"It Was My Time": Chris Hunichen Captures First Bracelet & $2.8M in $100K High Roller
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One of the loudest final tables of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) so far, one defined by two-outers, three-outers and a rail whose energy would be hard to match, wrapped up tonight with longtime high-stakes pro Chris Hunichen winning his first bracelet and a career-high score of $2,838,389 in Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em.
"No one’s ever due in poker, but I feel like a was due," Hunichen told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "And I’ve been in this position a couple times, got unlucky, a couple seconds. It was my time.”
Hunichen's poker resume includes a runner-up finish in a 2022 online $25,000 High Roller worth $1.3 million and a third place in the 2022 $250,000 Super High Roller for $1.9 million, but a bracelet had eluded "Big Huni." Of the six players who returned for Day 3, only Hunichen and online Swedish wizard Viktor "Isildur1" Blom lacked bracelets.
Blom finished third for $1,311,091 just a week removed from a third-place finish in the $50,000 High Roller, while Jeremy Ausmus was denied a seventh bracelet with a runner-up finish worth $1,892,260.
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Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Hunichen | United States | $2,838,389 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $1,892,260 |
| 3 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | $1,311,091 |
| 4 | Chance Kornuth | United States | $932,725 |
| 5 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | $681,796 |
| 6 | Justin Saliba | United States | $512,465 |
| 7 | Daniel Aharoni | United States | $396,396 |
| 8 | Isaac Haxton | United States | $315,805 |
Room Erupts After Two-Outer for Big Huni
The $100,000 High Roller seemed like Ausmus' tournament to win as he doubled through fourth-place finisher Chance Kornuth in the first hand of the day shortly before sending Justin Saliba out in sixth place. Ausmus, who earlier in the week joked on social media about how well he runs at the WSOP, went on to double through Hunichen, despite his queen-jack being dominated by the eventual champion's ace-jack.
It looked like everything would go Ausmus' way as Hunichen found himself all in with pocket fives against the ace-jack of lucky Ausmus, who hit an ace on the turn to leave Hunichen drawing to two outs. But the luck factor shifted as Hunichen hit a five on the river as the screams from his rail resonated through the Horseshoe Event Center.
“That was insane," said Hunichen. "I got it in earlier ace-jack off to his queen-jack suited. He hit a straight for a huge pot, it would’ve given me like 65% of the chips in play … It kind of felt like it was his day. Everything was starting to go his way. And then that magical rivered five. The place erupted, and now I have a little bit of life and we’re back in the game.”
"Everything was starting to go his way. And then that magical rivered five. The place erupted"
Without question, Hunichen's rail was a main character in the Day 3 action. “Jeremy is so good-looking!" someone from Hunichen's camp yelled at one point in the day. “This is the most collectively handsome heads-up match!"
Did having one of the rowdiest rails of the summer help Hunichen secure the career-defining victory?
“Oh absolutely. They bring all that energy. Everytime I hit a card you heard the place go crazy. Plus, it gets in the heads of the other guys a little bit … Everyone had bracelets, they’re all experienced. Anything to throw them a little of their game is a huge thing for me.”
“These are my boys, all my friends. My wife was able to show up after my kid’s soccer camp. These are all my homies, we live for this shit.”
Hunichen also paid tribute to his late father, who passed away last summer.
Birth of Sauron?
As he battled against "Isildur1," Hunichen's rail took it upon themselves to coin Hunichen as "Sauron" as a way of poking fun at the Swede's Lord of the Rings-inspired nickname.
Unlike in the Tolkien trilogy, Sauron prevailed this time as Blom's king-jack lost out to Hunichen's ace-seven to set up a lopsided heads-up battle between Hunichen and Ausmus.
As to whether the new nickname will stick, Hunichen said "we'll see."
"When my buddy won a bracelet last year, we started talking about Phil Hellmuth (being) dressed like a Spice Girl. That stuck pretty good, that went viral. We’ll see what happens.”
Ausmus managed to spike a three-outer to stay alive and eventually took the lead before a final hand that got all in on the flop with Ausmus holding an overpair to Hunichen's top pair. The turn kept Ausmus ahead, but rivered trips gave Hunichen the victory as his rail kept the energy they'd maintained all day.
Hunichen is known for his annual Fourth of July parties and said this year's festivities on the heels of his seven-figure score will be the biggest of all.
“It better be," he said. "Otherwise, I failed at it. If you ain’t coming, you’re missing out.”
