Dan Dvoress Wins Triton Montenegro Event #1, Becomes Third Player in History to Complete the Triton Trident
Canadian pro Dan Dvoress etched his name into Triton Series history on May 15 by capturing the opening event of the Triton Super High Roller Series (SHRS) Montenegro 2026. Held at the Maestral Resort & Casino in Budva, Event #1 was the $25,000 NLH "Golden Decade," a special tournament commemorating Triton's 10th anniversary. The event drew 146 entries and built a prize pool of $3.65 million. Dvoress closed out heads-up play against Montenegrin local star Dejan Kaladjurdjevic in roughly 20 minutes, claiming the trophy and a top prize of over $800,000.
The Triton Trident: Hold'em Completes the Set
This victory is more than another trophy line for Dvoress. He becomes only the third player in history to hold Triton titles across all three major disciplines — No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Short Deck — a feat known as the "Triton Trident." Prior to Dvoress, only Jason Koon and Mike Watson had ever completed it. Ironically, despite being widely regarded as a Hold'em specialist, this was the discipline Dvoress had to wait longest to conquer. His first Triton title came in the 2023 North Cyprus $20K Short Deck, followed by his second at the 2023 Monte Carlo $50K PLO event.
Revenge a Year in the Making
For Dvoress, the win was also a long-awaited piece of redemption. At the same Maestral Resort, in the very same opening event last year, he finished runner-up to fellow Canadian Xuan Liu in a heads-up battle. Liu's victory made history as she became the first woman ever to win a Triton Series title, but for Dvoress it meant a full year of mulling over the second-place finish. Returning to the same venue and the same tournament to close the loop with a win adds personal weight to this title beyond the trophy itself.
Bubble Heartbreak and a Stacked Final Table
Event #1 paid out the top 23 finishers. Germany's Hannes Jeschka suffered the most painful exit on the money bubble, holding A-9 against A-4 in back-to-back hands — the first chopped against Dvoress, while the second saw Ben Tollerene river a flush to send Jeschka home in 21st with no money. The final table featured heavyweights including four-time Triton champion Ben Tollerene, China's Ding Biao, and Triton Series co-founder Paul Phua. Heads-up opponent Kaladjurdjevic held on until the final hand in search of his maiden Triton title, but Dvoress completed a straight with 3-2 offsuit on a 4-9-5-A-9 board to seal the victory.
Ivan Leow Player of the Year Race Heats Up
Montenegro is the second stop of Triton's 10th anniversary season and the festival where the "Ivan Leow Player of the Year (POY)" race truly comes into focus. This year, the POY winner receives a $200,000 bonus on top of the traditional trophy, and the leaderboard now pays out the top 10 finishers for the first time. The early season leader is Ike Haxton, who won the $100K PLO Main Event at Jeju II in September, with Stephen Chidwick, Dvoress, and Seth Davies all within striking distance in the top 10. Defending champion Artur Martirosian sits in 17th but remains in contention. Dvoress's opening-event win immediately reshapes the POY picture, and by the time the festival wraps on May 28, the second half of the season will look very different.
The festival continues with two more major flagship events: the $100K NLH Main Event on May 21 and the $100K PLO Main Event on May 24. The Triton Montenegro 2026 festival runs across 18 events through May 28.
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