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Alex Foxen
Alex Foxen
Alex Foxen
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William Alex Foxen (born February 1, 1991) is an American professional poker player from Huntington, New York. As of March 2025, his total live tournament earnings exceed $44 million.[1]

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

Foxen played tight end for the Boston College Eagles.[2] In 2012, at the age of 21, he won the first World Series of Poker Circuit event he entered in New Orleans.[3] However, he stated that he did not begin taking poker seriously until the age of 23, after graduating from university.

During this period, Foxen played online for a couple of years before transitioning to live poker in 2016, starting with tournaments featuring buy-ins ranging from $200 to $500.[4]

Career

[edit]

World Series of Poker (WSOP)

[edit]

At the 2019 WSOP, Foxen finished 40th in the Main Event.[5]

In 2021, Foxen publicly opposed the WSOP’s decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for players, describing the policy as illogical and emotionally driven. He voiced his concerns on Twitter, questioning why natural immunity was not considered an exemption and arguing that vaccines did not prevent transmission. Foxen, along with his wife Kristen, was among the more vocal critics of the mandate within the poker community, expressing concerns about pharmaceutical influence over the WSOP. His stance sparked debate, with some players supporting his position while others criticized it as misinformation. The controversy reflected broader divisions within the poker community regarding COVID-19 policies and individual freedoms.[6]

In June 2022, Foxen won his first WSOP bracelet by capturing the $250,000 Super High Roller, earning a career-high $4,563,700. He led throughout the tournament in a field of 56 entrants, ultimately defeating Brandon Steven heads-up after a strong final table performance. Notable eliminations at the final table included Phil Ivey in seventh place, Adrian Mateos in fourth, and Chris Hunichen in third.[7]

World Poker Tour (WPT)

[edit]

In December 2017, Foxen finished second in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic on the World Poker Tour, earning $1,134,000. Despite initially taking the chip lead, Foxen lost a key pot when his bluff with king-high was called by Ryan Tosoc’s pair of sevens. Tosoc gradually built his lead, and although Foxen managed a late double-up, he was unable to regain momentum. In the final hand, Foxen’s ace-ten was defeated by Tosoc’s queen-ten when a straight completed on the turn, securing Tosoc's victory and leaving Foxen just short of the title.[8]

In 2019, Foxen won the Season XVIII WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, earning $1,694,995 and securing a significant victory in his career. After finishing as the runner-up in the same event in 2017, he returned to claim the title, positioning himself as a contender for back-to-back Global Poker Index Player of the Year (POY) honors. Foxen had a strong performance at the final table, eliminating Jonathan Jaffe, Seth Davies, and ultimately Toby Joyce heads-up to secure the win. His aggressive play and key hands, including a runner-runner flush against Danny Park, contributed to his success.[9][10]

PokerGO Tour (PGT)

[edit]

In 2018, Foxen finished as the runner-up in Super High Roller Bowl V after a competitive heads-up battle against Isaac Haxton. Foxen briefly held the chip lead during five-handed play but lost momentum as Haxton controlled the later stages of the tournament. In the final hand, Foxen’s ace-six initially took the lead on the flop, but Haxton made two pair on the turn and river to secure the victory. Foxen’s deep run concluded a strong year, though he fell just short of the title.[11]

In 2025, Foxen won his eighth PGT title, earning $315,000 at the PokerGO Studio and ending a title drought that had lasted over 800 days. Foxen began the final day of the event as the chip leader but dropped to the short stack during three-handed play. He recovered with two double-ups through Josh Arieh to re-enter contention.

At the final table, Jesse Lonis eliminated multiple opponents to reach heads-up play against Foxen. The final hand saw Foxen complete a flush against Lonis’s flopped set of tens. With no board pair on the river, Foxen secured the win, while Lonis finished in second place for $204,750.[12]

Triton Poker Series

[edit]

In December 2024, Foxen won the $100,000 Triton Main Event at the 2024 WSOP Paradise, earning $3,850,000 and securing his third WSOP bracelet. He defeated Joao Vieira in heads-up play after a strong final table performance, which included a key coin flip win with pocket jacks against ace-king. The tournament featured a competitive field, with notable eliminations including Fedor Holz, Ossi Ketola, and Samuel Mullur.[13]

