The career of poker sensation Jason Koon is going from strength-to-strength, so could 2022 be his year? After winning his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet last year, it now looks as though the American professional player is set for even bigger things.
Surprising beginnings
Jason Koon started playing poker in 2006 as a way to relieve boredom while recovering from an injury. His college roommate taught him Texas Hold ‘Em and it was during this time that he began to realise that the game could potentially earn him big money. Playing online poker under the name JAKoon1985, the young student began the path that would eventually lead him to global poker success.
The gradual rise of Jason Koon
Looking over Koon’s career, it seems the 36-year-old has enjoyed a steady rise to success since emerging onto the live poker tournament scene in 2008. He saw his first significant cash earnings in April 2009 after winning the Spring Championship of Online Poker, which saw him take home an impressive $300,000. Just months later, the rising star entered the 40th WSOP and managed to scoop $20,400 after placing 17th out of 1,646 entrants in a $2,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em event. Koon’s star continued to rise when he came third in another high roller that same year, winning over $60,000. The following year, he made it to fourth place at the WSOP Main Event, taking home a tidy $225,000.
His poker big break
Koon’s big break finally came in 2016 when he scooped $1million by winning the SHRPO Championship , followed shortly after by a $1,650,300 win at the PokerStars Championship Super High Roller. Koon then earned his first bracelet at the 2021 WSOP, after winning the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ‘Em. The triumph saw the father of one pocket £243,981 in cash. It was at this tournament that Koon was announced as a GGPoker.com global ambassador. In his new role, the poker pro will focus on strengthening the platform’s security and its game integrity efforts, as well as be an advocate for players.
What next?
Winning a much-coveted WSOP bracelet could just be the boost that Koon needs to build on his success. The skilled pro has said in the past that acquiring more bracelets in future is an inevitability, so who knows? Going by Koon’ recent surge in poker success, 2022 could very well be the professional player’s year.
Since learning to play poker as a young student, the 36-year-old Jason Koon has gone on to become one of the world’s top players and is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the sport. He has defeated poker giants such as Seth Davies and Doug Polk with apparent ease and at the moment, appears to be unstoppable. Since his 2021 WSOP success, the talented player is showing no signs of slowing down – just two months after his first bracelet win, Koon was runner-up at a PokerGo high roller, walking away with a cool $100,000.
Today, Koon has amassed poker earnings in excess of $34million and is ranked 9th in the world’s all-time money list. He’s currently number 49 on the global poker index rating and continues to win multiple high roller events, both live and online. Koon has taken part in the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series every year since 2018, and tends to win big cash each time. However, the talented player has yet to top his performance from the 2018 event, where he won a total of $3,579,836. This impressive sum remains the biggest cash prize of his career.
Whether Koon’s reached the peak of his poker career or if his star continues to rise remains to be seen. The last year has seen him be made a GGPoker global ambassador and he is presumably on course to win more WSOP bracelets, so 2022 could well be the year of Jason Koon.
(Image source: Pixabay)