Alex Foxen won his first ever PokerGO Tour title at the 2021 PokerGO Cup. Less than five years later, he’s pushed his total up to 13 PGT victories, adding his latest trophy in event no. 7 of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open.
Foxen’s $210,000 win in the $10,500 no-limit hold’em tournament puts him one win behind Sam Soverel’s 14 PGT trophies for the all-time record for most triumphs on the tour. It also comes just three days after his wife, Kristen Foxen, won event no. 4.
Incredibly, both Alex and Kristen defeated Jeremy Ausmus heads up to claim their respective golden eagle trophies. Ausmus now has three runner-up finishes during this series in total, also falling one spot short of victory against two-time U.S. Poker Open champion Brock Wilson in the series opener. Like the Foxens, Wilson is part of a poker power couple that has crushed this series. He has won two titles so far, while his significant other Cherish Andrews took down event no. 3.
This was Foxen’s 37th recorded tournament title. The 35-year-old poker pro now has nearly $58.5 million in career cashes to his name, which is currently good for eighth place on poker’s all-time money list.
Thinning The Field
Alex’s latest win saw him top a field of 70 entrants to earn 420 Card Player Player of the Year points, improving his overall standing to 7th on the yearlong leaderboard presented by CoinPoker.
The money bubble burst late on the first day of action. Five players were eliminated in the money, including two players, in John Andress (7th) and Sam Laskowitz (6th), who technically made the final table. Foxen carried the chip lead into day 2, wielding a significant advantage over his four remaining competitors. He never relinquished the top spot and scored the final three eliminations on his way to victory.
Aram Zobian struck the first blow of the day, taking out a short-stacked Michael Berk (5th – $52,500) with a rivered pair of kings. That would, however, be the high point of the day for Zobian. He lost most of his chips to Qinghai Pan, running A♣10♥ into Pan’s pocket jacks.
Foxen picked up Zobian’s last few big blinds with his own rivered pair of jacks, sending the World Series of Poker bracelet winner out in fourth place ($70,000).
Closing Out The Win
While neither Pan nor Ausmus got particularly close to snatching Foxen’s chip lead, both players hung around for long stretches as they threatened big comebacks. Pan doubled for the second time at the final table, and then a third, and then Ausmus cracked Foxen’s pocket kings with 9♥7♥, rivering trip nines.
Foxen finally picked off Pan in third, turning a pair of sixes with 7♥6♠ to beat Pan’s A♦Q♠. Pan, a three-time bracelet winner who finished second in event no. 5 of this series, added a third-place finish in this tournament. He earned $94,500 for his latest deep run. He is now ranked second in the season-long PGT points race, having already cashed 13 times in 2026.
What a finish!!!@jeremyausmus bluffs all in with eight high on the river with $210,000 on the line, and @WAFoxen joins his wife, @krissyb24poker, in becoming a 2026 U.S. Poker Open champion! pic.twitter.com/ge2fH48ylJ
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) April 18, 2026
Ausmus’ final hand saw him attempt to run a pure bluff across multiple streets of a K♠4♣3♣4♠7♣ board with 8♣5♥. Foxen ultimately called Ausmus’ river shove with 7♠3♠, which was good enough to seal the victory. Ausmus settled for $136,500 as the runner-up. That brought his total haul to $354,175 for the series.
Foxen’s win was worth 210 PGT points, and his third cash of the series put him in fifth place on the 2026 U.S. Poker Open leaderboard. He, like everyone else, is looking up at Wilson, whose two titles have him out in front in the race for player of the series with 495 PGT points. Ausmus’ three runner-up finishes and four overall cashes thus far at the U.S.P.O. put him within range of Wilson, in second place overall with 399 PGT points.
Wilson also leads the season-long PGT leaderboard with four total wins, with his 1,219 points giving him a 157-point lead on Pan.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Alex Foxen | $210,000 | 420 | 210 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | $136,500 | 350 | 137 |
| 3 | Qinghai Pan | $94,500 | 280 | 95 |
| 4 | Aram Zobian | $70,000 | 210 | 70 |
| 5 | Michael Berk | $52,500 | 175 | 53 |
| 6 | Sam Laskowitz | $38,500 | 140 | 39 |
| 7 | John Andress | $28,000 | 105 | 28 |
Photo credit: PGT.
