The biggest poker champions are defined by WSOP bracelets, WPT titles, career earnings, and the ability to win the game's most prestigious events, often across multiple decades. From all-time records to single-event paydays that redefined what poker could offer, these nine players have set the standard.
1 – Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is the all-time WSOP bracelet leader with 17 titles across five decades, more than any other player in the event's history, and six clear of second place.
- He won the WSOP Main Event in 1989 at age 24, becoming the youngest champion in the event's history at the time.
- In 2012, he won the WSOP Europe Main Event for €1 million – the only player ever to hold both the WSOP and WSOPE Main Event titles.
- He has recorded 11 runner-up finishes at the WSOP alone, and his live tournament earnings exceed $30 million.
Beyond the WSOP, Hellmuth won the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2005 and defeated both Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu on PokerGO's High Stakes Duel. One gap remains: despite five WPT final table appearances – including a runner-up – he has yet to win a WPT title.
♠ Titles: 17 WSOP bracelets (all-time record)
♥ Trademarks: "White magic"
♣ Nickname: "Poker Brat"
2 – Johnny Chan
Johnny Chan is a 10-time WSOP bracelet winner best known for back-to-back Main Event victories in 1987 and 1988 – one of the most dominant sustained tournament runs poker has ever produced.
- Chan won his first bracelet in 1985, then took down the Main Event in 1987 for $625,000, and successfully defended the title in 1988 for $700,000.
- In 1989, he came within one match of a three-peat, finishing runner-up to the then 24-year-old Phil Hellmuth.
- Seven more bracelets followed over the years, including three Pot-Limit Omaha titles, bringing his total to 10.
Chan became a role model for a generation of players. His 1998 cameo in the film Rounders bluffed out of a pot by Matt Damon's character Mike McDermott, introduced him to an entirely new audience. His lucky orange at the table remains one of poker's most recognizable trademarks.
♠ Titles: 10 WSOP bracelets
♥ Trademarks: Back-to-back Main Event titles; lucky orange
♣ Nickname: "Orient Express"
3 – Darren Elias
Darren Elias holds the record for most World Poker Tour main tour titles with four wins, alongside 13 final table appearances and 47 cashes – all WPT records.
- His four WPT titles include wins at the Borgata Poker Open (2014), WPT Caribbean (2014), Fallsview Poker Classic (2017), and Bobby Baldwin Classic (2018).
- His WPT earnings alone exceed $4 million; his total live tournament earnings now approach $15 million.
- He was named WPT Player of the Decade for the 2010s, and has won more than $8 million online, including multiple WCOOP titles.
- In June 2025, Elias won his first WSOP bracelet, removing the one notable gap in an otherwise historic résumé.
The New Jersey-based pro graduated from the University of Redlands in 2008 and turned professional shortly after. His nickname came honestly.
♠ Titles: 4 WPT titles (record), 1 WSOP bracelet
♥ Trademarks: Unmatched WPT consistency
♣ Nickname: "End Boss"
4 – Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey is an 11-time WSOP bracelet winner, second only to Hellmuth all-time, with over $54 million in live tournament earnings and one WPT title. He is widely regarded by peers and analysts as the best all-around poker player of all time. Every single one of his 11 bracelets came in a non-Hold'em discipline, making him the most decorated mixed-game specialist in WSOP history.
- Growing up in New Jersey, Ivey was playing Atlantic City card rooms as a teenager under a fake ID. He won his first WSOP bracelet in 2000, aged 23.
- In 2002, he won three bracelets at a single World Series – a feat matched by only a handful of players in the event's history.
- He captured his WPT title at the LA Poker Classic in 2008 for $1.6 million, ending a streak of seven WPT final tables without a win.
- After a ten-year bracelet drought, he won his 11th at the 2024 WSOP, then returned the following summer to reach multiple final tables at the 2025 series.
♠ Titles: 11 WSOP bracelets, 1 WPT
♥ Trademarks: Elite mixed-game mastery; fearless, ice-cold demeanor
♣ Nickname: "Tiger Woods of Poker"
5 – Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari won the 2012 Big One for One Drop for $18.3 million, the largest live poker prize in history at the time, making him one of the sport's most celebrated champions and the face of poker's high-stakes era.
- The Big One for One Drop was a $1 million buy-in charity event raising funds for clean water access in developing countries. Esfandiari topped a field of 48 from a total prize pool of $42.7 million.
- He already had a strong résumé before that win: a WSOP bracelet in 2004, the WPT LA Poker Classic title in 2004 for $1.4 million, and the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2010 for $870,124.
♠ Titles: 1 WSOP bracelet, 2 WPT titles
♥ Trademarks: Action, table talk, and an $18.3M payday
♣ Nickname: "The Magician"
6 – Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a seven-time WSOP bracelet winner, two-time WPT champion, and the most recognizable figure in poker over the past 25 years, with over $57 million in live tournament earnings and more WSOP cashes than any player in history.
- Negreanu won his first bracelet in 1998 at age 23, becoming the youngest WSOP champion in the event's history at the time.
- He is the only player to win the WSOP Player of the Year award twice, taking the honor in 2004 and again in 2013.
- In 2004, he won two WPT titles in the same season – the Borgata Poker Open and the Five Diamond World Poker Classic – while also claiming two WSOP bracelets.
- After an 11-year bracelet drought, he won the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship at the 2024 WSOP, one of the most celebrated titles in the event's history.
- He is the all-time WSOP earnings leader with over $25 million across more than 290 cashes, and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014.
Negreanu remains an active and competitive force on the circuit into his late 40s.
♠ Titles: 7 WSOP bracelets, 2 WPT titles
♥ Trademarks: Table talk, hand-reading, and a 25-year run at the top
♣ Nickname: "Kid Poker"
7 – Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson was a two-time WSOP Main Event champion and 10-time bracelet winner whose six-decade career and landmark book Super/System shaped the modern game more than any other player in history. The Godfather of Poker passed away in May 2023 at the age of 89.
