Yunkyu Song’s Breakout Year Has Made Him a WPT POY Contender

In any given year in an active poker player’s career, the highs and lows roll through like waves. If the highest peaks outnumber the valleys, it’s a good year, and if the opposite is true, it becomes a matter of gritting your way through the grind.

Yunkyu Song had a good taste of the full spectrum of emotions that poker can evoke earlier this year in Northern California. Back in March, Song seemingly had the WPT Rolling Thunder Championship on lockdown, entering six-handed action with nearly 60% of the total chips in play.

But sometimes, poker can be a cruel game. Nothing went right for Song at that final table, and after a tough string of losing hands Song settled for a fourth-place finish. That kind of letdown could have had a lasting effect on a budding poker career, especially for a player in their first full year on the live circuit.

But for the 25-year-old from South Korea, it was merely a blip on the radar. Over the last eight months, Song has put together a true breakout year, accumulating over $1 million in tournament earnings with only two $10K+ buy-in events factored in – putting him in the top 40 in the 2024 GPI Player of the Year race.

“A lot of ups and downs, but overall, I think I’m doing good,” said Song. “I think I’m very fortunate to be able to have those ups and downs and still be able to do it. I really enjoy traveling around and playing with different people from around the world.”

Until late October, Song was missing just one thing in a tremendous year – a signature victory. He found that in a major way in Montreal when he won the WPT Prime Playground Championship, outlasting a field with 1,587 entrants. That victory has Song currently sitting in a three-way tie in the World Poker Tour Season XXII Player of the Year race, with only a few events to go in 2024.

Song is positioned to add to his WPT points total in Jacksonville this week, as he’s played himself into the money in the WPT bestbet Scramble on Sunday’s Day 2. Where he’ll be on the WPT POY leaderboard coming out of the event remains to be seen, as Dan Stavila, who is also a part of the three-way tie for first in the WPT POY race, also made it into the money.

Regardless of how things finish in Jacksonville, or anywhere else Song chooses to play for the rest of 2024, things couldn’t have gone much better. He traversed the globe playing poker, recording 48 cashes across five countries and all across the U.S.A. After his run at Thunder Valley, he finished third in a PokerGO $3,000 Main Event in April and flirted with securing a major title for the second time this year, settling for third in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2024 World Series of Poker.

And as much as he’s enjoyed success across the WPT, WSOP, EPT, and a long list of regional tours, Song is happy to be locked into the WPT track for the rest of the year – especially with his $10,600 seat to December’s WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas already waiting for him after his win in Montreal.

“It has a great brand value that attracts many of the players, either those who are traveling or there locally,” said Song. “WPT mostly chooses good venues for players around great cities where it’s worth it to travel.”

A victory or a second WPT Main Tour final table would go a long way towards separating Song from the rest of the pack in the WPT Player of the Year race with two Main Tour stops and the WPT Prime Championship still to come.

Everything else that follows for Song this year feels like the cherry on top. He’s only a couple of years removed from graduating from the UW Seattle in Washington, and just over a year into his time as a full-time touring tournament poker player.

He’s seen more of the world over the last 12 months than he had any previous year in his life, and even when the poker’s gone sideways in short stretches there are silver linings to be found along the way.

“When I have the time to do it, it’s usually not good news, because it means I probably busted from some tournaments,” said Song. “But yeah, I think I definitely appreciate being able to explore the cities, too.”

There’s been a lot less exploring for Song than most poker players in 2024. Of the players above him in the GPI Player of the Year race, nearly all of them are household names and high-roller regulars. That Song was able to put together a year such as he has in 2024 to stand among them is impressive.

There’s a good chance Song will be among those well-known players in the years to come. He’s already become a known entity among the pros, as was evidenced in his interactions in Jacksonville. He’s built a bit of a reputation for one of his personality quirks, as Song will quickly put on his jacket and bag with each-and-every all-in bet he makes.

But the poker going on in between the shenanigans has made an impression as well. Song tends not to get too high or too low regardless of the results, and if those results continue to follow, that level-headed demeanor will suit him well moving forward, through each new high point and the dips that follow.