Author name: Hunter_Mika

Poker legend crushes AA with four of a kind to take the chip lead in the Triton Jeju Main Event.

Poker legend crushes AA with four of a kind to take the chip lead in the Triton Jeju Main Event.

Regional news

Jean-Noel Thorel took the chip lead in the Triton Jeju $100,000 Main Event with four 3s against Nick Petrangelo's AA. Thorel has 16 Triton cashes but has never won a title, finishing as runner-up in the same event in 2024. The 2026 Triton Poker Series Jeju II $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event is still in its early stages, but we may have already seen one of the most exciting hands of the tournament. This hand occurred at Level 5 with blinds of 1,000/2,500, involving Nick Petrangelo and veteran Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel. Known for his unconventional play, Thorel opened from middle position and raised to 5,000. Nick Petrangelo 3-bet to 20,000 from the button, and Thorel called. The flop came 3♥2♦3♦, and Thorel checked and called Petrangelo's 20,000 continuation bet. The turn card, K♥, brought a similar situation, and Thorel check-called a larger 80,000 second gun. The river card, 3♠, completed the board, and Thorel checked for the third time. Petrangelo bet 300,000, leaving him with only 36,000 chips. Thorel check-raised, and Petrangelo called all-in. Petrangelo flopped A♥A♣, making a full house, which most at the table considered a winning hand. However, Thorel, having opened from early position, called a 3-bet with 3♣2♣, upgrading to four of a kind. This hand pushed Thorel's chip stack to over 1 million, giving him an early chip lead. Petrangelo, on the other hand, was eliminated. At the most recent scheduled rest, Thorel still led the pack with 1,200,000 chips. China's Quan Zhou (966,000) and Defeng Chen (720,000) occupy the top three spots, while Artur Martirosian (621,500), Thomas Muehloecker (510,000), Daniel Rezaei (506,000), and Pedro Padilha (479,000) are among the top ten. Can Thorel claim his first Triton trophy? Thorel has 16 winning entries in Triton events, totaling $11,269,800, but victory has always been elusive. The Frenchman has come close to becoming a Triton champion on several occasions, including in the same event in 2024. Thorel finished second in the 2024 Triton Poker Jeju $100K NLH Main Event, winning $2,875,000. This huge prize is the best of Thorel's career until he wins the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise Super Series.

Win at least £550,000 in prizes at the 2026 GUKPT Leeds!

Win at least £550,000 in prizes at the 2026 GUKPT Leeds!

Regional news

The GUKPT Leeds will be held from September 23 to October 4, with a guaranteed prize pool of at least £550,000. The £1,000 Main Event guarantees £200,000, and there are also warm-up events, mini-Main Events, High Roller events, and more. The 2026 Grosvenor British Poker Tour (GUKPT) season has only two stops remaining before the grand finale in mid-November. One of these stops is the upcoming GUKPT Leeds, taking place from September 23 to October 4. This marks the 10th time Leeds has hosted the event in the 20 seasons of the GUKPT. Aside from the suspension due to COVID-19, the GUKPT Leeds has been a regular stop on the tour schedule since 2017. The 2026 GUKPT Leeds will kick off on September 23rd at 7 PM with a £60 satellite tournament, awarding at least 10 slots to the £150 Warm-up and £250 Mini Main Events. The first official event, the £150 GUKPT Warm-up, will begin on September 24th at 6 PM, guaranteeing a prize pool of £75,000. The first preliminary rounds of the four £250 Mini Main Events will also begin simultaneously when the champion of the GUKPT Warm-up is decided on September 27th. Each Mini Main Event guarantees at least £100,000 in prize money. Other events include the £200 Pot-Limit Omaha, the £1,500 High Roller, the £340 GUKPT Cup, the £200 Turbo, the £250 Last Chance, and the £200 Finale. Prize pools are guaranteed for each event. The GUKPT Leeds Main Event guarantees £200,000 in prize money and is the largest tournament on the schedule. It features three preliminary rounds, with late entry open into the early part of the second day. Each preliminary round has a buy-in of £1,000 unless a player earns entry through a limited number of live satellite tournaments or online satellite tournaments on Grosvenor Poker and GGPoker. 2026 GUKPT Leeds Schedule Date Time Guaranteed Prize Money 9/23 (Wed) 7:00 PM £60 Warm-up and Mini Main Event Satellites 10 Seats 9/24 (Thu) 6:00 PM £150 GUKPT Warm-up Day 1a £75,000 8:00 PM £110 Main Event Satellites 5 Seats 9/25 (Fri) 6:00 PM £150 GUKPT Warm-up Day 1b £75,000 8:00 PM £110 Main Event Satellites 5 Seats 9/26 (Sat) 12:00 PM £150 GUKPT Warm-up Day 1c £75,000 6:00 PM £150 GUKPT Warm-up Day 1d £75,000

Bluff failed! Top stack eliminated on the bubble in the $200,000 Triton Invitational.

Bluff failed! Top stack eliminated on the bubble in the $200,000 Triton Invitational.

Regional news

Semi Sun had a top-three chip stack on the bubble of the Triton Jeju $200,000 Invitational, but was eliminated by Yang Wang after a failed bluff, missing out on the $305,000 prize. Wang doubled up with pocket aces to become the chip leader. Life is unpredictable. Semi Sun had a top-three chip stack on the bubble of the Triton Jeju Super High Roller Series $200,000 Triton Invitational, but he ultimately left empty-handed, the Filipino player missing out on the $305,000 prize. Yang Wang, who eliminated Sun, was also at risk a few minutes earlier, but he doubled up with pocket aces to become the chip leader. This ultimately turned out to be bad news for Sun. Sun fell when the Triton Invitational began hand-for-hand play. The event attracted 172 players, with a total prize pool of $34,600,000. The bubble burst after several hands, during which there were six double-ups, including one with Wang at his table. Wang doubled up against Jesse Lonis's pocket Jacks with pocket Aces, shortening the American pro's chip stack. Ultimately, it wasn't Lonis who was eliminated from the bubble, but another big-stacked player at the table. This hand, recorded by PokerNews reporter Stewart Morrison, occurred at Level 20 with blinds of 30,000/60,000/60,000. Wang raised to 140,000 from middle position, and Sun called from the button. The flop came 7♣ 7♠ 8♠, and Wang continued betting 225,000, which Sun called. The turn, an A♥, didn't slow Wang down; he continued betting 450,000. However, this time Sun raised to 1,100,000, and Wang called. The river card, Q♠, was dealt, and Wang checked. But Sun wasn't done yet; he went all-in for 2,100,000, heading straight for one of the few opponents in the tournament who could out-push him. Wang called without hesitation, revealing A♦ 7♥ to make a full house. Sun flipped out 8♣ 5♣, his attempt to turn a pair of 8s into a bluff failing. Just like that, Sun went from a seven-figure chip stack to elimination. The remaining 31 players entered the money bubble, while Sun could only reflect on his play from the sidelines. This three-day event, pairing VIPs with top poker pros, will crown a champion on Monday, September 14th, who will receive a $7,250,000 prize. PokerNews is providing live coverage of the event. Want to go from "understanding" Texas Hold'em to "winning"? If you want to learn Texas Hold'em more deeply, you can...