World Poker Tour

Steve Sung

Birthplace
Seoul, Korea

Hometown
Torrance, CA

Birthday
April 15

Total Winnings
$396,203

Steve Sung’s life began in Seoul, Korea, but his family would uproot him and move everyone to the United States – settling in Torrance, California – when Steve was only seven years old. His dad had a job working for a profitable steel company, and the work transfer was the reason for the move. It was at the same time in Steve’s life when he noticed his dad playing poker. He took in the game and started playing with friends as a junior in high school, which was when he began to take the game more seriously – wanting to learn and possibly profit from it. After high school, he began attending school at the University of California at San Diego to study computer engineering and economics, but the lure of poker was too great, and he left college to play poker.

Steve is among a group of up-and-coming young players who have been so successful early in life that their career earnings have eclipsed those of many lifetime professionals. Some of the friends who surround him are Nam Le, Quinn Do, JC Tran, Danny Wong, and Amnon Filippi – all of whom have amazing results and continue to make their presences known on the tournament circuit. Steve is one of those who came to the poker scene as soon as he turned 21-years old, and his first year was an impressive one with six major final tables in his first year of live tournaments.

With two major cashes at the World Series of Poker in 2007, Steve seems to excel in any competitive situation, though it has been the World Poker Tour where he has made the most noise. He narrowly missed several final TV tables in 2006 and 2007, but later in 2007, he made his first at the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona. He finished fourth, though he was not satisfied with anything but first. Several months later, he made another run at it at the 2008 Bay 101 Shooting Stars main event, where he found himself at another final table – this time taking second place. Though it wasn’t a victory, the $585,000 prize may have helped ease the sting. But with his determination and intensity, a win is surely only a few tournaments away.