Wesley So entered the final round of the U.S. Championship with a one-point lead, needing only a draw to secure the title. Instead, Sam Sevian defeated him in a heavy-piece endgame while Fabiano Caruana won his game against Awonder Liang, forcing the two champions into a tiebreak. So spent an anxious night with minimal sleep before facing the defending champion.

The playoff format called for two rapid games at fifteen minutes with a ten-second increment. In the first game, So piloted Black against Caruana's Nimzo-Indian and reached a winning position but allowed complications as both players scrambled for time. The game ended in a draw, leaving everything to decide on the second contest.

So took White in Game 2 with a Scotch Four Knights, and Caruana responded with an aggressive pawn gambit that commentators deemed dubious. The defending champion departed from his preparation and found himself in difficult circumstances. So neutralized the counterplay, regained his sacrificed pawn, and launched a queenside castle followed by an attack that secured a piece on move twenty-two.

Caruana mounted more resistance than expected but his survival chances evaporated quickly. He resigned on move thirty-three, giving So the title and ending Caruana's bid for a fifth consecutive championship. So had won the U.S. Championship in 2017, 2020, and 2021, making this his first national crown since that time.

So expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the playoff, characterizing the games as poor with numerous blunders from both sides. He acknowledged that his energy had drained by the finale and praised Sevian for making the tournament exceptionally challenging. The winner collected forty-nine thousand dollars in prize money plus a seven-thousand-dollar bonus.