Top Money Winners Poker All Time

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For the last eight years, the largest tournament in the world has been the World Series of Poker Main Event. With the exception of 1992, the US$10,000 buy-in tournament increased in prize pool year-over-year from its start in 1970 until 2007 (the latter a result of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which reduced the number of players winning their seats via online play).

The first tournament to reach a million dollar prize pool was the 1983 WSOP Main Event. The WSOP Main Event of 2004 had the first prize pool of above $10,000,000.

The biggest poker winners shows you the top money earners at the online felt. These are the most successful high stakes poker players at the rooms Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars. The top of the all-time tournament money list changes constantly, especially given the surge in popularity of ultra high buy-in tournaments over the past decade or so. As of right now, the player at the top of the all-time money list is Bryn Kenney, though over $20 million of his earnings came from a single tournament (Triton Million for Charity). Top 10 Tournament Poker Pro on the All-Time Money List. For those poker enthusiasts out there, many of the names on this list will be well known. Whether they draw your ire or you admire their money, (almost) all the guys on this list are there for good re.

The largest non Hold'em Tournament has been the 2008 WSOP $50K HORSE with a prize pool of $7,104,000 and the first prize of $1,989,120 going to Scotty Nguyen.[1]

Below are the 30 largest poker tournaments with respect to the prize pool in United States dollars and not number of entrants. This list includes live and online poker.

Currently, 14 of the 15 largest prize pools in history have been WSOP Main Events. The second largest prize pool outside of the Main Event is the 2012 WSOP event known as The Big One for One Drop, held from July 1–3. It featured a buy-in of US$1 million, the largest in poker history. Of the buy-in, $111,111 was a charitable donation to the One Drop Foundation, and the WSOP took no rake. All 48 seats available for that event were filled, resulting in a prize pool of $42,666,672, with over 5 million dollars donated.[2] The second largest pool for any event outside of the WSOP was the 2012 Macau High Stakes Challenge, with a HK$2 million (US$260,000) buy-in plus a rebuy option. The event drew a field of 73, of which 21 made a rebuy, resulting in a prize pool of HK$182,360,000 (slightly over US$23.5 million).[3]

All of the 30 richest tournaments to date were played in No Limit Hold'em.

EventPrize Pool (US$)Winner1st PrizeRef.
2006 WSOP Main Event$82,512,162Jamie Gold$12,000,000[4][5]
2019 WSOP Main Event$80,548,600Hossein Ensan$10,000,000[6]
2018 WSOP Main Event$74,015,600John Cynn$8,800,000[7]
2010 WSOP Main Event$68,799,059Jonathan Duhamel$8,944,310[8]
2017 WSOP Main Event$67,877,400Scott Blumstein$8,150,000[9]
2019 Triton Super High Roller Series - Triton Million$65,660,000 (£54,000,000)Aaron Zang$16,775,820* (£13,779,491)[10]
2019 Triton Super High Roller Series - Triton Million$65,660,000 (£54,000,000)Bryn Kenney*$20,563,324* (£16,775,820) (2nd place)[10]
2011 WSOP Main Event$64,531,000Pius Heinz$8,711,956[11]
2008 WSOP Main Event$64,333,600Peter Eastgate$9,152,416[12]
2016 WSOP Main Event$63,327,800Qui Nguyen$8,005,310[13]
2014 WSOP Main Event$62,820,200Martin Jacobson$10,000,000[14]
2012 WSOP Main Event$62,021,200Greg Merson$8,527,982[15]
2009 WSOP Main Event$61,043,600Joe Cada$8,547,042[16]
2015 WSOP Main Event$60,348,000Joe McKeehen$7,680,021[17]
2007 WSOP Main Event$59,784,954Jerry Yang$8,250,000[18]
2013 WSOP Main Event$59,708,800Ryan Riess$8,359,531[19]
2005 WSOP Main Event$52,818,610Joe Hachem$7,500,000[20]
2012 WSOP Event 55 – The Big One for One Drop$42,666,672Antonio Esfandiari$18,346,673[21]
2014 WSOP Event 57 – The Big One for One Drop$37,333,338Dan Colman$15,306,668[22]
2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza$27,437,564Elton Tsang$12,248,912[23]
2019 PokerStars NL Hold'em Players Championship$26,455,500Ramon Colillas$5,100,000[24]
2018 WSOP Event 78 – The Big One for One Drop$24,840,000Justin Bonomo$10,000,000[25]
2004 WSOP Main Event$24,224,400Greg Raymer$5,000,000[26]
2012 Macau High Stakes Challenge Super High Roller$23,511,128 Stanley Choi$6,465,560[27]
Super High Roller Bowl 2015$21,500,000Brian Rast$7,525,000[28]
2016 WSOP Event 67 – High Roller for One Drop$19,316,565Fedor Holz$4,981,775[29]
2013 WSOP Event 47 – One Drop High Roller$17,891,148Anthony Gregg$4,830,619[30]
Super High Roller Bowl 2017$16,800,000Christoph Vogelsang$6,000,000[31]
2007 WPT Championship$15,495,750Carlos Mortensen$3,970,415[32]
2013 GuangDong Ltd Asia Millions Main Event$15,376,897Niklas Heinecker$4,456,885[33]
2011 Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure$15,132,000Galen Hall$2,300,000[34]
*Due to a prize splitting deal Aaron Zang received £13,779,491 ($16,775,820) for 1st, original payout for 1st was £19,000,000 ($23,100,000). Bryn Kenney received a larger cash prize of £16,775,820 ($20,563,324) for 2nd place.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Hendon Mob
  2. ^Dalla, Nolan (June 30, 2012). 'The Biggest One—World's Most Spectacular Poker Extravaganza Starts Sunday'. World Series of Poker. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  3. ^Peters, Donnie (August 31, 2012). 'Stanley Choi Wins Macau High Stakes Challenge for US$6,465,746'. PokerNews.com. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  4. ^'2006 WSOP Main Event payouts'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  5. ^Hendon Mob
  6. ^https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=541550
  7. ^[1]
  8. ^wsop.com
  9. ^http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/payouts.asp?grid=1352&tid=15673
  10. ^ abhttps://triton-series.com/triton-super-high-roller-series-london-2019/
  11. ^'PIUS HEINZ WINS 2011 WSOP MAIN EVENT CHAMPIONSHIP'. WSOP. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  12. ^Hendon Mob
  13. ^'Level 4 concludes: officially the largest main event in the last five years'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  14. ^Poker News Daily
  15. ^pokernews.com
  16. ^'2009 WSOP main event prize pool'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  17. ^'Event #68: No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT'. 2015 World Series op Poker Chip Counts. World Series of Poker. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  18. ^Hendon Mob
  19. ^'2013 44th Annual World Series of Poker, Event #62: No-Limit Hold'em Main Event'. WSOP.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013. Click on the 'Prizepool' tab for the first prize.
  20. ^Hendon Mob
  21. ^Dalla, Nolan (July 3, 2012). 'Antonio Esfandiari Pulls Off Amazing Trick by Winning One Drop'. WSOP.com. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  22. ^Hendon Mob
  23. ^[2]
  24. ^[3]
  25. ^[4]
  26. ^Hendon Mob
  27. ^Hendon Mob
  28. ^Hendon Mob
  29. ^Hendon Mob
  30. ^Hendon Mob
  31. ^[5]
  32. ^Hendon Mob
  33. ^Hendon Mob
  34. ^pokerstarsblog.com
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_largest_poker_tournaments_in_history_(by_prize_pool)&oldid=977384655'
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  • »Who Are The Biggest Poker Tournament Winners Of All-Time?

