WSOP Main Event Winners by Year: The Official Record
The WSOP Main Event is the most popular and most researched poker event in the world. To help you find everything you need, our experts have pulled together every Main Event champion from 1970 to the present in a single, easy-to-scan reference table, with the context you need to make sense of the records, and much more!
What Is the WSOP Main Event and Why Does the Winner Matter?
The WSOP Main Event is poker’s World Championship tournament. The WSOP hosts a $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold’em freeze-out tournament in Las Vegas every year since 1970, making it the biggest poker event in the world. The winner receives a special WSOP gold bracelet and a multi-million dollar first-place prize – Michael Mizrachi, the winner of the 2025 Main Event, took home $10 million for his efforts! Many players consider the Main Event to be the pinnacle of the sport, with each champion earning a permanent spot in the records alongside some of the greats of the game.
The scale of the event has changed dramatically over the decades. The inaugural 1970 tournament drew just seven of the best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, while modern events draw in thousands of players from around the world. The 2025 Main Event attracted 9,735 total entries, making it the third-largest field in history.
WSOP Main Event Winners by Year (1970–Present)
This table covers every WSOP Main Event champion from the inaugural 1970 event up to the most recently completed tournament. Early years (pre-1980) have limited prize and entrant data, but we’ve included all available information. Any details that are unavailable or unverified, we’ve marked as N/A. For the most current and complete records, visit WSOP.com's official Bracelet Legacy page and Player Search tool.
The World Series of Poker made gold bracelets the standard prize in 1976. Before that, winners received a silver cup, trophies, or a sterling plate. Official records still count those wins as bracelets.
| Year | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) | Entrants |
| 1970 | Johnny Moss | USA | N/A | 7 |
| 1971 | Johnny Moss | USA | N/A | 6 |
| 1972 | Amarillo Slim Preston | USA | $80,000 | 8 |
| 1973 | Puggy Pearson | USA | $130,000 | 13 |
| 1974 | Johnny Moss | USA | $160,000 | 16 |
| 1975 | Sailor Roberts | USA | $210,000 | 21 |
| 1976 | Doyle Brunson | USA | $220,000 | 22 |
| 1977 | Doyle Brunson | USA | $340,000 | 34 |
| 1978 | Bobby Baldwin | USA | $210,000 | 42 |
| 1979 | Hal Fowler | USA | $270,000 | 54 |
| 1980 | Stu Ungar | USA | $385,000 | 73 |
| 1981 | Stu Ungar | USA | $375,000 | 75 |
| 1982 | Jack Straus | USA | $520,000 | 104 |
| 1983 | Tom McEvoy | USA | $540,000 | 108 |
| 1984 | Jack Keller | USA | $660,000 | 132 |
| 1985 | Bill Smith | USA | $700,000 | 140 |
| 1986 | Berry Johnston | USA | $570,000 | 141 |
| 1987 | Johnny Chan | USA | $625,000 | 152 |
| 1988 | Johnny Chan | USA | $700,000 | 167 |
| 1989 | Phil Hellmuth | USA | $755,000 | 178 |
| 1990 | Mansour Matloubi | Wales | $895,000 | 194 |
| 1991 | Brad Daugherty | USA | $1,000,000 | 215 |
| 1992 | Hamid Dastmalchi | USA | $1,000,000 | 201 |
| 1993 | Jim Bechtel | USA | $1,000,000 | 220 |
| 1994 | Russ Hamilton | USA | $1,000,000 | 268 |
| 1995 | Dan Harrington | USA | $1,000,000 | 273 |
| 1996 | Huck Seed | USA | $1,000,000 | 295 |
| 1997 | Stu Ungar | USA | $1,000,000 | 312 |
| 1998 | Scotty Nguyen | USA | $1,000,000 | 350 |
| 1999 | Noel Furlong | Ireland | $1,000,000 | 393 |
| 2000 | Chris Ferguson | USA | $1,500,000 | 512 |
