Jason Koon has been inducted into the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame. The news was announced during the ESPN coverage of the Main Event final table.
The news comes as little surprise. Koon was widely expected to gain first-ballot induction, having checked every box for eligibility:
- Played against acknowledged top competition.
- Is at least 40 years old.
- Played for high stakes.
- Earned the respect of peers through consistently strong results.
- Stood the test of time.
The 40-year-old PokerStars ambassador is third on poker's all-time money list with $77,032,156 in tournament earnings.
He’s earned just under $41 million of that on the Triton Poker Tour, where he’s won a record 12 titles – five more than anyone else.
Koon has won two prestigious WSOP bracelets – in the $25K Heads-Up Championship (2021) and the $50K High Roller (2025).
Rule changes, same outcome
The WSOP made changes to this year’s Poker Hall of Fame that would allow up to six people to be inducted. This was in response to complaints of a bottleneck, with deserving candidates not being able to make it in.
Each of the 33 HoF members were able to cast up to four votes. If any of the eight shortlisted names received at least 22 votes, they would be inducted.
The result? Only one player was inducted.
The 33 Hall of Fame members voted from the following shortlist:
- Justin Bonomo
- Shaun Deeb
- Isaac Haxton
- Jason Koon
- Mike Matusow
- Isai Scheinberg
- Chris Moorman
- Scott Seiver
We assumed that Deeb would be a lock in 2026, the first year he has been eligible after turning 40. The same goes for Haxton, who was also nominated for the first time after turning 40 last September.
Matusow, Seiver and Scheinberg were all nominated last year but not inducted. Matusow has been nominated a record 12 times. We thought all three had a great chance of getting in this year.
Wait goes on for Scheinberg
Scheinberg has now been nominated seven times, without being inducted.
In an interview with PokerOrg last year, Chris Moneymaker (inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2019) said of Scheinberg, “I think the game should recognize him. I think he should be in. It’s criminal that he’s not.”
Koon was also a vocal supporter of Scheinberg’s induction into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Koon told PokerOrg: “It's an absolute no brainer. Not only did PokerStars change the lives of millions of people by getting Moneymaker into the WSOP Main Event and winning it from a satellite, but when things got the darkest for poker players and we were all screwed, he [Isai Scheinberg] came in and bought Full Tilt’s bad debt. He paid back everybody, he made us all whole. There were a lot of kids my age that had over half or more of their net worth with these poker sites.
“I don't think it's ever been done in history where, via the government, he bought a defunct business and squared up everybody. It's just an incredible, selfless decision by him. I personally know hundreds of people whose lives he changed by doing that. I've known him for a very long time and he’s just an honorable, incredible guy, and he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame as much as anyone.”
For Scheinberg – and others – the wait goes on. But the WSOP can’t be blamed for the bottleneck anymore.
