Phil Ivey, Bryn Kenney headline 19 pairings for Triton Jeju Invitational

The $200,000 Invitational will take centre stage on the Jeju schedule from September 12-14. There are 19 confirmed pairings so far – with more expected. 

Five past Invitational winners are slated to play: Bryn Kenney, Dan Smith, Kayhan Mokri, Ramin Hajiyev, and Aaron Zang. 

Triton Invitational by the numbers

Dig into the results from the first 10 Triton Invitationals and there are plenty of interesting trends – particularly when it comes to who has made the podium.

On paper, the professionals should have a sizeable edge. They're more studied, more experienced and, in most cases, simply better poker players.

But the gap isn't as big as you might expect. The VIPs have more than held their own against some of the best players in the world.

Here are a few stats that caught our eye:

• The VIPs aren't just making up the numbers. They've claimed 12 of the 30 podium spots across the 10 Triton Invitationals – a healthy 40% share.
  
  
• In fact, a VIP has made the podium at every Invitational ever played. Twice they've taken two of the three spots: Aleksa Pavicevic and Javid Ismayilov finished first and third in Montenegro in 2024, before Alejandro Lococo and Sinan Unlu repeated the feat in The Bahamas later that year.
  
  
• Only four players have made the podium more than once: Bryn Kenney, Dan Smith, Patrik Antonius and Ben Heath. All four are pros. Kenney, Smith and Antonius have all gone on to win an Invitational – but each had to settle for second or third before getting their hands on the trophy.
  
  
• The pros have won the bigger slice of the money, but there's a twist. Professional podium finishers have earned $101.5M across the 10 events, compared to $69.3M for the VIPs. But the average VIP podium finish is actually worth around $150,000 more – $5.8M compared to $5.6M.
  • Aaron Zang and Alejandro Lococo have done plenty of the heavy lifting there. Their two victories account for almost 42% of all the money won by VIP podium finishers.
    
    
• Bryn Kenney is in a league of his own. His $27.4M in Invitational earnings accounts for roughly 27% of everything won by professional podium finishers.
  
  
• Gabriel Andrade certainly made his one Triton cash count. His only score on the tour was a $5.2M runner-up finish in The Bahamas in 2025.
  
  

Triton Poker SHRS Invitational results (2019-2026)

* Denotes heads-up deal. Figures from the London 2019 event have been converted to USD for all statistical analysis. 

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A new way to watch Triton

In recent years, the Triton Poker Series has set the bar for poker livestreams. With its high production values and reliable viewing experience, audiences on YouTube, Twitch, and the tour's in-house platform have been able to follow every minute of the action. 

And now there's another way to stay up to date with all things Triton – thanks to a newly inked partnership with the Roku Channel. 

As of August 18, the Triton channel – powered by C15 Studio – is now available to viewers in the United States and the United Kingdom via the Live TV section on The Roku Channel. 

"This is another important milestone for Triton," said CEO Andy Wong. "Production has always been at the heart of what we do here. It's how we bring poker to life, not just for the players in the room but for millions watching from home. Getting onto The Roku Channel means more people will get to see the game the way we've always wanted it seen, played by the best in the world.

"That's the whole mission: growing poker through great content, and reaching people who haven't found us yet."