Jason Koon has won a record-extending 11th Triton Super High Roller Series title after defeating his friend and mentor Ben Tollerene to seize victory in Event #12 $150K NLH.
The Americans put on a great show for the heads-up finale, and when it was all wrapped up, Koon paid tribute to Tollerene, calling him the greatest ever. That’s some accolade considering Phil Ivey was still lurking with intent with four players left in.
In the moments after sealing the win, Koon said:
“I just had to beat the greatest poker player of all time. It’s bizarre. There’s been a lot of drama happen for me at this table. Some ups and downs, some big cash game pots and some big tournament wins.
“I just can’t believe I’m still here doing it. I’ve been with Triton seven years now and it’s incredible.
“I got heads-up with my best pal and mentor. Twelve years ago, when I first saw what elite poker looked like, it was through Ben. And honestly, I never thought I’d be the one standing here with 11 titles.”
The event attracted 63 unique entries with 45 additional re-entries to build a prize pot of $16,200,000.
The $3,393,656 that Koon walked away with following an ICM chop was the second largest prize of his career. The payday put him back into fourth place on the all-time money list only $2.7 million behind Stephen Chidwick in second place.
Action Recap
This was the second largest event of the Triton Montenegro schedule but only 17 players would get paid, meaning this was a particularly tense bubble.
Bryn Kenney, the first player to break through the $70million lifetime earnings barrier , was one of the last players to bust, going out in a spectacular hand against Jason Koon. Pocket queens raised from UTG saw Koon make a call with A♣ 4♥ in the small blind, 25BB effective.
Koon led out on the 7♣ 3♦ 6♣ flop and faced a raise. He wasn’t impressed and put in the rest of his chips to apply maximum pressure and got a call.
All good so far from Kenney but a 5♥ river gave Koon the straight and the bubble burst.
Yet again we saw a final table that looked as fearsome as is humanly possible.
| Player Name | Chip Stack | Big Blinds (BBs) |
| Jason Koon | 5,370,000 | 67 |
| Matthias Eibinger | 3,670,000 | 46 |
| Wayne Heung | 2,955,000 | 37 |
| Ben Tollerene | 2,895,000 | 36 |
| Eelis Parssinen | 1,720,000 | 22 |
| Phil Ivey | 1,480,000 | 19 |
| Wiktor Malinowski | 1,285,000 | 16 |
| Christoph Vogelsang | 1,125,000 | 14 |
| Isaac Haxton | 1,110,000 | 14 |
When play resumed on the feature table it was Tollerene who dished out the first two eliminations. Both Ike Haxton and Christoph Vogelsang headed to the exit with prizes of $405,000 and $543,000 respectively.
Koon’s response was to repeat the trick and send home Wiktor Malinowski followed by Tollerene knocking out Eelis Parssinen to leave five players in the hunt.
Matthias Eibinger was next to leave after coming unstuck against Tollerene’s EP raise with kings and then a four-bet jam. The Austrian called off what was the third largest stack with pocket fives and got no love from the run out but he did at least collect a nice $1,195,000 prize.
Koon then ended Phil Ivey’s run in fourth place when his pocket sevens drew to a full house.
All that now remained between the two best performers in this event and the top prizes was Wayne Heung. The Hong Kong native didn’t last much longer when his 10♦ 9♦ lost to Tollerene’s A♣ 10♣.
After the ICM deal was agreed, the pair played for $130,000 and the trophy which went to Koon after a standard coinflip between sixes and ace-nine.
Triton Montenegro Event #12 $150K NLH Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
| 1st | Jason Koon | USA | $3,393,656 |
| 2nd | Ben Tollerene | USA | $3,437,344 |
| 3rd | Wayne Heung | Hong Kong | $1,790,000 |
| 4th | Phil Ivey | USA | $1,482,000 |
| 5th | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | $1,195,000 |
| 6th | Eelis Parssinen | Finland | $943,000 |
| 7th | Wiktor Malinowski | Poland | $721,000 |
| 8th | Christoph Vogelsang | Germany | $543,000 |
| 9th | Isaac Haxton | USA | $405,000 |