Other notable tournaments

[edit]

In February 2018, Foxen won a $25,000 High Roller event at the L.A. Poker Classic, earning $424,625. His success continued in March with a $50,000 High Roller victory in Macau on the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, adding $963,880 to his tournament earnings. One of the most talked-about moments of 2018 came in June when Foxen won a $5,000 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) event at the Venetian, securing a $239,000 payday. In a notable heads-up match, he defeated his girlfriend, fellow professional poker player Kristen Bicknell, to claim the title.[14]

Player of the Year

[edit]

Foxen won the 2018 Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year (POY) title after securing the top spot from Stephen Chidwick. He earned over $6.6 million in tournament winnings that year, bringing his career earnings to more than $8.8 million.

Foxen’s 2018 results included 24 recorded cashes, 18 final table appearances, and five titles. His biggest tournament victory came in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Super High Roller in Macau, where he won nearly $963,000. However, his largest cash prize of the year was $2.16 million for finishing runner-up in the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl V. This achievement marked a breakthrough for Foxen, who had finished 12th in the POY race the previous year.[15]

Following his POY win, Foxen was ranked No. 1 on the Global Poker Index for 38 consecutive weeks from October 2018 to June 2019, setting a GPI record.[16]

Other poker activities

[edit]

In 2022, Foxen publicly accused Ali Imsirovic of cheating in both live and online high-stakes poker, citing specific incidents, including alleged card peeking and the use of RTAs. Foxens claims, shared on Twitter, sparked widespread debate, with other professional poker players supporting his claims. Ryan Leng and Jason Wheeler backed the idea of a poker advisory board to regulate cheating, while others raised concerns about potential misuse of such a system. Justin Bonomo suggested that irrefutable evidence exists against multiple players. The controversy reignited discussions on poker integrity and the need for a unified blacklist.[17] Imsirovic, who had been banned from GGPoker and PokerGO Tour events, later admitted to multi-accounting but denied some of Foxen’s accusations.[18]

Personal life

[edit]

Foxen is married to fellow professional poker player Kristen Foxen. In June 2018, he defeated her heads-up to win the Mid-Stakes Poker Tour Venetian event.[19]

World Series of Poker bracelets

[edit]
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
2022 $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em $4,563,700
2024O $500 Pot-Limit Omaha Mystery Bounty 6-Max $20,064
2024P $100,000 Triton No-Limit Hold'em Main Event $3,850,000

An "O" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won during the World Series of Poker Online

A "P" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won during the World Series of Poker Paradise

Poker GO Tour Titles

[edit]
Year Tournament Prize $
2021 PokerGO Cup #1 - $10,000 NLH $178,200
2021 ARIA High Roller #32 - $10,000 NLH $150,845
2022 Venetian High Roller #3 - $15,000 NLH $153,615
2022 U.S. Poker Open #7 - $15,000 NLH $283,500
2022 WSOP #50 - $250,000 Super High Roller NLH $4,563,700
2022 ARIA High Roller #8 - $10,000 NLH $88,118
2023 PokerGO Cup #6 - $25,000 NLH $317,040
2025 PGT PLO Series #7: $15,100 Pot-Limit Omaha $315,000
2025 U.S. Poker Open #7: $15,100 No-Limit Hold'em $340,200
2025 Poker Masters #6 - $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em $272,000
2025 PGT PLO Series II #2 - $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Quattro Bounty $87,000 + $90,000
2026 PGT Last Chance #6: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em (Single Day Turbo) $232,400

Triton Titles

[edit]
Festival Tournament Prize $
Monte-Carlo 2024 $50K NLH 8-Handed $1,470,000
Paradise 2024 $100K Main Event $3,850,000
Montenegro 2025 $25K NLH 8-Handed $755,000

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Alex Foxen

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
William Alex Foxen is an American professional poker player renowned for his dominance in high-stakes tournaments, amassing over $44 million in live earnings through consistent deep runs and multiple major titles. Foxen, hailing from , transitioned to full-time poker after early successes, quickly establishing himself as a top contender with five tournament victories in 2018 alone, including earning more than $6.6 million that year. His standout achievements include winning the 2019 World Poker Tour Five Diamond Poker Classic main event for $1.6 million, securing his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in the 2022 $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em event for $4.5 million, and capturing the 2024 WSOP Paradise $100,000 Triton Super High Roller main event for $3.85 million. Foxen has been named Global Poker Index Player of the Year twice, the only player to achieve this distinction, and holds the record for the longest consecutive weeks ranked number one on the index. In the poker community, he is noted for publicly accusing high-stakes player of systematic cheating in both live and online events in 2022, an allegation that contributed to broader investigations and underscored Foxen's advocacy for game integrity, though he has also faced counter-accusations of soft-playing and with his wife, fellow pro .

