Ben Tollerene
Benjamin “Ben” Tollerene is an American professional poker player whose career began in the most demanding online cash games and developed into a string of major live tournament victories. Known online as “Ben86” and “Bttech86,” he became especially respected for Pot-Limit Omaha before proving equally dangerous in No-Limit Hold’em high rollers.
By September 2026, Tollerene had won five Triton Poker titles, including two Main Events. He had also earned 38.882.118 $ in recorded live tournament cashes according to The Hendon Mob. His largest single recorded payout was 3.766.000 $ for winning the 2026 Triton Jeju No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.
His tournament database tells only part of the story. Tollerene was already a prominent high-stakes cash-game player years before his most lucrative live results. His online history, PLO expertise and repeated success against elite tournament fields make him one of the most versatile players of his generation.
Ben Tollerene at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
| Full name | Benjamin Tollerene |
| Born | December 20, 1986, according to published biographies |
| Birthplace / hometown | The Hendon Mob lists Fort Worth, Texas, as his place of birth; he grew up in Texas |
| Nationality | United States |
| Residence | Vancouver, Canada, according to The Hendon Mob |
| Online names | Ben86, Bttech86 and CowEyed |
| Recorded live earnings | 38.882.118 $ on The Hendon Mob, September 2026 |
| Best live cash | 3.766.000 $ |
| Triton titles | Five through September 2026 |
| WSOP bracelets | Zero on his WSOP player profile at the time of this update |
Early Life in Texas
Tollerene grew up in Texas, where poker became part of his life before he entered the biggest online games. The Hendon Mob identifies Fort Worth as his birthplace. Other biographical accounts differ about the precise location, so Fort Worth is presented here as the database’s listing rather than an independently confirmed birth record.
Published biographies give his birth date as December 20, 1986. He studied finance at Texas Tech University, an academic background that fitted naturally with his interest in risk, probabilities and competitive decision-making.
In a later interview, Tollerene recalled playing home games in Texas and building an online bankroll from small stakes in the middle of the 2000s. The steps from inexpensive games to the highest limits took years of study and difficult decisions.
Ben86 and the Rise Through Online Poker
Tollerene became known as “Ben86” on PokerStars and “Bttech86” on Full Tilt Poker. He also played under the name “CowEyed” on partypoker. These screen names circulated among followers of high-stakes online cash games long before his live tournament fame caught up.
He began at low online stakes and worked upward through progressively tougher games. The most important part of that climb was not one remarkable session. It was the ability to keep improving as opponents became more experienced and the financial swings became larger.
Online poker offered far more hands than a live table could deal in the same period. That volume encouraged technical study and rapid adaptation. It also exposed even elite players to brutal variance, particularly in Pot-Limit Omaha.
A Pot-Limit Omaha Specialist
Pot-Limit Omaha helped define Tollerene’s early reputation. Four hole cards create many more combinations and drawing situations than two-card Hold’em, and even strong made hands can be vulnerable on later streets.
The game rewards players who understand changing equities and can make decisions in large pots without being overwhelmed by the money at risk. Tollerene established himself among the feared names in online PLO cash games, playing opponents who were themselves specialists.
That background later became valuable in Triton and PokerGO Tour PLO tournaments. His live titles in Omaha were an extension of skills built over thousands of high-stakes online hands rather than a sudden change of discipline.
High-Stakes Swings and Viktor Blom
One frequently retold episode from Tollerene’s online career involved Viktor “Isildur1” Blom. Tollerene described losing approximately 1,7 million $ in a single high-stakes session and winning it back during the following day.
The story illustrates the volatility of the games, but it should not be mistaken for a measure of lifetime profit. A huge daily swing can be reversed quickly, while a player’s long-term results depend on many sessions that remain private or only partly tracked.
Tollerene survived this environment and later transferred his technical strength to live tournaments. Unlike most public prize databases, private cash-game records do not provide a complete accounting of his career.
From Online Cash Games to Live High Rollers
Tollerene recorded early live cashes in the late 2000s and made World Series of Poker money finishes before becoming a regular at the most expensive international events. His public tournament earnings grew dramatically as high-roller schedules expanded.
The transition required new skills. Live events have slower hand volume, changing table lineups, escalating blinds and payout pressure that does not exist in the same form in a deep-stacked cash game.
