PokerStars Pro Jason Koon becomes first ballot Poker Hall of Famer

Vote for Jason Koon to join the Poker Hall of Fame

August 5, 2026

News

by Jack Stanton

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5 Minute Read

PokerStars Ambassador Jason Koon is the sole 2026 inductee to the Poker Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility.

A golden generation of poker players celebrated their 40th birthdays over the past 12 months, presenting the Poker Hall of Fame with something of a problem.

With only one player eligible for induction each year, the likes of Isaac Haxton, Shaun Deeb, Justin Bonomo, and Chris Moorman–all of whom are now 40–found themselves competing for a single spot in their first year of eligibility.

We’re sure all four will eventually take their place in the Hall. But in 2026, one name stood out from the shortlist of crushers.

Jason Koon.

“Whenever I started playing poker in college 20 years ago, the access to money for the first time was cool, but I was really playing because I just loved every second of it,” Koon told PokerStars after his induction.

“I couldn’t even explain why necessarily. I was very into track and field at the time and suffered a major leg injury that derailed my plans and had me feeling like I lost a lot of purpose. So for that to lead me to my life’s work, my life’s passion, that’s wild enough as is.

“But to walk in there and be handed an award and be welcomed into the Hall of Fame by many of the greatest poker players who’ve ever lived… that is one of the strangest and most wonderful experiences of my life.”

THE POKER HALL OF FAME DIDN’T STAND A CHANCE

This is Jason Koon we’re talking about. “JAKoon1985”. “NovaSky”. The guy with the most relentless mindset in poker history. The guy with $76.8 million in live earnings and millions more won online. The guy who isn’t going to stop.

From the second Koon set his mind on becoming one of the world’s best poker players, the fight was over. He was always going to become a member of poker’s most exclusive club; it was just a matter of when. And it wouldn’t be down to destiny, or luck, or a popularity contest. It will be the result of that relentless mindset, which refuses to compromise on effort or accept any other outcome. 

It’s something the 33 living members of the hallowed Hall agreed on. We can’t imagine there were any deliberations.

Koon has been inducted into the Hall in his first eligible year.

20 years ago I made my first trip to Vegas. I saw the legends in the Poker Hall of Fame and dreamed joining them one day. I'm 40 now and finally eligible. It's up to the fans to decide who the 8 nominees are. If you think I belong, I'd appreciate your vote.…

— Jason Koon (@JasonKoon) June 13, 2026

WHY JASON KOON DESERVES TO BE IN THE POKER HALL OF FAME

“Things in life oftentimes don’t feel like I have a choice,” Koon told us in this 2025 interview. “It’s just like, I’m going to be this thing.”

Born in West Virginia, Jason went to West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon and graduated with a master’s in Business Administration and Finance. It was during his time at college that he started to study poker.

It didn’t take him long to make his mark on the felt. By 2009, he won a Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) tournament for more than $300,000 in prize money.

In 2010, he remembers making a list of goals on a vision board. Next to goals like “Be a better friend” and “Be a better son” were dreams like “Buy my mum a house”, “Own a vacation home in the mountains”, and, when it came to poker, “Win a World Series of Poker bracelet.”

All of those dreams have become a reality. 

Vote for Jason Koon to join the Poker Hall of Fame

There’s no area of poker that Koon hasn’t mastered and dominated. Huge online tournaments–check. Live events with massive fields–check. The biggest cash games on the planet–check. The most expensive super high roller tournaments in the world–check. Even games outside of no limit hold’em aren’t safe, with Koon crushing Short Deck (6+) and PLO for years.

He’s not only universally respected by his peers, he’s also well-liked by them, too.

And now he’s a PokerStars Ambassador, representing the site where he launched his career back in the 2000s.

The man has done it all. He’s battled against the best, across multiple decades, and shows no signs of coming down from the top of the mountain any time soon.

“I highly recommend people think about the story that they want their life to become,” Koon said. “Not even just in a poker tournament or a poker session, but just zoom out and see yourself and what you want in your life, then really imagine it happening for you.”

Koon is dreaming of joining his poker heroes in the Hall of Fame, and one day, hopefully very soon, he’ll no longer have to imagine what that’s like.

LISTEN TO HIS PEERS

Jason Koon belongs in the Poker Hall of Fame, full stop. But you don’t have to take our word for it.

Just look at the outpouring of support he received from the likes of Erik Seidel, Seth Davies, and Garrett Adelstein.

HOF needs Jason more than Jason needs HOF. Absolute legend https://t.co/Jjgtt08wI9

— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) June 13, 2026

If Jason doesn’t belong in the Poker Hall of Fame I can’t imagine anyone who does. Get in there are cast your vote for him! https://t.co/qa1OcRjP23

— Seth Davies (@Sdavies22) June 13, 2026

Done. Under “reasons why,” I wrote:

Because he’s the best, obviously. And the hardest worker. And he has an hell of a story/background to have arrived at the pinnacle of his profession. Oh, he’s also an incredible ambassador for poker.

— Garrett Adelstein (@GmanPoker) June 13, 2026

Vote for Jason Koon to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

FURTHER READING ABOUT JASON KOON

Koon tops ‘toughest line-up imaginable’ to win €1M Invitational at EPT Monte Carlo
Jason Koon called it the ‘toughest line-up imaginable’. Nine players, one winner-takes-all €1M prize at EPT Monte Carlo.

Visualising victory: Inside Jason Koon’s relentless mindset
We caught up with the PokerStars Ambassador in 2025, not long after he took down his second bracelet at the World Series of Poker, to discuss how visualising success has helped him achieve his goals, and why he feels he has no choice but to be the best.