| 2001 | Carlos Mortensen | Spain | $1,500,000 | 613 |
| 2002 | Robert Varkonyi | USA | $2,000,000 | 631 |
| 2003 | Chris Moneymaker | USA | $2,500,000 | 839 |
| 2004 | Greg Raymer | USA | $5,000,000 | 2,576 |
| 2005 | Joe Hachem | Australia | $7,500,000 | 5,619 |
| 2006 | Jamie Gold | USA | $12,000,000 | 8,773 |
| 2007 | Jerry Yang | USA | $8,250,000 | 6,358 |
| 2008 | Peter Eastgate | Denmark | $9,152,416 | 6,844 |
| 2009 | Joe Cada | USA | $8,547,044 | 6,494 |
| 2010 | Johnathan Duhamel | Canada | $8,944,310 | 7,319 |
| 2011 | Pius Heinz | Germany | $8,715,638 | 6,865 |
| 2012 | Greg Merson | USA | $8,531,853 | 6,598 |
| 2013 | Ryan Riess | USA | $8,361,570 | 6,352 |
| 2014 | Martin Jacobson | Sweden | $10,000,000 | 6,683 |
| 2015 | Joe McKeehen | USA | $7,683,346 | 6,420 |
| 2016 | Qui Nguyen | USA | $8,005,310 | 6,737 |
| 2017 | Scott Blumstein | USA | $8,150,000 | 7,221 |
| 2018 | John Cynn | USA | $8,800,000 | 7,874 |
| 2019 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | $10,000,000 | 8,569 |
| 2020 | Damian Salas | Argentina | $1,550,969 | 1,379* |
| 2021 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | $8,000,000 | 6,650 |
| 2022 | Espen Jorstad | Norway | $10,000,000 | 8,663 |
| 2023 | Daniel Weinman | USA | $12,100,000 | 10,043 |
| 2024 | Jonathan Tamayo | USA | $10,000,000 | 10,112 |
| 2025 | Michael Mizrachi | USA | $10,000,000 | 9,735 |
Key Facts About the Table
To help explain what you're looking at, our experts have highlighted some of the important facts from the table of WSOP Main Event winners:
- Since 1970, the WSOP has hosted the Main Event in Las Vegas each year, using a modified format in 2020 due to COVID-19.
- The $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold’em freeze-out format was established in 1972 and remains unchanged today
- The Main Event has broken the 8-figure barrier on seven separate occasions: in 2006, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
- Mansour Matloubi (1990) was born in Iran but represented Wales at the time of his victory.
WSOP Main Event Records and Milestones
Just looking at the year-by-year table doesn’t give you a sense of the milestones that we’ve seen come and go in the WSOP Main Event. So, to give you more context to these achievements, we’ve explored some of the most important milestones in Main Event history.
Most Main Event Wins
Johnny Moss and Stu Ungar are the only three-time Main Event winners. Moss won in 1970, 1971, and 1974; Ungar in 1980, 1981, and 1997. Ungar is the only player to do it in the freeze-out era, making his record stand out.
WSOP Main Event Winners List: Champions, Prize Money & Records (1970–2025)
Four players have gone back-to-back in the Main Event, most recently Johnny Chan (1987–1988). No one has repeated since. Mark Newhouse came closest with final tables in 2013 and 2014 (9th both times), highlighting how difficult repeat wins are today.
Youngest Champion
Joe Cada became the youngest Main Event winner in 2009 at 21, beating Peter Eastgate’s 2008 record (22). Phil Hellmuth held the mark for nearly 20 years before that. Annette Obrestad won WSOP Europe at 18 in 2007, but it’s not counted in official records.
Most Valuable Bracelet
WSOP Main Event bracelets can be worth up to $500,000. The 2024 version used 445g of gold, while the 2025 bracelet featured 367g and 2,250+ diamonds.
The Moneymaker Effect
Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 win transformed the Main Event. He turned an $86 satellite into $2.5 million, and the field surged from 839 players to 5,619 within two years.
