Benedek Farkas won his first Triton ONE title in North Cyprus after recovering from just seven big blinds at the start of heads-up play. The 22-year-old Hungarian defeated Dmitrii Kukhtarev in Event #9, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 7-Handed tournament, to collect $572,000.
Kukhtarev had dominated the final table and entered heads-up with roughly 100 big blinds against Farkas' seven. The comeback began almost immediately.
Farkas Overturns a Huge Heads-Up Deficit
Farkas won five of the first six heads-up hands before doubling up in a pot that dramatically reduced Kukhtarev's lead.
Holding Q8, Farkas flopped two pair on an 8-Q-4 board and check-raised. Another 8 on the turn gave him a full house. After a 7 fell on the river, he called all-in against Kukhtarev's 86, which had made trip eights.
Farkas was suddenly up to 34 big blinds, with Kukhtarev holding 47.
He then took the lead with a well-timed call-down. On a 2-6-10-A-Q board, Farkas check-called all three streets with 65. Kukhtarev showed 42 for a pair of twos, leaving Farkas' pair of sixes ahead.
The final hand saw Farkas hold 54 against Kukhtarev's T7. Kukhtarev bet with top pair on a 3-7-5 flop, and Farkas check-called.
A 6 on the turn completed Farkas' straight. He bet the turn and shoved after a 10 landed on the river, giving Kukhtarev two pair. Kukhtarev took his time before calling, but Farkas had the winning hand.
Kukhtarev Led the Seven-Player Final Table
The $10,000 event drew 324 entries, including 101 re-entries, creating a $2,945,484 prize pool. Originally scheduled for two days, the tournament required a third day after the field was reduced to seven players.
Kukhtarev began the final day with 28,625,000 chips, or 95 big blinds, representing more than 40% of the chips in play. Farkas held 9,025,000, equivalent to 30 big blinds.
Four players were eliminated in less than 45 minutes. Wu Jun Hao finished seventh for $96,000, followed by Lyudmil Ivanov in sixth for $128,000. Cedric Schwaederle earned $168,000 for fifth, while Yu Zhang collected $211,000 in fourth.
Igor Provkin was the next to fall. His pocket fours lost to Kukhtarev's A10, leaving him third for $261,484 and setting up the heads-up match.
First Triton ONE Title in His Second Appearance
Farkas made his Triton ONE debut in Jeju in March 2026. His $572,000 victory in North Cyprus was worth roughly ten times his previous best live tournament result.
Speaking after the win, Farkas acknowledged that he needed some luck to recover from such a large deficit. He also said he was comfortable in high-pressure situations, particularly when playing with around 20 big blinds.
The two finalists had played numerous hands against each other on Day 2 while seated next to one another. Farkas said that experience had given him some insight into Kukhtarev's approach.
Having started playing poker about two years ago, Farkas also credited the friends and fellow players who helped him develop his game. He said their advice and willingness to point out areas for improvement had been important to his progress.
