It was seemingly just a matter of time until Jason Koon would win his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet. On Thursday, October 7, 2021, he has finally scratched that feat off his personal poker bucket list and came out on top of a field of 57 entries in Event #11: $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.

Throughout the last few years, Koon’s name was mentioned regularly when it came to best players who had not won a WSOP bracelet yet but that is now no longer the case. With nearly $33 million in live poker earnings, he sits in ninth place on the all-time money list according to the Hendon Mob database.

The top prize of $243,981 may not necessarily be as important when considering the high stakes competitions he usually participates in. But it was certainly all about live poker’s most elusive gold-ware, which was also showcased by his emotions moments immediately after the triumph.

On the final day of the tournament at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, he first defeated the 21 year old online poker prodigy and heads-up specialist Henri Puustinen to book his seat in the final. Another European awaited in the final duel and Koon also came out on top of a tense battle with Hungary’s Gabor Szabo.

The victory of the American poker pro comes only days after he was revealed as the new global ambassador for GGPoker. Furthermore, he welcomed his son Calum into the world two weeks ago and has confirmed that baby run-good among poker players is not just a myth.

On the same day, the 2021 WSOP saw accomplished Canadian poker pro Ari Engel earn his second gold bracelet in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. Yuval Bronshtein also doubled his tally minutes later in Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em to complete the trifecta of notable bracelet winners in the same night.