Michael Soyza
Christopher Michael Soyza is a Malaysian professional poker player from Kuala Lumpur, best known for his success in international high rollers. Usually listed simply as Michael Soyza in tournament coverage, he has won two Triton Poker Series titles and an Asia Pacific Poker Tour Main Event.
His career developed from inexpensive home games and a job in investment banking into regular competition against the world’s leading tournament professionals. By October 2026, The Hendon Mob recorded 20.886.291 $ in live tournament earnings, placing him third on Malaysia’s all-time money list.
His largest recorded cash is 2.305.000 $, earned as runner-up in a 100.000 $ Triton event in Monte Carlo in 2024. A deal made with four players remaining explains why his payout exceeded that of the eventual champion.
Early Life and Background
Soyza was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Public player biographies list 1989 as his birth year. He studied banking, finance and economics at Monash University Malaysia.
His interests before professional poker included sport and music. He later described those competitive and creative pursuits in an interview with Card Player.
From Home Games to Investment Banking
Soyza’s introduction to poker came through friends and very small home games. He initially hesitated to join because of his concerns about gambling, but the competitive and strategic aspects of the game attracted him.
He subsequently played online while completing his education and starting work in investment banking. Poker initially fitted around that career, with occasional overseas tournament trips.
Long hours and the difference between Malaysian salaries and international poker stakes eventually influenced his decision to pursue poker professionally.
Early Tournament Success in Australia and Asia
Soyza’s recorded live tournament results date back to 2011. The earlier part of his record includes events in Macau, the Philippines and Australia, before his schedule expanded further into Europe and the United States.
He won the Aussie Millions Accumulator in 2015 for 136.225 A$ and repeated the achievement in 2016 for 147.930 A$. These victories gave his developing career two substantial results at a major international festival.
His record continued to grow in Macau, including a high-roller victory at the 2017 Macau Poker Cup. The progression brought him into larger buy-ins while he was still establishing himself beyond the Asian circuit.
Winning the 2018 APPT Korea Main Event
In April 2018, Soyza won the APPT Korea Main Event at Paradise City in Incheon. He topped a field of 449 entries and received 158.700.000 KRW, alongside a PokerStars Platinum Pass.
The championship was a major milestone in his regional career. It also came during a year in which his results began drawing wider international attention.
The APPT title should be distinguished from his later Triton victories: it came in a comparatively accessible Main Event with a much larger field, rather than a super high roller.
The 2018 MSPT Venetian Victory
Soyza achieved another breakthrough in Las Vegas in June 2018, winning the 1.600 $ MSPT event at The Venetian for 588.249 $. The tournament attracted 2.877 entries and carried a 3.000.000 $ guarantee.
He defeated Jeremy Saderne heads-up after the pair failed to agree a deal. Saderne received 364.573 $, while Rich Alsup finished third.
At the time, Soyza’s prize was the largest first-place payout in MSPT history. The result demonstrated that his success extended to large American tournament fields, adding a different kind of achievement to his developing high-roller record.
The First Triton Title in Jeju
Soyza won his first Triton title in Jeju in March 2019, taking down the 500.000 HK$ No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max event. He defeated Sam Greenwood heads-up and collected 11.150.000 HK$, a payout worth more than 1.400.000 $ at the time.
The victory placed him among the champions of one of poker’s most demanding high-stakes circuits. His opponents included established elite professionals, making the result an important step in his move into super high rollers.
He also finished fourth in the 2019 Triton London Main Event for 1.120.000 £. Together, those performances established a seven-figure dimension to his tournament record.
Short Deck and the Match Against Phil Ivey
Soyza’s high-stakes experience also includes short deck, the hold’em variant played with cards from six through ace. In 2020, he reached heads-up against Phil Ivey in a 50.000 $ short-deck event at the partypoker MILLIONS Super High Roller series in Sochi.
Soyza finished second for 561.780 $. Ivey had been one of the players he watched when learning poker.
That final illustrates the range of his schedule: his results include conventional no-limit hold’em as well as short-deck competition against specialist fields.
Runner-Up in the 2023 Triton Vietnam Main Event
In March 2023, Soyza finished second in the 100.000 $ Triton Vietnam Main Event for 2.207.000 $. Talal Shakerchi won the championship and received 3.250.000 $.
The event drew 135 entries and generated a 13.500.000 $ prize pool. For Soyza, the runner-up result was his largest live cash at that stage of his career.
