The second edition of World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise is finally here, and it started in quite a spectacular fashion, as the Triton Million event kicked things off, along with a smaller and less noteworthy $2,500 Mini Main Event.
The incredible partnership between WSOP and Triton Poker culminated yesterday with 74 unique entrants making their way to the Atlantis Paradise Island to play in one of the biggest events of the year.
The tournament features Triton’s recognizable high-stakes poker format, where VIPs from the world of business, entertainment, and sports get to play the event and invite one poker professional to play alongside them.
Both VIPs and pros turned out in force for yesterday’s Day 1 action, as Triton Million met all expectations and showed the poker world why Triton Poker is one of the most recognizable brands in the industry going into 2025.
Big Names Join the Action Last-Minute
Triton Poker has been building up the hype for the biggest event of the season for some weeks, with pairs of VIP and professional players gradually released over several waves.
The last wave of players was announced just a day before the event started, with big name pros like Bryn Kenney, Isaac Haxton, Alex Foxen, and Michael Addamo all managing last-minute invites to make the field even tougher for the other pros in there.
One of the most notable last-minute pairs were Michael Moncek (Texas Mike) and Shaun Deeb, two well-known faces that are not exactly Triton Poker regulars.
Texas Mike has made quite a name for himself by playing some wild poker on recent Hustler Casino Live and Poker at the Lodge streams, while Shaun Deeb is known as one of the best tournament poker players out there, with six WSOP bracelets to his name.
Yet, the massive million dollar buyin is a bit above the level that Deeb normally plays, which made the announcement a bit of a welcome surprise for most poker fans.
Other exciting late pairings included Rob Yong and Mikita Badziakouski, Phil Naggy and Nacho Barbero, and Eric Wasserson and Nick Schulman.
One player who made her way to the VIP list despite being a professional poker player was Monika Zukowicz, better known for her screen name HeyMonia, who invited CoinPoker ambassador Mario Mosbeck to join her as the pro.
VIP Player Busts on Hand One
Triton Poker is famous for being very attractive to the high-stakes poker players, which usually makes all Triton events quite action-packed.
There was no lack of action on Saturday either, as chips started flying the moment cards were in the air, and the first elimination happened just minutes into the tournament.
A confrontation between American hedge fund manager David Einhorn and sports cards aficionado Jared Bleznick led to a massive pot worth more than 2,000,000 chips.
All players started the tournament with 1,000,000 in chips and the blinds set at 2,000/3,000/3,000. The hand started with Sinan Unlu opening to 7,000 and Bleznick 3-betting to 25,000.
It didn’t take too long for Einhorn to make it 77,000, and Bleznick decided to fast-play his hand and go for a 225,000 4-bet right off the bat. Not one to be intimidated, David moved all-in holding AcKc, but got the bad news as Blez immediately made the call and tabled AsAd.
The board brought no help to the American investor and businessman, who headed for the cage and re-entered the tournament just minutes into the action, a costly exit even for a player of his stature.
Texas Mike Leads Into Day 2
It was a huge day at the Atlantis, as dozens of players made their way to the poker room and competed in the biggest buyin event of 2024.
Pros and VIPs alike battled throughout the day, and when the dust settled, it was Texas Mike who held the chip lead with 3,815,000 in chips from his starting million chip stack.
The likes of Sinan Unlu, Paul Phua, and Sosia Jiang also climbed to the top of the leaderboard, while poker pros Fedor Holz and Patrik Antonius also hold respectable stacks.
Jared Bleznick, who earned a full double up on the very first hand of the day, also climbed over the 2.5 million chip mark and will be entering Day 2 as one of the big stacks in the room.
The most notable elimination of the day was that of Phil Ivey, who busted on Day 1 but made a re-entry and will be entering Day 2 with 710,000 in chips.
His good buddy Daniel Negreanu, who joined the event as an invitee of HCL owner Ryan Feldman, will be working with a stack of just under 2 million chips.
Here is a look at the top 10 stacks going into the second day of action at Triton Million:
| Position | Player | Chip Stack |
| 1. | Michael Moncek (Texas Mike) | 3,815,000 |
| 2. | Sinan Unlu | 3,200,000 |
| 3. | Paul Phua | 2,750,000 |
| 4. | Sosia Jiang | 2,665,000 |
| 5. | Fedor Holz | 2,625,000 |
| 6. | Patrik Antonius | 2,570,000 |
| 7. | Jared Bleznick | 2,535,000 |
| 8. | Konstantin Maslak | 2,150,000 |
| 9. | Chance Kornuth | 2,140,000 |
| 10. | Taylor Von Kriegenbergh | 2,140,000 |
Follow Triton Million Action For Free
One of the biggest differences between Triton Poker and WSOP recently has been the fact Triton offers all its content to its fans completely free of charge.
Despite being a WSOP bracelet event, Triton Million is available free of charge via Triton’s YouTube channel.
Day 1 action was streamed in full, and further streams will be available each minute until the Triton Million champion is crowned.
Make sure to visit Triton Poker YouTube channel on Sunday afternoon and watch the best in the world battle it out for millions on Day 2 of one of the most exciting poker tournaments ever played.
