Triton Jeju II | Alex Boika wins his first Triton title, defeating Philip Sternheimer for $761,000.

On September 8, 2026, the Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju II Event #5:$25,000 NLHE 8-Handed concluded with the championship match. Belarusian player Alex Boika emerged victorious from 131 entrants, ultimately defeating British player Philip Sternheimer in the Heads-Up round to claim the $761,000 first-place prize and his first Triton championship trophy.

It's worth noting that since the start of the Jeju II tournament, four consecutive events have produced players who have won their first Triton title. Following Alex Theologis, Klemens Roiter, and Ngo Khoa Anh, Boika becomes the latest name to join the ranks of Triton champions.

The Chinese team also achieved remarkable results in this event. Yu Lei finished third and earned $343,000, while Chen Mingcong finished sixth and earned $175,000.

Alex Boika wins his first Triton championship after competing against 131 other players.

Event #5 is a $25,000 buy-in, 8-player no-limit hold'em tournament with 131 players participating.

Alex Boika fought his way to the Final Table and ultimately defeated Philip Sternheimer in a one-on-one match.

Key event data

Boika said after the tournament that the championship meant a lot to him and described winning the Triton Championship as one of the most important achievements a poker player can make.

He also admitted that the 30-minute time limit made luck more important, and that he did receive a lot of help in this competition.

Day 2 has 17 players remaining, with a minimum investment of $46,000 already secured.

At the start of the final match day, the following remained on the field:

17 contestants

Everyone has at least locked in:

$46,000

Brandon Wilson entered Day 2 as the scoreboard leader, having finished at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the bubble phase in the latter part of Day 1.

However, Wilson failed to convert his lead into a Final Table seat.

He was eventually eliminated in 11th place, losing a crucial hand where pocket Kings were overtaken by Seth Davies' AQ.

Boika eliminated three players in a row, advancing directly to the final table.

Before the final table is formed, Boika begins to accumulate score cards rapidly.

He was eliminated in succession:

• Jesse Lonis

• Artur Martirosian

These two eliminations officially brought the tournament to the final eight-player Final Table.

But Boika did not stop.

As soon as the final table was formed, he faced off against Vladas Tamasauskas's QQ with AQ, and ultimately succeeded in reversing the situation and eliminating his opponent in 8th place.

Boika thus eliminated three players in a row, quickly establishing a score advantage.

Chen Mingcong came in 6th place, winning $175,000.

After the final table was formed, Lithuanian player Vladas Tamasauskas was the first to leave the table in 8th place.

Austrian athlete Manuel Fritz then finished in 7th place.

Chinese player Chen Mingcong finished the tournament in the 6-player stage, ultimately achieving:

6th place

bonus:

$175,000

This is one of the two spots for the Chinese team in this Final Table, while the other, Yu Lei, made it all the way to the final three.

Seth Davies suffered a major setback at the 23rd Triton final table, defeated by Yu Lei AA.

American high-stakes runner Seth Davies once again completed a deep run in this race.

This is Davies' career number:

23 Triton Final Tables

Once they entered the 5-player table, he consistently chased Boika's chip lead.

But a crucial match directly changed the course of the game.

Davies holds:

88

Select all.

Yu Lei received:

AA

And it successfully doubled.

This hand dealt a heavy blow to Davies's scoreboard.

He then faced Nevan Chang's JT with A2, allowing his opponent to double his bet once again.

With only a few chips remaining, Davies faced Yu Lei again but was ultimately eliminated, finishing in 5th place and earning $226,000.

Nevan Chang ranked 4th, and Yu Lei ranked 3rd.

With only four players remaining, Philip Sternheimer gradually gained control of the game and briefly topped the scoreboard.

But Boika quickly retaliated.

He first eliminated Taiwanese player Nevan Chang.

Chang's final ranking:

4th place

Takeaways:

$282,000

Boika then eliminated Chinese player Yu Lei.

Yu Lei said:

3rd place

Complete the competition and receive:

$343,000

This is also the best result achieved by a Chinese athlete in this $25K event.

Boika entered the one-on-one match with a nearly 2-1 lead.

After eliminating Chang and Yu Lei in succession, Boika regained the lead.

Upon entering Heads-Up, he had close to Philip Sternheimer's:

2 to 1

The advantage of the scoreboard.

Both players were vying for their first Triton title, and the heads-up match ended with a highly dramatic final hand.

Despite misreading his cards on the last hand, Boika still managed to complete the championship call.

In his final move, Philip Sternheimer held:

9♥7♥

Raise pre-flop.

Boika holds in BB position:

J♠6♦

Choose to defend.

Flip the card:

8♦ 5♥ 3♣

Both players passed.

Turn Card:

J♥

Boika hit top pair and checked again.

After Sternheimer placed his bet, Boika raised, and Sternheimer immediately went all in.

Boika eventually called.

However, he revealed after the game that he actually misread his hand the moment he made the decision.

He initially thought he had hit the target:

Two pairs

They were even ready to call immediately, but soon realized they only had J in their hands.

Even so, he chose to call, putting Sternheimer at risk of elimination.

Sternheimer has both a straight and a flush draw.

Although Boika led with top pair on the turn, Sternheimer still had a lot of outs.

9♥7♥ combination:

8♦ 5♥ 3♣ J♥

This allows him to retain both straights and flushes.

If the river card hits a suitable card, heads-up play can continue.

But the final river card was:

A♠

No reversal was achieved.

Boika's J pair maintained their lead, officially ending the match.

Alex Boika finally joins the ranks of Triton champions.

With the river card A♠ falling, Alex Boika officially won:

$761,000

as well as:

First Triton Championship Trophy

Philip Sternheimer finished as runner-up, earning $516,000.

After the game, Boika spoke quite casually about the last hand, admitting that sometimes even if you do something imperfect, as long as luck is on your side, the result can still be good.

Event #5 Final Table Results

Two Chinese players made it to the Final Table, with Yu Lei reaching the top three.

For the Chinese team, this $25K 8-Handed run was also a high-quality, in-depth race.

Chen Mingcong finished in 6th place with $175,000, while Yu Lei made it all the way to the final three.

In particular, Yu Lei's decisive victory over Seth Davies with AA at the 5-man table directly impacted the later stages of the final table.

Although they ultimately failed to reach the heads-up match, the $343,000 third-place prize was still the best result for a Chinese player in this tournament.

The Jeju II race saw four consecutive Triton champions emerge.

Alex Boika's victory also continues a special trend in this year's Triton Jeju II round.

The first four champions of the series:

• Alex Theologis

• Klemens Roiter

• Ngo Khoa Anh

• Alex Boika

All of them were winning the Triton Championship for the first time.

In the Jeju tournament, where top players participate in high-stakes events, it is unusual for a newly crowned champion to win four consecutive matches.

For Boika, this journey from being eliminated three times before the Final Table to successfully calling and winning the championship despite misjudging his hand in the final hand made his first Triton trophy a truly unforgettable story.

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