WSOP Legacy

WSOP Winners

There's a reason the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the most prestigious series in poker - Because of its history.

For more than three decades, before the "Poker Boom" of the mid-2000s, the WSOP was the place for poker players to go. The idea for the WSOP was seeded in 1969, when Tom Moore and Vic Vickrey invited the best players to the Holiday Casino in Reno, Nevada, for the Texas Gamblers Reunion.

At the time, only cash games were played, and when Benny Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe, saw the action, he got an idea - to host an annual event at his Las Vegas casino. After agreeing with Moore and Vickery that they had no intention of hosting any further reunions, he got their approval to bring the event south.

In 1970, the WSOP as we can today was born, sort of. That first year, Binion invited seven of the best players in the world to participate - Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Sailor Roberts, Crandell Addington, Carl Cannon, Puggy Pearson, and "Amarillo" Slim Preston. Again, they only played cash games, and at the end the players voted on who they thought was the best player.

Not entirely surprisingly, everyone voted for themselves. Binion called for another round of voting with the condition that they could not vote for themselves. Moss received the most votes and became the winner of the first annual WSOP, receiving a silver trophy as a prize.

It was after this first meeting that a reporter suggested making it a little more exciting by playing something with a beginning, middle and end. Cash games didn't really fit this vision, but a freezeout tournament did. So, in 1971, seven players laid down a $5,000 buy-in to enter the first WSOP tournament (The following year, the buy-in became $10,000, and has remained so ever since). Amazingly, it was again Moss who won for a first prize of $30,000.

From that point on, the WSOP grew bigger every year. Soon additional tournaments were added to the calendar, and in 1976 the silver trophy was thrown out the door and replaced for the now coveted bracelet (Although anyone who won a WSOP tournament between 1970-1975 is still recognized as a "bracelet winner").

For more than 50 years, winning the WSOP Main Event (Alias "The Big One") was every poker player's dream. Two players have won the Main Event three times. Moss and Stu Ungar, while Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan won it twice. All four, by the way, won two Main Events in consecutive years.

Here is a list of all the players who have engraved their names in poker history by their victory in the WSOP Main Event:

1970 & 1971 - Johnny Moss

In 1970, the winner of the WSOP was determined by a voting round, which Moss won. The following year, he beat six other players and won the tournament for $30,000.

Winning Hand (1971): Pocket Sixes

1972 - Amarillo Slim Preston

In 1972, 12 players were scheduled to play the Main Event, but the lucrative cash games kept four out. So it was only Jimmy Casella, Roger Van Ausdall, Johnny Moss, Jack Strauss, Crandall, Addington, Doyle Brunson, Puggy Pearson and Amarillo Slim Preston who plunked down the increased buy-in of $10,000 to participate. At the end, it was Amarillo Slim who beat Puggy Pearson heads-up for first place of $80,000.

Winning Hand: K♥J♦

1973 - Walter "Puggy" Pearson

After finishing runner-up the year before, Walter "Puggy" Pearson got his revange in 1973, when he beat a field of 13 players, winning the tournament for $130,000. He did this by beating Johnny Moss heads up. It was Pearson's third bracelet of the year after he previously won the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event and the $4,000 7-Card Stud event, that series.

Winning Hand: A♠7♠

1974 - Johnny Moss

The "Grand Old Man of Poker" completed his hat trick in 1974 when he emerged victorious from a field of 16 players and took a first prize of $160,000 in the winner-take-all tournament. Heads up he defeated future Hall of Famer Crandell Addington.

Winning Hand: 3♠3♥

1975 - Brian "Sailor" Roberts

This year's field of participants grew to 21 players, but remained a winner-take-all format. This meant that Brian "Sailor "Roberts, A Texas Road Gambler associate of Doyle Brunson, won $210,000 after he defeated Bob Hooks during the heads up. However, before his death in 2016, Hooks admitted that the friends had shared the amount without Benny Binion's knowledge.

