Champion Peter Wang!

The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series is unmatched for its ability to offer players both tournament and cash-game action where the stakes raise the roof. And it follows that some tournament players take a little time out to sometimes dabble in cash games, while the cash game sharks sometimes splash in the tournament waters too.

Peter Wang, from China, has a very modest tournament poker record. But cash game fans know all about him, not least from a $1.4 million pot he played earlier this year on a U.S.-based live stream.

If and when Wang returns to the cash game tables, he'll bring with him a new purse of more than $2 million after today coming out on top of a tournament. Not just any tournament. This was the $60,000 buy-in no limit hold'em at the Triton Poker Series, where 154 entries produced a $9.24 million prize pool.

By its conclusion, Wang had every chip in the room — the last of which were plundered from New Zealand's Sosia Jiang at the end of a marathon heads-up battle.

Jiang, a Triton stalwart of many year's standing, came exceptionally close to landing her maiden title, which would have made her only the second woman to win on this series. Instead, she had to settle for $1,381,000 and runner-up spot.

Sosia Jiang, so near

Wang, however, is now a Triton champion—and he earned it through a gruelling tournament that began on Saturday lunchtime, and finished at Sunday breakfast. The clocks in the tournament room were past 4 a.m. when the last card was dealt, having seen at least six double-ups beforehand.

But Wang's supporters were all there to cheer him on right until the bitter end.

Peter Wang is finally the champ

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The $60,000 buy-in was a new price point for the Triton Super High Roller Series, but as long as there are at least four zeroes, players will always turn up to give it a spin. On this occasion, 103 unique players produced 154 total entries, which put more than $9 million in the prize pool and offered the first prize of more than $2 million outside the added Short Deck events.

By the standards set over the past week or so, this one played out pretty slowly as the money bubble approached. It then got even more sticky as the ground towards a final table, with it taking until 9.30pm on Day 2 before only nine were left.

The bubble was not without drama, however. Jason Koon fell two from the money after flatting Mikita Badziakouski's cutoff raise on the button, then four-bet ripping it in after Javed Ismayilov three-bet his big blind. Ismayilov couldn't be persuaded to part with his AJ and Koon's QJ wasn't enough.

Only one hand later, Klemens Roiter became the stone bubble on the same table, losing with AK to David Yan's pocket eights.

Klemens Roiter bubbled

Despite boosting their stacks in this confrontations, neither Yan nor Ismayilov were still involved when things progressed even closer to the real business end. A painful period of play across three and then two tables shallowed all remaining stacks considerably, to the point that there was only a 23 blind average when Yu Zhang's elimination in 10th finally got them to the final.

Tournament organisers were able to roll the blinds back two levels, but they still were hardly deep as nine-handed play began. The stacks were:

Sosia Jiang - 5,825,000 (58 BBs)

Peter Wang - 5,350,000 (54 BBs)

Calvin Lee - 4,850,000 (49 BBs)

Anatoly Filatov - 4,500,000 (45 BBs)

Thomas Boivin - 2,725,000 (27 BBs)

Nang Quang Nguyen - 2,675,000 (27 BBs)

Mikita Badziakouski - 2,575,000 (26 BBs)

Tom Fuchs - 1,325,000 (13 BBs)

Santhosh Suvarna - 975,000 (10 BBs)

Event 5 final table players (clockwise from back left): Tom Fuchs, Nang Quang Nguyen, Sosia Jiang, Thomas Boivin, Mikita Badziakouski, Anatoly Filatov, Peter Wang, Santhosh Suvarna, Calvin Lee.

Santhosh Suvarna had been down to crumbs in the period running up to the final, but the blind roll back helped him more than anybody. His 10 blinds now became playable, and when he doubled with pocket 10s through Thomas Boivin's A10, it was Boivin on the ropes.

And the Belgian couldn't get himself off them. He then found himself in another flip, this time holding pocket fives against Peter Wang's AJ. Wang ended up rivering Broadway and Boivin's tournament was over. He took $207,000 for ninth.

Another near miss for Thomas Boivin

Survana was again now the short stack, and he too was knocked out in the next major flip. Suvarna's A10 flopped a gutshot, but ultimately didn't get any of the help it needed to beat Nang Quang Nguyen's pocket eights. Survana's day lasted a little longer than it had seemed destined to, but he finished eighth for $250,000.

Santhosh Suvarna indicates that he's ready to buy-in to the next event

Wang slipped back slightly, which allowed Sosia Jiang to hold the luxury of the big stack and to dictate play. It was a joust among her competitors to see if any could emerge to challenge her—and Mikita Badziakouski was the first to step up to the plate.