Early life

Background and entry into poker

William Alex Foxen was born on February 1, 1991, in , and grew up in nearby Huntington. As a high school athlete at Cold Spring Harbor High School, he earned All-Conference honors as a senior in Section 8, Conference 4. Foxen attended on a football , where he played as a for the Eagles from 2009 to 2011, primarily contributing as a valuable scout team player during his and junior seasons. Standing at 6'4" and weighing 245 pounds as a junior, he aspired to a professional career but transitioned away from athletics after college. Foxen first encountered poker at a young age but did not pursue it seriously until age 23, shortly after graduating from around 2014. He began building skills through online multi-table tournaments on under the screen name "bigfox86," focusing on the game's mathematical and theoretical elements, including probability and , which aligned with his academic interests in physics and related quantitative subjects. This period marked his shift from competitive sports to poker as a primary outlet for intellectual and strategic competition.

Professional poker career

Initial breakthroughs and rise

Following his graduation from Boston College, where he had played as a , Foxen transitioned to full-time professional poker around age 23 in 2014, seeking a competitive outlet after his sports career ended due to injuries. He concentrated on no-limit hold'em and mixed games such as pot-limit Omaha, honing his skills through self-directed study that emphasized probabilistic analysis of hand ranges and opponent tendencies, including manual simulations of multi-way pots dealt face-up to approximate optimal play without advanced software. Foxen's initial live tournament cashes occurred in low-stakes circuit events, with his first recorded finish in May 2012 at a $355 no-limit hold'em in New Orleans, where he won $22,421 for first place. Between 2014 and 2016, he accumulated additional cashes in regional mid-stakes buy-ins, gradually building experience and a modest bankroll through consistent play in accessible venues rather than high-profile series. These results reflected his developing edge in reading player deviations from equilibrium strategies, derived from first-hand observation and iterative review of sessions. The year 2017 marked Foxen's breakthrough, featuring multiple deep runs in mid-stakes no-limit hold'em events that demonstrated his maturing tactical proficiency, culminating in a first-place finish worth $1,134,202 and propelling his career live earnings beyond $1 million by the close of 2018. This earnings milestone enabled him to scale up buy-ins, transitioning from regional grinding to sustainable participation in larger fields while maintaining a focus on exploitative adjustments informed by empirical hand histories.

World Series of Poker achievements

Alex Foxen claimed his first (WSOP) on June 25, 2022, in Event #50: $250,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super , a high-stakes that drew 56 entrants and generated a prize pool exceeding $13 million. Foxen led the field wire-to-wire, entering the final table with a commanding chip lead and eliminating key opponents including in fourth place ($1,336,463) and Sam Soverel in third ($1,969,125) before defeating Brandon Steven heads-up to secure the $4,563,700 first-place prize. Foxen's second bracelet came in October 2024 via WSOP Online Event #17: $500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, where he outlasted the field under the screen name "Serapis11" and beat Dan Smith heads-up for a total payout of $39,271.43, including bounties. This victory, though in a smaller-buy-in online format, highlighted his proficiency in big-bet mixed games against skilled competition. In the 2025 WSOP, Foxen reached another major by finishing runner-up in Event #46: $250,000 Super High Roller on June 17, earning $3,060,314 after a heads-up loss to Seth Davies, who claimed the and $4,752,551 top prize. Earlier that series, in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, Foxen amassed one of the largest Day 2 stacks at 1,910,000 chips, positioning him strongly for a potential third though he did not ultimately win. Foxen's WSOP record features numerous cashes and final tables across high-roller and mixed-game events, reflecting consistent performance in poker's most prestigious live series rather than reliance on short-term variance. His career WSOP earnings surpass $18 million, underscoring a demonstrable edge in navigating large fields of elite players in buy-ins from $10,000 to $250,000.

