On the morning of this Thursday (26) Brasília time, aces were playing on the other side of the world at the final table of the Triton Jeju Main Event, a US$ 100 thousand buy-in tournament held in the Super High Roller series in South Korea. Brazilian Felipe Ketzer was present, concluding his campaign in a hand that gave people something to talk about.
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In short, Felipe Ketzer secured ninth place in the field of 178 entries, and for this performance, he cashed US$ 385 thousand. He had started the final table with the shortest stack, below 10 big blinds, and soon in the first actions, he sought the double. However, he got involved in a cooler that generated repercussion in the community.
With 8 bbs behind, Ketzer woke up with QJs in the UTG and chose to try the double. Elton Tsang, with TT, called, and Philip Sternheimer shoved over the top after receiving JJ. That’s when the controversial moment of the hand arrived, as Kristen Foxen, after seeing all this action, discovered she had KK.
The player went into a long think, and to the surprise of many, she folded the KK preflop, deciding to preserve herself for the rest of the dispute that involved a lot of ICM. Sternheimer’s shove over the top had an effect not only because of that, but also by forcing Tsang’s fold. At showdown, the British player found himself well ahead of Felipe Ketzer, and the board didn’t bring the help the Brazilian needed.
Ben Tollerene’s Second Main Event Title
Sternheimer was certainly one of the highlights of this final table. That’s because he started in the lower half of the chip count, with the third shortest stack, but ended up reaching the runner-up position. He just couldn’t stop the American Ben Tollerene, who became champion for an incredible US$ 3.766.000.
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It was Tollerene’s second Triton Main Event title. In addition to this most recent victory, he had already cashed the PLO Main Event at Triton Montenegro in 2025. Only Jason Koon, his fellow countryman and friend, had more than one ME title in the series.
The heads-up started with a wide advantage for Tollerene, with 91 to 20 on the big blinds scoreboard. Sternheimer attempted a comeback, but a cooler came to decide everything. With T2 of hearts, Tollerene completed preflop, and Sternheimer, with K7o, checked. The flop showed AT2 with two diamonds, and after a check-call from the British player, the 6 of diamonds appeared on the turn.
Sternheimer found himself in a flush draw, as his K was of diamonds, and the action was the same, with check-call on another bet from the American. The river was the 2 of spades, giving Tollerene a full house and leaving the British player out of luck. Tollerene bet slightly less than the pot, and Sternheimer raised shove, saying goodbye to the dispute after the snap call.
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Check out the final standings of the Triton Jeju Main Event:
| Position | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Tollerene | USA | US$ 3.766.000 |
| 2 | Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | US$ 2.535.000 |
| 3 | Elton Tsang | Hong Kong | US$ 1.787.000 |
| 4 | Kristen Foxen | Canada | US$ 1.449.000 |
| 5 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | US$ 1.146.000 |
| 6 | Sean Winter | USA | US$ 870.000 |
| 7 | Yang Xu | China | US$ 635.000 |
| 8 | Tom Fuchs | Germany | US$ 464.000 |
| 9 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | US$ 385.000 |