All-Time WSOP Bracelet Leaders (Not Just Main Event)
The Main Event bracelet is the most prestigious single prize in poker, but total bracelet count across all WSOP events is the broader measure of all-time greatness. A player can win the Main Event once and never win another bracelet, while some of the best players can win multiple bracelets across disciplines without winning the Main Event.
| Rank | Player | Country | Total Bracelets |
| 1 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 17 |
| 2 | Phil Ivey | United States | 11 |
| 3 | Johnny Chan | United States | 10 |
| 3 | Erik Seidel | United States | 10 |
| 3 | Doyle Brunson | United States | 10 |
| 6 | Johnny Moss | United States | 9 |
| 7 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 8 |
| 7 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 8 |
| 7 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 8 |
| 10 | Daniel Negreanu | United States | 7 |
Phil Hellmuth's 17 bracelets are the all-time record by a significant margin, making him the most decorated player in WSOP history. His first bracelet came in the 1989 Main Event, making him the youngest champion at the time at age 24.
WSOP Player of the Year Winners by Year
The WSOP Player of the Year award was introduced in 2004 to recognize the player with the best overall performance across the World Series of Poker, not just the Main Event. Points are accumulated across all bracelet events and circuit events across the calendar year, including WSOP Europe, rewarding players based on their consistency at the highest level.
Daniel Negreanu won the inaugural award in 2004 and added a second title in 2013, and Shaun Deeb became the second player to win the award twice when he claimed the 2025 title, having previously won in 2018.
| Year | Winner | Country |
| 2004 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada |
| 2005 | Allen Cunningham | USA |
| 2006 | Jeff Madsen | USA |
| 2007 | Tom Schneider | USA |
| 2008 | Erick Lindgren | USA |
| 2009 | Jeff Lisandro | Australia |
| 2010 | Frank Kassela | USA |
| 2011 | Ben Lamb | USA |
| 2012 | Greg Merson | USA |
| 2013 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada |
| 2014 | George Danzer | Germany |
| 2015 | Mike Gorodinsky | USA |
| 2016 | Jason Mercier | USA |
| 2017 | Chris Ferguson | USA |
| 2018 | Shaun Deeb | USA |
| 2019 | Robert Campbell | Australia |
| 2020 | Damien Salas | Argentina |
| 2021 | Josh Arieh | USA |
| 2022 | Dan Zack | USA |
| 2023 | Daniel Weinman | USA |
| 2024 | Scott Seiver | USA |
| 2025 | Shaun Deeb | USA |
Every Champion, Every Era: Why the Record Still Matters
Looking back through the list of Main Event winners, you can see how the event changes in each era; early champions like Moss and Brunson competed in small fields of professional gamblers who knew each other by reputation, while modern champions like Weinman, Tamayo, and Mizrachi won against fields of thousands of players drawn from every corner of the world
While the Main Event is always changing, one thing that remains constant is its importance in the poker world. It’s by far the biggest poker event of the year, with millions of fans tuning in to watch the action unfold. If you want to try your hand at adding your name to the list of WSOP Main Event winners, we recommend checking out our list of recommended online poker sites to hone your skills.
FAQ
Johnny Moss and Stu Ungar share the record with three Main Event wins each. Moss won in 1970, 1971, and 1974; Ungar won in 1980, 1981, and 1997. Ungar is the only player to win three times in the freeze-out format, which has been in place since 1972.
Gold bracelets were first introduced by the WSOP in 1976. The inaugural WSOP Main Event champ, Johnny Moss, received a silver cup for his win in 1970. From 1971 to 1974, winners received trophies, and in 1975, the winner received a sterling silver plate. While pre-1976 winners didn’t receive physical bracelets, they’re still counted as bracelets in the official all-time record.
Joe Cada holds the record, winning in 2009 at age 21. He broke the record set just one year earlier by Peter Eastgate, who won in 2008 at age 22. Outside of Vegas, Annette Obrestadt won the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2007 at just 18 years old.
The WSOP Player of the Year award was introduced in 2004 to recognize the player with the best overall performance across the entire WSOP. Two players have won the award more than once: Daniel Negreanu (2004 and 2013) and Shaun Deeb (2018 and 2025). The full year-by-year list is in the table above.
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