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The final table of Event #55: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship was full of notable names and accomplished mixed game stars, with a total of 21 World Series of Poker bracelets between the last eight contenders. As the tournament played on at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas, the battle came down to a pair of players looking for their first.

Both had come close in the past, but it was finally time for Kristopher Tong to take down this prestigious championship. The Michigan native and current Dallas, Texas resident outlasted Maximilian Schindler in heads-up play to conquer the field of 207 entries and earn the top prize of $452,689.

“I’m like super blessed in life,” Tong told PokerNews after the victory. “But I had kind of like a family tragedy like eight, nine months ago, and honestly it kind of messed me up for a little while. I’ve like grown so much, learned so much, really special people have come into my life more from that situation and it’s just like crazy.”

Emotions were pouring out of Tong as he called his family after the final hand, even holding up his screen to include family members in his winner photos.

“Calling my parents, who’ve always been there for me and have really helped me through the last nine months, and then my kids. That’s what I do everything for, my two motivations in life are them, so it was incredible.”

Event #55: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Final Table Results

WSOP Inspiration

The victory comes after a pair of close calls in Las Vegas, including a runner-up finish back at the 2013 World Series of Poker in Event #5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better. Another deep came more recently, finishing fifth in 2023 against another stacked final table in Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

Tong has been playing poker with his family since the age of five, and admits the timing for his first WSOP win just feels right.

“When I was a lot younger, I was dying for a bracelet. Then I kind of got more into just wanting to play big cash games. I wanted to make money. I wanted to make business, and take care of my family. But I’ve definitely changed my opinion on that recently, actually.”

Another point of inspiration came this summer, with Tong following the series from home. “I watched a friend win one and what it meant to him and his family, Philip Sternheimer, and I partially flew here to compete in only tournaments because I saw him win one. I wanted to compete and I wanted to win one, and now I want to win more, honestly.”

Final Table Action

The freezeout event drew 207 players, creating a prize pool of $1,925,100 as some of the top names in the poker world climbed the leaderboard. Tong was firmly in control during the final table, and had a fresh opportunity to play against the likes of Scott Seiver, Brad Ruben, Jason Mercier, Marco Johnson, and Alex Livingston.

“I want to definitely compete with all the best players and see where I’m at and get better, because there’s a ton of better players that played this tournament, but it’s a tournament so anyone can win.”

Tong entered the final day with a sizeable chip lead, but had to recover from a slow start.

“I just kind of kept telling myself I will get a rush of cards, I will survive these spots, and just try to save a bet here and there. And then when I needed it, I got hot. Even when we got heads-up, he was beating me pretty good for a while. I just kept battling, battling, battling.”

After climbing back from a big chip deficit against Schindler, Tong was able to seal the win in Stud Hi-Lo, making a straight to claim the title. He’ll next compete in the upcoming $50,000 Poker Players Championship, and was already thinking about what his WSOP schedule might look like in 2026.

“I’m definitely feeling really competitive, and I want to fight for more of these for sure. I may go all in and play a huge schedule and fight to win a bunch of these, so we’ll see what happens.”

In this Series

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