Chance Kornuth: Biography, Career and Poker Results

November 4, 2026

Table of Contents

Chance Kornuth is an American professional poker player from Colorado and the founder of the training site Chip Leader Coaching. He won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2010, at 24, and has since added three more, along with a World Poker Tour title in 2022 and a series of deep runs in the WSOP high roller events. ^[1][2][11]

Chance Kornuth, at a World Poker Tour event in December 2025 — Photo: World Poker Tour, licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.

Chance Kornuth: key facts

Full name	Chance Kornuth
Online alias	BingShui ^[7]
Country	United States ^[1]
Hometown	Denver, Colorado ^[8]
Known for	Four WSOP bracelets in three different formats; founder of Chip Leader Coaching ^[1]
WSOP bracelets	4 (145 WSOP cashes, 33 final tables) ^[2]
Major titles	WSOP $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 2010; Aussie Millions AU$25,000 Challenge 2016; WSOP $10,000 Short Deck 2021; WPT Choctaw 2022 ^{[3][5][10][11]}
Largest cash	2nd, 2024 WSOP $50,000 High Roller, $1,351,000 ^[13]
Live tournament earnings	$21,693,050 as of October 27, 2026 ^[1]

Early life and first steps in poker

Kornuth was born and raised in Colorado and, according to PokerNews, developed a love for strategy games early on, which led him to poker. ^[1] Card Player describes him as a Denver native. He attended the University of Colorado and was one semester short of graduating when he decided to become a professional poker player. ^[1][8]

Breakthrough: the 2010 Pot-Limit Omaha bracelet

Kornuth’s breakthrough came at the 2010 World Series of Poker, where he won Event #50, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha. It was only his second WSOP cash. He beat a field of 460 players and, heads-up against Kevin Boudreau, won a large straight-over-straight pot to take the chip lead before closing out the title with trip eights. He collected $508,090; Boudreau received $313,792. ^[3] PokerNews notes that he was 24 at the time. ^[1]

In July 2014 he won the $10,300 Bellagio Cup X in Las Vegas from 175 entries for $526,224, at the time the largest score of his career. In January 2015 he went into the final day of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event as the chip leader with 7.86 million chips. ^[4] He finished third for $641,140. ^[1]

Playing style

Kornuth plays tournaments in several formats, with titles in Pot-Limit Omaha, No-Limit Hold’em and Short Deck. PokerNews writes that he “has built a reputation as one of the most consistent and well-rounded players in the game.” ^[1] He has named No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha as his two best games, and explained what draws him to Short Deck: “You get to play so many hands, and you get to play aggressively, you always have equity and it’s just fun.” ^[10]

Greatest achievements

2016: Aussie Millions and the EPT

Kornuth started 2016 with seventh place in the PCA $25,000 High Roller for $192,780. ^[6] Less than two weeks later he won the Aussie Millions AU$25,000 Challenge. The event drew 122 entries for a prize pool of AU$2.928 million, and Kornuth recovered from 5,100 chips on Day 1 by winning six all-ins in seven hands. He beat Igor Kurganov heads-up and took AU$790,560. ^[5]

He followed with second place in the EPT Dublin €25,750 High Roller for €360,150 and then won the EPT Grand Final €10,300 Single Reentry High Roller in Monte Carlo, where a three-way deal gave him €351,108 from a field of 214 entries. By the end of April 2016 his live earnings for the year were above $1.5 million. ^[6]

Tournament results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2024	WSOP Event #39, $50,000 High Roller (177 entries)	2nd	$1,351,000	[13]
2023	WSOP Event #40, $250,000 Super High Roller	5th	$1,202,318	[1]
2024	WSOP Paradise $500,000 Triton Million	10th	$985,000	[1]
2024	WSOP Event #47, $100,000 High Roller	4th	$932,725	[1]
2023	WSOP Event #2, $25,000 High Roller	2nd	$751,463	[1]
2022	WSOP Event #2, $100,000 High Roller Bounty	2nd	$721,144	[1]
2015	PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event	3rd	$641,140	[1]
2014	$10,300 Bellagio Cup X (175 entries)	1st	$526,224	[4]
2016	Aussie Millions AU$25,000 Challenge (122 entries)	1st	AU$790,560	[5]
2010	WSOP Event #50, $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (460 players)	1st	$508,090	[3]
2022	WPT Choctaw Main Event (787 entries)	1st	$486,600	[11]
2026	WSOP Super Circuit Canada $5,000 Main Event (2,844 entries)	4th	C$600,000	[2]
2016	EPT Dublin €25,750 High Roller	2nd	€360,150	[6]
2016	EPT Grand Final €10,300 Single Reentry High Roller (214 entries)	1st (after a three-way deal)	€351,108	[6]
2018	WSOP Event #63, $3,200 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold’em High Roller (480 entries)	1st	$341,598	[7]
2021	WSOP Main Event	16th	$305,000	[1]
2021	WSOP Event #29, $10,000 Short Deck No-Limit Hold’em (66 players)	1st	$194,670	[10]
2024	WSOP Event #85, $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold’em (1,088 entries)	1st	$155,446	[14]

World Series of Poker

Kornuth’s four bracelets come from four different kinds of events. After the 2010 Pot-Limit Omaha title, he won his second in July 2018 online, playing as “BingShui” in the $3,200 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. The event drew a record 480 entries for a prize pool of $1,459,200, and he beat David Goodman heads-up for $341,598. ^[7]