Winning Hand: J♠J♥

1976 & 1977 - Doyle Brunson

 in 1976, Doyle Brunson won the $5,000 2-7 Draw event for $80,250 and a bracelet. However, he is better known for his victory in the 1976 WSOP Main Event, in which he dominated a field of 22 players and won $220,000.

The next year, he returned and won the $1,000 7-Card-Stud split event and successfully defended his title in the Main Event, by eventually beating Gary "Bones" Berland in a field of 34 players.

Winning Hand: "The Brunson" Ten-Deuce (10♠2♠ in 1976; 10♠2♥ in 1977)

1978 - Bobby Baldwin

This was the first year in which the WSOP Main Event did not have a winner-take-all format. Thus, the $420,000 prize pool from 42 players was paid out to the top five. Once again, Crandell Addington had to settle for second place, this time for $84,000. Bobby "The Owl" Baldwin won the tournament for $210,000.

Winning Hand: Q♦Q♣

1979 - Hal Fowler

For the first time, the WSOP Main Event attracted more than 50 players. With 54 players, a prize pool of $540,000 was set aside for the top five. Hal Fowler made history by becoming the first amateur player to take the title. He earned $270,000 by beating Bobby Hoff heads up. Fowler disappeared from the poker stage after his victory, passing away years later. All of this was documented in Des Wilson's book Ghosts at the Table.

Winning Hand: 7♠6♦

Widely accepted as the best Texas Hold'em and gin rummy player of all time, Stu "The Kid" Ungar broke through as the WSOP entered its second decade. In 1980, in a Main Event of 73 players, he beat Doyle Brunson heads up, preventing his third Main Event victory. Ungar won $365,000 for this victory.

 The next year, Ungar returned and successfully defended his title in a field of 75 players, good for $375,000, after defeating Perry Green heads up. Ungar also won the $10,000 2-7 Draw tournament that year for $95,000 and a bracelet.

Winning Hand: 5♠4♠ in 1980 and A♥Q♥ in 1981

1982 - Jack Straus

With an impressive stature of 2.01 meters, Jack Strauss' nickname was "Treetop." Also, he is the founder of the phrase "A chip and a chair." That's because at one point during the 1982 WSOP Main Event, he had only one chip out of 500. Still, he returned in this tournament, which, with 104 players, broke the 100-player barrier for the first time.

Strauss won at a tough final table from the likes of Dewey Tomko (2nd - $208,000), Berry Johnston (3rd - $104,000), and Doyle Brunson (4th - $53,000). In doing so, he earned $520,000 and his second bracelet.

 Strauss died in 1988 at age 58 while playing high stakes poker at the Bicycle Casino in L.A. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame later that year.

Winning Hand: A♥10♠

1983 - Tom McEvoy

Attendance at the 1983 WSOP Main Event rose again, to 108 players, and once again Doyle Brunson kicked it far. He eventually finished third for $108,000, after which two satellite qualifiers got to battle it out heads up - Tom McEvoy and Rod Peate. It became the longest Heads-up in the Main Event to that point, lasting a total of 7 hours (This record held until the 2006 Main Event). McEvoy won for $540,000 and became the first Main Event winner who had qualified via satellite.

It is also worth noting that Irishman Donnacha O'Dea, 6th for $43,200, became the first foreigner to cash in the WSOP Main Event.

Winning Hand: Q♦Q♠

1984 - Jack Keller

During the early events of the 1984 WSOP, "Gentleman" Jack Keller won the $5,000 7-Card Stud Event for $137,500. In doing so, he also topped the 132-person field of the Main Event, winning $660,000 after defeating Byron "Cowboy" Wolford heads up. Keller, who won another bracelet in 1993 and is inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, died in 2003.

The 1984 WSOP Main Event also brought the first of three consecutive final tables in the event for Jesse Alto, who finished third that year for $132,000.

