It’s a special tournament when it’s more challenging to create a list of the Top 5 businesspeople/recreational players than professionals, but that’s the brunt of it.
16 business people/recreational players have paid their £50,000 registration fee (so far). They face their peers on Day 1 of the Triton Million: A Helping Hand for Charity, August 1. If you fancy a flutter, here are our five top picks.
In no particular order:
1# Paul Phua
When it comes to making the final table of Triton Poker Super High Rollers, there is a Tony Stark accuracy to the crosshairs of Paul Phua. Triton’s co-founder has made it to the final nine places no fewer than 13-times and stands alone at the top of that merit system.
Phua, who has won more than $11.4m playing live tournaments, is often cited by his peers as being the greatest non-professional of the lot. Included in his achievements is a £1m victory in a £100,000 No-Limit Hold’em event held in London (2012), and a victory in the €100,000 No-Limit Hold’em at the Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza (2016).
The only thing missing from Phua’s CV is a Triton victory. He’s come close, finishing runner-up twice in 2019, finishing second to Jason Koon in the HKD 1m No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck in Jeju for $2,025,607, and second to Rui Cao in the same event in Montenegro for a career-high $2,178,871.
2# Richard Yong
Paul Phua sits #2 in the Malaysian All-Time Money list, and the person who occupies the one rung ahead of him is Richard Yong. The man who co-founded Triton with Phua has earned $12,254,112 competing in live tournaments, including two victories.
Yong’s first win came in 2015 when he topped a field of 70-entrants to win the prestigious AUD 100,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions for $1,477,560. His second made him a Triton Champion when in 2018 he conquered a 35-entrant field in an HKD 250,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max in Montenegro for $388,024.
Yong has finished ITM seven times at Triton events, including finishing runner-up to Manig Loeser in the HKD 1m No-Limit Hold’em Main Event in Montenegro (2017) for $1,441,797, and a career-high $2,130,848 in the HKD 2m No-Limit Hold’em Main Event in Jeju, finishing third (2018).
3# Ivan Leow
Ivan Leow has the fastest growing reputation of any non-professional in the world. In 2016, Leow earned $7,096 playing live tournaments. In 2017, he did a trifle better, winning $110,547, and then in 2018, he exploded.
With $5,691,986 in live tournament earnings, 2018 was a breakout year for Leow. Included in that haul were two victories in Triton events: a win in an HKD 500,000 No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck for $1,079,367, and a win at a Triton event in Sochi for $1,133,555. Leow also won the €100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) for $1,422,140.
Leow has finished ITM, nine times in Triton events.
4# Talal Shakerchi
When you have the financial capability to pay £1m to compete in a poker tournament, and then finish 6/5720 in the PokerStars Sunday Million, then you have to love the game of poker.
Talal Shakerchi has been a mainstay in the high stakes stratum for as long as anyone. He’s one of the few players to ever compete in all four $1m/€1m buy-in One Drop events and has accrued $7,354,464 playing live tournaments.
Shakerchi’s presence in the Triton Million will be his first Triton experience, but London is his backyard. He’s won eight live tournaments in his career. His most significant victory came in London when he took down a 137-entrant £10,300 High Roller at the European Poker Tour (EPT) in London.
Shakerchi made the final table of December’s Super High Roller Bowl (4th), the PokerStars Players Championship (8th) and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100k (5th), both in January. He also enjoyed deep runs in the $50,000 No-Limit High Roller (13th), and $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship (11th) at the recent WSOP.
5# Cary Katz
Cary Katz is the most consistent non-professional performing in the live tournament scene. Katz is the founder of Poker Central and the ARIA High Roller Series, and he holds the record for most cashes in ARIA live tournaments (61).
Katz has earned $19,870,459 playing live tournaments and is in impressive form cashing ten times in the summer (WSOP & ARIA events), including an incredible six final tables.
21 live tournament wins is a fantastic return for a non-professional, and included amongst those results are $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em victories in the PCA and Aussie Millions.
The only time Katz has experienced a Triton event (Jeju, 2018), he finished runner-up to Kenneth Kee in an HKD 1m No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck for $1,773,722. He has also made money twice in $1m/€1m buy-in events coming eighth in 2014 for $1.3m, and fifth in 2016 for $1.5m.