Triton ONE North Cyprus 2026 $8,000 Main Event: Tournament Guide for Players From China, Singapore and Beyond

For its first two editions, Triton ONE felt like an Asian festival. Both Main Events were played on Jeju Island, and the fields were packed with players from mainland China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. Most of the trophies stayed in the region. This week that changes. Triton’s mid-stakes tour has brought its $8,000 Main Event to Kyrenia, on the north coast of Cyprus, for its first stop in Europe. The early results show an interesting mix: Russian and Eastern European regulars on one side, and a large group of travelling Chinese players on the other.

This guide is for anyone flying in from Shanghai, Shenzhen or Changi, or following the stream from home. It covers the schedule in your time zone, what the prize pool is likely to be, what the first five days have shown, and the travel details that catch Asian players out.

Live Update: What Has Happened So Far

The festival opened on 5 November with the $3,000 QQPK Genesis, which is usually Triton ONE’s biggest field. It drew 912 entries, 558 of them re-entries, across four flights. That built a prize pool of $2,443,248, and 146 players were paid. Romania’s Alin Ivan, 26, won on his Triton debut for $450,000, beating Russia’s Viktor Kudinov heads-up.

Two Chinese players made that final table. Yang Zhang finished 5th for $111,000, and former Triton ONE winner Chen Peng finished 6th for $82,000. China has also won a trophy already: Yan Jingyao took the $4,000 NLH 7-Handed Big Bounty for $51,000 including bounties, against 96 entries. Four of the seven players at the ONE-W Championship final table were from China, although Russia’s Elena Yasyuchenya won the title.

Completed events (as of 9 November)

• #1 $3,000 QQPK Genesis: 912 entries, $2,443,248 prize pool. Alin Ivan (Romania) won $450,000.
• #2 $2,000 One Night NLH: 54 entries, $100,008 prize pool. Ran Azor (Israel) won $29,000 including bounties.
• #6 $3,000 ONE-W Championship: 42 entries, $112,518 prize pool. Elena Yasyuchenya (Russia) won $35,500.
• #7 $4,000 NLH Big Bounty: 96 entries, $349,152 prize pool. Yan Jingyao (China) won $51,000 including bounties.
• Still running: the #3 $5,000 Mystery Bounty plays its final day today (9 November), and the $10,000 7-Handed is under way.

Why the Genesis Number Matters for the Main Event

The Genesis turnout is the best early guide to how many people will play the Main Event, and this year the message is clear. Its 912 entries are about 26% fewer than the 1,236 the same event drew in Jeju in March. That isn’t a surprise. Jeju is a short, cheap flight from much of East Asia, while almost everyone flying from Asia to Kyrenia has to connect through Turkey. Some of the Asian recreational players who make Triton ONE fields so soft have stayed home.

The previous Main Events help turn that into realistic numbers. Both put almost exactly $7,273 per entry into the prize pool: 1,046 entries made $7,607,558, and 1,230 entries made $8,945,790. That suggests about $727 of each $8,000 buy-in (roughly 9%) goes to fees. Triton hasn’t confirmed the fee split for North Cyprus, so this is our own calculation, not an official number.

Main Event history and 2026 scenarios

• Jeju, September 2025: 1,046 entries, $7,607,558 prize pool. Joshua Gebissa won $975,225.
• Jeju, March 2026: 1,230 entries, $8,945,790 prize pool. Zhao Wenjie won $1,160,000.
• North Cyprus, if the Genesis drop of 26% holds: about 910 entries and a prize pool of about $6.6M (our estimate)
• North Cyprus, if the field matches the 2025 debut: about 1,050 entries and a prize pool of about $7.6M (our estimate)

Even the lower estimate would be one of the biggest prize pools in European live poker this autumn. Going by the Jeju payout ladders, first prize would most likely be between $800,000 and $900,000 before any deal. Recent Triton ONE events have paid about 16% of the field: 199 of 1,230 in the March Main Event, and 146 of 912 in this week’s Genesis. With around 900 entries, that means about 145 paid places, and the bubble will most likely burst on Day 2.

Main Event Schedule (Kyrenia / China and Singapore Time)

• Day 1A, Tuesday 10 Nov: starts 12:00 in Kyrenia, 18:00 in China and Singapore. Registration closes at 19:55 Kyrenia time (01:55 in China and Singapore).
• Day 1B, Wednesday 11 Nov: 12:00 / 18:00. Registration closes at 19:55.
• Day 1C, Thursday 12 Nov: 12:00 / 18:00. This is the last chance to enter.
• Day 2, Friday 13 Nov: 12:00 / 18:00. The three flights combine and levels go up to 60 minutes.
• Day 3, Saturday 14 Nov: 12:00 / 18:00. Play continues towards the final table.
• Final day, Sunday 15 Nov: 12:00 / 18:00. Played until there’s a winner.