- Brunson won the WSOP Main Event back-to-back in 1976 and 1977, becoming the first player to do so, and went on to collect 10 bracelets across a career that spanned more than six decades.
- Super/System, his foundational strategy text, remains one of the most influential poker books ever published and shaped how generations of players approached the game.
- In 2004, he won the WPT Legends of Poker for $1.2 million at the age of 71 – still the oldest player ever to win a WPT title.
- He played in some of the highest-stakes cash games in Las Vegas well into his final years.
Inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1988, Brunson's reach extended far beyond his titles. As fellow pro Ben Lamb put it:
"He played at an elite level for seven decades. No one's ever really come close to that."
♠ Titles: 10 WSOP bracelets, 1 WPT title
♥ Trademarks: Cowboy hat, Super/System, a six-decade career
♣ Nickname: "Texas Dolly"
8 – Justin Bonomo
Justin Bonomo is a three-time WSOP bracelet winner with over $65 million in live tournament earnings, widely regarded as the defining high-roller specialist of his generation, and one of the highest-earning tournament players in poker history.
- His first WSOP bracelet came in 2014 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed, $449,980), followed by the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship in 2018.
- Also in 2018, Bonomo won the Big One for One Drop for $10 million, one of the largest paydays in the game's history.
- His success across the PCA, Triton Super High Roller Series, Super High Roller Bowl, Aria High Rollers, and EPT established him as the dominant force in elite buy-in events for much of the 2010s.
- He briefly held the top spot on the all-time money list – a position previously occupied only by the very best to play the game.
♠ Titles: 3 WSOP bracelets, multiple high-roller titles
♥ Trademarks: Consistency at the very highest buy-in levels
♣ Nickname: "ZeeJustin"
9 – Bryn Kenney
Bryn Kenney leads poker's all-time live earnings list with over $84 million in tournament cashes. He's the first player in history to surpass both $75 million and $80 million, built through relentless success across the world's most prestigious high-stakes events.
- Kenney has won and cashed deeply across the WPT, PCA, Triton Super High Rollers, US Poker Open, EPT, and Aussie Millions, among others.
- At the 2019 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, he won two events and finished runner-up in a third, collecting over $7 million across the series alone.
- His single biggest cash – a runner-up finish at the 2019 Triton Million for Charity – paid $20,563,324 after a deal, the largest single payout in live poker tournament history.
- He holds two WSOP bracelets and multiple Triton titles, including a March 2025 win that pushed his career earnings past $75 million.
♠ Titles: 2 WSOP bracelets, multiple Triton and high-roller titles
♥ Trademarks: All-time money list leader; elite high-stakes dominance
♣ Background: Former competitive Magic: The Gathering player
FAQ - Poker Champions
Who has the most WSOP bracelets?
Phil Hellmuth holds the all-time record with 17 WSOP bracelets, six more than any other player. His titles span five decades, from 1989 to 2023. Phil Ivey is second with 11 bracelets, followed by Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, and Erik Seidel with 10 each.
Who has the highest live poker tournament earnings of all time?
Bryn Kenney leads the all-time live earnings list with over $84 million in tournament cashes, making him the first player in history to surpass $80 million. He has held the top position for most of the past six years. Stephen Chidwick ($68M+) and Justin Bonomo ($65M+) are among those closest to his record.
Who is considered the best poker player of all time?
This is a subjective question with no definitive answer, but Phil Ivey is the player most consistently cited by peers and analysts as the best all-around poker player ever. His 11 WSOP bracelets – all in non-Hold'em events – combined with elite performance in high-stakes cash games and live tournaments across all formats set him apart. Phil Hellmuth makes the strongest case based on tournament titles alone, with 17 WSOP bracelets and counting.
Who has won the most World Poker Tour titles?
Darren Elias holds the record for most WPT main tour titles with four wins. His record also includes 13 final table appearances and 47 cashes, both WPT all-time records. He was named WPT Player of the Decade for the 2010s.
What is the largest prize ever won in a poker tournament?
The largest single payout in live poker tournament history is the $20,563,324 received by Bryn Kenney for finishing runner-up at the 2019 Triton Million for Charity. A heads-up deal was agreed before play concluded, resulting in Kenney taking the larger share despite finishing second. The largest first-place prize ever paid out in a standard poker tournament (without a deal) was the $18.3 million won by Antonio Esfandiari at the 2012 Big One for One Drop.
Key Takeaways: The Best Poker Champions
- Phil Hellmuth holds the all-time WSOP bracelet record with 17 – six clear of second place – across five decades.
- Johnny Chan's back-to-back WSOP Main Event wins (1987-1988) remain one of the most dominant tournament runs in poker history.
- Darren Elias holds the WPT record with four main tour titles, 13 final tables, and 47 cashes, and won his first WSOP bracelet in 2025.
- Phil Ivey's 11 WSOP bracelets – all in non-Hold'em events – place him second all-time and make him the most decorated mixed-game player in WSOP history.
- Antonio Esfandiari won the 2012 Big One for One Drop for $18.3 million – the largest standard first-place prize in live poker history.
- Daniel Negreanu is the only player to win WSOP Player of the Year twice, and the all-time WSOP earnings leader with over $25 million in cashes.
- Doyle Brunson – the Godfather of Poker, who passed away in 2023 – won two Main Events, 10 bracelets, and shaped the modern game through his landmark book Super/System.
- Justin Bonomo has over $65 million in live earnings and is one of the most dominant high-roller players of his generation.
- Bryn Kenney leads the all-time money list with over $84 million in live earnings, including the largest single payout in poker tournament history.