Winning Hand: 10♥10♠

1985 - Bill Smith

The 1985 WSOP Main Event attracted 141 players, and proved to be a predictor of future champions with Berry Johnston and Hamid Dastmalchi at the final table finishing third and fifth, respectively. Jesse Alto, number three the year before, was there again, finishing sixth for $42,000. At the end of the tournament, it was Bill Smith who beat TJ Cloutier heads up for the bracelet and $700,000 in prize money.

Winning Hand: 3♠3♥

1986 - Berry Johnston

After a third-place finish at the 1985 WSOP, he returned the following year to beat a field of 141 and capture the first prize of $570,000. Defending champion, Bill Smith, made another deep run, finishing fifth for $51,300, while Jesse Alto made the Main Event final table for the third time in a row. In the end, he finished fourth for $62,700. With 25th place for $10,000, Wendeen Eolis became the first woman to finish in the money in the WSOP Main Event.

Winning Hand: A♠10♥

1987 & 1988 - Johnny Chan

Johnny Chan, known as "The Orient Express," had probably the best run in WSOP Main Event history. For starters, he won the 1987 WSOP Main Event in a field of 152 players, for $625,000. The next year, he repeated this thinly, defending his title in a field of 167 players, for $700,000. For his second victory, he had to deal heads up with a young Erik Seidel. He did so in a way that was later immortalized in the movie Rounders.

Chan was the last player to win the Main Event two years in a row, but it had almost been three in a row in 1989. Back then, however, he had to beat Phil Hellmuth in the heads up.

Winning Hand: A♠9♣ in 1987 and J♣9♣

1989 - Phil Hellmuth Jr

The 1989 Main Event attracted 178 players, with all eyes on Johnny Chan, who had won previous two years. Bizarrely, he got deep again, and it looked like he was going to complete a hat trick. However, 24-year-old up-and-coming talent Phil Hellmuth Junior ruined that party. Hellmuth who has become "The Poker Brat" and record holder when it comes to bracelets, stopped Chan's pursuit of a third title by eliminating him second for $302,000. Hellmuth became the youngest player to ever win the tournament (Younger still than Stu Ungar during his 1980 victory), won $755,000 in prize money and his first of many bracelets.

Winning Hand: 9♣9♠

1990 - Mansour Matloubi

In a field of 194 players, Stu Ungar had amassed a massive chip lead by the end of Day 2. He would miss the rest of the tournament due to a drug overdose, but still finished ninth, for $25,050, after being blindsided. In the end, it was Iranian-British player Mansour Matloubi who defeated Hans "Tuna" Lund heads up, winning the tournament for $835,000. Mansour became the first non-American to win the WSOP Main Event.

Winning Hand: 6♥6♠

1991 - Brad Daugherty

In 1991, the WSOP Main Event crossed the 200 participant mark for the first time when 215 players entered. That year, Binion´s promised a $1,000,000 first place finish, making it pretty top heavy (2nd place was $402,500). Brad Daugherty from missouri won this first-ever $1M+ payout in WSOP history.

Winning Hand: K♠J♠

1992 - Hamid Dastmalchi

A rarity occurred during the 1992 WSOP in that fewer players signed up than the previous year, 201 inshots. Iranian Hamid Dastmalchi won this prize with six zeros dwarfing the 2nd place, $353,500, of Tom Jacobs. Dastmalchi would eventually win 4 WSOP gold bracelets in his career before disappearing from the poker stage after 2004.

Winning Hand: 8♥4♣

1993 - Jim Bechtel

The 1993 WSOP Main Event had 231 entrants, including Mansour Matloubi, who had won three years earlier. He made another deep run, but eventually finished fourth for $120,000. In the end, it was cotton farmer Jim Bechtel who beat Glenn Cozen heads up and won the $1,000,000 first prize. A small revival for Bechtel who had finished 6th in the 1988 Main Event

Bechtel, who had been playing poker recreationally for many years, was only the second amateur to win the WSOP Main Event since Hal Fowler in 1979. In 2019, Bechtel won a second bracelet, leaving a gap of 26 years between the two bracelets. A record at the WSOP.