Performances in other major tours

Foxen secured his lone World Poker Tour title in the 2019 Season XVIII Five Diamond World Poker Classic, navigating a record field of 1,035 entrants to earn $1,694,995. Prior to this breakthrough, he posted several deep runs in WPT main events, including a 10th-place finish in the 2017 WPT Five Diamond for $116,580 and consistent cashes through 2019 that underscored his adaptation to structured multi-day formats with deeper stacks. In the PokerGO Tour circuit, Foxen has excelled in high-variance, shorter-stack high-roller events, amassing 10 titles and over 100 cashes by October 2025, including a victory in Event #6 of the 2025 Poker Masters ($10,500 No-Limit Hold'em) for $272,000. He also won of the 2025 PGT PLO Series ($5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Quattro Bounty) for $87,000, demonstrating proficiency in mixed-game variants and bounty incentives. These results propelled him to the top of the 2025 PGT leaderboard with 2,775 points entering late October, reflecting frequent final-table appearances across U.S.-based series like Poker Masters and Prime. Foxen's Triton Poker Series performances highlight his success in ultra-high-stakes international fields, where he claimed his third title in the May 2025 Montenegro $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, defeating 130 entries for $755,000. Additional deep runs include ninth place in a September 2025 Jeju $75,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Max for $143,000, showcasing versatility in progressive ante structures and short-deck variants common to Triton schedules in and . His non-WSOP live tournament earnings surpass $35 million, with peaks in 2018–2019 from events like the second-place finish in the $300,000 ($2,160,000) and sustained contention post-2022 amid high-roller recoveries.

High-stakes cash game involvement

Foxen regularly participates in nosebleed-stakes , including heads-up matches and multi-table sessions at venues hosting high-variance action, where live reads and psychological dynamics play a central role in decision-making over pure solver outputs. His involvement extends to streamed events that expose the inherent swings of such play, emphasizing amid multimillion-dollar pots. A pivotal example occurred on September 16, 2025, during the Triton Poker Series Jeju II, when Foxen lost an $11 million pot—the largest ever televised in poker history—to Ossi Ketola in a $6 million buy-in heads-up match. Foxen held top set of kings on the river but called Ketola's all-in with a flush, resulting in a loss; post-hand analysis noted the call's alignment with optimal play given ranges, though it underscored challenges in bluff-catching under extreme pressure and variance. This encounter highlighted Foxen's willingness to engage deep-stacked opponents in private high-stakes settings, balancing skill edges from in-person tells against solver-trained equilibrium strategies. Tracked results from livestreamed cash games, spanning eight sessions and 27 hours at average stakes of $60,000 big blind, reflect the volatility of his involvement, with net outcomes varying widely due to selective streaming of high-profile action rather than comprehensive private play. Foxen has contributed to PokerGO's live-streamed high-stakes events, collaborating with peers to showcase and adaptive play in formats that prioritize real-time adjustments over pre-computed lines. These sessions demonstrate his focus on exploitative edges in live environments, where opponent tendencies and table dynamics often outweigh balanced ranges amid significant bankroll swings.

Awards and rankings

Alex Foxen won the (GPI) Player of the Year award in 2018, accumulating 4,095.52 points from performances across high-stakes tournaments, including over $6.6 million in earnings that year. He repeated as GPI Player of the Year in 2019, earning more than $6.3 million and becoming the first and only player to win the award consecutively, with the emphasizing adjusted points for cashes relative to and buy-in levels rather than raw volume alone. These victories highlight Foxen's efficiency in selective, high-ROI events, as GPI points decay over time and prioritize consistent deep runs over participation frequency, countering critiques that such rankings undervalue by overweighting grinders' volume. Following his 2018 POY win, Foxen held the GPI world #1 ranking for a record 38 consecutive weeks from October 2018 to June 2019, surpassing prior benchmarks through sustained cashes in events with buy-ins exceeding $5,000. As of October 2025, his live total $53,523,305, placing him 11th on the all-time money list and 7th among American players, with metrics reflecting a focus on ultra-high-stakes formats where variance is high but edges in skill yield outsized returns. While WSOP Player of the Year races in 2024 and 2025 saw Foxen in contention via multiple deep runs and cashes—such as a 28th-place finish in a 2025 event for $16,688—the award's , which awards points across all WSOP series events, favors broader volume over specialized high-roller proficiency, areas where Foxen's selective approach has drawn comparative analysis.

