Poker fans will do anything to win big cash prizes, including entering top poker tournaments. The most coveted tournament is the World Series of Poker. This is an event held annually in Las Vegas under the sponsorship of Caesars Entertainment.
In every annual poker event, huge prize pools are won by the winners. Consequently, many poker fans enter tournaments to try their luck. In this article, you’ll find the list of the latest world series of poker winners. Read through to know who these winners beat and how much they earned from the wins.
World Series of Poker Champions
Not everyone who enters the World Series of Poker wins the title and the cash prizes. Here are the champions who did their best to win this most envied poker event. We list the winners plus what they earned and who they competed against.
Use the list below to jump to that years winner:
- Jonathan Duhamel (2010)
- Pius Heinz (2011)
- Greg Merson (2012)
- Ryan Riess (2013)
- Martin Jacobson (2014)
- Joseph McKeehen (2015)
- Qui Nguyen (2016)
- Scott Blumstein (2017)
- John Cynn (2018)
- Hossein Ensan (2019)
1. Jonathan Duhamel (2010)
- Prize Winnings: $8.9 Million
Jonathan Duhamel was the winner of the 2010 World Series of Poker main event tournament. The Canadian pro poker player has won 3 poker bracelets and thousands of dollars throughout his career.
Jonathan won a whopping $9 million in the poker tournament of 2011. He also won several other large prizes in other events. For instance, the EPT Prague main event granted him $54,904 for taking 10th place. He also appeared in the 2010 PCA main event and won $17,500 for taking the 151st position.
2. Pius Heinz (2011)
- Prize Winnings: $8.72 Million
The 22-year-old champ from Germany became $8.72 richer after winning the World Series of Poker in 2011 in Las Vegas. He beat his opponent Martin Staszako from the Czech Republic.
Apart from the notable 2011 WSOP series, Pius won other poker tournaments earning him more than USD $700K in online tournaments. His biggest score ever was in a Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan which gave him $61K. Pius also won in a $320 main event in Pokerstars dubbed NLHE.
3. Greg Merson (2012)
- Prize Winnings: $8.5 Million
The college dropout from Maryland, Las Vegas, took home a whopping $8.5 million. He’s the known winner of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. Greg, a young pro poker player, has won other titles apart from this one.
At just 24 years, he beat his opponents Jesse Sylvia and Jake Basilger in a span of 12 hours. Greg has something to be proud of as he also won 2012’s $10,000 Texas Hold’em six-handed World Championship. Evidently, Greg was the undisputed winner of the Phil Hellmuth for 2012 WSOP Player of the Year honors.
4. Ryan Riess (2013)
- Prize Winnings: $8.4 Million
Ryan Riess is a pro poker player who earned a top title in 2013 using his excellent poker skills.
The champion from Las Vegas won a WSOP bracelet alongside a hefty award of $8.4 million. The Michigan champion used a smart strategy until he received what most players wish to achieve.
The 23-year-old took the title by taking the lead in the 2013 WSOP main event in the No Limit Texas Hold’em game. This poker tournament had 6,352 entrants, and Reiss managed to outdo theism through his pro poker skills. His opponent Jay Farber the second place in the event.
5. Martin Jacobson (2014)
- Prize Winnings: $10 Million
Martin Jacobson is a Swedish poker champion who won 8 figures worth poker prize pool in 2014. This victory was the first time in 8 years in history and the second time in WSOP.
Jacobson took home a whopping $10,000,000. So far, this is the biggest tournament he had ever won though he also won EPT main event. Jacobson’s total winnings range approximately $15,000,000 in total.
The Stockholm champion also won other events as he won 3 tables in season 7 of the EPT. He’s also famous for making two runners-up finishes in Vilamoura and Deauville.
6. Joseph McKeehen (2015)
- Prize Winnings: $7.6Million
Joe McKeehen won a 3rd bracelet plus $352,985 when he participated in the $3,200 High Roller World Series Tournament.
As you would guess, this event had a prize pool of $15 million. He also made the November Nine chip lead, which was approximately a third of the total chips.
