David Yan emerged as the triumphant winner in the 2023 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series London event, featuring an $200,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em eight max format. The talented New Zealander not only claimed his first Triton title but also earned an impressive $3,052,002 in prize money.
This victory marked Yan’s second seven-figure win of the year, having secured the third spot in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure’s $250,000 buy-in event, which awarded him nearly $1.5 million.
The event held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London drew 81 entries and generated a substantial prize pool of $16,200,000. The top 13 finishers shared this impressive pool. Unfortunately, Mikita Badziakouksi, a four-time Triton event winner, was eliminated on the $325,000 money bubble, guaranteeing six-figure earnings for the remaining participants. Among those who made it to the money but couldn’t reach the final table were Christoph Vogelsanf (13th), Daniel Dvoress (12th), Sam Grafton (11th), and Seth Davies (9th).
The final table featured eight players, and Spain’s Juan Pardo was the first to exit in 8th place, securing $600,000. Chris Brewer followed closely, finishing in 7th place with a cash prize of $770,000 after losing a preflop coin flip against Timothy Adams, who held pocket tens to Brewer’s A-Q suited. Despite his exit, Brewer’s impressive performance throughout the year, including five titles and over $10.3 million in POY earnings, earned him the fourth spot in the POY rankings.
The pace quickened as two players were swiftly eliminated, reducing the field to four contenders. Aleksejs Ponakovs’ A-2 suited couldn’t outlast David Yan’s K-8, who made a bold open-shove from the button. Ponakovs earned $970,000 for his sixth-place finish. Following him, Danny Tang, a bracelet winner and three-time Triton champion, hit the rail in 5th place, taking home $1,247,000. Unfortunately, Tang’s A-8 couldn’t overcome Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero’s A-K suited.
As the event reached its climax, the remaining players considered a prize money deal, but negotiations ultimately fell through. Timothy Adams, a bracelet winner himself, eventually exited in fourth place, cashing for an impressive $1,550,000. His pocket nines couldn’t escape the flush draw of Jose Barbero, who secured the win. With this cash, Adams’ career earnings now exceed an astounding $33.8 million.
Nacho Barbero: $3,445,807
David Yan: $2,952,002
Espen Jorstad: $2,766,191
Barbero secured the top payout early on, thanks to his commanding chip lead. However, David Yan managed to narrow the gap by delivering a stunning blow to Espen Jorstad’s pocket queens with his pocket nines, as four hearts hit the board, with one in Yan’s hand. Jorstad exited the tournament area with the substantial seven-figure prize he had previously negotiated. As the 2022 World Series of Poker main event champion and recent winner of the $40,000 mystery bounty at this series, Jorstad’s career tournament earnings now stand at an impressive $15.2 million.
Yan took the lead as heads-up play began. Though there were some swings in momentum during the match, the decisive hand saw David Yan holding ADiamond Suit4Club Suit against Barbero’s KHeart Suit6Club Suit. Yan’s hand held strong, and Barbero was eliminated, securing second place.
For Barbero, this marked his 13th final-table finish of the year, having won three titles and amassing nearly $7.6 million in POY earnings along the way. With these exceptional achievements, the Argentine bracelet winner now claims the second position on the 2023 POY leaderboard, with his 7,790 points only 448 points behind the current leader, Bin Weng.
