After nine WSOP final tables and two second-place finishes, Chris 'Big Huni' Hunichen can finally call himself a WSOP champion.
In unbelievably dramatic fashion, Hunichen spiked a five-outer on the river to make trip nines and defeat Jeremy Ausmus, winning the 112-entry $100,000 NLH High Roller and a career-high $2,838,389.
Hunichen’s father died only last year, giving his title much more meaning than the bracelet itself.
Chris Hunichen prays with his rail during the crazy heads-up with Jeremy Ausmus“It feels amazing," an emotional Hunichen said straight after the win. "I’ve been waiting a long time for this. I put a lot of my heart and soul into this game. Over the last four or five years, I had stopped playing as much.
"Last summer was the first full schedule I’ve played since then. My father passed away midway through the WSOP, and I didn’t cash a single tournament the entire series after that, so coming into this year was really emotional. I was playing for so much more than the money or the bracelet."
Life is a rollercoaster
There were insane runouts in both directions, with both Hunichen and Ausmus spiking two and three-outers multiple times throughout heads-up and three-handed play.
“It was the biggest rollercoaster I’ve ever been on in my life times 1,000," Hunichen said. "The emotions, the waves…The feeling like I was going to bust and the feeling like I was going to have all the chips.
“Rivering the nine was the most magical moment in my life. It’s insane.”
Hunichen’s rail was undoubtedly the biggest and craziest at the 2024 WSOP thus far, and he credits them with helping turn the tide in his favor.
Chris Hunichen and his rail savor the moment“I’ve been coming here for 15 years, so I know everybody; it’s amazing. It (WSOP) is like a second home for me. I make it a point to be nice to everyone I meet in my life and I have a great relationship with so many people in this building. It truly is like summer camp.
"I have my life, I have my kids, and then I come here and see so many people. It’s a family-type thing, so to get it done in front of them means so much to me. I’m ecstatic.”
As for Big Huni’s famous July 4th party, he doesn’t have any immediate added plans but promises that there will be some massive celebrations and that it will be his biggest one yet.
$100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Hunichen | $2,838,389 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | $1,892,260 |
| 3 | Viktor Blom | $1,311,091 |
| 4 | Chance Kornuth | $932,725 |
| 5 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | $681,796 |
| 6 | Justin Saliba | $512,465 |
| 7 | Daniel Aharoni | $396,396 |
| 8 | Isaac Haxton | $315,805 |
