Not many players have completed poker’s unofficial ‘Triple Crown’ — winning a WSOP bracelet and WPT and EPT titles. Mike Watson became the 10th player to do it last year when he won an online bracelet. Former PokerStars pro Jake Cody was the third — and, at 22, still the youngest (and fastest) to do it — after he won an EPT and a WPT in 2010, and followed that up with a WSOP bracelet in the prestigious $25K Heads-Up Championship in 2011.
Cody was at the top of his game and followed up with fifth-place finishes in the 2013 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event and the 2014 EPT London Main Event. That was his last six-figure cash, and his WSOP bracelet remained his last major win — until he stormed to victory in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) Championship on Tuesday night for $510,850.
Cody controls tournament from wire to wire
It was the definition of a dominant tournament performance. Cody ended Day 2 with a big chip lead over the other 45 players, with more than double Brian Altman in second. He ended Day 3 with a huge chip lead to take to the final table of seven — just under double Stephen Song in second.
And with the cards he was dealt, he never looked like finishing anywhere but first on the final table, where ICM considerations meant everyone but Cody and Song was forced to play snug in the hope of laddering. They made the most of this in the early goings, although they ended up playing a massive pot when Cody moved all-in preflop with 
. Song tanked for an age before calling with his own 
. Both players were relieved to see the two hands and the resulting chop.
It took two hours to lose the first player – Jasper Ma came out on the wrong end of a flip with Andjelko Andrejevic — and then Cody took out Tray Jones with 
vs. 
. Jones stood up to try to will her overcards in but the board ran out 
. Jones secured her biggest career cash of $138,000 and Cody increased his lead.
Jeremy Wien rivered a better two-pair to eliminate Shaun Davis in fifth before Cody took out Andrejevic in a blind vs. blind cooler that saw Andrejevic limp 
from the small blind. Cody raised with 
in the big blind, Andrejevic moved all-in and Cody called.
The board ran out 
and after a quick discussion, the remaining three players decided to look at the numbers for an ICM chop.
Cody takes the trophy in tournament-ending deal
Cody had just under half the chips in play and at one point it looked like a deal was derailing, but the three players eventually agreed to end the tournament on the spot, awarding Cody the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool.
That win takes Cody over the $5 million mark in career earnings.
It was an abrupt end to the tournament for viewers on the live stream, with some wondering why they could just agree to end the tournament like that without leaving a sum of money and the trophy to play for. Every venue and tour does things differently, and the SHRPO is very player-centric in how they enable deals. That’s in sharp contrast to the WSOP, where no deals are allowed.
Talking afterward, Cody said, “It feels unbelievable, getting the trophy, winning the tournament — even if you get a lot of money, actually winning just feels so good. I’m very happy with it.”
Cody also revealed what he’s been up to since 2014, with cash games taking most of his attention. For Cody, tournaments are a (lucrative) hobby.
“These days I just really play cash games, really,” Cody said. “I play maybe like ten tournaments a year… I still enjoy the rush of going deep, there’s no better feeling than going deep in a tournament, but cash games are where it’s at right now.”
And, despite the big win, don’t expect to see that change.
“If I’m somewhere on holiday and there’s a big tournament there that’s not too far, I will [play] that,” Cody said. “But I don’t grind that tournament scene anymore.”
It makes him a perfect fit for a ‘Most Interesting Man in the World’ meme: ‘I don’t always play poker tournaments. But when I do, I like to win them.”
2025 $5,300 SHRPO Championship results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Cody | $510,850* |
| 2 | Jeremy Wien | $450,000* |
| 3 | Stephen Song | $438,000* |
| 4 | Andjelko Andrejevic | $240,000 |
| 5 | Shaun Davis | $181,000 |
| 6 | Tray Jones | $138,000 |
| 7 | Jasper Ma | $106,000 |
* Denotes three-way deal
Big wins for Shorr and Tice as SHRPO winds down
With the Championship over, there were still side events ongoing, and some notable names picked up some very notable money. Nick Palma finished second in the $10,000 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold’em for $173,300. Chris ‘Big Huni’ Hunichen finished sixth in that for $43,200.
Shannon Shorr took down the $25,500 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em after a heads-up deal. He took $352,873 and Cherish Andrews got $318,427. Landon Tice beat Frank Brannan heads-up in the $3,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em for $124,023, and Loni Hui won the $400 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 for $7,625.
