Austria’s Bernhard Binder has won Event 8 of the Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju, the $125,000 NLH 7-Handed, for $2,137,953.

The 27-year-old held the chip lead for long stretches of the final day, agreed an ICM deal at three-handed play, and closed it out on the very first hand of heads-up to claim his first Triton title. It was the biggest buy-in of the hold’em phase of the Triton SHRS Jeju S5 festival, drawing 84 entries including 30 re-entries and generating a $10,500,000 prize pool.

The result came just months after his $1.8 million GGMillion Main Event victory and a $10 million score at the $25K WSOP Main Event in the Bahamas in December. Railing him throughout was a group of Vienna-based professionals who have become one of the defining communities at the high-stakes tables.

“This is super special. When I was a kid I remember my parents used to buy me Triton bed sheets and I was dreaming of playing Triton one time in my life. And now I win the title, so this is a dream come true.” – Bernhard Binder

Action Recap

Wang Ye met the stone bubble in 15th. He had finished top three three times at this buy-in level but ran pocket fives into the AK of Eelis Parssinen, losing almost his entire stack before Miki finished the job. Daniel Rezaei, Jason Koon and former Triton Invitational winner Kayhan Mokri all followed before the final seven were set.

The defining pot on the way to the final table came from three-time Triton champion Kiat Lee, who flopped a full house against Duc Anh Nguyen to win a boat-over-boat pot and vault to the top of the counts. Nguyen’s elimination in eighth confirmed the final seven.

Paulius Vaitiekunas made his third final table of the Jeju trip, having already cashed in Triton ONE and the $25K Jupiter event. He arrived with nine big blinds and committed when he found 1010 against Binder’s A10. The Q-J-J-4-Q runout counterfeited his pair, Binder’s ace played, and Vaitiekunas collected $493,000 for seventh.

Yosuke Miki had been among the chip leaders for much of the day, but a hand against Binder, who flopped trips with Q-9, cost him half his stack. He pushed from the button with A10 and ran into Lee’s 88 in the big blind. The 8 on the turn gave Lee a set and left Miki drawing dead: sixth place for $628,000, a new career best.

Danny Tang made four final tables during the Jeju festival but never quite got going in this one. Down to six big blinds, he committed K3 from the button; Lee called from the small blind with Q-10 suited. Lee’s hand improved to a flush by the river and Tang’s week ended in fifth for $804,000.

Jesse Lonis, a former Triton champion, played a patient game as the shorter stacks fell, but with Miki and Tang gone he was next in the firing line. He three-bet shoved AJ over a Binder open; Binder called with AQ, both flopped their kickers, and the river ace let Binder’s queen play. Lonis collected $1,001,000 for fourth, the first seven-figure fourth-place payout of the festival.

Three-handed play produced the hand of the tournament: Velasevic opened AK on the button and Binder called from the big with 72. He called down on the 9K5 flop, 7 turn and 9 river to table his rivered flush over Velasevic’s top pair. Binder vaulted from 49 big blinds to 98 in a single hand; Velasevic was left with eight.

Velasevic doubled through Binder with K-7 against 9-8, but Lee’s stack was heading in the other direction. Lee bet the river for almost all his chips on a 5-2-3-2-5 board, Binder raised and asked for the last of it, and Lee folded to leave himself a single chip.

That chip went in on the very next hand in a three-way all-in. Binder’s 10-2 outran Lee’s 9-4 and Velasevic’s K-9 to send Lee to third for the $1,907,447 locked in at the deal, adding to the Short Deck title he had already claimed at the same festival.

The first hand of heads-up was the last: Velasevic called Binder’s all-in with AK, putting Binder at risk holding J7. Two diamonds on the flop gave Binder a flush draw, the 7 turn put him ahead, and the 2 river changed nothing. Binder claimed the title, the trophy, and the additional $200,000.

Event 8 Final Table Results

*Denotes ICM deal agreed at three-handed play.

Binder’s win came in the penultimate event before the festival’s two biggest days: the $100,000 NLH Main Event runs 24-26 March, followed immediately by the $150,000 10th Anniversary Special, the highest buy-in Triton has ever offered. Follow our latest poker news for ongoing coverage, or check the full results at Triton Poker Series.