With this championship, Arends officially begins his run in the Triton Series.

Arends clinches the first Triton Series championship.

The famous Dutchman finished second, but he still took home the trophy and the grand prize of $921,178.

Arends clinches the first Triton Series championship.

Putting his online prowess to the test, Jens Arends showed up in person for the first time at this new Triton Series Poker event and not only claimed victory, but also an astounding prize worth close to seven figures.

This past weekend, 171 participants (including 61 returnees) participated in Event #5: US$30,000 NLH at Vietnam’s Hoiana Resort & Golf, contributing to a prize pool of US$5,130,000 from which 23 players cashed.

The Dutchman who goes by the online moniker Graftekkel won the tournament and took home $921,178 after a hard-fought final round. In his first tournament of the series, he finished second against Nacho Barbero and took home $406,000.

“The last time I watched the Triton broadcast, I felt it looked so amazing that I decided, “OK, let’s go for it.” This is unusual for me since I seldom perform live during the year. Thus, when I realized that Vietnam was up next, the choice was clear.”

Top professionals including Michael Addamo, Erik Seidel, Adrian Mateos, and Nick Petrangelo all made it to the final table of this event.

The Triton Saga

NLH US$30,000 Event #5

Buy-in: US$30,000

Submissions: 171

Pot: US$5,130,000

Conclusion table

Jans Arends, January 1st, $921,178 USD

Runner-up, Kiat Lee, with $851,932

Third Prize: Jonathan Jaffe, $766,890

Fourth Place: $441,000. Brian Kim

Fifth Place: Seth Davies, $353,700

Sixth Biao Yuan: $275,000

Oscar Brodkin, Number Seven ($203,000)

Daniel Dvoress, at No. 8, with $149,000

Number Nine: Kayhan Mokri, $119,000.

Amounts in cash.