- All Time Highest Poker Winners
- All Time Biggest Poker Winners This Week
- All Time Biggest Poker Winners 2019
- Biggest Online Poker Winners All Time
- All Time Biggest Poker Winners Losers
The best and most complete top prize poker player winners, profiles ranked according to their results in live poker tournaments all around the world. I In recent years, the prize pool for the WSOP Main Event has become so large that the winner instantly becomes one of the top money winners in tournament poker. Jamie Gold (2006) is number eight on that list, Joe Hachem (2005) is number ten, and Peter Eastgate (2008) is number eleven.
Playing great poker and facing some very tough opponents, Fashakin managed to emerge in first place and win a total of $1,147,449. The event lasted for four days, and Fashakin took more than seven hours in the final day to defeat his heads-up opponent Paul Cullen and win the first prize.
Poker has been said to have started in New Orleans, Louisiana a few decades before the Civil War. The rudimentary 20 card game evolved into a highly complex we know of today, which has aspects of game theory, psychology, and probability, all requiring a high degree of intelligence to succeed in. And further evolving from the standard French 52 card physical decks to the convenience of online poker, which spiked its popularity. Here are the list of the biggest winners in poker.
10
Joseph 'Joe' McKeehen was born in June 28, 1991 in North Wales, Pennsylvania. This American professional player won the World Series of Poker Main Event of 2015, earning him $7,683,346. And placing him 10th of the all-time biggest winners. He had graduated with a math degree and was also a proficient Risk player.
9
Xao 'Jerry' Yang was born in 1967 in Laos. He is an ethnic Hmongpoker player from Temecula, California. He won the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event championship after an intense 12-hour match, which earned him $8,250,000 on the victory. His personal story is tragic as his family had to flee Laos when the communists took over in the 1970s, and they escaped to Thailand, spending four years in a refugee camp, where while living in the camp, his brother and sister died.
8
Joseph 'Joe' Cada was born in 1987 in Shelby Charter Township, Michigan. This American professional player won the Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker at the age of 21. This made him the youngest Poker champion ever. His win was around $8.5 million. His parents disapproved of his chosen profession as a player. His agent had dubbed him 'The Kid'. Presently he has taken a political and visible role in the media and is a strong proponent of legalization of gambling.
7
Pius Heinz was born in 1989 in Bonn, Germany. He won the Main Event of the 2011 World Series of Poker. Which earned him around $8.7 million. He studied Business Psychology which he had put on hold to pursue his poker career. He developed his style on online poker, and he did not have much patience for playing live, which he described as pretty boring and requiring patience.
6
Jonathan Duhamel was born in 1987 in Quebec. He won the Main Event of the 2010 World Series of Poker. Earning him around $8.9 million. He was once badly beaten in a home invasion robbery in 2011. His Main Event bracelet, a Rolex watch and $150,000 in cash were stolen. His ex-girlfriend, Bianca Rojas-Latraverse was arrested within a week of the crime and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Later she was freed early.
5
Peter Eastgate was born in 1985, in Denmark. He won the Main Event of the 2008 World Series of Poker. At that time, he was the youngest player ever to win the event. He went to study economics at Aarhus University but soon dropped out to play poker full-time.
4
Martin Jacobson was born in 1987, in Stockholm, Sweden. He won the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10 million. Prior to poker he studied to be a chef.
3
Jamie Gold was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He was initially in the entertainment business at 16 as an intern at the J. Michael Bloom & Associates Talent Agency. He soon became a talent agent around 21, but soon moved into management/production.
2
Daniel Colman was born in 1991, Holden, Massachusetts. He won the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop of the 2014 World Series of Poker. He was primarily an online player under the name 'mrGR33N13″.
