Triton One debuts in South Korea
A new chapter for the brand launched on Jeju Island as the first-ever Triton One festival opened inside Landing Casino & Resort. The series showcases a more accessible price point than Triton’s traditional nosebleed offerings and runs through Sept. 8, capped by the $8,000 Triton One Main Event from Sept. 5–8. The opener, the $3,000 buy-in Triton One Genesis, began Tuesday, Sept. 2 and plays to a winner on Sept. 4. Jeju will then roll straight into the Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju from Sept. 8–23.
Brutal turn card ends Frank Cucchiara’s first bullet
Day 1A of the Triton One Genesis drew 300 entries, mixing regional grinders with a slate of familiar names: Alex Foxen, Kristen Foxen, Xuan Liu, Mustapha Kanit, and Ignacio Moron were all in the field. Content creators Alexander “Wolfgang” Seibt and Frank Cucchiara also took seats, looking to turn deep runs into must-watch material for hundreds of thousands of fans.
Cucchiara, who made his Triton debut in Jeju earlier this year and discussed it in a July episode of the Life Outside Poker podcast, saw his tournament life whipsaw in one dramatic pot. After five-betting all in with pocket tens against the pocket queens of Bingxin Li, he smashed the 10♥2♣6♥ flop for top set—only for the Q♥ to peel on the turn, vaulting Li back in front. The river 9♥ bricked for Cucchiara.
“That runout’s insane,” said Triton commentator Randy Lew.
Li had him narrowly covered, leaving Cucchiara on a one-big-blind stack. He managed a small uptick before busting, then promptly jumped into Day 1B.
Miracle escape at the feature table
The feature table delivered another gut-punch—this time in reverse. Luo Xixiang was all in with ace-king and in dire straits against the aces of Duy Thuc Nguyen, who flopped top set on Q♠10♥A♦. The board ran out 2♠J♣ to give Xixiang a miracle Broadway and a seat-saving double.
Early fireworks and regional flavor
The early lineup skewed toward East Asia, with a heavy contingent from China, Japan, Taiwan, and neighboring countries. China’s Xiaohu Liu grabbed attention less than an hour into play with a audacious river move.
At 500/1,000/1,000, Liu opened the button with A♦5♥ and went heads-up versus Tingjia Cao in the small blind holding K♦10♥. After a check-check on K♠Q♦3♥, Cao led the 8♦ turn with top pair. Liu floated with ace-high, clearly eyeing diamonds on the river. The 6♦ arrived, Cao bet 5,500, and Liu raised to 22,000 with the A♦ as the nut-diamond blocker—enough to earn a fold. Antennas went up around the table, and not long after, Anton Lu fired a cheeky four-bet with ace-rag against Liu and got it through. As Lew observed on the stream, the pace had ramped up early in Jeju.
What’s next: Day 1B and upcoming events
Day 1B was underway at the time of publishing with 51 entries. Ahead on the Triton One schedule are the $5,000 Nightly No-Limit Hold’em on Sept. 3 and the $10,000 Mystery Bounty on Sept. 4–5, before the $8,000 Main Event takes center stage from Sept. 5–8.
Triton One Jeju Schedule
| Event # | Dates | Buy-in | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 2–4 | $3,000 | Triton One Genesis |
| 3 | Sep 3 | $5,000 | Nightly NLH |
| 5 | Sep 4–5 | $10,000 | Mystery Bounty |
| 6 | Sep 4 | $1,500 | Main Event Qualifier |
| 7 | Sep 4 | $5,000 | Nightly NLH – Bounty Quattro |
| 8 | Sep 5–8 | $8,000 | Triton One Main Event |
| 9 | Sep 5 | $20,000 | Single Day High Roller 1 |
| 10 | Sep 5 | $1,500 | Main Event Qualifier |
| 11 | Sep 5 | $2,000 | Nightly NLH |
| 12 | Sep 6 | $20,000 | Single Day High Roller 2 |
| 13 | Sep 6 | $2,000 | Nightly NLH |
| 15 | Sep 7–8 | $15,000 | Triton One High Roller |
| 16 | Sep 7 | $2,900 | WPT Global Slam Qualifier |
| 17 | Sep 7 | $2,000 | Nightly NLH – Bounty Quattro |
