Chris Bjorin

Sweden’s Chris Bjorin is in every way the stark opposite of the new stereotype of poker pro that has emerged in recent years. Rather than being a twenty-something, sunglasses-wearing, hoodie-covered figure at the table with a boastful Instagram, he is an older, well-dressed and modest character. Most of all, he’s been playing poker longer than most new pros have been alive.

Often referred to as the ‘Marathon Man’ of poker, Bjorin was born in 1947 and found the game in his youth. Explaining his early passion for it in a 2010 interview, he noted:

‘I was very young; my father didn’t allow me to play poker so I didn’t play with my family. I would always play poker somewhere where my father wasn’t [laughs]’.

In 1989, Chris moved to London where there were more opportunities to pursue his two main sources of income – poker and sports betting. This was the year that he booked his first ever documented tournament cash. Since then, he’s gone over to rack up around 300 of them, totalling to a sum of over $5.5 million.

He picked up his first WSOP bracelet in 1997 after winning the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event for $169,200. Just three years later, he became a two-time WSOP champion thanks to a victory in the $3,000 NLH event which saw him rewarded with another significant six-figure score.

The Swede has been attending the world’s biggest annual series of poker events since 1991 and was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014. Although Chris did not get inducted, he received a great deal of praise from fellow pros including Daniel Negreanu who incidentally was the inductee of that year. The Canadian legend called Bjorin ‘a fantastic player’ that ‘has been a beast for ages’. Kind words from the most decorated tournament player of all time.

Still grinding the WSOP each year, Chris has continually proved that he’s still got what it takes to hang with the new generation of poker pros in an ever-evolving game.