Flip-flops, fake fur and $3.8 million – Foxen takes it all in WSOP $100K

Alex Foxen won his second Triton trophy, his third WSOP bracelet, and a fur coat in the $100,000 Triton Main Event at WSOP Paradise after he defeated Portugal's Joao Vieira in heads-up play to win the Triton-WSOP collaboration at Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas. 

The usual star-laden field turned out for the second of two Triton events at WSOP Paradise, drawing 182 entries for a prize pool that tipped over $18 million. Fedor Holz finished in third, Alexander Zubov was fourth, and Finnish upstart Ossi Ketola landed in fifth while wearing a big fur coat — which he later brought to Foxen after a final table promise. 

The victory is the second-largest prize of Foxen's career behind his first bracelet win in the $250K Super High Roller at the 2022 World Series of Poker. It sends his career total over $40 million, good for 15th on the all-time money list according to The Hendon Mob.

Foxen talked to PokerOrg after the win about the sense of relief that comes with victory, traveling the world to play poker with his wife, and his new fur coat. 

Alex Foxen shakes hands with runner up Joao Vieira after the final card falls.

Waiting to exhale

"Honestly, the biggest emotion that I feel — or the biggest sensation that I feel — is just relief when the tournament's over. There's an element of just wanting to close it out, wanting to make sure that I don't make any mistakes that I regret or that I play every hand as well as I can. So I'm very just focused on each decision one at a time. As the final card is dealt, there's always just that relaxation that finally comes. It's a good feeling."

There was an extra bit of relief for Foxen when he closed out the win after a gutsy call against runner-up Joao Vieira. Vieira had on a board of when he fired a big river bet at Foxen, who held for the bottom pair. Foxen, undeterred, called after a great deal of thought to take the key pot and leave Vieira with crumbs. He finished the job a few moments later. 

'I love seeing her succeed'

A big Triton win is cause for celebration, and there will be one, but not like the old days. The champ might take a vacation, but Foxen says his life is already a celebration. 

"I get to play poker with my best friend and my wife (fi-time WSOP bracelet winner Kristen Foxen) all over the world. There's nothing I'd rather be doing. I definitely think I like watching her win more than winning myself. It's a little bit more fun on the rail — or not more fun, but it's a different emotion. And I love seeing her succeed, so it's probably better on that side."

Foxen gets a big hug from wife Kristen after the win.

The win brought home another Triton trophy for Foxen, his second in as many months after a victory for $1.4 million at the last Triton stop in Monte Carlo. He also won his third WSOP bracelet and almost $4 million dollars. But one expected prize came in the form of a fur coat, gifted to him by fifth-place finisher Ketola. 

"When we started the final table, I made a joke to Ossi (Ketola) asking him if I knocked him out, do I get the coat? And he said he'll take it into consideration. So yeah, I had no idea. We didn't talk about it again since then and he came back with it just now. That's really funny. He's a good guy."

Ossi Ketola followed through on a final table promise with a new coat.

The Finnish fur coat enthusiast is the owner of CSGO Empire, a gambling site related to the popular video game CounterStrike: Global Offensive. He is a relatively unknown quantity on the poker scene who only had four recorded cashes on The Hendon Mob prior to WSOP Paradise — all at the recent Triton stop in Monte Carlo.

Lesser-known players are wild cards in Triton events where most players are familiar with one another. Foxen attributes a lot of his success to knowing how to handle those situations. 

'I'm just trying to understand the way they think'

"I think that that's something that I pride myself on —  to be able to, you know, play against the more unpredictable players and figure out their thought process. Because I think that a lot of people who play these tournaments regularly and study professionals might have a tendency to underestimate some of these players that are, you know, not as experienced or not as studied."

Someone who is playing a $100K or $500K for fun is probably very successful in another part of their life, says Foxen. "So they're really some of the most interesting people on the felt and often some of the smartest as well. I have nothing but respect for them especially someone who's able to come out and battle and figure out the game on the fly like that. It's really impressive."

"I'm just trying to understand the way that they think and the way that their logical brain might process the hand is something that I try to focus on and I think it's helpful when playing against someone who might not have the exact range or the exact sizing that a computer might tell you to do."

Paradise turns toward Super Main Event

WSOP Paradise continues on Friday with the second of four flights for the $50 million Super Main Event. Players will battle for a spot on Monday's Day 2 while a group of online players are waiting on Day 3, having already played through to the money in their respective flights. 

Stay tuned to PokerOrg's Instant Live coverage throughout the rest of WSOP Paradise at Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas. 

^{Photos courtesy of Triton Poker/Drew Amato}