Winning Hand: J♠6♠

1994 - Russ Hamilton

The 25th anniversary of the Main Event (aka silver anniversary) was a special one. In addition to the $1,000,000 first place prize, the winner would also win their weight in silver. The tournament drew 268 players, including the 150-kg Russ Hamilton who received 43 bars of silver worth $28,000 after his victory.

Hamilton would become one of the most notorious poker players in history, thanks to his part in the Ultimate Bet scandal in which he was responsible for defrauding players and looting more than $6 million.

Winning Hand: K♠8♥

1995 - Dan Harrington

The 1995 WSOP was a good one for Dan Harrington. First he won the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament for $249,000 and a bracelet, and then he also won the Main Event, with 273 players, for $1,000,000. Barbara Enright became the first and, for now, only woman to make the final table of the WSOP Main Event. She finished fifth for $114,180. One spot better found Hamid Dastmalchi, winner in 1992, in fourth place for $173,000

"Action Dan" would later write the book series titled "Harrington on Hold'em" and make the final table of the 2003 and 2004 Main Events.

Winning Hand: 9♦8♦

1996 - Huck Seed

The 1996 WSOP Main Event would be one of the few Main Events not recorded for television. There were 295 entrants, and it was young Huck Seed who defeated Dr. Bruce Van Horn for the title and $1,000,000 and his second bracelet. Seed has won a total of four bracelets and was added to the Poker Hall of Fame in 2020.

Winning Hand: 9♦8♦

1997 - Stu Ungar

After winning the WSOP Main Event in consecutive years in 1980 and 1981, Stu Ungar fell from grace due to his unrestrained drug addiction. In 1997, Ungar seemed back on track and was one of 312 entrants in that year's WSOP Main Event. When he made it to the final table, held outside on Fremont Street for the first and only time, he had more than a third of all the chips, and seemed destined to win.

Ungar did indeed win, taking first place of $1,000,000 and his third Main Event title. Wearing his trademark sunglasses with round lenses, Ungar dedicated the victory to his daughter Stefanie. Unfortunately, Ungar could not overcome his addiction and died of an overdose on Nov. 22, 1998.

Winning Hand: A♥4♣

1998 - Scotty Nguyen

For the first and only time, the final table of the 1998 WSOP Main Event began with only 5 players (350 entrants). Vietnamese American Scotty Nguyen started as chip leader, Kevin McBride lay second. Appropriately enough, two of them also remained. On a board with three eights and two nines for a full house, Nguyen went all-in and spoke the immortal becoming, "you call, it's gonna be all over baby!"

Since then, he has won a total of 5 gold bracelets and is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

Winning Hand: J♦9♣

1999 - Noel Furlong

At the 1999 WSOP Main Event, with 393 entrants, Huck Seed was looking for his second title. He came up short, finishing in sixth place for $167,700. Number two of 1988 did better with a fourth place finish for $279,500.

After Padraig Parkinson's third-place finish, it was Alan Goehring against Irishman Noel Furlong. The Irishman, already a millionaire thanks to his carpet manufacturing business, won for $1,000,000

Winning Hand: 5♣5♦

2000 - Chris Ferguson

The new millennium brought a gigantic jump in the number of participants in the Main Event, from 393 to 512. As such, first place grew to $1.5 million, which was won by Chris "Jesus" Ferguson who luckily beat TJ Cloutier in the heads-up. The latter got his last chips preflop to the middle with Ace-Four against Ferguson's Ace-Nine. A Nine on the river sealed the fate, and Ferguson won.

Ferguson, who has won six bracelets and was WSOP Player of the Year in 2017, has faced negative publicity for his stake in Full Tilt Poker that did not refund players after Black Friday.

Winning Hand: A♠9♣

2001 - Carlos Mortensen

With 613 players, the 2001 Main Event was the largest poker tournament ever held at the time. It was the first time that two players won a six-zero prize, and is known as one of the toughest final tables in Main Event history, with players such as Mike Matusow (6th - $239,765), Phil Hellmuth (5th - $303,705) and Phil Gordon (4th - $399,610), to name a few.

