From Near Elimination to $8.1 Million, Ben Heath’s Epic Run in the Triton Million

In the world of high-stakes poker, fortunes can pivot on a single card. But few stories capture the imagination quite like Ben Heath’s performance in the recent $525,000 Triton Million event.

Held in the luxurious confines of Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas, this tournament wasn’t just another high-roller affair, it was a spectacle that paired elite pros with deep-pocketed VIPs, generating a staggering $48 million prize pool across 96 entrants.

Heath, a British poker talent with now more than $30 million in live tournament winnings, turned a dire situation of a mere 0.3 big blinds into an astonishing $8.16 million payday, finishing second to Argentina’s Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo who banked $12.07 million.

A Comeback Unlike Any Other

The Triton Million, a collaboration between the WSOP and the Triton Poker Series at the 2024 WSOP Paradise, kicked off on December 7, 2024, with a unique twist: each entry required a $525,000 buy-in from a VIP player, paired with a pro who ponied up the same.

A 74-player field splitting amateurs and pros into two Day 1 flights, before merging for a shot at glory. It’s turned out to be a popular format, and one that gives us plenty of star names to watch — not that Triton really needs improving on that score.

By Day 3, Heath had battled his way to the final table of nine players. Although a world-class player, the Brit was still up against the likes of Alex Foxen, Aleksejs Ponakovs, and Michael “ Texas Mike” Moncek who had dominated the first two days. And then the rollercoaster started.

The first hand of note came with Daniel Dvoress opening with A♠ 10♠ and Moncek jamming around 17bb with A♥ 10♥.

Heath wakes up with J♠ J♥ in the big blind and comes over the top for 26bb. Moncek called and got no help on the run out to leave Heath sat with 47bb and feeling confident, but it wouldn’t take long before the wheels started to come off.

Heath, now down to 22bb after the blinds increased, opened with 7♣ 7♥ and got a call from Alejandro Lococo in the big blind with Q♥ 9♣.

The flop came down Q♣ 2♣ 8♠ and Lococo check-called a bet of 1.5bb.

The turn was the Q♠ and Lococo now leads out for just over 4bb.  Heath called.

The 3♣ river completed the flush draw but Lococo remained undeterred and fired out a 10bb bet.

Heath was now clearly suspicious and took his time, but eventually he decided he couldn’t lay down his hand, giving away most of his stack to leave him with only 4bb. Two more small losses left him with a meagre 175,000 chips with blinds of 300K/600K and a 1bb ante.

With little maneuverability left, when Heath looked down at 6♦ 6♠ it was go time. A call from Dvoress with K♣ J♥ and Sinan Unlu with Q♦ 5♦ and a favourable runout  was enough to triple up and begin the comeback.

Minutes later Heath was risking it all again; this time with K♥ 5♦ up against Lococo who called with Q♥ J♣. A rivered boat brought Heath another double-up.

And then he pulled off the same trick again right after to finally leave him with a workable stack.

Another hand against Dvoress saw the Canadian fire off an airball bluff on a 5♦ J♠ 9♠ flop only to get called by Heath with top pair, setting him up nicely for a run at the title.

The heads-up battle didn’t go Heath’s way, but the effort was as valiant as we’ll ever see in a high-stakes poker tournament full of the world’s top talent.

This wasn’t just a payday, it was a statement that earned Heath respect from all that witnessed his run. That said, we’re quite sure he was happy to destroy his previous best live cash of $2,018,148 by more than four times.

The Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju kicks off today. Don’t miss it!