His third came in October 2021 in the $10,000 Short Deck No-Limit Hold’em, after finishing fourth in the same event at the previous WSOP. He started the final table as chip leader and beat Chad Campbell heads-up for $194,670, from a field of 66 players. ^[10] That year he also reached 16th place in the Main Event for $305,000. ^[1]

Between 2022 and 2024 he finished second in three WSOP high roller events and made several more final tables without winning, including fifth place in the 2023 $250,000 Super High Roller for $1,202,318. ^[1] In June 2024 he was runner-up to Sergio Aido in the $50,000 High Roller, which drew 177 entries and a prize pool of $8,451,750; Viktor Blom finished third and Adrian Mateos fourth. Kornuth’s $1,351,000 is the largest cash of his career. ^[13][1] A month later he won his fourth bracelet in the $1,000 Flip & Go, a turbo format, from 1,088 entries. He dropped to about 20 big blinds before recovering, eliminated Sean Whelan and Mike Leah at the final table and beat Kannapong Thanarattrakul heads-up for $155,446. ^[14]

WSOP.com credits him with 145 cashes, 33 final tables and $14,676,790 in earnings, totals that include Circuit events. In September 2026 he finished fourth in the WSOP Super Circuit Canada $5,000 Main Event, out of 2,844 entries, for C$600,000. ^[2]

World Poker Tour and PokerGO titles

On May 26, 2022, Kornuth won the WPT Choctaw Main Event, his first WPT title. He topped a field of 787 entries and beat Steve Buckner heads-up for $486,600. ^[11] The same year he won three events of the PokerGO Stairway to Millions series in Las Vegas, two of them back to back in January and a third in September at the Venetian, becoming the second player to win three titles in that series. ^[12]

The Galfond Challenge

Kornuth was one of the opponents in Phil Galfond’s series of high-stakes heads-up challenges. The match was played at $100/$200 Pot-Limit Omaha over an agreed 35,000 hands, with a side bet of Kornuth’s $250,000 against Galfond’s $1 million. Kornuth led for most of the first 37 sessions, at one point by as much as $344,500, but Galfond came back, and Kornuth conceded during the 50th session after 25,400 hands, down $726,500. Card Player reported the result in February 2021. ^[9] “It was a heck of a battle, and things didn’t really go my way down the stretch,” Kornuth said. “Phil played great.” ^[9]

Coaching: Chip Leader Coaching

Away from the tables Kornuth runs Chip Leader Coaching, a training program aimed at mid-stakes tournament players. In 2018 Card Player listed its instructors as Nick Petrangelo, Joe McKeehen, Ryan LaPlante, Alex Foxen, Ryan Jones and Ryan Leng. ^[8] When Kornuth won WPT Choctaw in 2022, PokerNews also noted his work as a coach with Mark Davis, winner of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Main Event. ^[11]

In his own words

“It feels great. Also, the fact that during the last WSOP I finished fourth in this was really good to get a little redemption.” After winning the 2021 $10,000 Short Deck. ^[10]
“In the hand, I am your worst enemy and when we are not in the hand we can be buddies and chat as much as we want.” On table talk, October 2021. ^[10]
“I’ve made a pile of final tables without a W. So even though it’s a smaller one, it feels incredible.” After winning his fourth bracelet, July 2024. ^[14]
“Perspective and framing are really important.” On recovering from a short stack in the same event. ^[14]

Iconic hands and moments

The final hand of WPT Choctaw 2022 (World Poker Tour)

From Reckless to Refined: Chance Kornuth hands (PokerStars)

FAQ about Chance Kornuth

How old is Chance Kornuth?

No exact birth date is published at a primary source. He was 24 when he won his first bracelet in 2010 and 32 in October 2018, which places his birth in late 1985 or the first half of 1986, so he is about 40 in 2026. ^[1][8]

Where is Chance Kornuth from?

He is American, born and raised in Colorado, and is described by Card Player as a Denver native. ^[1][8]

What is Chance Kornuth’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $21,693,050 in earnings as of October 27, 2026, according to PokerNews. Prize totals do not show buy-ins, staking deals or the share of his action sold to others. ^[1]

How many WSOP bracelets does Chance Kornuth have?

Four: the 2010 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, the 2018 $3,200 WSOP.com Online High Roller, the 2021 $10,000 Short Deck and the 2024 $1,000 Flip & Go. ^{[2][3][7][10][14]}

What is Chance Kornuth’s biggest cash?

His largest cash is $1,351,000 for second place in the 2024 WSOP $50,000 High Roller. ^[13]

Has Chance Kornuth won a WPT title?

Yes. He won the WPT Choctaw Main Event in May 2022 for $486,600. ^[11]

Who won the Galfond Challenge against Chance Kornuth?

Phil Galfond. Kornuth conceded the $100/$200 Pot-Limit Omaha match after 25,400 of the 35,000 agreed hands, down $726,500, which also settled the side bet in Galfond’s favor. ^[9]

What is Chip Leader Coaching?

Chip Leader Coaching is the poker training program Kornuth founded, aimed at mid-stakes tournament players, with professionals such as Alex Foxen and Nick Petrangelo among its instructors. ^[1][8]

Related Poker Legends

Read more about Phil Galfond, who beat Kornuth in their 2021 heads-up challenge, and Viktor Blom and Adrian Mateos, who finished third and fourth at the 2024 $50,000 High Roller final table where Kornuth was runner-up.