Coaching and media contributions

Foxen co-founded and serves as a lead coach for Chip Leader Coaching (CLC), an online training platform specializing in multi-table tournament (MTT) strategy, launched in collaboration with Chance Kornuth. Initially joining as a in 2016, he has since developed comprehensive courses and tools emphasizing exploitative play adaptations over rigid solver reliance in live settings, targeting players at various buy-in levels from low-stakes to high-rollers. CLC content, including video series and personalized coaching, focuses on systematic opponent exploitation, such as identifying and dismantling suboptimal tendencies in recreational fields. In 2025, Foxen contributed to a CLC course outlining a "blueprint for winning WSOP bracelets," drawing from his experience in major events and stressing disciplined scheduling to prevent burnout from overcommitting to multiple tournaments simultaneously—a common error he identifies as undermining performance in extended series like the WSOP. He advocates for in coaching materials, highlighting mental preparation for high-pressure spots, including recognizing tilt triggers and maintaining edge through fundamental rather than unadapted optimal (GTO) outputs, which he notes often falter in dynamic live environments due to human variability. Foxen's media appearances include guest spots on the CLC , where in a September 2025 episode he dissected high-stakes dynamics, such as hero-calling with marginal holdings like seven-high based on opponent profiling over pure equity calculations. He has also featured in PokerNews Podcast discussions on industry trends and breakdowns, attributing persistent losses to habitual flaws like inconsistent range rather than variance alone. These contributions promote of errors—prioritizing observable player behaviors and table dynamics—to foster independent reasoning beyond solver-mimicking "herd" approaches prevalent in modern training.

Controversies and criticisms

Softplaying allegations

In June 2018, Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell, who were at the time, reached the final table of the $5,000 buy-in Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian Main Event in , where they finished first and second, respectively, after chopping heads-up for $239,000 and $200,000. At the three-handed stage against Kahle Burns, observers accused the pair of softplaying—intentionally avoiding aggressive plays against each other to facilitate Burns's elimination—based on hand histories showing Foxen folding strong hands like ace-king preflop when Bicknell raised, and similar passive tendencies that preserved their stacks at Burns's expense. Poker commentator highlighted these dynamics in a video , arguing they constituted unethical enabled by their personal relationship, which allowed implicit coordination without overt signaling. Foxen and Bicknell denied any impropriety, attributing their decisions to standard (ICM) considerations and deep familiarity with each other's playing styles from off-table discussions, which informed folds as optimal rather than collusive; they also noted offering Burns a chop deal, which he rejected. The MSPT organizers imposed no sanctions, as the actions did not violate explicit rules against signaling or explicit agreements, though tournament director Hempstead later emphasized that softplay remain a gray area reliant on player integrity. The poker community response was divided, with critics like Polk and Burns viewing the incident as emblematic of risks in multi-way pots involving romantic partners, potentially eroding trust in high-stakes events, while defenders argued such dynamics occur naturally in skill-based games among unrelated players under ICM pressure and cited the absence of concrete evidence like chip dumping. Burns revisited the claims in 2022, demanding for alleged damages, but no resolution or penalties ensued. The had negligible long-term repercussions, as both players sustained strong results without similar incidents, underscoring softplay debates as recurrent in poker but rarely leading to disqualifications absent verifiable .

