Sean Winter Scores First Career Triton Poker Tournament Title In Jeju

The thirteenth time was the attraction for American poker professional Sean Winter. After a dozen in-the-money finishes in Triton Poker excessive curler occasions with out an outright win, the 34-year-old Florida native lastly broke by to take down the 2025 Triton Jeju $40,000 thriller bounty seven-max no-limit maintain’em occasion.

“This feels particularly good because it’s 3x as long as it’s been since I won a poker tournament,” Winter instructed Triton reporters after closing out the occasion. “It’s been bothering me. I’ve had a lot of seconds and thirds. It’s a monkey off my back.”

The final title that Winter earned did come all the way in which again in January of 2023, when he took down the kickoff occasion of that yr’s PokerGO Cup. He earned $935,000 from the principle prize pool because the champion on this occasion, with the thriller bounty payouts nonetheless but to be drawn. Winter could have three envelopes to open the day after play ended, with every price a minimal of $40,000 and presumably rather more. Half of the $8,920,000 prize pool ($4,460,000) shall be paid out through bounties.

This victory elevated Winter’s profession earnings to almost $34.8 million. The 1,344 Card Player Player of the Year factors that accompanied the title moved him inside the highest 20 within the 2025 POY standings introduced by Global Poker. This was his second final-table end of the yr already, with a fourth-place displaying in a $10,000 occasion on the PGT Last Chance sequence.

The remaining heads-up match for the title noticed Winter overcome five-time Triton champion Mikita Badziakouski, who got here ever so near breaking his three-way tie with Phil Ivey and Danny Tang for the second-most wins on the high-stakes-centric tour. Jason Koon stays effectively out forward of that group with ten Triton trophies in his assortment.

This occasion drew 223 entries, with 34 making the cash to earn a part of the principle prize pool. Badziakouski was out in entrance when the unofficial remaining desk of eight was set, with Winter in the midst of the pack.

Final Table Set for Event #7 $40K Mystery Bounty!

Eight gamers stay within the hunt for the $935K high prize, with bounties nonetheless in play. Every knockout is price no less than $40K, however lurking within the combine is the $500K golden bounty.

Final Table Lineup:
Mikita Badziakouski… pic.twitter.com/3rze70b4OQ

— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) March 4, 2025

Two-time bracelet winner Kahle Burns (eighth – $115,000) was the primary to hit the rail, with six-time bracelet winner and up to date record-setting $25,000 buy-in occasion champion Jeremy Ausmus quickly following. Ausmus acquired all-in with pocket jacks on a six-high flop and was up towards high pair and an open-ended straight draw for Badziakouski. The flip and the river gave the Belarusian star operating playing cards in direction of a full home, with sixes stuffed with threes sending Ausmus packing in seventh place ($157,000). The American already sat in first place within the 2025 POY standings, however now has a fair bigger lead on the remainder of the sphere. He has already cashed for greater than $2.3 million in POY earnings throughout 4 remaining desk finishes, together with the $1,892,000 he secured just some days earlier at this competition.

Winter managed the following knockout, along with his flopped two pair holding up towards the open-ended straight draw of Biao Ding (sixth – $218,000). Ben Tollerene’s run got here to an finish in fifth place ($287,000) when his QJ was unable to carry towards the 10 of Klemens Roiter, who discovered an all-diamond runout to provide him a successful flush. Tollerene grew his profession match earnings to almost $20.9 million because of this newest rating.

Matthias Eibinger was the shortest stack heading into four-handed play regardless of having accrued 11 bounties on this occasion. He ended up shedding a key preflop race with Okay-Q towards the pocket fours of Roiter to complete fourth for $363,000. The three-time Triton champion has $24.6 million in lifetime cashes, with greater than $11.1 million of that coming from his success on this tour.

Roiter was assured his largest Triton rating but by making the ultimate three. He wound up ending third for $441,000 when his A-J bumped into the A-Q of Badziakouski. This was the second-largest payday ever for the Austrian, trailing solely the $463,700 he earned because the sixth-place finisher in a $25,000 occasion on the 2023 WSOP Paradise.

The remaining showdown for the title started with Badziakouski holding a slight lead. Winter took an enormous lead because of successful a large pot with journey fives. Badziakouski was left with fewer than ten large blinds after that conflict. He was capable of develop his stack a bit forward of the following elevate in stakes. That resulted in him with the ability to open shove for 10 large blinds with J6 from the button. Winter known as with A6 and the board got here down OkayQ1053 to see him declare the ultimate pot of the match with ace excessive.

Badziakouski added $630,000 to his tally with this runner-up displaying. He now has $62,769,146 in profession earnings, good for fourth on poker’s all-time cash checklist. Nearly $25.3 million of that has come from his 39 cashes in Triton tournaments.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: Triton Poker.