Joao Vieira’s first triumph in a Triton Poker event was a big one.
The poker pro from Funchal, Portugal defeated a field of 128 entries in the $150,000 buy-in high roller at the 2025 Triton Poker Jeju festival to secure the trident trophy and the top prize of $4,610,000. That was a new top score for the three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, topping the $2.6 million he earned as the runner-up in the $100,000 Triton main event at last year’s WSOP Paradise.
“When I left home, my dad told me, ‘There’s only one place to improve’,” Vieira told Triton reporters after coming out on top. “So I just listened to what he said and I tried to go for the win.”
Vieira now has more than $19.8 million in recorded scores to his name, extending his already sizable lead as his home nation’s top tournament earner. Pedro Marques’ $5.9 million is the next-largest total for a Portuguese player.
This was the first title and final-table finish of 2025 for Vieira. The 1,320 Card Player Player of the Year points he was awarded as the champion catapulted him up the POY leaderboard and into 42nd place.
The prize pool for this event swelled to $19,200,000, with the top 20 finishers earning a share of that massive total. Those who made it to the final six all earned seven-figure paydays, with multi-million-dollar payouts for the podium finishers.
Among those that cashed were Poker Hall of Famer Patrik Antonius (17th), two-time Super High Roller Bowl champion Isaac Haxton (15th), two-time Triton winner Daniel Dvoress (14th), five-time Triton winner Danny Tang (11th), and 11-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey (10th), who like Tang, has five wins on this tour.
Final table set for Event #9 $150K NLH!
At Triton Poker SHRS Jeju 2025, a dramatic double elimination by João Vieira, knocking out Phil Ivey and Benjamin Tollerene, has locked in the final eight.
With $4,610,000 up top and some of poker’s best still in the hunt, the… pic.twitter.com/WHMzq15bbS
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) March 7, 2025
Vieira held the chip lead by the time the final table was set. Four-time Triton champion Fedor Holz lost a preflop race with pocket eights against A-Q to fall in eighth place ($595,000). The German surpassed $51.1 million in career earnings thanks to this latest deep run in a high-stakes event.
Ding Biao was the next to hit the rail, with his pocket tens running into the pocket queens of two-time bracelet winner Aleksejs Ponakovs. Ding earned $807,000 as the seventh-place finisher, growing his career haul to more than $13.1 million.
Alex Foxen, who defeated Vieira heads-up in the Triton main event at the WSOP Paradise just a few months ago, was the next to be eliminated. The three-time bracelet winner got all-in with A-K facing the pocket tens of Ponakovs, which improved to a full house to end Foxen’s run in sixth place ($1,076,000). This increased Foxen’s career earnings to more than $46 million.
A similar showdown spelled the end of Kiat Lee’s tournament, with his A-K unable to overcome pocket sevens for a surging Ponakovs. Lee earned $1,372,000 for his fifth-place showing, a new high score for the Malaysian.
Dan Smith Surpassed $62 million in lifetime cashes thanks to the $1,708,000 he earned as the fourth-place finisher in this event. The American got the last of his short stack in with A
4 leading the 4
3 of Wang Ye, but his opponent made a straight on the turn to end Smith’s latest deep run.
Wang ended up being the next to get knocked out. Ponakovs shoved from the small blind with Q-10 and spiked a pair to best the A-J suited of Wang, who called from the big blind. Wang was unable to regain the advantage on the turn or river and was sent packing with a career-high $2,047,000 payday.
The first hand of heads-up play more or less decided the match. Ponakovs raised with A
Q from the button then four-bet jammed over Vieira’s three-bet. Vieira called with AJ and the board came down AJ6
7J to give Vieira jacks full and the chip lead.
In the final hand, Ponakovs got all-in after a K752 flop and turn holding J7 and Vieira called with 99. The river brought the 10 and Ponakovs was eliminated in second place. The $3,139,000 he secured for his efforts was a new top score for the Latvian, who now has more than $28.5 million in career cashes.
After many close calls, this could be the moment @Naza114_oficial becomes a Triton Poker Series champion! pic.twitter.com/xkHh6GV9X0
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) March 7, 2025
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Joao Vieira | $4,610,000 | 1320 |
| 2 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | $3,139,000 | 1100 |
| 3 | Wang Ye | $2,074,000 | 880 |
| 4 | Dan Smith | $1,708,000 | 660 |
| 5 | Kiat Lee | $1,372,000 | 550 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen | $1,076,000 | 440 |
| 7 | Biao Ding | $807,000 | 330 |
| 8 | Fedor Holz | $595,000 | 220 |
Photo credits: Triton Poker.