When the Triton Super High Roller Series returns to Jeju and North Cyprus this fall it will be under the official sponsorship of the online casino and sportsbook Duel.com.
Duel is a brand that may be familiar to some thanks to the exploits of its controversial founder Ossi Ketola. The Finn has made waves in the poker world primarily thanks to a series of super-high-stakes heads-up matches against elite players, including a record-breaking $12.7M televised pot against Bjorn Li in 2025.
Thanks to his unapologetic use of racist language, he’s also been banned from X.
Ketola’s courting of controversy may be founded in a desire to achieve publicity for his business ventures by any means necessary, and the same might be said for his high-stakes poker exploits.
And while PokerOrg has no desire to provide a platform for racism or hate speech, if last year’s games are anything to go by then the upcoming cash games at Triton will be impossible to ignore due to their sheer size.
The prince of whales?
Last August Ketola, who also goes by ‘Monarch’, lost around $19 million in heads-up games at the Onyx Club in Cyprus. The following month, in Jeju, Korea, he challenged the likes of Wiktor 'Limitless' Malinowski and Alex Foxen to more eye-wateringly high-stakes games.
These included an $11M pot versus Foxen, who turned a flush only for Ketola to river a full house.
Just a few days later, he made more headlines with the $12.7M pot against Li.
Now, with Triton Jeju (September 4-17) and North Cyprus (November 15-30) coming up with the Duel sponsorship flags flying, Ketola is promising to play another series of high-stakes heads-up matches.
Who he’ll be playing is still to be announced, but if you want in you'll almost certainly need to put millions on the table.
