Who Are Negreanu’s and Ivey’s Triton Million Partners at WSOP Paradise?

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Dec 05, 2024 4 min read Last updated Dec 06, 2024

The second edition of World Series of Poker Paradise (WSOPP) kicks off later today in The Bahamas, with the $2,500 WSOP Mini Main Event launching the festivities.

This Mini Main Event is the first of 15 bracelet events hosted at Atlantis Paradise Island, and PokerNews is on-site providing live coverage and the latest news from one of December's Big Three. Our award-winning live updates get underway for the 2024 WSOPP on December 7, and the highly anticipated Triton Million is the first event that we have boots on the ground for.

This unique event pairs 'Elite Invitees' with the world’s top professional poker players and each pair will have to pony up $1 million ($500,000 each) to take their seats at the table.

The biggest buy-in event of the series also marks Triton Poker's debut under the WSOP umbrella. But that's not the only 'first' taking place at the 2024 WSOPP as the Triton Million will also see fan-favorite Daniel Negreanu compete in a Triton event for the very first time.

Despite never playing under Triton's bright lights, Negreanu will be up against several familiar foes. Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius and Jason Koon, who are all confirmed, are just a trio of huge poker names that Negreanu has battled countless times before.

Who Invited Negreanu to the Triton Million?

Antonius and Ivey's attendance was revealed in the first wave of pairings announced by Triton Poker and were invited by Ossi Ketola and Paul Phua, respectively. Antonius, who became the latest inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame at the 2024 WSOP, won a $200K Triton Invitational last month for $5.1 million after he defeated Vladimir "Gambledore" Korzinin in heads-up play. Coincidentally, Gambledore went on to beat Antonius' partner Ketola in the final showdown of a $150K Triton tournament a few days later.

Korzinin's showing in Monte Carlo in November garnered him a legion of fans, but unfortunately for them, the 69-year-old Estonian has yet to be announced as a competitor for the Triton Million.

Ten-time Triton winner Koon, who was unveiled as PokerStars ambassador at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT), was invited by entrepreneur Vinny Lingham ahead of Negreanu's announcement. So, just who invited Negreanu to play the Triton Million?

The answer to that question is Ryan Feldman, the co-founder of Hustler Casino Live. If you're unfamiliar with that name, then PokerNews can get up to speed.

Feldman got his start as a sports writer and worked for ESPN for several years. He eventually left ESPN to pursue professional poker and poker streaming. Feldman worked on the Live at the Bike stream in Los Angeles before leaving and starting HCL with the recently removed Nick Vertucci.

KidPoker's partner appeared as a guest on the PokerNews Life Outside Poker podcast and spoke about his career, poker streams, the jack-four controversy and getting kicked out on Day 3 of the WSOP Main Event.

WSOP Issues Major Rule Change to Electronic Device Use Ahead of Paradise Series

How Did the Pairing Happen?

What prompted Feldman to invite the seven-time bracelet winner? He revealed the answer in an interview with Poker.org, saying:

"When I realized Daniel wanted to play at this event and didn't have a partner, I started talking to the entities running it. Daniel is a legend in the game. I thought this would be a great event to play together. It quickly all came together and worked out.

"Once they contacted Daniel, he texted me first – “LFG!” He was very excited. It's wild to think that Daniel Negreanu wouldn’t get a partner to play in such an amazing tournament. He’s one of the most famous poker players in the world."

Announced Triton Million Pairings

Alongside the already-mentioned names, plenty of other poker superstars will be looking to capture the Triton Million winner's spoils.

WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller champion Santhosh Suvarna was an invitee and he opted to bring along high-stakes crusher Nick Petrangelo.

Saya Ono, Jessica Teusl and Monika Zukowicz make up the female representation and will be joined by Kayhan Mokri, Fedor Holz and Mario Mosboeck.

Take a look at the table below to see the full list of pairings.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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