Triton Poker SHRS Montenegro: Kiat Lee Runs It Back, Wins Event #7: $30K NLH Turbo For $586,000

The turbo formats at Triton Poker always promise fireworks — and on Sunday night in Montenegro, Kiat Lee (cover image) lit up the stage once again.

The Malaysian pro, who had long struggled to close on the Triton stage despite a string of deep runs, finally broke through in Jeju earlier this year. That first win came on the final night of the stop, after 17 final tables without a title. And now, just one festival later, he’s proven that the wait was worth it.

Lee ran through Event #7: $30,000 NLH Turbo at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro like a man on a mission, topping a high-octane 71-entry field to walk away with a hefty $586,000 — his second career Triton win, both in turbo events. The first was the Short Deck Turbo in Jeju. Now he’s done it again, this time in the standard format — back-to-back triumphs in the fastest format Triton offers.

Kiat Lee is on a roll.

Fresh off his first Triton title in Jeju, he goes back to back with a win in Event #7 $30K NLH Turbo at Triton Poker SHRS Montenegro 2025.

He takes home $586,000 in this single-day showdown and adds another trophy to his breakout year.@wpt_global… pic.twitter.com/weQkmUm4IB

— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) May 18, 2025

The pace was as relentless as you’d expect. Turbo events always get wild toward the end, and this one was no exception. Short stacks and rapid blind levels created a frenzy in the final stretch, but Lee stayed composed, bringing a towering chip lead into the final table. From there, he stepped on the gas and didn’t let up.

In the space of just about 15 hands, Lee eliminated four players — fifth, fourth, third, and finally second place — making quick work of the endgame and leaving no doubt who was in control.

Standing across from him in the final heads-up showdown was Stanley Tang, who was coming off a painful near-miss after bubbling Event #6: $50K NLH 8-Handed. This time around, he went the distance, reaching his first Triton final table and giving himself a real shot at the title. He played with sharp instincts and plenty of fight but couldn’t overcome Lee’s momentum. Tang earned $416,000 for his runner-up finish — his first-ever cash on the Triton circuit.

The moment Lee locked it up, Triton regular and close friend Danny Tang belted out, “Kiat is on the wall!” — a celebratory reference to the glowing LED panels that line the Triton tournament room, each bearing the image of a past champion. Lee’s name and face will now join that lineup — and rightly so.

After his victory, Lee was escorted by a cheerful entourage of friends and fellow players into the main tournament room, where cameras captured his moment in the spotlight. From long-time contender to two-time champion in the span of just a few months, Lee’s Triton journey has taken a dramatic turn. And with the turbo format clearly in his wheelhouse, there’s no telling how far he’ll go from here.

Event Highlights

If there’s one event on the Triton schedule that feels more like a home game than a high-stakes pressure cooker, it’s the first turbo of the stop. Montenegro stayed true to form.

The mood in the room was breezy. Some players were looking to shake off earlier losses, others were just arriving and easing into the series, and a fair number were simply looking to have a good time — especially with the high-profile $200K Invitational looming the next day. That impending spectacle helped tilt the field toward the more recreational side, with many clearly treating this $30K Turbo as a tune-up before the main course.

Still, when it comes to poker, nothing’s ever truly “just for fun.” The 71-entry field — made up of 53 unique entries and 18 re-entries — built a hefty $2.13 Million prize pool, with $586,000 reserved for first place. Sure, it may not have had the tension of a final table bubble at the Main Event, but there was still plenty on the line.

And true to turbo tradition, the pace was anything but relaxed.

Once things got short-handed, the action hit overdrive. Blinds moved fast, stacks shrank even faster, and no one was safe. As always, Austrian high roller Matthias Eibinger was right in the thick of it, weaving his way deep into the money like he so often does in these formats. But the turbo specialist’s run hit a wall in the most brutal spot imaginable — the stone bubble.

Holding , Eibinger three-bet his short stack and found himself flipping for his tournament life against Sameh Elamawy’s pocket fives. The board offered no help, and just like that, Eibinger was out in 12th — one spot short of the money.

