Since its inception in 2016, Triton Poker Series has been one of the most elite poker competitions, bringing together high rollers from all over the world.
The brand’s recognizable bespoke experience has made it one of the most popular tournament series in the world. The mystique surrounding Triton Poker is unmatched, and recent numbers show just how far the Tour has come.
Originally started by Paul Phua and Richard Yong, a pair of successful Asian businessmen with a passion for poker, the tour has come a long way under the leadership of CEO Andy Wong, who joined the company in 2018.
Wong, who came from the world of eSports, recognized the massive potential that poker has, and decided to help turn Triton Poker into the most bespoke experience in all of poker.
Now, Wong and his team are looking to expand this experience past the super high stakes scene, and bring Triton Poker to players at the lower levels while maintaining the standards associated with the brand.
Is Triton Poker Coming to Lower Stakes?
To date, Triton Poker events have been reserved for high rollers, with typical buyins ranging from $15k to a whopping $1 Million across all the stops.
Now, Andy Wong and his team are looking to expand Triton Poker past ths high-stakes and potentially create a mid-stakes Triton Poker tour, which would mean thousands of new players would get a chance to experience the ultimate poker experience.
Talking about the new mid-stakes events, Wong said: “It’s a lower buy-in but a larger operation. We want to give people a taste of the experience and the platform we’re creating.”
“Rest assured that in the coming years, Triton will be more accessible to a lot of people around the world. Right now, we go to certain cities in Europe and Asia, but we hope that we can be open to people in different countries who haven’t yet experienced Triton.”
The new events would likely offer buyins in the $1.5k to $5k range, although specifics have not been revealed just yet. Exact locations are not clear either, but Triton Poker already has a well-established relationship with casinos in places like London, Monte Carlo, Jeju, Montenegro, and other locations around the world.
The expansion of Triton Poker could include many new cities as well, with places like Rozvadov and Bratislava being potential points of interest for future mid-stakes events.
Sacrificing None of the Production Quality
For many years, Triton Poker has been the most unique of all the poker tours, as its high quality production and attention to detail have made it stand out from the rest.
Wong and his team will be looking to keep the majority of those things that make the series so unique in place for the lower buyin events, although they realize that some of the VIP touches may not be possible in every single event.
Yet, what we can expect is that all the events will be live streamed on Triton Poker’s channels, final tables will be played out on bespoke stages akin to those in high-stakes Triton events, and players will be treated like royalty.
These trademarks of the Triton Poker brands will surely be maintained by the team, as they look to expand the Series’ reach and make Triton a name that’s coveted by all levels of poker players.
We don’t know exactly when lower stakes Triton Poker events are coming, but it is clear that preparations for this project are in motion, which means we could see some events running as early as next year.
Who Is Andy Wong – The Man Behind Triton’s Success
Andy Wong joined the organization in 2018, while the tour was still in its infancy. He joined the likes of Phua and Yong in an attempt to make Triton Poker the biggest brand in poker, a vision that’s been coming closer to a reality in recent years.
Wong was new to poker, and admitted watching the high rollers re-buy for tens of thousands of dollars without a card in the world was a new experience for him.
Yet, the business savvy he brought to Triton Poker from his previous experience in the eSports industry has been remarkable.
Wong helped Triton grow in more ways than one, with his contributions to creating the iconic Triton stage and coming up with the way players are presented at the final tables only a few of his huge contributions.
His work with Triton Poker has earned Wong a nomination for the GPI Industry Person of the Year, putting him in an elite group of industry insiders.
Won’t continued work with Triton Poker has made him a name all the key figures in the world of poker recognize, with many of the world’s elite poker players recognizing his contributions to poker’s growth.
In the words of Jason Koon: “Andy has incredible vision. He pays close attention to all the details and is responsible for a ton of the little things that add up into Triton being such an amazing product and experience. He’s an extremely humble guy and is never looking for credit but, man, does he deserve a lot of it.”
Triton Poker Is Becoming the World’s Best Poker Brand
Even just a few years ago, brands like the WSOP, WTP, and EPT dominated the headlines as poker’s major poker tours whose status was undisputed.
Since then, the likes of Triton Poker and PGT have done a lot to turn things around and put themselves in the running, thanks much to the high production quality of their products.
Triton Poker has set a precedent in many things, including its unique Triton Poker app, which allows fans to see every hand played at every table, as well as track the progress of their favorite poker heroes in various events in real time.
Apart from that, the free to watch Triton Poker streams have given thousands of poker fans a chance to watch high level poker for free, while the likes of WSOP and PGT have gone behind a paywall.
All of this has opened the door for the tour to potentially overtake all of its competitors as the world’s most popular poker tour, with lower stakes buyins perhaps being the last thing that’s still missing in the equation.
With Triton Poker now having clear plans for such events in the future, it will be interesting to see just how far the tour can come and whether an appropriate response will be made by other tours looking to maintain their status with he players.