In this Series
- 1 Dong Meng Wins Second Bracelet & $200,000 in WSOP Tournament of Champions
- 2 Jose Garcia Wins Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em for $79,134
- 3 Asher Conniff Wins First Bracelet in Event 1: $5,000 Champions Reunion for $408,468
- 4 Daniel Willis Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #3: $500 Kickoff NLHE
- 5 James Chen Wins WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo ($209,350)
- 6 Darius Samual's 50% Bankroll Risk Pays Off in WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 7 Mixed Game Legend John Hennigan Wins Seventh Bracelet at 2024 WSOP
- 8 Bryce Yockey BLASTS 25K Fantasy Draft Price After $5K PLO Bracelet Win
- 9 "I'm Only Here to Win Bracelets," says Nick Guagenti as He Captures His Second
- 10 Malcolm Trayner Made a Millionaire in WSOP Mystery Millions
- 11 Great Scott! Seiver Adds to Legacy with Fifth WSOP Bracelet
- 12 David Prociak Conquers The $1,500 Badugi for His Second Bracelet and $129,676
- 13 Simeon Spasov Wins $1,500 6-Max to Claim Second Bracelet for $439,815!
- 14 Robert Mizrachi Joins Brother on Five WSOP Bracelets After $10,000 Dealer's Choice Victory
- 15 20 Years in the Making: TJ Murphy Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 16 Caleb Furth Captures Maiden Bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better for $265,361
- 17 Dylan Weisman Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 18 Brent Hart Rises From Pack to Win Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
- 19 John Racener Spins Shortest Stack Up to WSOP Gold in LHE Championship
- 20 Aaron Cummings Wins His First Bracelet In Lowball Triple Draw Event
- 21 "Feeling Vindicated": Brek Schutten Wins WSOP $25,000 High Roller for $1,405,641
- 22 Sean Troha Completes Hat Trick in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
- 23 Huge Comeback Inspires Daniel Sepiol to First Bracelet in $1,500 Shootout
- 24 Daniel Vampan Claims First Bracelet and $148,635 in $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Max
- 25 Stephen Winters Defeats 20,647 Players to Win $300 Gladiators of Poker ($401,210)
- 26 Nick Schulman Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $25K High Roller ($1,667,842)
- 27 Gruneberg & Bonnacci Capture First WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets of the Summer
- 28 Evan Benton Goes From Poker Beginner to WSOP Bracelet Winner
- 29 Michael Christ "Gets Lucky" On His Way to Winning Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 Alen Bakovic Laughs His Way to the WSOP Event #30 $600 PLO/NLH Mix Title
- 31 Nicholas Seward Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in $3,000 6-Handed for $516,135
- 32 Phil Ivey Wins His 11th WSOP Bracelet in $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 33 Richard Ashby Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Same Stud Event
- 34 Alex Manzano Ascends to Win Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha DeepStack
- 35 Antonio Galiana’s Big Bluff Propels Him To First Bracelet in Event #34
- 36 Another Comeback, Another Bracelet For Phillip Hui In $1.5k H.O.R.S.E.
- 37 Timur Margolin Wins Third Bracelet in Event #36: $800 NLHE Deepstack for $342,551
- 38 John Fauver Wins The First Ever $10k Big O Championship For $681,998
- 39 Sergio Aido Wins 2024 WSOP $50,000 NLHE High Roller ($2,026,506)
- 40 Two Bracelets in Two Weeks: Scott Seiver Wins Sixth WSOP Gold in $1,500 Razz
- 41 James Obst Captures Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Stud
- 42 Xixiang Luo Wins First-Ever WSOP NLHE/PLO Bomb Pot Mix Event
- 43 Magnus Edengren Gets His Crowning Moment in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 44 Kingery's Ransom: Longshoreman Ships $2K No-Limit Hold’em for $410,359
- 45 "It Was My Time": Chris Hunichen Captures First Bracelet & $2.8M in $100K High Roller
- 46 Peter Park Wins First Bracelet and $240,724 in Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty!
- 47 Dominant Performance: Pedro Neves Crushes On Way to WSOP Monster Stack Bracelet
- 48 Extra Special Day for Christopher Vitch As He Wins Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 49 Mostafa Haidary Tears Through the Final Four to Win Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
- 50 Third Time's the Charm: Patrick Moulder Captures First Bracelet and $177,045 in $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw
- 51 Frank Funaro Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10k Super Turbo Bounty
- 52 Dario Sammartino Wins First Bracelet in Event #61: $2,500 Stud 8/Omaha 8 for $222,703
- 53 Sean Jazayeri Claims First Bracelet in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em
- 54 We Want the Funk! David Funkhouser Wins First Bracelet in $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball
- 55 Paolo Boi Stages Impressive Comeback to Win Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($676,900)
- 56 Daniel Negreanu Wins 7th WSOP Bracelet in $50,000 Poker Players Championship
- 57 Ben Collins' All Ins Were Unbeatable in Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors
- 58 Heads-Up Masterclass Propels Elie Nakache to $10K PLO Championship Title
