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As ESPN continues its broadcast of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event, the story of Skye Chen’s recent gold bracelet win is being highlighted as proof that televised poker can still spark life-changing dreams.
Chen won the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship this summer, earning $194,630 and her first career bracelet. Speaking to PokerNews shortly after her victory, she described the win as “surreal”, tracing her love of the game back to watching WSOP broadcasts on ESPN as a child.
Despite that early inspiration, Chen does not consider herself a seasoned professional. She admitted she assumed the days of amateurs winning bracelets had passed, making her own triumph feel unexpected even to her.
Unlike many modern tournament winners, Chen’s route to the title did not involve extensive online grinding or years of formal study. She acknowledged simply showing up and winning, calling her lack of a traditional poker backstory almost hard to believe.
Professionally, Chen spent roughly 11 years as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, working at LinkedIn and Airbnb after graduating from UC Berkeley. She left the tech industry last year to travel, with poker becoming one of her hobbies along the way.
Starting out at $1/$3 cash games, Chen has since moved up to $2/$5 and $5/$10 stakes as she has studied more seriously. She views her bracelet win as the beginning rather than the culmination of her poker journey, crediting a large amount of luck for her rapid rise.
