One of the liveliest virtual rails of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) went to Joseph Cheong, who can be found perusing the virtual felts of the world’s largest online poker sites under the screen name “subiime.” Cheong hails from La Mirada, California and took down a Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) tournament in May 2009 for a hefty sum of $55,000. He was born is Seoul, South Korea and is 24 years-old. Cheong finished third in the 2010 WSOP Main Event after 6betting all-in before the flop with A-8 and running into the pocket queens of Jonathan Duhamel.
He relegated Pascal LeFrancois to the rails in 11th place down the stretch to secure his November Nine bid. LeFrancois pushed all-in after a series of raises pre-flop holding Q-J of spades, but Cheong woke up with a wired pair of kings and made the call. A jack hit on the flop to give the Korean a sweat, but a king on the turn left LeFrancois drawing dead to the river.
Cheong was one of the more aggressive players down the stretch and we can’t help but think that his prowess in the online arena contributed to his demeanor. However, LeFrancois was his only knockout of Day 8 of the Main Event. Now, he’ll head home to California for the media whirlwind known as the November Nine.
Posters on sites like PocketFives.com railed Cheong in earnest throughout the waning moments of the Main Event as he entered Day 7 with a stack of 5.56 million, good for the 10th largest tally in the Amazon Room. Cheong turned in two in the money finishes in 2010 WSOP events prior to his epic Main Event run, including a 29th place showing in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed affair for $17,000.
Cheong is a WSOP Circuit gold ring winner, having taken down a $340 No Limit Hold’em tournament at Harrah’s Rincon for $17,000 in March 2010. Cheong defeated PokerStars pro and WSOP bracelet winner David Williams heads-up in that event; Williams walked away with $10,000.
In July 2009, Cheong won the Full Tilt Poker $75,000 Guaranteed and $22,500 Guaranteed for a combined payday of over $50,000. In January 2010, Cheong blasted through the field of the Full Tilt $100 Cubed for $23,000; he also owns a win in the challenging PokerStars Nightly Seventy Grand for $13,000. In one of the more impressive feats we’ve seen from an online poker player, Cheong won not one, not two, not three, but six $100 buy-in tournaments on PokerStars in July 2009.
Among those members of PocketFives.com rooting on Cheong during the final days of the Main Event in July were Scott “SCTrojans” Freeman, Michael “benvo123” Benvenuti, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, Nick “Grip” Grippo, and Sam “siola” Iola. Cheong thanked his rail for their support, posting, “TYTY guys. Running pure and I hope it keeps up. GLGL to everyone else still (except vs me).”
Cheong began playing poker in 2007 while at college in the University of California at San Diego.
Poker News Daily caught up with Joseph Cheong for an exclusive video interview.