Top female pro falls short of final table at WSOP Main Event

Kristen Foxen fell short of history at the World Series of Poker Main Event on Sunday night.

The professional poker player, who was trying to become the second woman to reach the final table of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship, made a shock exit in 13th place after holding the chip lead earlier on Day 8.

The Main Event continued late Sunday at Horseshoe Las Vegas until the final table of nine players was set. Poker pro Joe Serock of Las Vegas had the overall lead with 134.7 million chips (84 big blinds) with 10 players remaining soon after the 8 p.m. dinner break.

The final table begins Tuesday with the $10 million first prize on the line. All remaining players are guaranteed $600,000.

Foxen was looking to join Barbara Enright as the only women to reach the final table of the Main Event in its 55-year history. Enright finished fifth in 1995.

“More than anything just so, so thankful for all the support that I had,” Foxen said in an interview with PokerGO after being eliminated. “It was overwhelming. Really, really sweet. It just feels like it was a really cool tournament where I felt very prepared for the spot and the run.

“I’m just really happy with how I played. I feel like comparing it to how I played 10 years ago or something, I’m proud of myself.”

While several players have come close to breaking the glass ceiling at the Main Event, including a 10th-place finish by Gaelle Baumann of France in 2012, none were as qualified as Foxen. She owns four WSOP bracelets, which are awarded for tournament victories, along with titles on the European Poker Tour, PokerGO Tour, World Poker Tour and more.

The Las Vegas resident, who is originally from Nepean, Ontario, now has more than $8.3 million in career live tournament earnings after taking home $600,000 for this deep run, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database.

Foxen was one card away from elimination during Day 7 on Saturday but masterfully maneuvered her chip stack afterward to start Sunday fifth out of 18 players. She took a key pot from Portugal’s Diogo Coelho to seize the chip lead with 16 players remaining.

Foxen then went on a huge downswing starting about 90 minutes before the dinner break. First, she lost a pot to Brian Kim. She then avoided disaster with pocket kings against Coelho’s pocket aces.

A misstep against Serock ultimately ended Foxen’s final-table dream. While holding second pair and an inside straight draw, Foxen went all-in after the turn for her final 36.9 million chips. Serock quickly called with top two-pair. Only a 10 would save Foxen, and the six of hearts on the river left the Horseshoe Events Center stunned.

“It was I don’t even know how many hours of poker and I feel pretty happy,” Foxen said on PokerGO. “Even my bust-out hand, I feel fine with it. Honestly. … I feel like every hand I feel pretty good about.”

Serock was the big mover of Day 8 after entering in fifth place. He knocked out Jason James of Canada in 14th place in addition to his elimination of Foxen.

Serock, the 2023 WSOP bracelet winner in the $500 buy-in Pot-limit Omaha Eight-Max Online Event, has more than $4.5 million in career live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database.

This is Kim’s second deep run in the Main Event after a 23rd-place finish in 2022 for $323,100. The Walnut, California, resident has $7.3 million in career live tournament earnings, according to Hendon Mob Poker Database. He owns a WSOP bracelet from the $5,300 buy-in WSOP Online High Roller event in 2022.

Kim moved into second place before the dinner break with 111.1 million chips (69 big blinds) when his pocket kings wiped out Yegor Moroz’s pocket jacks in 15th place.

There are several more experienced pros remaining, including Sweden’s Niklas Astedt in third place with 63.1 million chips (39 big blinds). Better known as “Lena900,” Astedt has more than $47 million in documented online tournament winnings.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.