Emotional Kristopher Tong Uses Inspiration to Capture First WSOP Bracelet
Table Of Contents
The final table of Event #55: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship was full of notable names and accomplished mixed game stars, with a total of 21 World Series of Poker bracelets between the last eight contenders. As the tournament played on at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas, the battle came down to a pair of players looking for their first.
Both had come close in the past, but it was finally time for Kristopher Tong to take down this prestigious championship. The Michigan native and current Dallas, Texas resident outlasted Maximilian Schindler in heads-up play to conquer the field of 207 entries and earn the top prize of $452,689.
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“I'm like super blessed in life,” Tong told PokerNews after the victory. “But I had kind of like a family tragedy like eight, nine months ago, and honestly it kind of messed me up for a little while. I've like grown so much, learned so much, really special people have come into my life more from that situation and it's just like crazy.”
Emotions were pouring out of Tong as he called his family after the final hand, even holding up his screen to include family members in his winner photos.
“Calling my parents, who've always been there for me and have really helped me through the last nine months, and then my kids. That's what I do everything for, my two motivations in life are them, so it was incredible.”
Event #55: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristopher Tong | United States | $452,689 |
| 2 | Maximilian Schindler | United States | $301,786 |
| 3 | Brad Ruben | United States | $206,747 |
| 4 | Jason Mercier | United States | $144,965 |
| 5 | Marco Johnson | United States | $104,089 |
| 6 | Alex Livingston | Canada | $76,581 |
| 7 | Scott Seiver | United States | $57,766 |
| 8 | Walter Chambers | United States | $44,703 |
WSOP Inspiration
The victory comes after a pair of close calls in Las Vegas, including a runner-up finish back at the 2013 World Series of Poker in Event #5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better. Another deep came more recently, finishing fifth in 2023 against another stacked final table in Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Tong has been playing poker with his family since the age of five, and admits the timing for his first WSOP win just feels right.
“When I was a lot younger, I was dying for a bracelet. Then I kind of got more into just wanting to play big cash games. I wanted to make money. I wanted to make business, and take care of my family. But I've definitely changed my opinion on that recently, actually.”
Another point of inspiration came this summer, with Tong following the series from home. “I watched a friend win one and what it meant to him and his family, Philip Sternheimer, and I partially flew here to compete in only tournaments because I saw him win one. I wanted to compete and I wanted to win one, and now I want to win more, honestly.”
Final Table Action
The freezeout event drew 207 players, creating a prize pool of $1,925,100 as some of the top names in the poker world climbed the leaderboard. Tong was firmly in control during the final table, and had a fresh opportunity to play against the likes of Scott Seiver, Brad Ruben, Jason Mercier, Marco Johnson, and Alex Livingston.
“I want to definitely compete with all the best players and see where I'm at and get better, because there's a ton of better players that played this tournament, but it's a tournament so anyone can win.”
Tong entered the final day with a sizeable chip lead, but had to recover from a slow start.
“I just kind of kept telling myself I will get a rush of cards, I will survive these spots, and just try to save a bet here and there. And then when I needed it, I got hot. Even when we got heads-up, he was beating me pretty good for a while. I just kept battling, battling, battling.”
After climbing back from a big chip deficit against Schindler, Tong was able to seal the win in Stud Hi-Lo, making a straight to claim the title. He’ll next compete in the upcoming $50,000 Poker Players Championship, and was already thinking about what his WSOP schedule might look like in 2026.
“I'm definitely feeling really competitive, and I want to fight for more of these for sure. I may go all in and play a huge schedule and fight to win a bunch of these, so we'll see what happens.”
In this Series
- 1 Who Won $64K and the First 2025 WSOP Bracelet?
- 2 David Shmuel Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo for $205,333!
- 3 Furth Wins Second WSOP Bracelet; Denies Kabrhel in $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 4 GTO Study Sees Antonio Galiana Win Second WSOP Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em
- 5 Persistence Pays Off: Dan Heimiller Wins $1,500 Seven Card Stud for Third WSOP Bracelet
- 6 Artur Martirosian Wins WSOP $25,000 Heads Up Championship ($500,000)
- 7 Benny Glaser Adds to His Legacy With Bracelet No. 6 in Event #8: $1,500 Dealers Choice
- 8 Michael Wilklow: Once a Mystery, Now a Millionaire (and WSOP Bracelet Winner)
- 9 Kenneth Kim Storms Back to Win His First WSOP Bracelet
- 10 Father-Son WSOP Bracelet Duo Made as Yosef Fox Wins $10,000 Mystery Bounty
