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.
Former PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu was the former number one in the biggest poker tournament winners of all time until Bonomo went on his epic run. Negreanu is currently sat in second-place with $40,045,583 in winnings. A run of cards that any poker player would be envious of, propelled 2015 November Niner Thomas 'FLOATZ' Cannuli through the virtual gauntlet of Event #61: The $3,333 Big Grind Online and into a shiny, new 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet. The 2017 World Series of Poker was the 48th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). It took place from May 30-July 17 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. 1 There was a record 74 bracelet events including the third edition of the $565 Colossus tournament and the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event, which began on July 8.
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 Mla cattle prices casino tunica.
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.
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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.
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. Fantasy springs casino pom restaurant menu.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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Whether in prestigious live events or in huge online ones like the upcoming Spring Championship of Online Poker, PokerStars has been making millionaires for a long time.
It's only fitting, then, that PokerStars has come up with several more ways to give players opportunities to earn seven-figure scores in the new PokerStars Makes Millionaires, a series of events this spring.
Already underway are chances to win a $1 Million Spin & Go, a free package to the PokerStars Championship Monte-Carlo Main Event and a shot at its guaranteed €1 million first-place prize.
Meanwhile, during the rest of April, players can participate in PokerStars' special Millionaire Month promotion.
Then in May, they can take shots at winning their way into the SCOOP Main Event (High) for a chance at its $1 million guaranteed first-place prize.
As a way of marking the occasion, here are the ten biggest million dollar wins in PokerStars history, divided into the top five live event wins and top five scores online on PokerStars.
1. Niklas Heinecker -- $4,456,884.79 (GuangDong Asia Millions, 2013)
German pro Niklas Heinecker took down the biggest prize in PokerStars history in 2013Baccarat may be the game of choice in Macau, but poker rules at the City of Dreams where the PokerStars Championship Macau series is currently underway.
That was also the site of a storied event in PokerStars history: the HK$1,000,000 buy-in GuangDong Asia Millions Main Event.
In the summer of 2013, this event attracted a huge 71-entry field with many of poker's top tournament talent.
From that group, the German Niklas Heinecker emerged as the winner, earning a whopping HK$34.6 million payday, more than $4.45 million USD.
More of an online player than a live one, Heinecker is best known among PokerStars railbirds for his frequent presence in the high-stakes online cash games where he plays as 'ragen70.'
To earn the victory in Macau, Heinecker had to outlast a tough final table that included Igor Kurganov, Isaac Haxton and Sorel Mizzi before besting Jeff Rossiter heads up.
'This is by far the biggest day of my poker career,' Heinecker told the PokerStars Blog following his win.
Talk about understatement! It was one of the biggest days anyone has ever experienced in poker and the biggest payday of them all, among the many big ones enjoyed over the years at PokerStars live events.
2. Phil Ivey -- $3,582,752.63 (Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge, 2014)
Phil Ivey has had some tremendous victories in his career but this was the biggestThe player in second position on this list needs no introduction, as anyone who has followed poker knows Phil Ivey is one of the best cash game and tournament players ever.
But for all of his World Series of Poker bracelet wins and other high-profile scores, his biggest cash ever came at the 2014 Aussie Millions Poker Championship for winning the AU$250,000 Challenge for a first prize of AU$4 million worth about $3.58 million USD.
There were 30 entries (including re-entries) in the event, with a star-laden final lineup comprised of Isaac Haxton (runner-up), Mike McDonald (third), Daniel Negreanu (fourth), Fabian Quoss (fifth) and Tom Dwan (sixth).
Ivey followed up that win with his 10th career WSOP bracelet that summer. The New Jersey native would come back to Melbourne a year later and successfully defend his title in the same event versus a smaller field to earn another seven-figure score worth just over $1.7 million.
3. Glen Chorny -- $3,196,354.26 (EPT Grand Final Main Event, 2008)
Concluding the fourth season of the European Poker Tour, the €10K EPT Grand Final Main Event drew an enormous field of 842 players.
After an intense week of poker, Canadian Glen Chorny took the title and a €2.02 million first prize worth nearly $3.2 million USD.
After qualifying for the tournament on PokerStars and then outlasting all but the last table of players, Chorny had to face and overcome a tough final group including Antonio Esfandiari, Isaac Baron and Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano.
'There's no better way to feel right now than like this,' Chorny told the PokerStars Blog after his win. 'It feels like you're a rock star.'
4. Jeff Rossiter -- $3,155,886.63 (GuangDong Asia Millions, 2013)
Even after finishing as runner-up Jeff Rossiter makes our top 5 listJeff Rossiter's runner-up showing in the huge 2013 GuangDong Asia Millions event noted above and the HK$24.5 million prize he took for second place -- worth over $3.15 million USD -- was enough to land him a spot on this list as well.
The Australian has been no stranger to tournament success, especially in Asia, where he's collected numerous final-table cashes including a victory in the Asia Championship of Poker Warm-Up in Macau in 2012.
He continues to collect big scores, getting to the most recent Aussie Millions Main Event final table in January where he finished fourth and added to his more than $6.6 million in career tournament earnings.
