Triton Poker Set for Blockbuster North Cyprus Finale as Vallinas Defends Player ONE Lead
Triton’s Biggest Season Yet Heads for a North Cyprus Showdown
Triton Poker is about to close out its 10th anniversary year in spectacular fashion. The tour is set to combine its mid-stakes Triton ONE series with the glamorous Super High Roller Series for a 26-day festival at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino in Northern Cyprus, and two season-long titles will be decided before the final card is dealt. Triton Poker will close out its 2026 calendar with a combined Triton ONE and Super High Roller Series in Northern Cyprus, running for 26 days at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino. It is a fitting stage for a year that has already produced some of the biggest prize pools in the sport’s history.
Triton ONE Makes Its European Debut
First up is Triton ONE, the tour’s more accessible little sibling, which is making a landmark move onto the continent for the very first time. The series’ own preview material has been billing it as a hotly-anticipated European debut in Northern Cyprus in November, and the schedule backs up the hype. The action begins with the mid-stakes Triton ONE series from November 5-15, featuring buy-ins from $1,500 satellites up to the $8,000 Main Event and $15,000 High Roller. Organisers have also mixed up the formats to keep things fresh, since the schedule mixes No-Limit Hold’em, PLO, Bounty Quattro and women-focused One-W events, giving players several entry points before the bigger stakes arrive.
The headline event of the mid-stakes leg is unmissable for anyone chasing a slice of Triton history. The $8K Triton ONE Main Event runs November 10-15, with winners joining an exclusive list that currently includes only Joshua Gebissa and Wenjie Zhao. Only two champions in the short history of the format, which means whoever lifts the trophy in Cyprus will become just the third name on that list.
Vallinas Arrives as Player ONE Favourite
No player carries more weight into this festival than Jon Vallinas. The Spaniard has been the model of consistency across Triton ONE’s debut season and arrives in Cyprus with a healthy cushion at the top of the standings. Jon Vallinas leads the Player ONE standings with 982 points, ahead of Thi Xoa Nguyen. That advantage is more comfortable than it might first appear, with reports confirming the Player ONE race is currently led by Spanish prodigy Jon Vallinas with 982 points, 122 clear of Thi Xoa Nguyen in second.
Vallinas has earned that lead the hard way. Back in Jeju in March, he came agonisingly close to a Triton ONE Main Event title, eventually settling for a huge runner-up payday after a heads-up deal with eventual champion Zhao Wenjie locked up $1,337,000 for the Spaniard. What really set his season alight, though, was the consistency around that result, with reporting at the time noting that no one in Jeju could match the relentless pace set by Vallinas, who, after relinquishing the chip lead in the Triton ONE Main Event, would at least have the recompense of taking the Player ONE lead, after making 4 final tables and banking over $1.5m in cashes.
There is serious money riding on the outcome. The Player ONE race was designed specifically to reward that kind of grinding consistency across a season, with a points formula that takes a variety of factors into account, including field size, buy-in amount, finishing position, and re-entries. The prize for finishing on top is not small change either, since there is one Player ONE winner, who will receive $66,000 in tournament credit, usable at any Triton Poker event.
Dvoress Chases Ivan Leow Glory on the High Roller Side
Once Triton ONE wraps, the tour transitions straight into the Super High Roller Series, running November 15 through 30, and the stakes jump dramatically. This is where the Ivan Leow Player of the Year race, named in honour of the late Triton co-founder, will be settled, and one man looks hard to catch. Daniel Dvoress holds a commanding lead of over 1,100 points in the Ivan Leow Player of the Year race over Isaac Haxton.
Dvoress has been in career-best form all year, highlighted by an extraordinary run at the Montenegro stop in May where he made Triton history. He capped that festival by turning the shortest stack at the final table into a signature victory, a result summed up neatly at the time: Daniel Dvoress completed a stunning comeback victory in the $100,000 Triton PLO Main Event at Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro, turning the shortest stack at the start of the final day into a career-defining title and a $2,018,000 payday. That win secured his fifth Triton title and first Main Event crown, cementing the points cushion he now carries into Cyprus.
The prize on offer for the overall Ivan Leow champion has also been sweetened for this milestone season. $200,000 guaranteed to the Ivan Leow Player of the Year champion and payouts for the top 10 finishers for the first time awaits whoever tops the standings, and that number could climb significantly higher before the series ends, since Triton has already flagged a dynamic rewards pool that could grow beyond its baseline guarantee.
Why This North Cyprus Stop Matters
Combining the mid-stakes and nosebleed tours into one extended run at the Merit Royal Diamond is a bold statement for a tour celebrating its tenth year. It gives grinders a genuine shot at life-changing scores on the Triton ONE side while the game’s biggest names battle for seven-figure paydays once the Super High Roller events begin. For recreational players following along from home, there is no better time to sharpen up for free before chasing a seat at the next accessible tournament, and Royal Gambit Poker’s own $500 monthly poker freeroll is a solid way to do exactly that without risking a cent.
With two season-long titles, a European first for Triton ONE, and a stacked high roller schedule all packed into the same 26 days, North Cyprus is shaping up to be the most important stop of Triton’s year, and possibly its most dramatic.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Triton ONE North Cyprus start?
Triton ONE North Cyprus is scheduled to run from November 5 through November 15, 2026, marking the tour’s first ever stop in Europe.
Who is leading the Player ONE standings heading into Cyprus?
Jon Vallinas leads the Player ONE standings with 982 points, ahead of Thi Xoa Nguyen.
What is at stake in the Ivan Leow Player of the Year race?
$200,000 is guaranteed to the Ivan Leow Player of the Year champion, with payouts for the top 10 finishers for the first time. Daniel Dvoress currently holds a commanding lead in that race.
When does the Super High Roller Series portion begin?
The Triton Super High Roller Series follows Triton ONE and is scheduled to run from November 15 through November 30, 2026, closing out Triton’s 10th anniversary season.
Featured image: Triton Poker Series.
