Triton SHRS Jeju II 2026: Joao Simao Wins the Record-Breaking Invitational

A record field of 173 entries turned out for the $200,000 Invitational at the 2026 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju II. Joao Simao took home the victory and celebrated winning $7,250,000 in prize money.

60 tables, 120 players. That’s how Day 1 of the $200k Invitational kicked off, and there was already plenty of action. 35 re-entries were recorded in the first ten levels alone. Late registration for Day 2 was also well-attended, bringing the total to 173 entries and creating a record prize pool of $34,600,000.

The top 31 places were paid, and many pros missed the money. The bubble phase lasted a long time before Semi Usun was eliminated with .5c: against on a board of . As the minimum cash prize, everyone was guaranteed $305,000, and Ben Heath was the first to collect his prize money.

By the end of the day, 16 players remained, including Adrian Mateos, the winner of the last Invitational in Montenegro. However, his dream of back-to-back victories was quickly dashed on the final day; his last chips, with a pair of jacks, went to Emilien Pitavy, who held ; the board was , and Adrian Mateos finished in 14th place.

Matthias Eibinger started the day short-stacked but managed to make up ground. He still missed the final table, however, as his was beaten by Joao Simao’s held by Joao Simao. His 10th-place finish earned him $635,000.

Joao Simao clearly led the final table of the last nine players, and unsurprisingly, the pros dominated the final table. Wang Yang, Tsai “Erik” Ting-Yi, Winfred Yu, and Ding Biao faced off against Joao Simao, Emilien Pitavy, Seth Davies, Thomas Boivin, and Hannes Jeschka.

Erik Tsai was the first to take his seat at the final table as the ultra-short stack. He lost almost all his chips to Joao Simao but managed to escape elimination once more before finally being eliminated in a 3-way pot. Hannes Jeschka, Winfred Yu, and Thomas Boivin were all below 15 big blinds, while Ding Biao and Emilien Pitavy were also below average.

Thomas Boivin managed to double up, but was eventually sent to the rail with against Seth Davies’ . Davies, however, immediately gave away just as many chips with 8s to Ding Biao, who held aces, and fell back again. Hannes Jeschka pushed all-in with against Winfred Yu’s and took home $1,237,000 for 7th place.

The chips didn’t bring Winfred Yu any luck, though; shortly afterward, he too was eliminated with against from Joao Simao. Ding Biao then eliminated Emilien Pitavy with against , before Wang Yang was eliminated with pocket 5s against Joao Simao’s .

But Seth Davies couldn’t hold on either. With , he called all-in from the BB after Ding Biao had gone all-in from the SB with . The board didn’t help Davies, so he had to settle for 3rd place and $3,470,000.

That brought the tournament to heads-up play—Joao Simao on the Pro side and chip leader, Ding Biao on the Invitee side with only half as many chips. Although a deal was discussed, the heads-up match began without an agreement. And it was Ding Biao who immediately took the lead when Joao Simao, holding , missed the board and tried to steal the pot. Ding Biao called with and took the chip lead. What initially seemed like it would be a quick decision turned out to be a long duel between the two. Eventually, Joao Simao managed to regain the upper hand, and on the turn , the chips went all in one last time. Ding Biao held , Joao Simao . The river was , and with that, Joao Simao celebrated his victory and $7,250,000.

Event #10 – $200k Invitational

Buy-in: $200,000
Entries: 173 (120/53)
Prize Pool: $34,600,000
Paid Places: 31

Payouts:

Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju II 2026

Date: September 4–17
Location: Les A Casino, Jeju
Events: 14
Buy-ins: $15,000 to $200,000
–> Triton SHRS Jeju II Schedule