Carlos Mortensen of Spain defeated Dewey Tomko heads-up for the title and $1.5 million. He made a straight with King's Queen, cracking the pocket Aces of Tomko, who received nearly $1.1 million for his second place finish.

Winning Hand: K♣Q♣

2002 - Robert Varkonyi

The 2002 Main Event drew 631 players and was the first Main Event with pocket cams (Also called holecard cams). Amateur Robert Varkonyi defeated Julian Gardner and won the $2 million first place prize.

Early in the final table, Phil Hellmuth, who did the commentary, said that if Varkonyi won, he would shave his head bald. He kept his word, and after the tournament he had the clippers put in for ESPN's cameras.

Winning Hand: Q♦10♠

2003 - Chris Moneymaker

No one could have guessed it at the time, but the 2003 WSOP Main Event would change poker forever. Previously unknown accountant from Tennessee, Chris Moneymaker, who had managed to qualify via an $86 satellite, finished on top in a field of 839 players, winning for $2.5 million. By beating Sammy Farha heads-up, he showed that even the underdog could win in poker.

His victory was one of the sparks that would ignite the "Poker Boom," evidenced by the WSOP's massive expansion in the following years.

1995 champion Dan Harrington finished third for $650,000.

Winning Hand: 5♦4♠

2004 - Greg Raymer

Thanks to Chris Moneymaker the year before, the 2004 WSOP Main Event attracted an explosive 2,576 players, more than three times as many as the year before! One of the reasons for the huge growth was the number of online qualifiers , including eventual champion, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, who won the $5 million first place prize.

For the second consecutive year, Harrington was at the final table, finishing fourth for $1.5 million. These back-to-back final tables in the "Boom" years made him one of the early favorite players for fans.

Winning Hand: 8♠8♦

2005 - Joe Hachem

 Binion's Horseshoe, including the WSOP, were sold to Caesars, so it was no surprise that they solved their problems with space by moving the WSOP to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Main Event attendance doubled again to 5,619. Defending champion Greg Raymer made another deep run, but eventually finished 25th.

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow was the first casualty at the final table, while Steven Dannenmann and Australian Joe Hachem came heads-up. Hachem held on and earned $7.5 million with his performance.

"Aussie. Aussie. Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi!"

The final two days of the 2005 WSOP Main Event were played at Binion's Horseshoe, the last time a WSOP event would be played here.

Winning Hand: 7♣3♠

2006 - Jamie Gold

With the "Poker Boom" at an all-time high, the 2006 WSOP Main Event commenced.A staggering 8,773 players registered, making it the largest Main Event in WSOP history to date, with a prize pool of $82,512,162. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement act of 2006 would halt the growth as online providers were forced to withdraw from the U.S. market, stemming the flow of online qualifiers.

The Main Event that year was offered live via Pay-per-view, and was the first Main Event to use the 100K chip. Hollywood agent Jamie Gold started the final table with a big chip lead and managed to hold on to it and take the first prize of $12 million. To this day still the biggest first place finish ever in a WSOP Main Event.

Winning Hand: Q♠9♣

2007 - Jerry Yang

In 2007, the number of participants in the WSOP Main Event dropped to "only" 6,358 players, the first time since 1992 that a decline in participants was noted. Jerry Yang started the final table second-to-last, but would eventually eliminate seven of his eight opponents on his way to winning. Yang, who won a $225 live satellite at the Pechanga Resort and Casino, saw his small investment turn into $8.25 million. Yang donated 10% of his cash to various charities.

Winning Hand: 8♦8♣

2008 - Peter Eastgate

The 2008 WSOP Main Event was the first time the concept of the "November Nine" was tried. Instead of playing straight through to a winner, play was stopped the moment the final table of nine players was reached. These players were given a break until November, after which they returned and played through to a winner. The idea was that a three-month break provided an opportunity to promote the event, create excitement and allow players to seek sponsors.