Stance against WSOP vaccine mandate

In August 2021, the (WSOP) announced a policy requiring proof of full for all participants, including players, staff, and spectators, to enter events starting with the series' return to . Alex Foxen, a prominent professional poker player, immediately voiced strong opposition, arguing the mandate lacked logical foundation given the event's inherent risks. He questioned, "If this is so deadly, why are we having a WSOP at all?" highlighting an apparent inconsistency in permitting large gatherings under conditions while implying severe ongoing threat. Foxen framed the requirement as "an assault on logic and ," pledging to boycott the series and calling on fellow players who agreed to follow suit rather than seek workarounds. His partner, Kristen Bicknell, aligned with this position, amplifying their joint criticism of vaccine mandates as overreach in a setting where poker dynamics—seated play with limited direct contact beyond card handling—did not demonstrably necessitate universal for risk mitigation. Their refusal to vaccinate for compliance led to skipping the entire 2021 WSOP, forgoing opportunities in bracelet events despite Foxen's competitive standing as a prior Player of the Year contender. The stance prioritized individual and empirical scrutiny of policy efficacy over collective mandates, reflecting concerns that vaccination offered incomplete protection against transmission in vaccinated populations and alternatives like regular testing could suffice without infringing on personal medical choices. Foxen's underscored tensions between tournament operators' regulatory and players' , particularly for a demographic of young, healthy professionals facing low baseline severity risks. The WSOP rescinded the vaccination requirement for its 2022 series, announced on February 23, 2022, amid evolving and reduced case pressures, a shift Foxen publicly welcomed as aligning with freer participation. This reversal followed broader scrutiny of mandate impacts, including trends post-vaccination rollout that raised questions about net benefits in low-risk cohorts, though poker-specific transmission remained limited.

Strategic misreads and public analyses

In a high-profile heads-up match against Ossi Ketola at the 2025 Triton Poker Jeju series, Alex Foxen encountered a significant strategic setback in a pot exceeding $10 million, where post-hand analyses identified a $4.5 million misread stemming from overlooked physical tells and overcalibration to game-theoretic optimal (GTO) ranges derived from solvers. Foxen called a river all-in with a small flush on a paired board, but Ketola held a full house, underscoring how solver-driven play can falter in live settings against adaptive opponents who deviate from balanced strategies. Independent breakdowns critiqued this as emblematic of broader flaws in modern poker training, where excessive solver reliance diminishes live reads and exploitative adjustments, rendering players vulnerable to unmodeled opponent tendencies. Foxen has publicly reflected on such incidents as opportunities to address psychological vulnerabilities, including tilt induced by variance in oversized pots, emphasizing the need for emotional regulation to maintain integrity. In interviews, he advocates prioritizing opponent-specific modeling—observing betting patterns, timing, and physical cues—over rigid mathematical equilibria, arguing that poker demands an artistic attuned to fallibility rather than pure . This approach, he contends, fosters balanced aggression that capitalizes on exploitable errors while mitigating personal biases, a drawn from reviewing high-variance hands where solver outputs alone prove insufficient against real-time adaptations. Despite amplified media focus on these outlier losses, Foxen's career trajectory demonstrates sustained positive , with live earnings surpassing $42 million as of March 2025, bolstered by multiple 2025 high-roller victories including Poker Masters events. Such results affirm dominance over transient setbacks, as long-term profitability in high-stakes poker hinges on variance absorption and iterative refinement, not isolated pot outcomes.

Personal life

Relationships and family

Alex Foxen is married to professional poker player (née Bicknell), whom he met through encounters at poker tables. Their relationship became public following Foxen's heads-up victory over Bicknell in the $5,000 Mid-Stakes Poker Tour event at The Venetian Resort in on June 16, 2018. The couple wed on April 3, 2022, in a beach ceremony in the . Shortly thereafter, both opted to adopt the shared surname Foxen, forgoing traditional naming conventions. They reside together in a manner that accommodates their independent professional schedules, including coordinated training practices to sustain their poker proficiency. As of October 2025, Foxen and his wife have no publicly announced children, with reports indicating they were contemplating family expansion as recently as 2024. The couple preserves privacy on non-professional family details, prioritizing self-directed personal narratives over external commentary.

Joint advocacy with spouse

Alex Foxen and his wife, Kristen Foxen (née Bicknell), have collaborated publicly on critiquing poker industry policies perceived as infringing on player autonomy, most notably the World Series of Poker (WSOP)'s 2021 mandate requiring proof of full COVID-19 vaccination for participation. Foxen initiated calls for collective player resistance, posting on social media to encourage boycotts or protests if the policy was enforced, framing it as an overreach by organizers that prioritized institutional rules over individual health decisions. Kristen Foxen echoed these sentiments, sharing anti-mandate views aligned with her husband's, including skepticism toward vaccine passports and related restrictions, which positioned the couple as a unified voice against coercive governance in live tournaments. Their advocacy highlighted risks to player participation, noting that unvaccinated pros—estimated at a significant minority—faced exclusion from the series' $89 million prize pools, thereby advocating for empirical consideration of natural immunity data and personal risk assessment over blanket requirements. This joint opposition extended to broader discussions of access and fairness, with the couple emphasizing that policies should prioritize verifiable metrics, such as infection rates among low-risk demographics like professional poker players (predominantly young adults with access to testing), rather than unproven mandates lacking evidence for in preventing transmission post-vaccination. Their stance drew from pro-vaccine factions within poker media but garnered support from players valuing agency, ultimately influencing as the WSOP later relaxed requirements by February 2022 amid declining case rates and policy shifts. While not leading formal organizations, their coordinated public statements amplified calls for transparent, data-backed reforms in event structuring to avoid alienating skilled participants based on non-poker criteria.