5. Pieter De-Korver -- $3,024,167.00 (EPT Grand Final Main Event, 2009)
Dutchman Pieter De Korver won huge in 2009 at the EPT Grand FinalA year after Glen Chorny's big win in Monte-Carlo, Pieter De-Korver topped another big turnout of 935 entries in the EPT Grand Final Main Event and won a first prize of €2.3 million (just over $3.02 million USD).
De-Korver survived multiple all-ins during the course of the final table. In fact, he was down to just three big blinds at one point before scraping his way back to earn the win.
De-Korver had just a couple of small cashes in his native Netherlands prior to that victory, at the time the largest tournament score by a Dutchman ever (Jorryt van Hoof would top it in 2014 after winning just over $3.8 million for a third-place finish in the WSOP Main Event).
1. Tyson 'POTTERPOKER' Marks -- $2,278,097.50 (WCOOP Main Event, 2010)
American Tyson Marks was the winner of online poker's biggest prize of all timeThe largest online score ever on PokerStars was won in 2010 by Tyson 'POTTERPOKER' Marks, who triumphed in the massive, 2,443-entry World Championship of Online Poker Main Event.
After riding an end-of-tournament rush, Marks won the largest chunk of a $12,215,000 prize pool.
The Missoula, Montana native came to that final table with a massive chip lead, having nearly three times the chips of his nearest competitor. He then proceeded to knock out five more players at the final table while never relinquishing the chip lead.
'I was running like GOD,' starting with about 15 players left, Marks explained in his post-tournament write-up about the event for the PokerStars Blog.
There was no deal talk, either, meaning Marks took away the entire $2,278,097.50 scheduled to go to the winner.
It was an amount that had some thinking about the $2.5 million payday Chris Moneymaker earned in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. With a $5,000 buy-in for the event, that meant Marks enjoyed a better than 455-to-1 return on his investment.
2. Yevgeniy 'Jovial Gent' Timoshenko -- $1,715,200.00 (WCOOP Main Event, 2009)
Yevgeniy Timoshenko was one of the hottest players in world poker in 2009The year before Marks's big win, a player more familiar with the live circuit, Russian Yevgeniy Timoshenko, won what was at the time the largest tournament prize ever on PokerStars.
As 'Jovial Gent,' the Ukrainian bested a 2,015-player field and challenging final table that saw Jaime Kaplan, Dan Kelly and Tyler Kenney all find places within the final five.
That win bookended an amazing 2009 for Timoshenko.
He would earn his largest career live score that spring by winning the World Poker Tour Five Star World Poker Classic for nearly $2.15 million, part of his more than $7.3 million in live tournament earnings.
3. Jonas 'llJaYJaYll' Lauck -- $1,517,541.25 (WCOOP Main Event, 2016)
The WCOOP Main Event was once again the platform for a huge win on PokerStars'I told myself before the final table started I would be happy to finish at least fifth place,' said Jonas 'llJaYJaYll' Lauck to the PokerStars Blog following last year's WCOOP Main Event.
The German player had entered the final table fifth out of nine in chips. That finish served as a target of sorts for him as the final table began.
He'd make it to fifth and then some, however, ultimately being the last player standing from a 2,091-entry field to win the title and a big first prize of more than $1.51 million.
It was a satisfying follow-up to a summer that saw Lauck get all the way to the final 37 players in last year's WSOP Main Event before having his aces cracked by ace-king to fall just shy of the final four tables.
Alas for Lauck, the rules of poker require all five community cards to be dealt to determine the winning hand.
But at the WCOOP Main Event final table, Lauck's luck turned. He'd have aces hold twice for him on the way to becoming another of PokerStars' millionaires.
4. David 'PlayinWasted' Kaufmann -- $1,493,499.15 (WCOOP Main Event, 2013)
The 2013 WCOOP Main Event was also a big one, with 2,133 players vying for the title. In the end there were three Germans making a final table deal, then David 'PlayinWasted' Kaufmann going on win the title, concluding more than 26 hours' worth of poker across two days to earn just under $1.5 million, according to the terms of the deal.
One of the big stacks to start that final table, Kaufmann was second in chips by the time of the chop but picked up an extra $160,000 for the win to land a spot on our list.
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Amazingly, the deal meant all three players involved -- Kaufmann and his final two opponents ('Allanon85' and 'SwissCantMis') -- were made millionaires on PokerStars that night.
5. Talal 'raidalot' Shakerchi -- $1,468,001.00 (SCOOP Main Event-High, 2016)
Talal Shakerchi is a superstar in both business and pokerThe last player on our list wasn't technically 'made' a millionaire on PokerStars -- he was one already.
But it's true; the businessman and frequent participant at PokerStars live events Talal 'raidalot' Shakerchi also earned a seven-figure score on the site for his victory in the 'High' ($10,000 buy-in) version of last year's Spring Championship of Online Poker Main Event.
The Londoner added that title to a growing collection, as he's also won two other high roller events at EPTs and a $5K one in the Bahamas last year.
For his SCOOP victory, Shakerchi topped an 824-entry field to win the largest portion of an $8 million-plus prize pool, impressively leading wire-to-wire at the final table to claim the victory and a $1,468,001 first prize.
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That meant outlasting other high-roller talents like Sean Winter, Scott Seiver, Markku Koplimaa and Pablo Fernandez to earn the win.
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