Alex Foxen: The Former College Athlete Who Became Poker’s Back-to-Back Player of the Year

Live Earnings$54.5M

WSOP Bracelets3

GPI Rank2

Personal

BornFebruary 1, 1991 (age 35)

NationalityAmerican

Poker

WPT Titles1

EPT Titles0

Triton Titles1

WSOP Cashes190

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Alex Foxen: The Former College Athlete Who Became Poker’s Back-to-Back Player of the Year

Alex Foxen is an American professional poker player who has accumulated $54,522,807 in live tournament earnings. He holds 3 WSOP bracelets, 1 WPT title, and 1 Triton title, and currently holds GPI Rank 2 on the Global Poker Index. He is the only player in the history of the GPI to win the Player of the Year award in consecutive years, taking it in both 2018 and 2019, and he held the number one GPI ranking for 38 consecutive weeks from October 2018 to June 2019, a record for the longest sustained top ranking in the system’s history.

Born on February 1, 1991, in Huntington, New York, Foxen was a multi-sport athlete throughout high school, earning all-conference honors in football as a tight end in his senior year. He attended Boston College, where he played tight end for the Eagles, spending most of his time on the roster without significant playing time. He graduated and did not begin taking poker seriously until age 23, a late start relative to most players who reach his level of achievement. He and his wife, five-time WSOP bracelet winner Kristen Foxen, are one of the most accomplished couples in the history of professional poker. His full legal name is William Alex Foxen, and he is registered under that name in poker databases.

Alex Foxen’s Personal Life

Foxen met Kristen Bicknell, one of the most decorated female players in the history of the WSOP, while competing on the tournament circuit. The two became a couple in 2017, became engaged in 2021, and married in April 2022 in the Florida Keys. In a detail that reflects both their shared commitment to the game and their pragmatism, the couple skipped a honeymoon and instead entered the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida, immediately after the wedding. Foxen describes his approach to poker as requiring the same mental frameworks he applied to college athletics: discipline, preparation, and the ability to manage performance under pressure. He and Kristen have spoken publicly about the unusual dynamics of competing directly against each other on the poker circuit and navigating that professionally within their relationship.

Alex Foxen’s Beginning in Poker

Foxen did not begin serious poker study until 23, after finishing at Boston College. He had played recreationally but had not committed to poker as a profession until after graduation. His early poker career featured unusually rapid development: within a few years of playing seriously he was competing in and cashing major high-roller events, and by 2018 he had reached the top of the GPI rankings. His first notable WSOP result came at the WSOP Circuit, where he won the very first circuit event he entered, indicating an early natural aptitude even before he had years of professional experience. He finished runner-up at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2017, then returned in 2019 to win the same event outright for $1,694,995, a full-circle result he has described as particularly meaningful.

Alex Foxen’s Strategies and Playing Style

Foxen is known for an analytically rigorous, data-driven approach that reflects his generation of players who developed their technical foundation through solver-based study. He applies game theory optimal frameworks with precision and is recognized for his ability to maintain balanced ranges under pressure in deep-stacked super high roller formats. His style is described within the poker community as ultra-disciplined, competitive without being emotionally reactive, and built on a foundation of off-table preparation that is among the most intensive in the field.

He has spoken about the importance of separating emotional response from decision-making, a principle he carries from his athletic background. He has noted that in high-stakes poker, reacting emotionally to bad outcomes is counterproductive, and has structured his approach around process-oriented thinking rather than result-oriented evaluation. His 190 WSOP cashes across 35 final tables reflect consistent execution across a wide range of formats and buy-in levels.

Alex Foxen’s Greatest Achievements in Poker

Alex Foxen in WSOP

Foxen’s first WSOP bracelet ended years of deep runs without a title, coming in June 2022 with a win in the $250,000 Super High Roller for $4,563,700, one of the largest bracelet prizes in WSOP history. His third bracelet, the December 2024 win in the $100,000 Triton Main Event at WSOP Paradise for $3,850,000, came in an event co-organized with the Triton Poker Series and was one of the most prestigious results of his career. He has 190 total WSOP cashes across 35 final tables and over $18.9 million in career WSOP earnings.

Other Major Achievements

Foxen won back-to-back GPI Player of the Year titles in 2018 and 2019, becoming the first player to achieve consecutive POY awards and establishing the all-time GPI record for longest continuous tenure at the number one ranking (38 weeks). He won the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December 2019 for $1,694,995, defeating a record field of 1,035 entries for a prize pool of over $10 million. He finished second at the Super High Roller Bowl V in December 2018 for $2,160,000, in the same event Isaac Haxton won for $3,672,000. He finished sixth in the $500,000 Triton Million at WSOP Paradise in December 2024 for $2,795,000, and second in the June 2025 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller for $3,060,314. He is currently ranked GPI 2 globally.

Alex Foxen’s Top 10 Biggest Live Cashes

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Alex Foxen’s Challenges and Controversies

WSOP COVID Vaccine Mandate Opposition (2021)

In 2021, Foxen was among the more vocal critics within the poker community when the WSOP announced a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for players. He publicly described the policy as illogical and emotionally driven, expressing concerns about pharmaceutical influence on sporting event requirements. His wife Kristen was also vocal on the issue. The WSOP ultimately did not enforce the mandate across all events, and the controversy faded as public health measures evolved, but it positioned Foxen as willing to challenge established institutional policies in poker when he disagreed with them.

Ali Imsirovic Cheating Accusations

Foxen was among the players who publicly accused Ali Imsirovic of cheating through multi-accounting and possible real-time assistance (RTA) use in online poker. The accusations against Imsirovic were part of a broader investigation into cheating in online high-stakes poker that affected several players in the community. Foxen’s willingness to be named publicly as an accuser placed him in a visible position in the poker integrity debate, contributing to increased pressure on sites and tournaments to investigate and act on RTA and multi-accounting allegations.

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