When was the last time a woman won a live WSOP bracelet in an open event?
Amazingly, we’re coming up on five years since Leo Margets won The Closer at the 2021 World Series of Poker. Last year she went on to become the first woman in decades to final table the Main Event.
The year before, Kristen Foxen had come agonisingly close to that feat herself, finishing 13th in a field of 10,112.
She earned $600K for that epic run, but also faced criticism from many armchair quarterbacks online who labeled her bust-out hand a ‘punt’.
Of course, Foxen has the skills, results, winnings and WSOP bracelets to silence the doubters. Five bracelets, to be precise, spanning online, live, Ladies and open events.
And on Sunday in Las Vegas, she has an excellent chance to add a sixth. But as she explains, she will not be looking to prove anything to anyone but herself.
“The more that I have this opportunity, the more I just try to approach it with the aim to have fun, hope that things go my way and try to keep everything calm and collected. Just try to make the best decisions I can.”
Event #19: $25K High Roller NLH 8-Handed drew 345 entries, creating a prizepool of over $5.8 million.
$1.7M will go to the winner, and Foxen is one of the six remaining players who will challenge for the money, the title and the bracelet in the Paris ballroom on Sunday.
After five years, we’re certainly due a female champion at the WSOP, and the timing suggests this could be Foxen’s year.
High roller on a high
Why now? Because Foxen is surfing a run of form and results that has seen the Ontario native record her three career-best results in the past 9 months.
Last September she finished 3rd for $1.1M in a Triton Super High Roller. Then, this March, another Triton event, another deep run (to 4th this time) and another $1.4M. And less than a month ago, a runner-up finish at another Triton stop for $1M more.
Her form has also held strong during this WSOP $25K high roller, which has seen a Who’s Who of poker’s biggest names come and go across three days of action.
And as she explains, the flack she received for her bust-out in 2024 has ultimately only made her stronger.
“I had some big spots go wrong in the past,” shares Foxen at the end of Day 3, “and I think having to recover from those — and in the process of that realising I needed to strengthen my mental game and my approach to playing High Rollers — I like to think that I've come in with a little bit of a different approach, having fun, and trying to be super relaxed in these moments.
“And I think that, for whatever reason, results have followed. But sometimes you need to go through bad things happening, and if you can recover from them, it can be pretty powerful.”
Galen Hall carries the lead
During a Day 3 that saw 22 play down to six, Foxen maintained a position near the top of the counts, rarely putting a foot wrong. She heads into the final day second in chips behind only Galen Hall.
Event #19: $25K High Roller NLH 8-Handed — Final day chip counts
- Galen Hall — 16,050,000
- Kristen Foxen — 9,325,000
- Ignacio Moron — 7,900,000
- Joey Weissman — 7,200,000
- Biao Ding — 6,875,000
- Zdenek Zizka — 4,375,000
“It’s been pretty smooth. I can't complain,” reflects Foxen as she readies herself for the final push. “It's been a lot of fun, a tiny bit of a rollercoaster but today ultimately was pretty much almost perfect.
“The last couple hours have been kind of boring and once we got down to one table I haven't had much happen, but I was very fortunate before that, and I’m just super grateful for this spot.
“Sometimes you're very lucky because you're not running into hands or certain runouts or whatever, so I feel like there's a lot of hidden luck that I had today.”
Foxen was supported by one of the busier rails we’ve seen so far on the WSOP Main Stage, which included fellow players such as Sergio Aido and Benny Glaser, as well as a visit from her husband Alex.
It also included a student of Foxen’s, in town for a conference who stopped off to show her support. She told me the thing that impresses her most about her mentor is the way she never stops paying attention. “She’s a hawk.”
According to Foxen, while expending energy on staying alert and attentive is draining, you can help yourself by simply reducing the demands on your attention levels. Starting with an obvious one we all carry with us.
“I think if you try to cut out other distractions while you are playing then that helps,” she tells me. “A lot of people are on their phones and they're doing many other things; I try to be really present and try to look at my phone as little as possible, so I think that actually is a pretty big help right there.”
History may be calling, but Foxen isn’t here to make history; she’s here to win, and have fun doing it.
Action resumes in the $25K High Roller on Sunday at 3:30pm PT with blinds at 150K/300K with a 300K big blind ante.
Additional images courtesy of the WSOP.
