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Alex Boika has captured his first Triton title, topping a 131-entry field in Event #5: $25,000 NLHE 8-Handed at the Triton SHRS Jeju series. He becomes the fourth different player to claim a maiden Triton crown at this year’s festival, following Alex Theologis, Klemens Roiter, and Ngo Khoa Anh.
Boika defeated Philip Sternheimer heads-up to secure the win, earning $761,000. Sternheimer, third-place finisher Yu Lei, and fourth-place Nevan Chang were also chasing their first Triton titles but had to settle for six-figure consolation prizes.
The final day began with 17 players guaranteed at least $46,000. Brandon Wilson, who had bubbled late on Day 1, led the remaining field before exiting in 11th when his pocket kings were outdrawn by Seth Davies’ ace-queen.
Boika built momentum by eliminating Jesse Lonis and Artur Martirosian to reach the final table, then knocked out Lithuania’s Vladas Tamasauskas in eighth place, cracking queens with ace-queen for his third consecutive elimination.
Seth Davies, playing his 23rd Triton final table, later ran his pocket eights into Yu Lei’s aces and lost another key pot with ace-deuce against Chang’s jack-ten before being eliminated by Lei. Sternheimer briefly took the chip lead before Boika reclaimed control by eliminating both Chang and Yu, entering heads-up play with a near 2:1 advantage.
On the final hand, Boika called an all-in from Sternheimer after briefly misreading his own hand strength, admitting afterward he thought he held two pair rather than one. The river brought the ace of spades, sealing his top pair and the title.
