The Shooting Star Championship is one of the standout highlights of every World Poker Tour season. In this tournament, renowned poker pros are designated as “Shooting Stars” and each has a bounty placed on their head. And this year’s WPT bounty tournament is already in the starting blocks. From October 16 to November 1, 2026, the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Festival will be held at the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose. The main highlight is the $5,300 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship, which takes place from October 23 to 27. For the upcoming event, there’s a high-profile addition to the “bounty players” list: husband-and-wife team Alex and Kristen Foxen.
This year’s hunting season is finally kicking off at the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose. The main championship event begins on October 23 with Day 1A, followed by Day 1B on October 24. The buy-in is $5,300. The field will then be whittled down over Day 2 and Day 3 until the fourth day of the tournament. By the end, the six finalists will be determined to compete for the title. Anyone who eliminates a “Shooting Star” from the tournament receives an additional $2,500 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship. The bounty is not paid out of the regular prize pool but is distributed as a separate bonus for the knockout. A unique feature of the format: If a Shooting Star wins the tournament itself, they receive their own bounty. In addition, the chip leader after each Day 1 flight receives a $5,000 bonus.
This year, Championship participants can once again look forward to high-profile targets. Poker legend Phil Hellmuth was initially announced as a Shooting Star for this year’s edition. Now Alex and Kristen Foxen are joining the lineup. Alex Foxen is an American high-stakes professional and four-time WSOP bracelet winner (including the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em in 2026, for $594,246). His reported live tournament winnings to date total approximately $59.5 million. He also has a WPT title (in 2019 at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1,694,995) on his list of achievements.
Kristen Foxen is one of the most successful women on the poker scene. The Canadian was named Female Player of the Year in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, and 2025. She has six WSOP bracelets and more than $19.2 million in live tournament winnings to her credit. She is also in top form in 2026, finishing 4th for $1,449,000 at the Triton Super High Roller Main Event in Jeju, for example. Note: Kristen is an experienced bounty player herself. She has already won several major bounty tournaments, such as the 2016 WSOP $1,500 NLHE Bounty Event. More Shooting Stars will be added before the tournament begins.
The full Shooting Star Festival runs from October 16 through November 1 and includes 18 events plus satellites. Buy-ins range from $400 to $5,300, while satellites start as low as $200. The festival includes, among other things, a $600 Shooting Star Opener, various $400 and $600 tournaments, PLO and Limit Omaha 8 or Better, as well as several $1,100 events. A $2,200 NLH event and various Mystery Bounty tournaments are also on the schedule. The festival will conclude on November 1 with a $600 Shooting Star Closer.
For more information about the event, visit the WPT website.