- 11 Five Bracelets in Five Years: Brad Ruben Wins the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw ($138,080)
- 12 Ryan Bambrick Denies Daniel Negreanu to Claim Second WSOP Bracelet
- 13 Christopher Staats Denies David Jackson in WSOP $1,500 6-Handed NLH for $414,950
- 14 Corey Thompson Nearly Wins Two WSOP Online Bracelets Right Off the Bat
- 15 Cristian Gutierrez Wins $600 PLO Deepstack For His First Bracelet and $193,780
- 16 Lou Garza Mounts Memorable Heads-Up Comeback to Clinch Second WSOP Bracelet
- 17 Benny Glaser Goes Back-to-Back (Again) for 7th Bracelet in $1,500 Mixed
- 18 Zachary Zaret Overcomes Stacked Final Table to Win First Bracelet
- 19 Michael Lavin Steamrolls the Competition on Way to a Second WSOP Bracelet
- 20 Ryan Hoenig Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship
- 21 Bohlman's Breakthrough: Mixed Game Vet Wins 2nd Bracelet in $2,000 NLH ($436,044)
- 22 Blaz Zerjav Wins Maiden WSOP Bracelet in $25,000 6-Handed High Roller
- 23 Aloisio Dourado Claims Redemption with First WSOP Bracelet in Record-Breaking Badugi Event
- 24 Mixed Game Maestro Xixiang Luo Bags $290,400 and Third WSOP Bracelet
- 25 Nick Guagenti Crushes Chino Rheem’s Triple Crown Bid in $10K Stud Victory
- 26 Beginner's Luck? Surely Not. Chang Lee Wins $25,000 High Roller ($1,949,044)
- 27 Penalized Poker Player Wins WSOP Bracelet Despite Color Up Controversy
- 28 LA Poker Player Outlasts 16,300 Opponents to Win 2025 WSOP's Colossus
- 29 Igor Zektser Scoops His First Bracelet in Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 A Few Cocktails on the Road to First WSOP Bracelet for Mark Darner
- 31 Rising New Jersey Poker Star Captures First WSOP Bracelet
- 32 Jason Koon Moves to Third on All-Time Money List w/ WSOP $50,000 High Roller Win
- 33 Toy Charizard, Pink Slipper Carry Canadian Family Man to WSOP Victory
- 34 Nick Schulman Joins Poker's Immortals With Bracelet No. 7 in the $10K 2-7 Championship
- 35 Ukraine's Renat Bohdanov Spikes Gutshot to Win Second WSOP Bracelet
- 36 John Racener Claims Third WSOP Bracelet For His Third Son
- 37 Philip Sternheimer Tears Up After Ending 13 Year Bracelet Chase
- 38 Joao Vieira Avenges WSOP Paradise Loss to Win WSOP $100K High Roller ($2,649,158)
- 39 Andrey Zhigalov Wheels In Second Bracelet in Event #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($197,923)
- 40 Ian Johns Slays 'Isildur1' to Win WSOP Limit Hold'em Championship for a Second Time
- 41 Fourth Bracelet & $647K for Seniors High Roller Champ David "ODB" Baker
- 42 Carlos Leiva Defeats Weisman on Way to Winning WSOP $1,000 PLO Bracelet Event
- 43 A Father's Day Special: Allan Le Denies Shaun Deeb in $1,500 Razz
- 44 Seth Davies Wins $250K WSOP Super High Roller for First Bracelet and $4.75M Score
- 45 V for Vongxaiburana as 'Hobby' Player Beats Pros to $10k Big O Bracelet
- 46 Hellmuth Denied as Jason Daly Wins Second Bracelet in $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo
- 47 Joey Couden Wins Second Bracelet in $500 SALUTE to Warriors ($187,937)
- 48 Tyler Patterson Grabs Second Bracelet in $3K 6-Handed NLHE for $574K
- 49 Klemens Roiter Finishes the Job for First Bracelet in Event #37: $1,500 MONSTER STACK
- 50 Brian Rast in Seventh Heaven w/ Miraculous Comeback in WSOP $10k Razz Championship
- 51 Texan Punches Ticket to WSOP Main Event with $1.5K Freezeout Bracelet Win
- 52 Dennis Weiss Claims Victory in $25K PLO High Roller for $2,292,155
- 53 After 3 Runner-Ups, Matt Vengrin Finally Gets His WSOP Bracelet in $1.5K PLO
- 54 Mateos Makes History as 5th Youngest to Win 5 WSOP Bracelets
- 55 Emotional Kristopher Tong Uses Inspiration to Capture First WSOP Bracelet
- 56 Brett Lim to Sail Off into the Sunset After Senior's Championship Win
- 57 Benny Glaser Wins Three WSOP Bracelets in Three Weeks w/ Mixed Triple Draw Triumph
- 58 Dylan Linde Takes Down the $50k PLO High Roller for Third Bracelet and Career-Best Score
- 59 Welshman Wells Roars to Victory in $3K 9-Game Mix for Maiden Bracelet
- 60 Sebastiaan de Jonge the Sole Survivor in WSOP Battle of the Ages
- 61 Gavrieli Denies Bohlman Second Bracelet of the Summer in $3K Limit Hold'em
- 62 Craig Savage Bides His Time to Triumph in WSOP $500 No Limit Hold'em Freezeout
- 63 Yaginuma Overturns 9:1 Deficit to Win Millionaire Maker & 4th Bracelet
- 64 It's Déjà Vu as Aaron Cummings Goes Back-to-Back in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw
- 65 Nedelcu Dominates Final Table to Win First Bracelet in $1,500 Eight Game Mix
- 66 Queen of the Felt: Shiina Okamoto Wins Back-to-Back WSOP Ladies Championships
- 67 Michael Mizrachi Makes History with Fourth $50K PPC Title at 2025 WSOP
- 68 Yilong Wang "Lucky Enough" To Win Bracelet In $3k No Limit Hold'em
- 69 Runs In the Family: Alex Wilkinson Finally Wins The $10k 2-7 TD Event
- 70 Rainer Kempe Speedruns First Bracelet In $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty
- 71 Zerjav Wins Second Bracelet of Summer as Huck Seed Narrowly Misses Out
- 72 Brazil’s Kerber & Patricio Win WSOP Tag Team Bracelet After 14-Year Journey
- 73 Andjelko Andrejevic Wins Maiden Bracelet in $5,000 6-Handed NLH ($855,515)
- 74 Lucky Eight for Lonny Weitzel as He Wins $1,000 Super Seniors Event
- 75 Ian Pelz Wins Gladiator Off One Hungover Bullet ($420,680)
