Playing on WSOP.com’s Michigan/Nevada/New Jersey platform, the latest player to have shipped their first World Series gold bracelet is Maria Konnikova.
A bestselling author, journalist, podcast host and PokerStars ambassador, Konnikova took first place in the $888 NLHE Fall Crazy 8s event, winning $68,477 along with the coveted title of WSOP champion.
The event’s 468 entries included four bullets from Konnikova herself, playing under the James Bond-inspired screen name ‘vesper1ynd’, resulting in a prize pool of $374,400.
First bracelet to go with WSOP-C and PCA triumphs
Konnikova, who graduated Harvard before completing a PhD in psychology at Columbia, added poker to an already successful literary career after being mentored by Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel in 2016.
That mentorship resulted in a bestselling book, The Biggest Bluff, as well as an $84K victory in the PCA National event at the 2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Earlier this year she also added a WSOP Circuit Online win worth over $57K.
After battling her way to victory for over 10 hours in the Crazy 8s tournament, Konnikova shared her success on X.