It was another deep run in a full-length Triton Main Event, extending a record that already included his Jeju title and London final table.
A Second Triton Title in North Cyprus
Soyza won his second Triton title in North Cyprus in May 2023. He defeated an 87-entry field in the 75.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Eight-Handed event and received 1.735.000 $.
Mikita Badziakouski finished second after recovering from a large heads-up deficit. Soyza ultimately called a decisive river bluff to close out the tournament.
The final table also included Michael Addamo and Dan Smith. Soyza’s dominant stretch of play, followed by a difficult heads-up finish, made the victory one of the defining performances of his career.
| Year | Triton title | Prize |
| 2019 | Jeju: 500.000 HK$ No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max | 11.150.000 HK$ |
| 2023 | North Cyprus: 75.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Eight-Handed | 1.735.000 $ |
The Record Payout in Monte Carlo
Soyza’s largest recorded live payout came in November 2024 at Triton Monte Carlo. He finished second to Pieter Aerts in the 100.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Eight-Handed event, which attracted 131 entries.
Aerts, Soyza, Fedor Holz and Mario Mosböck agreed a four-way ICM deal. Soyza was the dominant chip leader at that point and secured the largest share, with 310.000 $ still reserved for the eventual winner.
Aerts went on to claim the trophy and a total of 2.234.587 $. Soyza’s 2.305.000 $ payout was larger despite his second-place finish, a useful example of why tournament placement and final prize money do not always follow the same order.
Selected Major Tournament Results
These results cover Soyza’s largest payouts and several important victories. Original currencies are retained to avoid treating historical exchange rates as current conversions.
| Year | Tournament | Place | Prize |
| 2024 | Triton Monte Carlo: 100.000 $ NLH Eight-Handed | 2nd | 2.305.000 $ — four-way deal |
| 2023 | Triton Vietnam: 100.000 $ NLH Main Event | 2nd | 2.207.000 $ |
| 2023 | Triton North Cyprus: 75.000 $ NLH Eight-Handed | 1st | 1.735.000 $ |
| 2019 | Triton Jeju: 500.000 HK$ NLH Six-Max | 1st | 11.150.000 HK$ |
| 2019 | Triton London: 100.000 £ NLH Main Event | 4th | 1.120.000 £ |
| 2018 | MSPT Venetian: 1.600 $ No-Limit Hold’em | 1st | 588.249 $ |
| 2020 | Sochi: 50.000 $ Short Deck | 2nd | 561.780 $ |
| 2018 | APPT Korea Main Event | 1st | 158.700.000 KRW |
Game of Gold and Wider Poker Activities
Soyza appeared in the first season of GGPoker’s Game of Gold in 2023. The programme brought sixteen players into a competition combining poker matches, team decisions and a reality-television format.
He played on the same team as Daniel Negreanu, Jason Koon and Kevin Martin. Their team was eliminated in the opening stage, but the appearance introduced Soyza to viewers beyond conventional tournament broadcasts.
GGPoker’s profile also identifies him as one of the owners of the Asian Poker Tour. This gives him a connection to the development of Asian live poker beyond his own results at the tables.
Recent Results and WSOP Record
Soyza continued to compete internationally in 2026. His published results include 52nd place in the 10.000 $ Triton ONE event in Jeju for 15.500 $, followed by 12th in the 100.000 $ Triton Montenegro Main Event for 263.000 $.
His WSOP record includes cashes in Las Vegas and at WSOP Paradise. The official profile checked for this article lists no WSOP bracelets or Circuit rings; his principal championship successes have come on other tours.
Tournament Earnings and Career Significance
The Hendon Mob total of 20.886.291 $ records gross live tournament cashes. It is not a measure of net profit or personal wealth: buy-ins, expenses, backing agreements and ownership shares can materially affect what a player retains.
Soyza’s record combines large-field championships with repeated seven-figure high-roller payouts. His two Triton titles, APPT Korea victory and MSPT Venetian win show a career that has developed across different tournament settings.
His progression from banking into professional poker also forms part of a broader Malaysian presence in international high-stakes competition. By October 2026, he remained one of the country’s leading players by recorded live tournament earnings.
Career figures checked on October 19, 2026. Recorded live tournament earnings are gross cashes and exclude private cash-game results. Image positions refer to three separately supplied AI-generated illustrations created in October 2026.