Main Event and Squid Game Runner-Up Steven Jones on Finding a Way to Win

Back in 2023, the WSOP Main Event concluded with the award of the biggest top prize ever given - a massive $12.1 million. The winner, Atlanta man Daniel Weinman immediately quit poker as a profession to run a poker and game themed restaurant. But what happened to his heads-up opponent?

Two years after coming second in the World Championship for $6 million, the estate agent Steven Jones sought a new challenge, a puzzle that would test him in ways he had never been tested before. That contest was Squid Game: The Challenge and in season 2, he became one of the stars of the show... only to fall short again.

We caught up with the WSOP Main Event and Squid Game legend to discuss both of his greatest achievements along with what he wants to conquer next.

Running Deep in the Main Event

When Steven Jones entered the 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event, he was on his way to winning $6,000,000 as he finished runner-up to Daniel Weinman. That was common knowledge, but what very few people knew before this interview was when he played the $565-entry Colossus he was $55,000 in debt from credit cards.

“I was making massive mistakes,” Steven told us. “I won $57,000 in the tournament, I just felt like it was God given me another chance. I got night place and after that, I saw poker in another light and really believed in myself.”

From there, Steven’s career grew and grew, though he was still an estate agent first and foremost by the time he entered the tournament that would change his life in 2023.

“I was probably 70-30 more real estate and now it’s flipped completely the other way.”

We asked Steven when he first believed that he might win the 2023 World Championship and he told us that when there were four tables left, he got a good feeling about his chances.

“When there were 30 people left, I had maybe 40-50 big blinds and I got it all-in with another guy who had around the same stack as me. I had queens, he had ace-king, and it was sweaty, but I held and I doubled to like 100 bigs. I was top three or four. My Mom was there at that point, I just [looked] across and was like ‘Let’s go!’”

Steven told us how his mother taught him the game as a youngster and how she was a major support to him during that golden year of the WSOP for Steven and his family.

Steven has been one of poker’s most impressive players in recent years.

Hunting a New Challenge

After winning $6m in the WSOP Main Event, many players might feel like they ‘completed’ poker, and it would never get better than that. For Steven, that wasn’t the case at all - he considers himself “crazy enough to believe that’s not the case” and is always on the lookout for the next big win.

“Because I didn’t win and came second, it drives me. I think I’m going to win some big tournaments and have a long, outstanding poker career,” he said.

This year, Steven came 24^th in the WSOP Europe Main Event, and he said that being busted just outside the final table was “the most tilted” he’s ever been.

“I was tilted for a good two hours there. I just went to my hotel room and screamed. Being able to do something that not many people have done - final table two Main Events - there’s a lot of prestige that comes from that.”

After he finished as runner-up in the 2023 WSOP Main Event, Steven was on the lookout for a new challenge alongside poker. His initial desire was to challenge himself in a romance-based reality TV show called Love Is Blind.

“I was single at the time and I loved the show so wanted to apply. Because I applied for that show, I got an email from Netflix saying ‘We’re casting for this gameshow, Squid Game: The Challenge’. I didn’t even know what Squid Game was!”

All that was to change for Steven. Going through the interview process, and revealing he won $6m playing poker, the makers were keen for him to go to the next stage after a video call went well. Soon, Steven got the official approval for his participation in the TV show that would change his life all over again.

Red Lights, Green Lights

Getting cast into Squid Game might have been easy enough, but the hard part was to come. Weeks of filming in challenging conditions meant Steven had to approach the show like he would a poker game, waiting for the right moment to step forward and take center stage. Starting off as one of 456 competitors, Steven’s plan with his friend in the game, Kevin, was to stay under the radar for as long as they could.

“There were so many loud personalities who just wanted to be on TV,” says Steven. “In our eyes, that was painting a target on their backs. Our aim was to stay in the background until there were 50 people left.”

Steven famously went viral during the Snakes and Ladders game, where he lost his long-time ally Kevin and admits that in the aftermath of that loss, he lost all rationale and in a poker sense, was on tilt.

“People wanted to get me out, because they realized I was a poker player,” says Steven. “Kevin got eliminated and once I came back through the slide, I saw red. I didn’t even care if I got through the game. All these people, none of whom were my friends.. there was a lot of bad energy in there and I was just out for revenge.”

Steven survived Snakes and Ladders, conquered Circle of Trust and swiftly found himself down to the final four players who faced the ultimate - and original - Squid Game test, the infamous Red Light, Green Light game.

“I wasn’t too happy with the edit there,” Steven says. “They make it look like a three-minute race and if it had been, I’d be $4m richer now, 100%. We were stopped for 10 minutes at a time and I have crazy ADHD and I don’t like sitting still. We were shaking, it was the most nervous I’d ever been.”

Wearing sneakers throughout the show, the four remaining players were dressed in tuxedos and given dress shoes to wear. Breaking in new shoes while trying to stay absolutely still on sand? Not the easiest thing in the world to do.

“My leg was shaking, so if I didn’t get down to the ground and on my knees, I’m not surviving the next round.”

As the final seconds of Squid Game: The Challenge approached, Steven was in agony... but desperate to win. What happened next and what is Steven looking to achieve next in his career?

Check out the full video of his recent interview with us right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCHW6da3iPI

Paul Seaton, an esteemed figure in the poker community with over ten years of experience, has provided live coverage from renowned poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour. His involvement goes beyond observation; he has served as the Editor of BLUFF Europe Magazine and Head of Media for partypoker.