Chris Hunichen rides rollercoaster to $2.8 million and his first WSOP bracelet – World Poker Tour

Chris Hunichen has been competing in the World Series of Poker for more than 15 years and has tried time and time again to win a gold bracelet. At one time, “Big Huni” was the best online poker player in the world, but for some reason the moment on the live stage when the lights were brightest never came, even though there were several very close calls.

After reducing his play volume for a few years, at the age of 38, Hunichen set his sights on 2023 again and did everything he could to make that moment a reality. But a year ago, while playing Day 2 of a $5,000 6-Max No Limit Hold’em event, Hunichen received the devastating news that his father had died. Chris immediately left the tournament and put poker aside again.

When the 2024 WSOP began, Hunichen was there from day one, making a deep run in the $5,000 Champions Reunion before being eliminated in 12th place and then posting two more top-40 finishes in big fields. But then came the $100,000 High Roller, a very different kind of opportunity that pitted some of the toughest players in poker today against each other for a top prize of over $2.8 million.

At one of the wildest final tables in recent history, which included half a dozen televised runouts and a boisterous beer celebration, Hunichen claimed his long-awaited WSOP gold bracelet victory and a prize of $2,838,389.

As his boisterous crowd of friends and family cheered him on, Hunichen couldn’t hold back his tears as a wave of emotions washed over him simultaneously.

The first person that came to his mind was his father.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Hunichen said. “I’ve put a lot of heart and soul into this game. I think in the last four or five years I haven’t played that much. Last year was the first full summer I played in probably four or five years. I had a couple of great runs and my dad died in the middle of it. After my dad died, I didn’t win a single tournament for the rest of the series. So it was very emotional to be here now and I was playing for so much more than the money or the bracelet or anything like that…

“I played for him.”

Hunichen’s road to victory on Thursday was rocky, as he was both the victim and beneficiary of some real outliers on the turns and rivers on the final day of play in the $100K turn. It started when Hunichen called a preflop all-in bet from Jeremy Ausmus with . and Ausmus made a straight with in a hand that could have given Hunichen 65% of the chips in play with three players.

Then Hunichen was the one who had pocket fives against Ausmus’ and Ausmus transformed a to bring Hunichen to the edge. But this time pierced the river and for the first time Hunichen’s rail exploded with joy.

“Probably the craziest rollercoaster ride of my life times 1,000,” Hunichen said. “The emotions, the waves, the feeling like I was going to bust, the feeling like I had all the chips. When he gave me that queen-jack hand and then turned over the ace, I just felt dead. Getting the five on the river was magical.”

But that was only the first hill of the rollercoaster. Hunichen had the chance to displace Viktor Blom in third place, with but Blom turned a Hunichen quickly returned the favor. With against Bloms Hunichen had seven outs until the river and someone at his side was clearly screaming for the on the river – and that’s exactly what happened.

Anyone who expected a normal heads-up match between Ausmus and Hunichen at this point was obviously not paying attention. Hunichen had beaten the six-time WSOP bracelet winner with against Ausmus’ but the On the turn, Ausmus stayed in the game.

With the stacks virtually level, another wild runout was imminent.

Hunichen was hugged by his railing, with most of his beer running down the back of his East Carolina Pirates jersey – and he didn’t care.

“Rivering the six was magical,” Hunichen said. “Rivering the nine was probably the most magical moment of my life.”

Despite a runout at the end that reportedly cost him $1 million in prize money between first and second place, Ausmus took the loss in his stride, admitting that “as far as runouts go, this was probably the wildest final table I’ve ever been on.”

Hunichen received a flood of congratulations afterward, and one only had to look at his railing or his social media mentions to see the dramatic impact he had on so many people in the poker world.

He also made a special effort to thank the dealers and staff after his victory, and some of them also began to cry when they realized how important this moment was for Hunichen’s life and career.

“I’ve been coming here for 15 years,” Hunichen said. “So I know everybody, you know? Sometimes it feels like a second home to me and I make it a point to be nice to everyone I meet in my life. I have a great relationship with so many people in this building. It’s really like summer camp. You live your life. I have my kids, but then I come here and see my extended family.

“It’s incredible, man, how many staff members have supported me. I mean, it’s crazy, like Bob (Smith, a WSOP tournament director) has been standing by my side at these final tables for years, secretly cheering me on. I’m excited, of course, but I know so many people behind me are so happy, too.”

The moments following his win were a real catharsis and relief for Hunichen, putting more than 15 years of near wins behind him, the complicated emotions surrounding the death of his father and that it happened while Chris was in his own world playing poker.

The celebration on stage that followed, which probably paled in comparison to what happened after Hunichen and his crew left the Horseshoe, was pure joy. And so, in that moment, even after being drenched in beer and wiping tears from his eyes, Hunichen couldn’t have asked for anything else.

“I could pour 10 more beers over my head right now,” Hunichen said. “It was like when you win the Super Bowl and they dump the Gatorade cooler on the coach – that’s what it felt like in that moment. Those nine points on the river don’t make sense, but they do. It was my turn, man. It was my time.”