Badziakouski started the final table third lowest in chips, but a pot against Tom Fuchs propelled him upwards. Fuchs, by contrast, slipped out of contention entirely. In the hand in question, Badziakouski raised his button with K3 and Fuchs called in the big blind with Q9 and from an 11-blind stack. Both got a piece of the 392 flop, which accounted for what happened next.

Fuchs checked. Badziakouski put out a small bet, and Fuchs check-clicked it back. Badziakouski three-bet shoved and Fuchs saw no reason to fold for his last few blinds. The K turn gave Badziakouski the best hand, and the 5 river was the end of it.

Fuchs won $345,000 for seventh.

Tom Fuchs frozen out

Badziakouski moved into second place, but Wang didn't allow him to hold that spot for long. He not only won decent pots from Calvin Lee and Anatoly Filatov, he then eliminated Nguyen in sixth. Wang opened with pocket queens and then saw Nguyen jammed 11 blinds with AQ. Wang called and Nguyen is still looking for his ace.

Nguyen took $475,000 for sixth. Wang, meanwhile, was now in the chip lead.

Nang Quang Nguyen, not Nguyen-ing this one

To this point, the best hand had held up every time all the chips went in, but the table was due a nasty outdraw. It got it as Calvin Lee's 17 blinds went over to Jiang.

Lee opened the pot from under the gun. Action folded to Jiang in the big blind, and with a comfortably covering stack, she moved all-in, putting maximum pressure on Lee. Lee was sitting with pocket kings and was more than happy to call off, with Jiang's A7 a distant second.

However an ace on the flop was a dagger to the heart of Lee. He perished in fifth for $618,000.

Calvin Lee's kings were not good enough

Things were now happening in a hurry. On the hand immediately after Lee's elimination (and only four since Nguyen's), Wang and Badziakouski went into battle for a ton of chips. Wang opened his button from a 51-blind stack and Badziakouski shipped for 22 blinds two seats along. Wang had AJ and called.

Badziakouski had the two cards in the middle of Wang's -- KQ -- but the board was all cards under seven. That wasn't good enough to put Badziakouski in front and he instead went looking for a $774,000 fourth-place payout. The five-time champion can't quite get his tally to six.

Mikita Badziakouski's hunt for six continuespete

Filatov had been quiet at the final, but suddenly went on a huge surge. He first clipped Wang's wings a bit when he doubled with A8 through Wang's A6, but then he took an even bigger pot from Jiang when AK beat AJ.

This one played through the streets and Jiang put in a river bet on a board of 610725. Filatov sniffed it out and his better ace-high was good.

It was about now that the effects of the blinds roll-back really began to kick in. It ticked past 1.30am in Jeju and the last three had stacks of around 50 blinds (Filatov) against two of 25 blinds.

The levels went up and some chips went in. It was, all of a sudden, Wang under threat in a big flip against Filatov. Wang's tens held against AQ and that was Wang back in the lead, with Filatov now back down in third.

It was therefore the Russian now under threat the next time they got it all in. And he couldn't survive this one. Filatove three-bet jammed pocket deuces from the big bblind, but Wang's K10 paired up on the flop and won the day. Filatov, who has a particular affinity with Jeju thanks to parental heritage and last stop's massive Triton Poker Series win, took $950,000 for third this time.

Anatoly Filatov, out in third

Wang was flying with 60 blinds to Jiang's 18. Nobody even considered a deal and they settled in for heads-up play.

True to the pattern of this final, it went on a good long while as well. No one could have quite predicted just how much play was still left.

Jiang was the first to double when she flopped top pair with Q6 and Wang missed his combo draw with 107. The flop was 8Q3 but most of the money went in after the 9 turn.

That put Jiang in the lead, but when she missed a draw a little later -- J6 on a board of 7AK9 versus Wang's 97 -- Wang doubled and on it went. Then, you guessed it, Jiang doubled back. There were only 31 blinds in play and Jiang was all-in for 12 of them, holding J10. Wang had 108 and didn't hit.

But it still wasn't over. Wang found a double, this time hitting a jack while holding J6 and facing Jiang's Q2. The level went up again and now there were only 25 blinds in play. The problem was that they had almost exactly half of them each.

Wang pulled slightly ahead, but Jiang doubled again with A3 against K2. It was at least the fifth double-up when cards falling the other way would have ended it. And then there was the sixth, with Wang's J9 holding against Jiang's 97. Back to even again.

But finally, finally, it ended. Wang had K9 to Jiang's J8 and they actually bet through the streets of a 6K7610 board. Wang's check on the end induced a shove from Jiang. Wang called and, for once, a silence descended.

The heads-up duellists congratulate one another

Eventually it dawned that this really was the end of it. Wang was the champ, and the sun began to rise...