1
Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari, originally named Amir Esfandiary and was born in 1978, in Tehran, Iran, This professional player was a former professional magician, who won the 'Big One for One Drop' of 2012, which had a $1,000,000 buy-in. Earning him $18.3 million, which was the largest cash prize in history. He said that he had changed his name to Antonio because it sounded more mystical than Amir. Esfandiari was also the face of the United States' first legal and regulated online poker site, Ultimate Poker
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Poker has evolved into one of the most popular card games of all time. While it was earlier primarily played for recreational purposes amongst friends, it is now a full-blooded competitive sport and has also emerged as the biggest form of gambling all over the world.
The World Series Of Poker has taken the ‘sport' to the next level, with a main event held every year, along with several smaller tournaments, promising millions of dollars to potential winners. The WSOP has created many instant millionaires and has inspired thousands of players from around the world to take up Poker professionally.
Texas Hold 'em is undoubtedly the most popular Poker variant, and majority of the biggest winners in history have become rich while playing that.
- Did you know that the total prize pool for the 2012 WSOP Event crossed the $ 80 million mark ?
- Can you believe that Antonio Esfandiari pocketed more than $18 million by winning just one Poker event ?
- Ever wondered who are the biggest winners in Poker history ?
- Do you want to be inspired by stories of professionals overcoming all odds to win mega sums of money ?
Well fret not, as we have compiled a definitive list of the top 10 biggest single event Poker winners to inspire you.
1. Antonio Esfandiari – 18.3 Million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0RPJ8Gi3Jg
Nationality : Iran
Winning Amount : 18,346,673
Total Prize Pool : $42.6 million
Date : 3rd July 2012
Event : 2012 WSOP Event #55 – The Big One For One Drop
Aptly nicknamed ‘The Magician' , Antonio Esfandiari is one of the most well known Poker players in the world, and for a valid reason. Antonio managed to win the largest ever cash prize for one Poker tournament when he pocketed a staggering $18.3 million at the 2012 WSOP The Big One For One Drop event, which was held to benefit the One Drop Foundation. Not only that, Antonio is actually a former professional magician, widely known for his unusual tricks with poker chips.
The event had a huge total prize pool of $42.6 million, and even the runner up received a cool $10.1 million, not the worst way to lose is it ? The event saw more than 48 millionaires try their luck, including 28 professional Poker players and some of the very best in the business participated as well.
2. Daniel Colman – $15.3 Million
Nationality : USA
Winning Amount : $15,306,668
Total Prize Pool : $37.3 Million
Date : 29th June 2014
Event : 2014 WSOP Event #57 – The Big One For One Drop
23 year old Dan Colman overcame 41 other professional Poker players to take home a staggering winning prize of $15.3 million, in June 2014. This was the second largest sum of money ever won by a single player in a Poker tournament. He also became popular on social media for showing absolutely no signs of joy after winning the massive amount.
Famous as an online Poker professional, Colman trusted his guts and brought his skill set to the actual tables at the 2014 WSOP – The Big One For One Drop event, a charity organization, which eventually managed to raise $4.6 million to provide clean water in developing countries. The total prize pool of this event was #37.3 Million.
It was fate that led Colman to that day, as back in 2012 he had actually contemplated leaving Poker for good and applying for college. However he messed up his applications and eventually decided to give Poker another shot.
3. Elton Tsang – $12.2 Million
Nationality : China
Winning Amount : $12,248,912
Total Prize Pool : $27.4 Million
Date : 29th October 2016
Event : 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza
Chinese professional Poker player Elton Tsang made the world sit up and notice when he bagged the third largest cash prize in a single Poker tournament, and the largest cash prize awarded in a Poker tournament held outside the USA, when he won a mammoth $12.2 million at the 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza.
Born in Canada, Tsang is currently based in Hong Kong, and has been using his newly acquired wealth to accumulate property and other investments. He defeated 25 other players on his way to winning the big tournament, which had a total prize pool of $27 million, with each player buying in with $1million each.
