Cong Pham

Cong Pham hails from Naples, Florida, and grew up around the live poker rooms that boomed in the United States after the mid-2000s poker explosion. With easy access to some of the busiest card rooms in Florida, he cut his teeth in daily tournaments before recording his first live cashes in 2010. Those early years taught him a patient, disciplined approach that he would carry onto the national and international stages. By the early 2010s, Pham had transitioned from local Florida competition to major tours such as the WPT, the Heartland Poker Tour, and the World Series of Poker.

Pham's breakthrough year was 2013. He first won the Heartland Poker Tour Main Event in Daytona Beach, collecting $104,033 for the victory. Weeks later, he made a deep run at the WPT Borgata Poker Open in New Jersey, reaching the final table and finishing in third place for $301,225. That one-two punch announced Pham as a serious tournament force and funded a busier travel schedule. Over the next several years, he repeatedly cashed on the WPT and at major stops such as bestbet Jacksonville and the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, often finishing deep in multi-thousand-entry fields.

Pham's most famous result came in the 2023 WSOP Main Event. From a record-breaking field of 10,043 players, he made a run to the final two tables and ultimately finished 12th for $535,000. The following year, he showed his versatility by finishing fourth in a $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event in Cyprus, worth $725,000, after already cashing in the WSOP $25,000 High Roller PLO in Las Vegas. In September 2025, he added $178,000 from the Triton Jeju Main Event in South Korea, finishing 29th of 144 in the $106,000 buy-in event. Then, in December 2025, at the WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, Pham finished eighth in the $262,500 Triton Invitational, banking $967,000 from a field of 133 entries.

Pham has yet to win a WSOP bracelet, but his WSOP profile lists 12 career cashes and two final tables. His first notable WSOP cash came in 2015, when he placed 79th in the $1,500 Monster Stack out of 7,192 entries for $13,689. In 2019, he finished 15th in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed championship, earning $36,791 from a field of 518. He added another PLO cash in 2024 in the $25,000 High Roller event, and his 2025 WSOP Paradise final table gave him a second career WSOP final table. His ability to go deep in both no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha makes him a constant threat whenever he sits down at a WSOP event.

Pham is known as a balanced and calculated professional who does not rely on aggression alone. He blends modern poker theory with sharp live reads, making him particularly dangerous in high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha, where hand-reading and board-texture analysis are crucial. His patience and ability to make high-quality decisions under pressure have carried him through enormous fields, including the largest Main Event in poker history. Those around him describe his style as disciplined and composed, with a focus on minimizing unnecessary risks while still capitalizing on positive expected value spots. This approach has allowed him to remain relevant on major tours for more than fifteen years.

Away from the tables, Pham prefers the grind over building a large public brand. He maintains a low-key presence and does not post frequently on social media. Fans can follow his tournament results through live poker databases and his official WSOP.com profile, which tracks his cashes, final tables, and earnings. His career continues to trend upward, with his 2025 Triton results representing the biggest paydays of his life and ensuring he remains a fixture in the conversation among elite American tournament players.