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.

1. Biggest Online Poker Winners 2017 2018
2. Biggest Online Poker Winners 2017 Results
3. Biggest Online Poker Winners 2019

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.

So, excluding games on platforms such as partypoker or PokerMaster, we bring you the top 5 Best Online Poker Players and Worst Losers of 2017. Berry Sweet vs Dani ‘supernova9’ Stern #5. Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom +$654,625. Never has a name been more synonymous with high stakes action. On the other side, Sami 'Lrslzk' Kelopuro posted the biggest loss of the year and ended $1,277,737 in the red. However, the Finnish pro posted in his blog (found here, in Finnish) that he actually. 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. 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.

Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom and Timofey ‘Trueteller’ Kuznetsov, both legendary high-stakes grinders, along with ‘BERRI SWEET,’ top the 2017 online poker charts with more than $1.4 million in profits. Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom is one of online poker’s biggest winners in 2017.

• 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 : 3^rd 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 : 29^th 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 : 29^th 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 : 29^th 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 : 14^th July 2014
Event : 2014 WSOP Main Event

Swedish professional Poker player Martin Jacobsen won the 5^th 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 : 3^rd 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 : 9^th 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 : 9^th 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 7^th 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 : 9^th 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 : 9^th 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 : 9^th 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 5^th 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 : 17^th July 2007
Event : 38^th 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.

• »News
• »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.

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

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.

Biggest Online Poker Winners 2017 2018

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.

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.

Biggest Online Poker Winners 2017 Results

10 Biggest Poker Tournament Winners of All-Time

Biggest Online Poker Winners 2019