2025 WSOP Paradise

Aleks Ponakovs Bulldozes Field to Win Triton Main Event for $4,750,000; Collects First Triton Title and 3rd WSOP Gold Bracelet
—

WSOP Paradise continued today from Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas with the final day of Event #9: $100,000 Triton Main Event.

After a series of close calls, including two runner-up finishes,

can finally claim the title of Triton champion. Ponakovs collected his first Triton trophy, the $4,750,000 first-place prize, and his third WSOP gold bracelet after a dominant performance that saw him enter the day chip leading the final 11 players, and only dip briefly after a failed bluff attempt into the nut-flush of runner-up finisher

.

The tournament drew a massive field of 237 entrants to create a prize pool worth $23,700,000, and the final 39 players all earned a piece of it.

was the unfortunate bubble boy when he three-bet shoved 22 big blinds with ace-queen suited and ran into the ace-king suited of

.

From there the field would whittle down quickly and after the elimination of

on the final table bubble, the nine remaining players converged to one table.

Ponakovs would enter the final table as the top stack, and after the eliminations of

(9th),

(8th),

(7th), and

(6th), he would go on a tear and eliminate

(5th),

(4th), and

(3rd) to get heads-up with Padilla as a nearly two-to-one favorite.

Heads-up would only last a few hands and the tournament reached its conclusion when Ponakovs limped the button with

and Padilla moved all in from the big blind with

. The board ran out

and Ponakovs was crowned champion.

Final Table Results:

1st: Aleks Ponakovs - $4,750,000
2nd: Pedro Padilha - $3,160,000
3rd: Manuel Fritz - $2,311,000
4th: Wang Ye - $1,865,000
5th: Klemens Roiter - $1,462,000
6th: Eelis Parssinen - $1,107,000
7th: Wang Yang - $813,000
8th: Jean-Noel Thorel - $597,000
9th: Adrian Mateos - $495,000

Pedro Padilla Eliminated in 2nd Place ($3,160,000)
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limped the button and

moved all in for 19,000,000 in the big blind, getting a quick call from Ponakovs.

Padilla:

Ponakovs:

Ponakovs trap worked and he was able to hold through a final runout of

to claim his first Triton title.

Chip Counts at the Start of Heads-Up Play
—

Manuel Fritz Eliminated in 3rd Place ($2,311,000)
—

After action folded around,

shoved the small blind and

called all in for 6,600,000 effective from the big blind.

Fritz:

Ponakovs:

Fritz held the dominating ace, but the Ponakovs show rolled on after a final runout of

to send him the exit.

The podium finish nets Fritz a $2.3m payday.

Wang Ye Eliminated in 4th Place ($1,865,000)
—

shoved the button for 26,000,000, and

called all in from the small blind for 11,000,000.

Ye:

Ponakovs:

Ponakovs continues to steamroll the table as the board runs out

to dispatch Ye.

Klemens Roiter Eliminated in 5th Place ($1,463,000)
—

Action folded to

in the small blind, and he moved all in for 5,700,000, getting a call from

in the big blind.

Roiter:

Ponakovs:

Roiter needed a seven or running cards after the

flop, but the board ran out

and

to send him to the rail in fifth place.

Updated Chip Counts at the Break
—

Break Time ⏰
—

The five remaining players are headed on a 15-minute break and will return to Level 28, with blinds 250,000/500,000 (500,000). Levels will now increase after the completion of 17 hands.

The next payout of $1,462,000 awaits the fifth-place finisher.

Klemens Roiter Doubles Through Alexs Ponakovs
—

raised to 600,000 from the cutoff, and

three-bet to 1,300,000 on the button. Roiter moved all in for 3,900,000, and Ponakovs called to put him at risk.

Roiter:

Ponakovs:

Ponakovs found one of the best non-pairing boards for his hand on the

flop, with the situation improving further on the

turn. However, the

landed on the river and Roiter secured the double.

Updated Chip Counts
—

Eelis Parssinen Eliminated in 6th Place ($1,107,000)
—

raised to 650,000 from the hijack, and

three-bet to 1,600,000 in the small blind. Parssinen moved all in for 6,000,000, and Fritz called with the covering stack.

Parssinen:

Fritz:

Parssinen couldn’t connect with the

flop, but he did hold the only heart to give him some additional backdoor hope. However, the board ran out

and

, and Fritz finished with kings and nines to deny the former Triton Main Event champ another trophy.

Wang Yang Eliminated in 7th Place ($813,000)
—

raised to 550,000 from the button, and

moved all in for 3,500,000 in the big blind, getting a call from Padilla.

Yang:

Padilla:

Yang ran into the birds and was unable to catch up after a final runout of

. He takes home more than a quarter of a million dollars for the finish.

Jean-Noel Thorel Eliminated in 8th Place ($597,000)
—

raised to 500,000 from early position, and

called in the big blind.

The flop came

, and Thorel check-called 300,000 from Fritz to bring the

on the turn.

Action repeated, this time with Thorel check-calling a bet of 1,200,000.

The river was the

and Thorel checked. Fritz moved all in for 7,700,000 and Thorel called it off for 3,100,000 effective. Fritz turned over

for kings and queens to best the tabled

of Thorel and send the Triton legend to the rail.

Adrian Mateos Eliminated in 9th Place ($495,000)
—

raised to 400,000 from mid-position, and

three-bet to 1,100,000 on his left.

four-bet shoved for 4,800,000, Thorel folded, and Ye called.

Mateos:

Ye:

Stone cooler for Mateos who did find a little help on the

flop, but was unable to connect with the

and

runout and was sent home in ninth-place. He’ll add another $495,000 to his lifetime earnings.

Final Table Set in $100,000 Triton Main Event
—

With the elimination of

in tenth-place, the final nine players have converged to a single table with

leading the way.

The blinds are 100,000/200,000 (200,000) and will increase after thirteen hands have been played.

The next payout is $495,00.

Here’s a look at the chip counts at the start of play: