Chris Hunichen: WSOP Bracelet Winner and High-Stakes Tournament Pro
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Chris Hunichen has built a career as a high-stakes tournament professional with success in major live and online events. Known throughout poker as "Big Huni," the North Carolina player won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2024, previously captured a European Poker Tour high roller title and has accumulated more than $19 million in recorded live tournament earnings.
His resume stretches from an early reputation as an elite online tournament player to regular appearances in some of poker's largest buy-in events. Hunichen has recorded seven-figure scores at the WSOP, major high rollers and international championship festivals while continuing to compete across multiple poker formats.
As of September 8, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Hunichen with $19,071,514 in live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $2,838,389. The World Series of Poker lists him with one bracelet and no WSOP Circuit rings.
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Who Is Chris Hunichen?
Chris Hunichen is an American professional poker player associated with Clayton, North Carolina. He is widely known by the nickname "Big Huni," a name that became established during his rise through online tournament poker.
Hunichen developed into a prominent online tournament competitor before becoming a regular presence in major live events. PokerStars described him in 2019 as a former No. 1-ranked player on the PocketFives online tournament leaderboard, reflecting the online success that helped establish his reputation before many of his biggest live scores arrived.
His recorded live results date back to the late 2000s. By the following decade, Hunichen was consistently cashing at the WSOP and other major festivals while increasingly competing in high rollers with five- and six-figure buy-ins.
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Chris Hunichen's Rise From Online Poker to High Rollers
Online poker played a major role in Hunichen's career development. He established himself as a prolific tournament player and won his first PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker title in 2017 in a $530 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha event.
His online background translated into success across live no-limit hold'em tournaments. Hunichen became increasingly visible at the WSOP during the 2010s, including a runner-up finish in the 2017 $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event.
By 2019, he had become a fixture in the international high-roller scene. That year produced several of the defining results of his pre-bracelet career.
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Major Tournament Accomplishments
Hunichen's tournament record includes victories and final-table finishes across the WSOP, European Poker Tour and other high-stakes series.
One WSOP bracelet
Winner of the 2024 WSOP $100,000 High Roller for $2,838,389
Winner of the 2019 EPT Barcelona €10,300 High Roller
Third place in the 2022 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller for $1,931,718
Third place in the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event for €800,000
More than $19 million in recorded live tournament earnings as of September 8, 2026
No WSOP Circuit rings as of September 8, 2026
No WPT Main Tour victories according to the World Poker Tour's player records
Those results show a career built around repeated deep runs against high-level competition rather than a single breakthrough tournament.
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First WSOP Bracelet in the 2024 $100,000 High Roller
Hunichen's long pursuit of a WSOP bracelet ended on June 20, 2024, when he won Event #47, the $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em tournament.
The event drew 112 entries and placed Hunichen at a final table that also included Jeremy Ausmus, Viktor Blom, Chance Kornuth and Isaac Haxton.
Hunichen defeated Ausmus heads-up and earned $2,838,389, which remains his largest recorded live tournament cash. The victory was especially significant because Hunichen had already produced numerous major WSOP final tables and seven-figure scores without winning a bracelet.
His bracelet confirmed a WSOP championship accomplishment that had been missing from an otherwise extensive tournament resume.
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EPT Barcelona High Roller Victory
One of Hunichen's biggest victories before his bracelet came at the 2019 European Poker Tour Barcelona festival.
He won the €10,300 EPT High Roller after reaching a heads-up deal with Uri Reichenstein. The tournament attracted 540 entries and generated a prize pool of more than €5.2 million.
Hunichen received €841,345 under the deal and the tournament trophy. The victory came during an especially productive period in his live career that also included a second-place finish in the $100,000 U.S. Poker Open Main Event and a third-place result in the partypoker MILLIONS World Bahamas Main Event.
The Barcelona title also demonstrated that Hunichen's high-stakes results were not limited to the WSOP or events in the United States.
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Seven-Figure Scores and High-Roller Results
Hunichen has repeatedly reached the late stages of tournaments where the buy-ins and payouts are among the largest in poker.
At the 2022 WSOP, he finished third in the $250,000 Super High Roller for $1,931,718. That result became one of his largest career cashes and added another major WSOP final table before his eventual bracelet victory.
His tournament record also includes a third-place finish in the 2019 partypoker MILLIONS Main Event for more than $1 million and a runner-up finish in the 2019 U.S. Poker Open $100,000 Main Event for $940,000.
Hunichen has also recorded major online WSOP results, including a seven-figure runner-up finish during the 2020 online series. Online tournament results are separate from Hendon Mob's live earnings total, an important distinction when comparing his overall poker record.
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Chris Hunichen at the 2026 WSOP Europe
Hunichen added another major championship result in April 2026 when he reached the final table of the €5,300 WSOP Europe Main Event in Prague.
He ultimately finished third for €800,000. The result placed him behind champion Marius Kudzmanas and runner-up Akihiro Konishi and represented one of the largest live scores of Hunichen's career.
Reaching the final three of a WSOP Europe Main Event also expanded his championship resume beyond the high-roller tournaments for which he is best known.
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Chris Hunichen's 2026 WSOP Results
Hunichen remained active throughout the 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and produced results in both no-limit hold'em and mixed-game events.
Among his notable finishes, he placed seventh in the $500 Freezeout for $31,294, 10th in the $100,000 High Roller for $211,842 and 11th in the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $122,709.
He also cashed in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, finishing 424th for $35,000, along with several additional bracelet events.
The breadth of those results is notable. Although Hunichen's reputation was built primarily through no-limit hold'em tournaments and high rollers, his deep run in the Poker Players Championship and cashes in games such as Razz, Seven Card Stud and T.O.R.S.E. show that his current tournament schedule extends beyond a single format.
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Playing Style and Poker Reputation
Hunichen is best described as a high-stakes tournament specialist with extensive online experience.
His record includes major success in no-limit hold'em, but his online background and mixed-game tournament results demonstrate a broader skill set. He has competed successfully across different structures, field sizes and buy-in levels, ranging from large-field WSOP events to elite high rollers.
Rather than assigning a subjective label such as tight or loose, his tournament history provides the clearest description of his approach: Hunichen has repeatedly succeeded in formats that require adjustments to short-handed play, deep-stack high-roller structures and changing tournament conditions.
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Why Chris Hunichen Matters in Poker
Hunichen represents a generation of professional players whose careers developed through online poker before expanding into the highest levels of the live tournament game.
His online success gave him an established reputation before many casual poker fans became familiar with him through televised and streamed high rollers. Over time, he converted that foundation into major live titles, repeated seven-figure cashes and a WSOP bracelet.
The 2024 bracelet victory strengthened a resume that already included an EPT title and several near-misses in major WSOP events. His continued success in 2026, including the WSOP Europe Main Event final table and deep runs in Las Vegas, shows that he remains competitive across major international tournament series.
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Chris Hunichen's Current Tournament Status
Hunichen remains an active tournament player.
During 2026, he competed at WSOP Europe, the PokerGO Cup, the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, WSOP Circuit events and EPT Barcelona.
His third-place finish in the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event was followed by a productive WSOP summer. He finished 21st in the official 2026 WSOP Player of the Year standings and recorded 21 WSOP cashes during the season.
His most recent result recorded by Hendon Mob as of September 8, 2026, is a 62nd-place finish in the €10,300 EPT Barcelona High Roller on August 27, worth €17,200.
With one bracelet, a major EPT victory and more than $19 million in live tournament earnings, Hunichen continues to compete as an established high-stakes professional rather than as a player defined only by past results.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets does Chris Hunichen have?
Chris Hunichen has one WSOP bracelet as of September 8, 2026. He won it in the 2024 $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em event.
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How much has Chris Hunichen won in live poker tournaments?
As of September 8, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Chris Hunichen with $19,071,514 in live tournament earnings. Live earnings totals change as new results are recorded.
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What is Chris Hunichen's biggest tournament cash?
Hunichen's largest recorded live cash is $2,838,389, earned for winning the 2024 WSOP $100,000 High Roller.
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What is Chris Hunichen's nickname?
Chris Hunichen is widely known in poker as "Big Huni," a nickname associated with his long career in online and live tournament poker.
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Has Chris Hunichen won an EPT title?
Yes. Hunichen won the €10,300 High Roller at EPT Barcelona in 2019, receiving €841,345 after a heads-up deal with Uri Reichenstein.
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Does Chris Hunichen have a WSOP Circuit ring?
No. The WSOP lists Hunichen with zero Circuit rings as of September 8, 2026.