Joshua Gebissa Wins the First Triton ONE Main Event in Jeju

Joshua Gebissa showed up to Jeju with a satellite ticket and left as the first-ever Triton ONE Main Event champion. The former footballer from Germany outlasted a 1,046-entry field in the $8,000 buy-in event, taking home $975,225 after a heads-up deal with Thailand’s Punnat Punsri, who claimed the larger share of the prize money with $1,205,775 after the deal.

Triton ONE Launches in Jeju with 1,046-Entry Main Event

Triton ONE made its debut in Jeju with a $7,607,558 Main Event, drawing 1,046 entries at a buy-in of $8,000. The tournament was held at Landing Casino inside the Jeju Shinhwa World Resort and marked a new direction for Triton—one aimed at bringing its structure and production to the mid-stakes level.

The series carried the look and feel of a high-stakes stop but opened the door for satellite qualifiers and lesser-known players to sit alongside some of the biggest names in the game. Among them was Joshua Gebissa, who qualified for the Main through a satellite on QQPK, the series’ title sponsor. He had picked up a small cash earlier in the week in the $3K Genesis Event, but entered the Main as one of the more untested players in the field.

Punsri Sets the Pace as Final Table Opens with a Cooler

Sixteen players returned for the final day of the $8K Triton ONE Main Event, split across two feature tables inside Jeju’s Landing Casino. With a $975,225 first prize on the line, play began with a pay jump looming and several short stacks at risk.

Malaysia’s Ming Juen Teoh came in shortest but doubled on the very first hand, then did it again shortly after. He scored the day’s first elimination too, busting Takashi Yagura with 6♠6♦ against A♠K♠.

From there, the bustouts came fast. Weiran Pu lost a flip with A♠Q♠ to Dajie Zhuo’s A♣7♣ and was out in 15th. Not long after, Hongjun Zhao ran pocket tens into Ruogo Wen’s A♠K♣ and couldn’t hold. Yuefeng Pan—who had started the day with the chip lead—exited in 13th after his stack went in with Q♠Q♦ and lost a race to Daiki Shingae’s A♠K♦.

Wen kept building. He eliminated Teoh and Chao Li in back-to-back hands, narrowing the field to ten. On the bubble of the final table, both Artur Martirosian and Punnat Punsri found crucial double-ups to stay alive. Punsri, in particular, won several all-ins to rebuild his stack.

Eventually, it was Punsri who sealed up the final table lineup, as he picked up a premium and knocked out Michael Zhang to bring the field down to nine.

The final table opened with the poker gods answering Punsri’s prayers. Punsri raised, and Sergei Petrushevskii three-bet with A♦K♣. Punsri, holding A♠A♥, flatted. The flop brought an ace, giving Petrushevskii top pair, top kicker—and Punsri top set. Petrushevskii continued, then shoved on the turn. Punsri snap-called, which meant Petrushevskii was out in ninth before the table had even settled.

Igor Yaroshevskyy, who had come into the final table short, got involved in a three-way pot and flopped trip eights. Wen hit running J♣J♠ for a full house. Yaroshevskyy used multiple time banks, then called off and was shown the winner. He exited in eighth.

Kaoru Kishimoto went out in seventh. In a blind-vs-blind hand, he defended with K♠9♠ and shoved on a gutshot draw. Shingae called with A♦K♥ and rivered an A♠ to finish it.

Martirosian found momentum after five-bet jamming A♠K♠ into Wen’s A♣J♠ and holding. But it didn’t last. He six-bet shoved A♣3♣ into Punsri’s A♦K♠ and got called. The board ran out clean, and Martirosian hit the rail in sixth. With that result, he moved into second place in the Card Player Player of the Year standings with 7,155 points.

Dajie Zhuo bowed out in fifth after running into another of Punsri’s big hands. In a three-way pot, Zhuo paired his Jack with K♣J♦, but Punsri had A♥J♠. The turn and river were inconsequential, and Zhuo’s tournament ended as Punsri stacked up more chips and another knockout.

Wen was out in fourth after shoving with K♠Q♠ and losing the flip to Shingae’s 6♠6♦. With that, Shingae moved into the chip lead, while Gebissa sat third with about 30 big blinds.

Three-handed play started fairly tight. Shingae widened the gap and looked in control until he ran a river bluff into Punsri, who called with third pair. Not long after, Gebissa doubled through Shingae with K♥J♥ against K♣3♥. Shingae’s deep run ended in third in brutal fashion. He picked up K♥K♣ and got it in against Gebissa’s A♠Q♦. The flop and turn kept the kings in front, but the river completed Broadway for Gebissa. Thus, Shingae was gone, leaving Joshua Gebissa heads-up against Punnat Punsri, with the inaugural Triton ONE Main Event title up for grabs.

Gebissa Turns the Match Around Against Punsri

When the dust settled three-handed, Joshua Gebissa was the shortest stack left, and Punnat Punsri carried a 3.7-to-1 lead into heads-up play. Before the first card was dealt, the two agreed to a deal, locking up most of the prize pool and leaving $55,000 and the Triton ONE Main Event title still on the line.

It looked like Punsri was positioned to close, but Gebissa found a double-up with 10♠10♥ holding against A♦8♥. Not long after, he moved in front for the first time. The turning point came in a pot where Gebissa flopped top two with K♠Q♥, and Punsri kept firing on a busted draw. When the river bricked and Gebissa called him down, the momentum swung.

Gebissa never really let go after that. The biggest hand of the duel played out on a Q♣7♥7♦ board. Punsri made top pair with Q♦2♥, but Gebissa had A♣7♣ for trips. The stacks went in, and Punsri was left crippled after the board ran clean.

The Thai businessman doubled twice on fumes, but the comeback ran out of road. On the last hand, Gebissa’s 8♦7♣ connected with an A♣7♦4♣ flop. Punsri, down to J♥6♦, picked up outs on the 5♦ turn, but the Q♣ river sealed it.

Gebissa’s rail erupted as he locked up the first Triton ONE Main Event title and $975,225 — nearly 25 times bigger than his previous best live cash of $40,099.

After the win, Gebissa was quick to acknowledge the experience of the man he beat:

“Yesterday we already played a bit at the table. I didn’t know him personally before. This is my first-ever visit to Jeju, so usually I just see him on stream…So I realized he’s actually a very nice guy. He’s kind of a legend of the game. Playing heads-up versus him for a big trophy, can’t get much better than this I think.”

Final Table Results and Payouts

The final nine players in the $8K Triton ONE Jeju Main Event earned the following payouts:

• 1st – Joshua Gebissa (Germany) – $975,225* – 1,920 POY points
• 2nd – Punnat Punsri (Thailand) – $1,205,775* – 1,600 POY points
• 3rd – Daiki Shingae (Japan) – $573,000 – 1,280 POY points
• 4th – Ruogo Wen (China) – $431,000 – 960 POY points
• 5th – Dajie Zhuo (China) – $328,000 – 800 POY points
• 6th – Artur Martirosian (Russia) – $241,300 – 640 POY points
• 7th – Kaoru Kishimoto (Japan) – $183,000 – 480 POY points
• 8th – Igor Yaroshevskyy (Ukraine) – $130,558 – 320 POY points
• 9th – Sergei Petrushevskii (Russia) – $101,700 – 160 POY points

*Reflects a deal made prior to heads-up play.

P.S. EPT Malta is coming back after a 9-year hiatus.