References

  1. https://sccgmanagement.com/sccg-news/2025/5/20/alex-foxen-success-strategies-of-a-renowned-poker-champion-sccg-management/
  2. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/23539-high-stakes-poker-crusher-alex-foxen-it-s-not-fun-to-play-against-me
  3. https://www.poker.org/poker-players/alex-foxen/
  4. https://www.cardplayer.com/cardplayer-poker-magazines/66428-alex-foxen-33-3/articles/23899-alex-foxen-wins-2019-wpt-five-diamond-poker-classic-for-1-6-million
  5. https://www.cardplayer.com/cardplayer-poker-magazines/66494-alex-foxen-35-16/articles/24581-alex-foxen-wins-first-career-wsop-bracelet-and-4-5-million
  6. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2024/12/alex-foxen-win-100-000-triton-main-event-at-wsop-paradise-47567.htm
  7. https://upswingpoker.com/alex-foxen-poker-results-memorable-hands/
  8. https://www.pokerlistings.com/news/alex-foxen-accuses-ali-imsirovic-of-systematic-cheating
  9. https://www.pokertube.com/article/bicknell-and-foxen-accused-of-softplaying
  10. https://www.tympanicklaw.com/blog/2022/may/bombshell-cheating-allegations-rock-poker-commun/
  11. https://somuchpoker.com/news/alex-foxen-biography
  12. https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/alex-foxen
  13. https://bceagles.com/sports/football/roster/alex-foxen/1679
  14. https://www.the-sun.com/sport/11850283/alex-foxen-boston-college-eagles-poker/
  15. https://www.wsop.com/news/outfoxed-alex-foxen-wins-first-gold-ring
  16. https://somuchpoker.com/news/an-interview-with-alex-foxen-1-gpi
  17. https://www.gipsyteam.com/news/09-10-2025/alex-foxen-interview-chance-kornuth
  18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnASy6Zjyw4
  19. https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=237683
  20. https://sccgmanagement.com/sccg-news/2025/5/20/alex-foxen-rules-of-success-of-a-famous-poker-player/
  21. https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=s&n=237683
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  23. https://www.pgt.com/news/alex-foxen-wins-wsop-2022-super-high-roller
  24. https://www.poker.org/latest-news/alex-foxen-beats-dan-smith-heads-up-for-second-wsop-bracelet-abgbG3Y4VMVk/
  25. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/29456-alex-foxen-wins-online-tournament-for-second-career-world-series-of-poker-bracelet
  26. https://www.pokernews.com/tours/wsop/2025-wsop/event-46-250000-super-high-roller/
  27. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025/06/2025-wsop-alex-foxen-among-the-leaders-in-the-10k-plo-49004.htm
  28. https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/ranking/125/
  29. https://somuchpoker.com/news/alex-foxen-wins-record-breaking-wpt-five-diamond-title-potentially-securing-historical-back-to-back-gpi-poy-title
  30. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/267845-alex-foxen/results/overall
  31. https://www.pgt.com/news/alex-foxen-reclaims-top-spot-on-pgt-leaderboard
  32. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025/10/chino-rheem-wins-pgt-plo-series-49929.htm
  33. https://www.pgt.com/leaderboard
  34. https://www.pokerscout.com/foxen-song-toc/
  35. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/267845-alex-foxen
  36. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025/09/alex-foxen-ossi-ketola-11m-pot-triton-jeju-49671.htm
  37. https://highrollpoker.com/tracker/players/68
  38. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/alex-foxen-11-million-loss-largest-tv-poker-history
  39. https://www.pokernews.com/strategy/11m-pot-was-alex-foxen-right-to-call-the-river-all-in-49688.htm
  40. https://rakerace.com/news/poker-news/2025/09/17/11-million-cooler-alex-foxen-falls-in-the-biggest-televised-pot-in-poker-history
  41. https://www.pokerology.com/alex-foxen-and-monarch-play-record-11m-hand/
