Jason Koon was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame on August 3, 2026, announced on ESPN as the WSOP Main Event final table began. He was the only name called. Koon sits third on poker's all-time money list with more than $77 million in live tournament earnings.
He becomes the 66th member of the Hall, in his first year of eligibility. The announcement came on the same night the nine finalists returned to Paris Las Vegas, and our preview covers how the final nine lined up.
The vote that put him there was the first under rules written to admit more than one name.
Poker Hall of Fame 2026 Voting Had Room for Six
The WSOP rewrote the process in June, in response to years of complaints that the Hall was admitting people slower than the game was producing them. Each of the Hall's 33 living members received four votes. Any finalist named on 22 ballots, two thirds of the electorate, was inducted automatically.
With 132 votes available and 22 needed for each induction, six of the eight finalists could have gone in on the same night.
- Eight finalists, not ten: the shortlist shrank when the WSOP announced the new process in June 2026.
- Four votes each: every living Hall of Fame member could name up to four of the eight finalists, one vote per name.
- 22 votes for automatic induction: any finalist appearing on two thirds of the 33 ballots went in, with no cap on how many could clear the bar.
- The fallback clause: if nobody reached 22, the highest vote-getter was inducted alone.
The WSOP set out the full process when it named the eight finalists on June 24. What it has not said is which route applied to Koon.
He either cleared the threshold outright or was inducted on the fallback clause as the highest vote-getter. Those are very different results, and the difference decides whether the new system worked as designed or simply produced the old outcome by another road.
The WSOP said in June that vote tallies would be published for the first time. None had appeared as of August 4.
The Jason Koon Poker Hall of Fame Case Was Never in Doubt
Koon turned 40 in August 2025. That was the last criterion he had left to satisfy, and he had cleared every other one years earlier.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Live tournament earnings | $77,032,156 |
| All-time money list | 3rd |
| Recorded live cashes | 274 |
| WSOP bracelets | 2 |
| Triton titles | 12 (all-time record) |
| Biggest single cash | $3,579,836 |
| First year eligible | 2026 |
The earnings total comes from his Hendon Mob results page, current to his most recent cash on June 19, 2026. His two bracelets came in the 2021 $25,000 Heads-Up Championship and the 2025 $50,000 High Roller, the second worth $1,968,927.
The 12 Triton titles are the record on the tour and the backbone of his case. Triton made that argument itself before the vote, publishing its own case for his induction. The full breakdown of his results sits in Koon's career and earnings profile.
No One Has Ever Entered the Hall With This Much Money
Koon joins on $77,032,156. Daniel Negreanu was the outright all-time money leader in the year he was inducted, and he took the top of the list in July 2014 on $29,796,381.
As of August 2026 that also makes Koon the highest-earning member of the Hall. Negreanu leads the existing membership on $60,663,240, with Erik Seidel next on $49,253,821.
He is third on the current list rather than top of it, and the two players ahead of him are both short of the minimum age of 40. Bryn Kenney turns 40 on November 1, 2026. Stephen Chidwick is 37.
Who Missed Out on the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame
Koon was one of five first-time nominees on an eight-name shortlist. The other seven finalists left empty-handed.
| Finalist | Known for | Ballot status |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Koon | 12 Triton titles, 2 WSOP bracelets | Inducted |
| Shaun Deeb | 8 bracelets, Player of the Year 2018 and 2025 | 1st nomination |
| Isaac Haxton | 2023 $25K High Roller bracelet, 2 SHRB titles | 1st nomination |
| Justin Bonomo | 3 bracelets, 2018 Big One for One Drop winner | 1st nomination |
| Chris Moorman | Record-breaking online career, 1 bracelet | 1st nomination |
| Scott Seiver | 7 bracelets | 2nd nomination |
| Mike Matusow | 4 bracelets | 12th nomination |
| Isai Scheinberg | PokerStars founder | 7th nomination |
- Five first-time nominees: Koon, Deeb, Haxton, Bonomo and Moorman all reached the minimum age of 40 in time for this ballot.
- Mike Matusow, 12 nominations: more shortlist appearances without induction than any other candidate in the Hall's history.
- Isai Scheinberg, seven nominations: the PokerStars founder has now been passed over for a seventh time.
- Scott Seiver, second straight year: eligible since 2025 and overlooked in both votes since.
The two first-time names most people expected alongside Koon were Deeb and Haxton, both newly eligible and both holding records that would have passed in most other years. Isaac Haxton missed out again despite turning 40 last September.
Matusow and Scheinberg are the two names the backlog argument was built around, and neither moved. Our reference page tracks every member and the notable omissions.
The Rule Changed and the Result Did Not
The Hall admitted two people in most years through to 2019. Then it slowed down, at exactly the point the poker boom generation started turning 40.
- 2019: two inductees, David Oppenheim and Chris Moneymaker.
- 2020 to 2024: one each year, in order Huck Seed, Eli Elezra, Layne Flack, Brian Rast and Patrik Antonius.
- 2025: two, but only because Michael Mizrachi was given a special exemption after winning the Main Event, joining Nick Schulman.
- 2026: one, under rules written to allow six.
The backlog was never a shortage of candidates. Seven finalists were passed over on a single night, and all seven can be nominated again.
Tom Dwan joins the queue next year. He turned 40 on July 30, five weeks after the eight finalists were named, which puts him on the 2027 ballot rather than this one.
He will need the public to put him there first. We covered how that stage works, including how the public got a vote.
For the rest of the Main Event final table and everything else coming out of Las Vegas, follow the rest of our poker news.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2026?
Jason Koon was the only 2026 inductee, announced on August 3 during the WSOP Main Event final table broadcast. He went in during his first year of eligibility, having turned 40 in August 2025. He is the 66th member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
How does Poker Hall of Fame voting work?
The public nominates candidates, and the WSOP narrows the field to eight finalists. The Hall's 33 living members then each cast up to four votes. Anyone appearing on two thirds of the ballots goes in automatically, and if nobody gets there the highest vote-getter is inducted alone.
How many members does the Poker Hall of Fame have?
66, following Jason Koon's induction in August 2026. The Hall was founded by Benny Binion in 1979 with an inaugural class of seven, and 33 of its members are still living.
How many WSOP bracelets does Jason Koon have?
Two. He won the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship in 2021 and the $50,000 High Roller in 2025, the second for $1,968,927. His wider record is built on the Triton Super High Roller Series, where his 12 titles are an all-time record.
