International Chess Master Alex Vuilleumier won the $25,000 buy-in Six-Max event at the World Series of Poker on Thursday, pocketing $1,215,864. Vuilleumier became the fifth Swiss player to ever earn a WSOP gold bracelet and more than doubled his lifetime tournament earnings.
“Obviously, the World Series is just fantastic,” Vuilleumier told reporters after the win. “To win a bracelet is just the epitome of a poker career for sure.”
Vuilleumier only recently transitioned to tournament poker after playing chess for two decades. His first cash in a live tournament was in 2018, and now he’s playing the biggest buy-in events against the best players in the world.
One of those elite rounders is Chance Kornuth, who Vuilleumier defeated in heads-up play. Kornuth was in search of his fourth WSOP gold bracelet, but will have to settle for the $751,463 runner-up prize — the largest cash of his career.
2023 WSOP $25,000 Six-Max Final Table
1. Alex Vuilleumier ($1,215,864)
2. Chance Kornuth ($751,463)
3. Sean Winter ($518,106)
4. Axel Hallay ($363,326)
5. Tony Lin ($259,220)
6. Joey Weissman ($188,219)
Other notable players who notched their first WSOP cash of the summer were Daniel Negreanu, Andrew Lichtenberger, Cary Katz, Adrian Mateos, recent World Poker Tour Champion Bin Weng, and 2021 WSOP Main Event Champion Koray Aldemir. We’ll be following the action from Las Vegas all summer, so be sure to stay tuned.
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Photo courtesy of the World Series of Poker
