Chris O'Neill is a recreational poker player from Los Angeles, California who competed in Season 8 of the live reality game (LRG) Survival Challenge in 2021. The season featured twenty-four contestants, and O'Neill finished in 6th place (19th voted out; 6th jury member) after being deemed the biggest threat by his tribemates. If there is ever an all-star season of Survival Challenge, O'Neill is a fan favorite to be asked back, but in the meantime, he's returned the past two seasons as a production team member.
"Survivor has been a huge part of my life ever since I learned of its existence in 2005. I’ve been playing and running online reality games basically ever since," O'Neill has said of playing Survival Challenge. "The experience was incredible. I was able to participate in challenges that I could only dream of doing, narrowly avoid being voted out at the first two tribals I attended, and survive all the way to the merge. There, I got to live my dream of being a chaos agent, ultimately causing my own demise when I forced a rock draw at the final six where I was subsequently eliminated from the game. Along the way, I met incredible people and formed long-lasting relationships cemented by this crazy unique shared experience."
A self-admitted "avid board game geek" and "student of game theory," it was only natural for O'Neill to find his way to poker. In fact, it was O'Neill who successfully bluffed PokerNews' own Chad Holloway in this "Hold'em with Holloway" hand from the Survival Challenge Poker Home Game.
O'Neill, a fan of GGPoker Ambassador Kevin Martin, often grinds on ClubGG and on occasion in L.A.-area cardrooms.