The rise in popularity of High Roller and Super High Roller poker tournaments in recent years has had a dramatic affect on the all-time winnings rankings, as has the fact poker tournament players now have more opportunities than ever to grind away in major events around the world.

These days, you need almost $8.5 million in cashes just to break into the top 100 biggest poker winners of all-time, and a staggering $12.6 million to find yourself ranked in the top 50. The prize money some of the world’s best poker players have earned is astronomical, but who are the five biggest poker tournament winners of all time?

Justin Bonomo – $44,779,048

Justin Bonomo tops the charts with an almost unbelievable total of $44,779,048 in live poker tournament winnings. Bonomo already had more than $18 million in earning before he went on a massive heater during 2018 that saw the Fairfax, Virginia native get his hands on more than $25.4 million!

Part of that huge total stemmed from his victory in the Big One for One Drop event at the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a $1 million buy-in event. Bonomo was the last man standing and locked up the largest cash of his career, namely $10 million.

Daniel Negreanu – $40,045,583

Daniel Negreanu

Former PokerStars Team ProDaniel 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.

The Canadian, who resides in Las Vegas is regarded as one of the best all-round poker players of all time, one who has amassed six WSOP bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles. Negreanu’s largest cash weighs in at $8,288,001, his reward for a second-place finish in the 2014 edition of the Big One for One Drop.

Top Money Winners Poker All Time

Erik Seidel – $35,373,831

Erik Seidel may not look like your stereotypical poker player, but do not let looks fool you because Seidel is an absolute beast, a beast who has earned $35,373,831 from poker tournaments. Among Seidel’s many achievements are eight WSOP bracelets, a WPT Main Event win and a victory in a Super High Roller event on the European Poker Tour (EPT) circuit.

Seidel was the runner-up in the 1988 WSOP Main Event, losing to Johnny Chan. This final hand made it into the famous 1998 movie Rounders.

Bryn Kenney – $34,908,320

Winners

Bryn Kenney

Born in Long Beach, New York, Bryn Kenney cut his teeth playing online poker where he gained a reputation for being a fearless opponent. It is a deserved reputation because Kenney fears nobody at the table, especially in No Limit Hold’em tournaments for any stakes.

There are still six months of 2019 remaining, yet Kenney is already guaranteed to have enjoyed his best year at the poker tables in terms of money won. Through June 20, 2019, Kenney has banked almost $9.3 million in winnings, an impressive figure helped by him winning back-to-back titles at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro that saw him return home with the equivalent of $3,605,235.

David Peters – $33,066,566

Ohio’s David Peters is probably the best poker player you have never heard of and it is not because of a lack of winnings as Peters currently sits in fifth-place in the biggest poker tournament winners of all-time listings with $33,066,566.

Top Money Winners Poker All Time Winners

Peters tends to shun the limelight, not interested in the publicity that comes with winning poker tournament. Instead, Peters acts like a consummate professional, heads to casinos around the world and has an almost unnatural ability to build his stack.

Ten cashes of more than $1 million have helped Peters soar up the rankings, with his largest prize being worth $2,699,752 which he won for finishing second in a Super High Roller event in the Philippines that cost $200,000 to enter.

Top Money Winners Poker All Time Wins

10 Biggest Poker Tournament Winners of All-Time

Top Money Winners Poker All Time Money

PlacePlayerCountryWinnings
1Justin BonomoUnited States$44,779,050
2Daniel NegreanuCanada$40,045,583
3Erik SeidelUnited States$35,373,831
4Bryn KenneyUnited States$34,908,320
5David PetersUnited States$33,066,566
6Fedor HolzGermany$32,556,379
7Daniel ColmanUnited States$28,925,059
8Jason KoonUnited States$28,890,061
9Antonio EsfandiariUnited States$27,728,436
10Dan SmithUnited States$27,707,079