Stephen Song started November with three World Series of Poker Circuit rings and nearly a year without winning a tournament. That all changed in a three-week span that saw the 27-year-old double his ring collection and push his lifetime tournament poker winnings tally to nearly $6 million.
Song, who is the current Global Poker Index Player of the Year in the Mid-Majors category (tournaments with buy ins $2,500 or less) for his performance in 2022, begin the first leg of his Triple Crown in Chicago by wining the $1,700 Main Event for $183,508. That tourney brought 652 players to the Grand Victoria Casino, easily surpassing the $750,000 guarantee.
Two weeks later, Song found himself at yet another final table, this time in a $1,100 event at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. Well, you know how this story goes: Song won his One for the Thumb in the event that attracted 556, a bink worth $102,954.
With two in his pocket, Song took the form of Juggernaut and crashed through his third field, this time in the $2,200 high roller event at Harrah’s Cherokee, winning another $72,583 for topping a field of 137. The days between victories? Three.
He came a whisker’s width from winning another WSOP Circuit ring online in March, but stalled in second, which was still good for $14,550.
Song is now nine cashes away from joining the WSOP’s 100 cashes club. He scored his first one in early 2018, and by that November, put his first Circuit ring (and $13,000) in his pocket that after making five final tables. He was only 22.
A year later, Song scored his only WSOP bracelet in a $1,000 event for the hardware and $341,854. He nearly won his second in 2022, but was the runner-up in the $5,000 six-handed no limit event, cashing his second-best $476,990.
His lifetime best was also in the tournament that pushed him to the top of the GPI Mid-Majors leaderboard, a victory at the $1,100 World Poker Tour Prime last December.
In fact, he only held the number-one spot in the overall category for three weeks: The last three weeks of 2022. The WPT Prime event was worth $712,650, capping his best year and giving the 2015 Fleishman Community Service Award Student of the Year winner — awarded by his hometown of Greenwich, Conn., for community service — yet another reason to smile.
He currently sits in 11th on the GPI Mid-Majors leaderboard, only 459.29 points behind leader Nick Pupillo. If he continues to run good at the WPT Championships, he has a chance to go back-to-back.
