With 2025 coming to a close, female players on PokerStake have been some of the most successful of the past 12 months. With legends of the felt such as Kristen Foxen, Maria Konnikova and Cherish Andrews all starring during massive events, others such as Jess Vierling, Judy Bielan and Kathy Chang have all enjoyed magical memories at the felt too. We’ve looked back at their excellent past year and what it could mean for the female game in 2026.

Foxen Among Highest Flyers in 2025

Over the past year, Kristen Foxen has underlined her status as the best female player in the game right now. More and more, however, while we’re highlighting how terrific the female players representing PokerStake in live events have been, these superstars merit discussion not based around their sex but success regardless of it. The fact is that players such as Kristen Foxen are setting an example for any poker player to aspire to.

Kristen’s run in 2025 is nothing short of phenomenal, with 38 cashes meaning an average of three results every single month. The biggest of these was the $1.1m she won in Jeju, South Korea, where she came third in the Triton Event #10 but there were outright wins too, including in the U.S. Poker Open, where Kristen took down the opening event in April for $158,025. In January, she began the year with a PGT Kickoff victory worth $197,625.

A PokerGO Cup win in February also netted Kristen a six-figure score as she took home $348,300 for triumphing against Patrick Leonard in the $15,000-entry event, seeing off a final table including fellow PokerStake player Erik Seidel.

Kristen Foxen was a phenomenon at the felt in 2025, here she is in action during a particularly enjoyable session on the Hustler Casino Live stream where she wins one big hand with an accurate value bet and another by calling a bluff in a tough spot on the river:

Cherish the Memories

With the last 12 months a blur of poker activity in live tournament around the globe, many festivals have seen female players star in them. Often, they’ve represented PokerStake better than anyone and popular seller Maria Konnikova was one example. The inspirational podcast host author and writer considers herself only semi-professional at the game of poker but posted results that many pros might envy in 2025.

A huge year at the felt in the past year saw Maria win NAPT and EPT titles, go past $1 million in live tournament earnings and defend the human element in both poker players and writers in equal measure. Always on point, the Harvard psychology graduate explained some of her thoughts and processes during this excellent episode of Table Talk:

Cherish Andrews began her year by scooping the GPI Player of the Year award for female players and along with David Coleman, told us just what such a prestigious accolade means to her. Winning six-figure top scores on the North American Poker Tour and at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Cherish told us that her ambitions are right across the game of poker.

“I think some people assume that women are uber competitive with just each other,” she said. “But I want to top everyone – man or woman.”

Other Female Superstars in 2025

Across hundreds of other events, brilliant female performances were at the heart of the action in 2025. Just this week, Natasha Mercier reached the latter stages of the Super Main Event to win $1.8 million behind the eventual winner Bernhard Binder. Jess Vierling went past $1.7m in live tournament earnings this year after big results in Jeju, Taipei City and Barcelona among other cities on her worldwide travels.

Judy Bielan and Kathy Chang were two more female players who excelled in the past 12 months. Judy cashed over five times a month on average across the year, including a series of big five-figure results in tournaments with buy-ins around the $500-$600 mark, a huge return on her investment – and the investments of many stakers on PokerStake.

Kathy Chang enjoyed her best score of her live poker career in December when she took down the $1,600-entry Limit Omaha 8 Championship at the WPT World Championships for just under $50,000. Excelling at mixed games in 2025, Kathy has become a staple in a number of game formats in Las Vegas and nearby areas. She could have a huge year in 2026.

If you want to back any of the best female poker players in the world, then head to PokerStake’s official staking page and get involved. If you missed out on profit in 2025, then be like the wonderful women who sell their action on PokerStake, and don’t miss out in the next 12 months. They’re sure to succeed!