Ang Yang Yi Wins QQPK Challenge After Dramatic Final Table in North Cyprus

Malaysia's Ang Yang Yi won the QQPK Challenge at Triton ONE North Cyprus, defeating Garik Ambardanian in a back-and-forth heads-up battle. The victory earned Ang the festival's first trophy, along with buy-ins to the $8,000 Triton ONE Main Event and the $3,000 QQPK Genesis.

From a $140 Online Event to a Live Final in North Cyprus

The QQPK Challenge began on QQPK's online platform before moving to Merit Resort in North Cyprus for a nine-player live final. The tournament attracted 99 entries at a buy-in of just $140.

All nine finalists had already earned a 10-day stay at the resort. The live final determined which additional Triton ONE tournament buy-ins they would receive.

Ang entered the final with 149,000 chips, equivalent to 30 big blinds, putting him third in the chip counts. Dragan Ignjatovski led with 193,000, followed by Timur Kurbanov with 174,000. Four of the nine finalists began with 12 big blinds or fewer, setting the stage for an action-packed final table.

Wang Dapeng, Toby Chandler and Ignjatovski were the first three players eliminated, finishing ninth, eighth and seventh, respectively. Each received a $1,500 buy-in to a Triton ONE Main Event qualifier.

Wang's king-queen ran into Arman Bezhanian's ace-king in a preflop all-in. Chandler suffered a similar fate when his ace-queen faced Kurbanov's ace-king.

Ignjatovski's exit was particularly disappointing. Despite starting as chip leader, he lost a substantial pot early when his pocket queens fell to Ambardanian's ace-jack. He later made his final stand with pocket sixes but could not overcome Kurbanov's pocket jacks.

Cheung Ka Ho and Dmitrii Zhuravlev followed in sixth and fifth place, each earning a $3,000 QQPK Genesis buy-in.

Zhuravlev had entered the final with just 10 big blinds. He survived several eliminations and collected Cheung's remaining chips in a three-way pot that also saw him double through Kurbanov. His run eventually ended when his queen-jack lost to Bezhanian's ace-nine.

Ang Takes Control with Four Players Remaining

With four players left, the average stack was just 10 big blinds.

All four had secured buy-ins to the $3,000 QQPK Genesis. Only the champion, however, would earn direct entry to the $8,000 Triton ONE Main Event. The other three would receive $1,500 Main Event qualifier buy-ins in addition to their Genesis entries.

Ang made his breakthrough against Bezhanian. After Bezhanian moved all-in from the button with ace-eight, Ang called with pocket threes. The pair held, giving Ang a commanding chip lead with three players remaining.

Kurbanov was next to fall. Down to three big blinds, he committed his remaining chips with ace-eight against Ang's ten-two. A two appeared on both the flop and river, giving Ang three of a kind and eliminating Kurbanov in third place.

Ang Survives a Dramatic Heads-Up Battle

Ang began heads-up play with 17 big blinds to Ambardanian's 11. He gradually reduced his opponent's stack to around seven big blinds before Ambardanian found a way back.

Holding four-three against Ang's ace-three, Ambardanian hit a four on the flop and doubled up.

Ambardanian doubled again when his king-ten defeated Ang's king-six, bringing the two players level at 10 big blinds each. A small pot then put Ambardanian briefly ahead.

Ang responded by winning a crucial hand with queen-jack against king-seven, leaving Ambardanian with just four big blinds.

Ambardanian refused to go quietly. He doubled up once more and took another small pot, but the comeback ended shortly afterward.

On the final hand, Ambardanian shoved from the small blind with king-five, and Ang called with ten-nine. A ten on the river secured the pot for Ang and gave him the QQPK Challenge title.

The result adds another achievement to the Ang family's Triton ONE record. Ang's brother Austin Ang won nearly $1 million and claimed his first major title at Triton ONE Jeju in March 2026.

Ang Yang Yi now has entries to both the Triton ONE Main Event and QQPK Genesis, giving him two more opportunities to make a deep run in North Cyprus.

QQPK Challenge Prize Breakdown