Tollerene nevertheless carried over important strengths: comfort in large pots, detailed hand reading and experience facing aggressive opponents. Over time, his results stopped looking like occasional tournament experiments and became a major second chapter of his poker career.
First Triton Title in Cyprus
Tollerene won his first Triton Poker title in Cyprus in September 2022. He took down a 30.000 $ six-handed No-Limit Hold’em event for 807.927 $.
The tournament drew 123 entries. Its final stages included Stephen Chidwick and Yuri Dzivielevski, two players whose presence demonstrated the difficulty of the field. The victory was an important return to major live competition for Tollerene.
He had made his name in online Omaha, yet his first Triton trophy came in Hold’em. That result established a pattern: his strongest live performances would span both games.
The 2024 WSOP Super High Roller Near Miss
At the 2024 World Series of Poker, Tollerene came extraordinarily close to his first bracelet. He finished second in the 250.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller and received 3.537.135 $.
For years, this was his largest live tournament cash. The runner-up result also made him a prominent example of a player with immense high-roller success but no WSOP bracelet.
The distinction matters because tournament achievements are spread across different organisations. Tollerene’s major Triton and PokerGO victories are titles in their own right, while the WSOP bracelet remains a separate award.
Monte Carlo: A Triton PLO Title
Tollerene won his second Triton title in Monte Carlo in November 2024. He captured a 50.000 $ six-handed Pot-Limit Omaha event for 1.070.000 $.
This result brought his online specialty directly into the Triton winner’s circle. The high buy-in and compact table format created a contest in which every participant had extensive experience with difficult decisions.
It also demonstrated that Tollerene could win in the game that had first made his reputation. His Triton record now included a Hold’em victory and a seven-figure Omaha championship.
Two PokerGO Tour Titles in 2024
Tollerene had a productive 2024 away from Triton as well. He won the 25.200 $ No-Limit Hold’em finale of the Poker Masters for 510.000 $ in September.
The following month, he won the 25.200 $ PGT PLO Series II Championship for 496.000 $. These two victories, one in each game, arrived within weeks of one another.
The PokerGO Tour results reinforce the breadth of his tournament game. He did not need to abandon Omaha to excel in Hold’em, and his Hold’em success did not reduce his edge in Omaha.
A 2025 Montenegro Run Worth Millions
The Triton stop in Montenegro in May 2025 became one of the most productive stretches of Tollerene’s live career. He reached the final stages of a 150.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em event against Jason Koon and agreed to an ICM deal. Tollerene received 3.437.344 $, while Koon ultimately won the title.
The heads-up match carried a personal dimension. Koon had spoken about Tollerene as a mentor, and the two friends met with a major trophy still at stake after locking up their payouts.
Tollerene then won the 100.000 $ Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event for 2.390.000 $. He defeated Laszlo Bujtas heads-up, another highly regarded Omaha specialist. His total reported cashes during the stop exceeded 6 million $.
The PLO Main Event was his third Triton title and a striking example of his ability to remain focused through several high-pressure tournaments in succession.
The 2026 Triton Jeju Main Event
Tollerene’s largest recorded tournament win came in March 2026 at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Jeju, South Korea. He won the 100.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for 3.766.000 $.
The event drew 178 entries and built a 17.800.000 $ prize pool. Winning required him to navigate one of the tour’s most important tournaments, not simply to survive a small specialist side event.
It was his fourth Triton title and second Main Event championship, following the PLO Main Event win in Montenegro. The two victories came in different games, underlining his adaptability at the highest buy-ins.
The Jeju result overtook his 2024 WSOP runner-up finish as the biggest live cash on his record.
Fifth Triton Title in September 2026
Tollerene returned to Jeju in September 2026 and won a 50.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Bounty Quattro event for his fifth Triton title. He defeated Daniel Rezaei heads-up in a 35-entry field.
Triton reported an overall return of 652.000 $: 412.000 $ from the regular prize pool and a further 240.000 $ in bounties. The Hendon Mob result line records the 412.000 $ base payout, so the two figures should not be added again when using its career total.
The late-night victory showed that Tollerene could still convert final tables after accumulating many major titles. It also brought his profile up to date beyond the four wins listed in older Triton champion summaries.