For viewers in Asia, the time difference works well. A noon start in Cyprus means the stream begins in your early evening. The deep final-day action will fall roughly between midnight and 3 a.m. in China and Singapore. If you’re following a particular player, those late sessions are when the most important hands are played.

Structure: What 250,000 Chips and 40-Minute Levels Mean

The Main Event has one of the deepest starting stacks on the schedule: 250,000 chips. The Genesis and ONE-W Championship use the same stack, but most side events start with 200,000. In Jeju the blinds started at 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big-blind ante, which means you begin with 250 big blinds. Day 1 levels last 40 minutes, then go up to 60 minutes once the field combines.

In practice, this structure rewards patience on Day 1 and real poker on Day 2. You don’t need to gamble early. Registration stays open for nearly eight hours, so most players enter during the first half of each flight, and the blinds only start to feel big late in the evening. If you plan to enter more than once, try not to bust around 19:30, because there won’t be time to re-enter that day. With three flights you get two more chances, but each one costs another $8,000.

Getting In for Less: Qualifiers

Triton ONE’s origin story is a satellite story: Joshua Gebissa won the very first Main Event after qualifying online through QQPK. For this festival, the realistic routes now are live:

• $1,500 Main Event qualifiers run at the venue every day from 7 to 11 November, so three are left (9, 10 and 11 November). An $8,000 seat costs a little over five times the $1,500 qualifier buy-in, so expect roughly one seat for every five or six entries.
• Online package satellites on iPoker sites such as RedStar Poker and Champion Poker awarded €9,000 packages (a seat plus accommodation). Those satellites closed in October.
• Player ONE race: results count towards Triton’s season-long Triton ONE leaderboard. The overall winner gets $66,000 in tournament credits, and this festival’s top performer earns 100 bonus points.

Travel Notes for Players From China and Singapore

This is where North Cyprus really differs from Jeju, so it’s worth checking before you book.

• You will almost certainly fly via Turkey. Ercan Airport, the main airport in Northern Cyprus, only accepts flights from Turkey. From Asia that usually means changing planes in Istanbul. Kyrenia is roughly a 40-minute drive from Ercan.
• Entering Northern Cyprus is easy for most passports. Most nationalities, including Chinese and Singaporean citizens, can enter as tourists without a visa arranged in advance. Only a few nationalities need one.
• Check your Turkish connection. Staying airside in Istanbul is generally fine. If you want to leave the airport and spend a night in Istanbul, you’ll need permission to enter Turkey. Chinese passport holders usually need an e-visa, while Singaporeans are usually visa-free for short stays.
• Avoid flying via Larnaca on a Chinese passport unless you already hold a Republic of Cyprus visa. Larnaca is in the Republic of Cyprus, which requires a visa for Chinese citizens, and from there you’d cross into the north by land.
• Payments: Triton handles registration and payments through its Triton Poker Plus app. Set up your account before you arrive so you don’t get stuck in the queue on the morning of Day 1A.

Visa rules change often and depend on your passport and any residence permits you hold. Check with your airline and the relevant embassy before you fly. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who to Watch

Zhao Wenjie returns as the defending champion after turning a 1,230-entry field into $1.16 million in March. China’s strength at Triton ONE runs deep: Tony Ren Lin and Haohui Ma are near the top of recent Triton leaderboards, and Chen Peng and Yang Zhang have already made deep runs this week. On the European side, Genesis finalists Ruslan Kasper and Viktor Kudinov are in strong form. Canada’s Xuan Liu, a Triton Super High Roller regular, finished 7th in the Genesis. Expect several Super High Roller pros to play the Main Event as a warm-up before the $25,000-plus events start on 15 November.

Our Verdict

The North Cyprus Main Event will probably be smaller than the record Jeju edition. Judging by the Genesis, a field of between 900 and 1,050 entries looks realistic. That isn’t necessarily bad news for the players who made the trip. The prize pool should still be between $6.5 and $7.5 million, the structure is deep, and a large group of Chinese players has come despite the long journey.

If you’re in Kyrenia with an $8,000 budget, playing Day 1A or 1B leaves you more chances to re-enter if you bust. If $8,000 is a stretch, the $1,500 qualifiers on 10 and 11 November are the smarter route. And if you’re watching from Beijing or Singapore, clear your evenings: play starts at 6 p.m. your time every day this week.

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