That bustout brought the remaining players into the money, each guaranteed a minimum payout of $53,000. Estonia’s Ranno Sootla was first to collect, falling in 11th place.

Sameh Elamawy, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying himself. Riding high after bursting the bubble, he chatted freely with the table and shared that he’d never made a Triton final table before. “Just getting the feel of it before the Invitational,” he laughed.

For a while, it looked like he might get there. But another big flip would be his undoing. This time, it was Punnat Punsri who got the better of him. Elamawy held pocket eights, but ran into , and couldn’t fade the overcards. He was eliminated on the final table bubble — 10th place for $53,000 — just a few hands away from breaking that final table curse.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Kiat Lee – 2,595,000 (32 BBs)
2. Punnat Punsri – 2,570,000 (32 BBs)
3. Thomas Santerne – 2,400,000 (30 BBs)
4. Michael Soyza – 1,425,000 (18 BBs)
5. Aleksandr Zubov – 1,300,000 (16 BBs)
6. Aleks Ponakovs – 1,150,000 (14 BBs)
7. Stanley Tang – 1,085,000 (14 BBs)
8. Adrian Mateos – 925,000 (12 BBs)
9. Maksim Shornikau – 750,000 (9 BBs)

Final Table Recap

The first to hit the rail was none other than the final table’s biggest name — Adrian Mateos. Short-stacked and looking for a double up, the Spanish icon jammed his final seven blinds with . But standing in his way was Kiat Lee with , who made the call with the better kicker and the bigger stack. The board offered no lifeline for Mateos, who made a quiet exit in ninth place.

Maksim Shornikau hung on a bit longer but was fighting a losing battle with just three blinds. Forced to post his big blind and ante, he was left with a single blind behind when Michael Soyza shoved from the small. Shornikau made the obligatory call with , but Soyza was ahead with — and stayed ahead. Shornikau bowed out in eighth.

By now, stacks across the table had shrunk to absurd levels — it was practically a turbo sit-n-go with nosebleed buy-ins. Aleks Ponakovs, after losing a pot to Soyza, was reduced to one lonely blind. He folded through four hands before putting it in with , calling off against Punnat Punsri’s open. Punsri showed , and Ponakovs couldn’t catch up. He racked up his 26th career Triton cash, but still waits on title No. 1.

Punsri wasn’t done dishing out damage. In a huge hand against Michael Soyza, his made a flush on the river, cracking Soyza’s . That hand left Soyza hanging by a thread, and Kiat Lee came in to finish the job. Soyza took sixth, while Lee picked up more momentum.

Then came Aleksandr Zubov, pink pig in tow — a familiar mascot at Triton stops. The pig has popped up in bounty draws and winner’s photos, but this time, it couldn’t bring its owner any luck. First, Zubov ran into Stanley Tang’s pocket queens. That cost him a big chunk. Shortly after, he shoved and ran into Lee’s . The board played out Lee’s way, and Zubov was out in fifth place.

Now in full control, Lee was steamrolling.

He picked off Thomas Santerne next, when his got the better of Santerne’s — another scalp, another step closer. Then it was Punnat Punsri’s turn to fall. Punsri got it in with , but Lee had the goods with pocket queens, and they held strong. Santerne finished fourth, Punsri took third, and it all came down to Kiat Lee vs. Stanley Tang.

The final hand was over just as quickly as it began. Lee’s squared off against Tang’s , and once again, the board ran Lee’s way.

Just like that, a turbo tournament lived up to its name — and Kiat Lee had closed it out with four straight eliminations, turning the final table into a personal highlight reel.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Kiat Lee – $586,000
2. Stanley Tang – $416,000
3. Punnat Punsri – $272,000
4. Thomas Santerne – $210,000
5. Aleksandr Zubov – $166,000
6. Michael Soyza – $130,000
7. Aleks Ponakovs – $103,000
8. Maksim Shornikau – $80,000
9. Adrian Mateos – $61,000

Content & Images Courtesy: Triton Poker & WPT Global

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