  42. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025/09/alex-foxen-wins-poker-masters-tournament-49743.htm
  43. https://www.globalpokerindex.com/gpi-player-of-the-year-2018/
  44. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2020/01/global-poker-index-alex-foxen-repeats-wins-2019-gpi-player-o-36314.htm
  45. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2019/01/global-poker-index-alex-foxen-wins-2018-gpi-player-of-the-ye-33015.htm
  46. https://www.wsop.com/2025-poy
  47. https://clcpoker.com/
  48. https://clcpoker.com/about/
  49. https://www.pokernews.com/poker-coaching/chip-leader-coaching.htm
  50. https://x.com/WAFoxen
  51. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov5Ao_XhvhM
  52. https://www.pokernews.com/video/is-this-the-end-of-poker-in-america-pokernews-podcast-917-13384.htm
  53. https://msptpoker.com/pastevents/LiveReportDetail.aspx?nid=11570&eventID=228&dayID=174
  54. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2018/06/couple-alex-foxen-kristen-bicknell-finish-one-two-in-mspt-ve-31170.htm
  55. https://www.uspoker.com/blog/poker-kristen-bicknell-alex-foxen-collusion-accusations/23539/
  56. https://www.pokertube.com/video/we-need-to-talk-about-collusion-in-poker
  57. https://pokerfraudalert.com/forum/showthread.php?17494-Alex-Foxen-and-Kristen-Bicknell-were-3-handed-at-the-MSPT-final-table-Did-they-collude-soft-play
  58. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/22916-poker-couple-alex-foxen-and-kristen-bicknell-battle-heads-up-for-big-live-tournament-title
  59. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/22980-soft-play-does-the-high-stakes-poker-tournament-world-have-a-problem
  60. https://highstakesdb.com/news/high-stakes-reports/kahle-burns-demands-arbitration-over-alleged-kristen-bicknell-alex-foxen-soft-play
  61. https://www.poker.org/poker-tours/alex-foxen-and-kristen-bicknells-epic-run-at-the-wynn-ends-a6mUH3p6YQUz/
  62. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2021/08/wsop-2021-vaccination-required-39724.htm
  63. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2021/08/the-muck-wsop-covid-19-vaccine-39725.htm
  64. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/26172-poker-community-divided-over-world-series-of-poker-vaccine-mandate
  65. https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/26672-world-series-of-poker-ditches-vaccination-rule-for-2022-series
  66. https://www.poker.org/poker-tours/2022-wsop-covid-19-vaccine-requirements-and-mask-mandates-to-be-dropped-acA3B7c8ROIB/
  67. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2g2Ty_FKro
  68. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7yFV9dZcyw
  69. https://www.poker.org/latest-news/poker-isnt-a-math-problem-alex-foxen-on-the-art-of-winning-a2TwU4Z1qaub/
  70. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mqIgFtx_13c
  71. https://cardmates.co.uk/biographies/alex_foxens_biography
  72. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2022/04/newlyweds-alex-foxen-and-kristen-bicknell-40999.htm
  73. https://www.vip-grinders.com/kristen-bicknell-and-alex-foxen-say-yes-at-dream-wedding/
  74. https://www.cardplayer.com/cardplayer-poker-magazines/66549-women-in-poker-37-19/articles/25161-full-throttle-kristen-foxen-racing-to-the-top-of-the-record-books
  75. https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/alex-foxen/
  76. https://www.reddit.com/r/poker/comments/pf4fah/alex_foxen_ask_players_to_speak_out_against_wsop/
  77. https://www.pokertube.com/article/anti-vaxxers-unhappy-with-wsop-covid-19-mandate-and-rules
  78. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-09-30/this-year-s-world-series-of-poker-will-be-riskier-than-usual
  79. https://www.pokertube.com/article/chris-moneymaker-may-yet-play-the-wsop-after-vaccine-mandate-splits-poker-community
  80. https://twitter.com/WAFoxen/status/1496529769311387649
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