Jason Koon Wins Career-Best WSOP Payday in $50K High Roller

Jason Koon has done it again. The high-stakes crusher converted a final table chip lead into victory at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), taking down Event #31: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for $1,968,927 and his second career gold bracelet.

Koon topped a field of 171 entries to secure the win, defeating fellow bracelet winner Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger heads-up after a dramatic final day of play. While it’s Koon’s largest WSOP score to date, it doesn’t even crack his top five all-time cashes—further proof of just how dominant the West Virginia native has been on the high roller circuit.

A Dominant Run Continues

The win adds to an already massive 2025 for Koon, who has cashed for more than $6.5 million since the start of May, including two victories at Triton Montenegro. One of those wins—a $150K buy-in—earned him nearly $3.4 million and pushed his career earnings to nearly $66 million, good for third on poker’s all-time money list.

“I just play when I want to now,” Koon said after the win. “My family’s with me when I travel, so I travel less. But when I do show up, I’m locked in.”

Although he’s shifted away from chasing bracelets full-time, Koon still holds the WSOP close to his heart.

“It’s nostalgia for me,” he said. “Back in college, I watched the WSOP on ESPN. I remember that buzz the first time I came here, and I still feel that energy when I see younger players come in excited to play.”

Final Table Action

Ten players returned for the final day, with Koon leading the way. His chip stack swelled early when he won a massive preflop confrontation, his pocket aces holding against the pocket kings of Sean Winter, who exited in 11th place ($130,082).

From there, the bustouts came quickly:

• 10th: Dominykas Mikolaitis – $130,082
• 9th: Chongxian Yang – $161,048
• 8th: Aliaksei Boika – $203,919
• Boika fell in brutal fashion, with his aces cracked by Andrew Lichtenberger’s K-J suited, which completed a straight on the turn.

Reagan Silber was the next to go in 7th place ($263,944) after running A♦K♦ into Sergey Lebedev’s suited K♠Q♠. Lebedev made a flush on the turn, sending Silber to the rail.

Swedish online legend Viktor “Isildur1” Blom bowed out in sixth place ($349,068) after getting short and running A♦6♦ into Koon’s A♠10♠. The American flopped top pair and held, adding to his chip advantage.

The Cooler That Changed Everything

Koon maintained a large chip lead as the final five played down to the televised portion of the event. Andrew Lichtenberger then went on a short tear, eliminating both Sergey Lebedev (5th – $471,473) and Brock Wilson (4th – $650,074), who recorded a career-best score.

Then came the hand of the tournament. With three players left, Ben Tollerene opened with K♣7♣, Koon three-bet with A♠A♥, and Lichtenberger cold four-bet with K♥K♦. After Koon five-bet, Lichtenberger shoved for over 19 million, and Koon snap-called.

The board ran out A♦J♥3♣10♥10♦, giving Koon aces full and a pot worth more than 75% of the chips in play. Lichtenberger was crippled, and Tollerene would bust the next hand in 3rd place ($914,634).

Heads-Up Battle: Koon vs. Lichtenberger

Koon entered heads-up play with a more than 2:1 chip lead over Lichtenberger, and despite the latter briefly pulling ahead after rivering nut flushes in back-to-back pots, Koon steadily rebuilt his advantage.

In the final hand, Lichtenberger jammed A♠10♦ and Koon called with K♦Q♠. The board ran out K♥J♥2♠8♦7♣, and Koon’s top pair sealed the victory.

Lichtenberger earned $1,312,610 for his runner-up finish, moving his career tournament earnings to nearly $23.5 million.

Final Table Results