Ben Tollerene’s Five Triton Titles
| Year | Location and tournament | Reported prize |
| 2022 | Cyprus, 30.000 $ NLH six-handed | 807.927 $ |
| 2024 | Monte Carlo, 50.000 $ PLO six-handed | 1.070.000 $ |
| 2025 | Montenegro, 100.000 $ PLO Main Event | 2.390.000 $ |
| 2026 | Jeju, 100.000 $ NLH Main Event | 3.766.000 $ |
| 2026 | Jeju, 50.000 $ NLH Bounty Quattro | 412.000 $ plus 240.000 $ bounties |
The titles cover both Hold’em and Omaha, and two came in Main Events. The 2026 bounty result includes an additional bounty amount that is reported separately from the ordinary finish payout.
Biggest Recorded Live Tournament Cashes
The following selection shows the scale of Tollerene’s tournament success. Some prizes were agreed through final-table deals, and bounty earnings may be tracked separately.
| Year | Tournament | Finish | Prize |
| 2026 | Triton Jeju 100.000 $ NLH Main Event | 1st | 3.766.000 $ |
| 2024 | WSOP 250.000 $ NLH Super High Roller | 2nd | 3.537.135 $ |
| 2025 | Triton Montenegro 150.000 $ NLH | 2nd | 3.437.344 $ |
| 2025 | Triton Montenegro 100.000 $ PLO Main Event | 1st | 2.390.000 $ |
| 2024 | Triton Monte Carlo 50.000 $ PLO | 1st | 1.070.000 $ |
| 2022 | Triton Cyprus 30.000 $ NLH | 1st | 807.927 $ |
The list does not represent net income. Large buy-ins, re-entries, travel, staking, swaps and taxes are not deducted from published cashes.
WSOP Results and the Missing Bracelet
Tollerene has repeatedly reached the money in WSOP events. The 2024 250.000 $ Super High Roller runner-up finish remains one of his most important results, even though it did not bring a bracelet.
His official WSOP player profile showed zero bracelets at the time of this September 2026 update. His success elsewhere makes him an exceptional player without that particular title.
The WSOP profile’s earnings figure covers its own collection of events and should not be confused with The Hendon Mob’s broader live-tournament total. Different databases can also treat bounty payments and event affiliations differently.
Playing Style and Reputation
Tollerene’s reputation began with strong technical play in high-stakes Omaha. He was accustomed to making close decisions when pot sizes were substantial and the best hand could change rapidly from street to street.
In live tournaments, his victories across Hold’em and PLO show more than specialist knowledge. He has won six-handed events, Main Events and bounty tournaments against changing lineups of elite players.
His long association with Jason Koon also illustrates the respect he receives from peers. The pair’s 2025 Montenegro heads-up contest gave poker audiences a rare look at a mentor and friend competing for a major title.
No brief description can fully capture his private cash-game strategy. The strongest public evidence is his ability to repeat high-level results across years, venues and poker variants.
Poker Winnings and Net Worth
The Hendon Mob displayed 38.882.118 $ in total live tournament earnings for Tollerene in September 2026, with a best cash of 3.766.000 $. The database listed him first on the Texas all-time money list at that point.
Those amounts are gross recorded payouts. They do not show how much he spent entering tournaments or how action was divided among players, backers and investors. His earlier online cash-game record is a separate part of his career and does not simply add to the live tournament total.
Tollerene’s exact net worth has not been publicly verified. Any estimate based solely on tournament cashes would ignore buy-ins, ownership of action, expenses, taxes and unreported private results.
Ben Tollerene’s Poker Legacy
Tollerene’s path runs from Texas home games and small online stakes to the world’s largest PLO cash games and the biggest stages in live tournament poker.
He became famous as Ben86 before taking five Triton trophies, winning in both Omaha and Hold’em, and producing multiple tournament scores above 3 million $. Two Triton Main Event titles and major PokerGO Tour wins show that his career is broader than any single game or platform.
The 2024 WSOP near miss remains part of the story, but it does not define his record. His lasting achievement is the combination of online cash-game stature and sustained live high-roller success against the strongest available competition.
Career statistics checked on 25 September 2026. The Hendon Mob live earnings are gross recorded cashes, not verified profit or net worth. Birth details follow published biographies and the database’s Fort Worth listing; independent birth records were not reviewed.