4. Jamie Gold – $12 Million
Nationality : USA
Winning Amount : $12,000,000
Total Prize Pool : $82.5 Million
Date : 29th July 2006
Event : 2006 WSOP Main Event #39
The current president of production of the entertainment company Buzznation, Jamie Gold gained worldwide stardom for his brilliant win at the 2006 WSOP Main Event.
Gold was only one out of a staggering 8773 different players who had purchased the buy in for the event, with the buy-in fixed at $10,000. This led to the largest ever prize pool in Poker history with a staggering total pool of $82.5 million. The prize money was distributed among the top 873 players (top 10%), with the highest amount being $12 million and the lowest amount being $14,597.
Jamie was notorious for his table antics which included showing his opponents some of his cards, and even mumbling strange things while playing, which had almost got him banned several times.
5. Martin Jacobsen – $10 Million
Nationality : Sweden
Winning Amount : $10,000,000
Total Prize Pool : $62.8 Million
Date : 14th July 2014
Event : 2014 WSOP Main Event
Swedish professional Poker player Martin Jacobsen won the 5th largest single event prize money when he bagged a cool $10 million after winning the 2014 WSOP main event. Born in Sweden but currently residing in London, Jacobsen attained instant stardom following his win.
His win was all the more remarkable because on the second day of the tournament, he actually was placed below the third shortest stack of chips, and managed to make a remarkable turnaround to finish second in the table on the second day. By the third day, he was well in the lead and ended up winning the grand prize. He was widely praised for his gutsy bet-sizing and his impeccable timing, 2 key reasons for his huge victory.
6. Peter Eastgate – $ 9.1 Million
Nationality : Denmark
Winning Amount : $9,152,416
Total Prize Pool : $64.3 Million
Date : 3rd July 2008
Event : 2008 WSOP Main Event
Peter Eastgate, at that time, became the youngest ever player to win a World Series Of Poker Main Event, aged just 22 when he won $9.1 Million in July 2008. With a buy-in of $10,000 , Peter managed to beat scores of other fancied competitors on his way to winning the big one.
The final table lasted two days, with 274 hands taking place over a playing time of more than 15 hours, and at the end of the grueling session, Eastgate finally managed to defeat the experienced Ivan Demidov to win the title.
Having initially qualified for the main event through Ladbrokes' website, his travel to Vegas for the event was also sponsored by the betting firm, and he was registered as part of Team Ladbrokes.
Eastgate also decided to eventually auction off his WSOP Gold Bracelet, with the amount of $147,000 being donated to UNICEF.
7. Jonathan Duhamel – $8.9 Million
Nationality : Canada
Winning Amount : $8,944,310
Total Prize Pool : $68.7 Million
Date : 9th November 2010
Event : 2010 WSOP Main Event
In the second largest Poker event ever held, more than 7300 different players registered for a shot at a mega winning prize, each with a $10,000 buy in which took the total prize pool of the event to an unbelievable $68.7 Million, the second highest of all time.
All Time Highest Poker Winners
After 4 long months of intense poker sessions, a champion was finally crowned in November 2010, as Jonathan Duhamel emerged as the winner of the 2010 WSOP Main Event and won a staggering amount of $8.9 Million.
Duhamel played brilliantly and was pretty much in the lead throughout the event, never looking like slowing down. With his win he became the first Canadian ever to win a WSOP Gold Bracelet, and also donated $100,000 to the Canadian Children's Foundation, which was the largest single donation the charity organization ever received.
8. Pius Heinz – $8.7 Million
Nationality : Germany
Winning Amount : $ 8,711,956
Total Prize Pool : $64.5 Million
Date : 9th November 2011
Event : 2011 WSOP Main Event
Pius Heinz became the first ever player from Germany to win Poker's biggest prize when he won the 2011 WSOP Main Event, at the age of just 22. The Cologne born player took home a mammoth $8.7 million after overcoming 6865 different players in this mega event.
Players from over 85 different countries paid the $10,000 buy in fee for this event, taking the total tournament prize pool to $64.5 million.