The 25-year-old champion went face off with Joshua Beckley only to take first place. The New Jersey opponent went all-in with a pair of fours. Seeing this, Joseph McKeehen used strategy to outdo him. The three-day marathon ended with the crowning of Joe Mckeehen as the winner in a field full of 6,420 entries.
7. Qui Nguyen (2016)
- Prize Winnings: $8 Million
Qui Nguyen is a Vietnamese pro poker player who won a tournament in 2016, taking home $8 million.
The player also won the envied WSOP bracelet alongside the cash. He took first place, beating Cliff Josephy and Gordon Vayo. He attributed his success to avoiding all the missteps that come in a tournament.
Qui Nguyen also believes that his aggressiveness won him the title. The 39-year-old’s close opponent Cliff Josephy was the chip leader only to be outlasted in the end. Though his win was unpredictable in the table, Qui Nguyen proudly took the title for the winner of the 2016 World Series of Poker. It’s worth noting that Qui Nguyen was the 47th winner of the World Poker Series main event. Furthermore, he takes history as the second Vietnamese to win, Scotty Nguyen being the first to win $ 1 million in the 1998 WSOP main event.
8. Scott Blumstein (2017)
- Prize Winnings: $8.15 Million
The 2017 winner of WSOP Main Event was Scott Blumstein from Brigantine, New Jersey.
The pro poker player was delighted to win $8.15 million in one of the most action-packed poker events. Scott expressed his joy having received the award claiming that he was kind of tired of poker. This was just a tremendous win considering that the event had the biggest number of players in history. The 25-year-old champion beat precisely 8,773 players present in the field.
The historical WSOP main event was action-packed with a three-way all-in strategy present. He used short stacks to beat Dan Ott and Benjamin Pollak. Winning such a coveted tournament isn’t easy, especially for a young player. However, Blumstein beat all the odds to take the prize home.
9. John Cynn (2018)
- Prize Winnings: $8.8 Million
The WSOP bracelet of the 2018 World Series of Poker championship went to John Cynn of Indianapolis.
He won a whopping $8.8 million, making history in the championship. This sweet victory happened on a Sunday morning, earning John Cynn a new title and more money.
The 27-year-old was so determined to convert his $10,000 buy-in into a large prize pool. Cynn played for two weeks non-stop in a field with 7,874 players. The victory he took happened at Rio All-Suite Hotel Casino, beating his opponent Tony Myles.
John Cynn received the reward with open arms and promised that the money wouldn’t change who he is as a person. Though his last days of the tournament were quite tiresome, Cynn decided to push harder. The more he pushed, the sharper he became in the game. He would finally win the 2016 World Series Poker main event.
10. Hossein Ensan (2019)
- Prize Winnings: $10 Million
On a late Tuesday night in Las Vegas, Hossein Ensan was a happy man. He earned a whopping $10 million and a prestigious bracelet in the 2019 World Series of Poker. Hossein Ensan is a German aged 55 years, the oldest winner of the World Poker Series in 20 years.
Expressing the winning moment, Ensan proclaimed that he couldn’t believe he won such a coveted bracelet. He said that he would maybe sleep then wake up to make sure it’s a reality. Taking first place in a table with 8,568 players was a real feat. The immediate runner up in this competition was Italian player Dario Sammartino. He wanted to win too, but grateful altogether that Ensan took home the award.
Conclusion
World Series of Poker produces winners who earn whopping amounts of cash and wsop bracelets. As you have seen, these players use strategy and skills to win the game. Some of these pros started as desperate poker players. This never stopped them from rising their way up to win hefty amounts of money.
This article outlines some of the biggest names in the world series of poker over the years. Though they experienced some challenges, nothing deterred them from going for the big prizes.
FAQ
The world series of poker kicked off on Sunday, 29th November, and ends on Wednesday, 30 December, and it’s available for US players.
Every year, the World Series of Poker takes place in Las Vegas since 2004. Caesar’s Entertainment event sponsors this event.
The 2018 World Series of Poker had 7,874 entries, a 9% increase from the past year. This event’s largest prize pool was $754,015,600, and the second-largest first-place prize amounting to $8,800,000.
