chen Mingcong, Alex Anton.

Levels are so short in the turbo events, and players so accomplished, that essentially any result is possible at any time. But the first major skirmish of this final table was essentially what was most likely to happen: short stacked Chen Mingcong took the fall.

Chen, a former champ in Jeju, has already been to one final here this week, but his second appearance was comparatively brief. He called all in for his last four blinds after Winfred Yu shoved with eight. Yu's AQ beat Chen's Q and that meant a $60,000 payout and a relatively early night.

Chen Mingcong wanders away in ninth

Yu obviously enjoyed that pot, but was still hardly healthy, and an orbit or so later, he was back down to the eight blinds he had before. And then there were none and he open-shoved UTG holding J10 and was picked off by Adrian Mateos holding A.

Yu said at the beginning of the week that he was confident of winning a third Triton title on this trip. He's had two near misses already, and adds $79,000 to his bankroll to try again.

It's been a while since Mikita Badziakouski has been able to add to his five titles, but here he was again at a final. However Badziakouski was another player only able to tread water before jamming and busting: his pocket fours lost a race to Artur Martirosian's AK.

Badziakouski won $101,000 for seventh.

Mikita Badziakouski got seventh in this one

Chips moved around a bit while they were six handed, but the average stack was only nine blinds. Martirosian was leading with only 17 blinds at one point, underlining again how these turbos require a forensic knowledge of short-stack shoving ranges and ICM implications.

All six knew this kind of stuff all too well, but probably even a rank amateur would know to get four blinds in holding pocket queens as Stephen Chidwick did, especially after an opponent has opened the button. That opponent was Piekazewicz, whose JK lost at showdown to Chidwick and left him with less than one blind.

Piekazewicz managed two double up, which was enough to stick around a bit longer. It was important as Byron Kaverman then got cut down to practically nothing before busting with pocket fours in sixth.

Kaverman's final table had really hit the skids when he doubled up Martirosian with A9 going down to A. And though Kaverman did manage to double back through Chidwick, he had dwindled again to scraps when he put them in holding the fours. Martirosian was again his nemesis, pinching the last chips with .

Kaverman won $128,000, his first cash of the trip.

Byron Kaverman lost to a one-two punch from Artur Martirosian

Piekazewicz had now managed another double, this time through Chidwick, so was sitting on a comparatively comfortable eight blinds when both Alex Anton and Adrian Mateos had slipped below him. Mateos got his last seven blinds in from the button following Martirosian's cutoff raise, and Martirosian called to put Mateos at risk.

Martirosian had the inferior hand, with Q9 to Mateos' A. But the on the flop turned the tables. Mateos was out in fifth, taking $164,000, and giving him enough time to hit the hay in time for an Invitational title defence the next day.

Adrian Mateos couldn't beat Adrian Mateos either

Martirosian seemed to have the bit between his teeth, but Alex Anton halted the charge. Anton doubled holding AQ to Martirosian's K and the American took over the chip lead. However, Martirosian doubled right back, beating Chidwick's with pocket fives. And that left Chidwick on the ropes.

Chidwick then succumbed to Anton, with 106 losing to Anton's J. Chidwick departed in fourth for $207,000.

Fourth place for Stephen Chidwick

No one would have been enjoying this more than Piekazewicz, who had less than a big blind not that long ago, but was now into the last three. However, he soon ran into Anton's set of aces to lose about half of his six blinds, with the remaining half going to Martirosian on the next hand. Piekazewicz had 10J but lost to .

That meant the comeback ended in third place and a $269,000 prize.

Alisson Piekazewicz came back from the brink

The tournament was now heads up with the two players sharing 28 blinds. Martirosian had 12 and Anton 16, and it was time to see whether it was the first timer or the seasoned campaigner who would prevail.

Anton had the first chance to end it. After moving ahead by 12 blinds to five, the chips went in with Anton holding 84 to Martirosian's . The better hand held. That put them all but even again, with Martirosian narrowly ahead. But then a small pot to Anton and it was nine blinds apiece. The level went up and it was seven blinds each.

And then things got really ridiculous. Martirosian was on the brink again but flopped a flush with 94 to survive. And he then took J up against pocket jacks, flopped an eight and turned another. "Wow," Anton said with a chuckle.

There were three more all-ins won by the player with the smallest stack until finally, with a six big blind tournament average, Anton got one to hold up. He had K6 and beat 3 to land his first win.

It was, he admitted, "a crapshoot". But they all count!