The final table session lasted two days and Heinz was widely appreciated for his masterful strategies while playing. Among the final 9 players on the final table, Heinz ranked 7th in terms of chips, and still managed to turn it all around and make a remarkable comeback to win against all odds.
The 2011 WSOP Main Event was the most watched Poker event in history, with people in more than 135 countries tuning in to catch the action live.
9. Joe Cada – $ 8.54 Million
Nationality : USA
Winning Amount : $ 8,547,042
Total Prize Pool : $ 61 Million
Date : 9th November 2009
Event : 2009 WSOP Main Event
All Time Biggest Poker Winners This Week
Joe Cada became the youngest ever WSOP Main Event winner when he won the 2009 event at the age of just 21, which is literally the age limit for gambling in the USA.
The youngster overcame 6494 other competitors on his way to winning $8.5 million, with the buy in for the tournament set at $10,000, taking the total prize money pool to $61 million. A total of 87 hands were played before Cada managed to defeat heavily fancied Darvin Moon, who still took home more than $5.1 million in winnings.
Even before his mammoth win on the final table, Cada had already been awarded a $1 million contract by PokerStars, a company which sponsored his accommodation as well as a percentage of his buy-ins.
Apart from Poker, Cada is also a professional indoor soccer player. Gambling runs in his family as his mother is a former blackjack dealer.
10. Greg Merson – $8.52 Million
Nationality : USA
Winning Amount : $ 8,527,982
Total Prize Pool : $62 Million
Date : 9th October 2012
Event : 2012 WSOP Main Event #61
American professional Greg Merson won an incredible $8.52 million when he overcame thousands of other players to capture the 2012 WSOP Bracelet.
With a final hand consisting of almost 400 hands, one of the most thrilling finales of recent times culminated in Merson's victory, with runner up Jesse Sylvia also taking home a cool $5.29 million.
Formerly a drug addict, Merson's story is inspiring as he overcame a lot of financial and psychological hurdles to reach where he is now. He was even ranked as 2012's WSOP Player Of The Year, after adding the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold 'em to his title as well.
11. Ryan Riess – $8.3 Million
Nationality : USA
Winning Amount : $ 8,359,531
Total Prize Pool : $59.7 Million
Date : 9th 05th November 2013
Event : 2013 WSOP Main Event #62
The then 23 year old Ryan Reiss shocked the Poker World when he finally managed to beat the heavy favourite Jay Farber at the 2013 WSOP Main Event, to take home a stunning winning amount of $8.3 million. The runner up also took home a huge sum of $5.1 million.
The tournament, which begun back in July, saw a total 6352 Poker players trying their luck out. That number included many poker legends and favourites from around the globe. Reiss was considered as just another young rookie in the game. However, after the first 7 days he emerged as one of the November 9, with the 5th largest stack going into the final round of the tournament.
All Time Biggest Poker Winners 2019
Reiss gained widespread respect for his gesture of immediately acknowledging the runner up Farber, despite the whole crowd chanting his name wildly.
12. Jerry Yang – $8.25 Million
Nationality : Laos
Winning Amount : $ 8,250,000
Total Prize Pool : $59.78 Million
Date : 17th July 2007
Event : 38th WSOP Main Event 2007
Biggest Online Poker Winners All Time
Asian poker legend Jerry Yang enhanced his reputation as one of the best ever with a huge victory at the 2007 WSOP Main Event, when he outsmarted 6358 other entrants on his way to winning a mega prize of $8.25 Million. Already 40 years old during his win, Yang was one of the more experienced players on the card in Vegas.
All Time Biggest Poker Winners Losers
The buy-in for the tournament was set at $10,000, with more than 6000 entrants buying in, leading to a huge prize pool of $59.7 million. Yang donated 10% of his winnings to various charities and also revealed his plans of sending all 6 of his children to the best universities and set them up for life.