The tournament drew 6,844 players, and saw Peter Eastgate of Denmark, 22, win the tournament for $9,152,416. In doing so, he surpassed Phil Hellmuth (24) as the youngest Main Event winner. However, his record would be broken the very next year.

Eastgate tried to defend his title in 2009. He made it to Day 6. but finished 78th. After 2010, Eastgate largely disappeared from the poker stage. That year, he also auctioned off his Main Event bracelet on Ebay, with a starting bid of $16,000. It eventually sold for $147,500, which was donated to UNICEF.

Winning Hand: A♦5♠

2009 - Joe Cada

The 2009 WSOP Main Event drew 6,494 players and would once again be played with a "November Nine." Darvin Moon started this break as chip leader, and would take on 21-year-old online player Joe Cada heads-up. The final table that year ended up lasting 364 hands, 88 of which were heads-up. Moon was eliminated by Cada, winning the title and $8,547,042 in prize money.

Cada would nearly win the Main Event again 9 years later, but then finished fifth in a field of 7,874 players at the 2018 WSOP Main Event, good for $2.15 million. Cada thus became the first former champion since Dan Harrington to make a second WSOP Main Event final table.

Winning Hand: 9♦9♣

2010 - Jonathan Duhamel

The 2010 WSOP Main Event saw another nice growth in participants, with 7,319 players, good for a prize pool of $68,798,600. Jonathan Duhamel of Canada started the November Nine final table as chip leader, and held it until the end. As a result, he won $8,944,310 after he dealt with John Racener heads-up. Duhamel became the first Canadian to win the Main Event.

Winning Hand: A♠J♥

2011 - Pius Heinz

The 2011 WSOP Main Event drew 6,865 players, with a prize pool of 64,531.00. The November Nine final table lasted 301 hands that year, 119 of which were heads up between German Pius Heinz and the Czech, Martin Staszko. Heinz who had online experience won for $8,715,638 and became the first German winner of the WSOP Main Event.

Winning Hand: A♠K♣

2012 - Greg Merson

The 2012 WSOP Main Event had 6,598 players and accounted for a prize pool of $62,021,200. The "November Nine" that year was moved to October due to elections in the United States that year. The tournament also changed the number of starting flights, from four to three (This lasted until the WSOP 2021)

This year, two women almost made it to the final table, but Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann busted in 11th and 10th place, respectively. Jesse Sylvia started the final table as chip leader, but lost to Greg Merson in the heads-up. As a result, in addition to the $8,531,853 in prize money, Merson also won the WSOP Player of the Year title due to his win in the $10,000 NLHE Six-Handed event for $1,136,187 earlier in the series.

Winning Hand: K♦5♦

2013 - Ryan Riess

The 2013 WSOP Main Event had 6,352 players who accounted for a prize pool of $59,708,800. Carlos Mortensen, 2001 champion, nearly made the final table, but finished 10th. Mark Newhouse was eliminated 9th at the final table, the same spot he would reach a year later.

At the end, it was Michigan's Ryan Riess, already well known on the WSOP Circuit circuit, who defeated Jay Farber heads-up and took the first prize of $8,361,570.

Winning Hand: A♥K♥

2014 - Martin Jacobson

For the 2014 WSOP, organizers promised a $10 million first-place prize, making the tournament pretty top heavy. With 6,683 players and a prize pool of $62,820,200, the runner-up would go home with $5,147,911. Mark Newhouse became the first player to make the November Nine for a second time, after finishing ninth in 2013. This again proved to be the finish line in 2014.

 Martin Jacobson of Sweden began the November Nine final table with the second smallest stack, but he gave a master class of poker en route to the bracelet and $10 million first place finish. At the time, the fifth-largest payout ever in tournament poker. Jacobson's victory is widely accepted as the most impressive win in Main Event history.

Winning Hand: 10♦10♥

2015 - Joe McKeehen

The 2015 Main event had 6,420 entrants and provided a prize pool of $60,348,000. GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu nearly made it to the November Nine, but came up just short with 11th place a $526,778.

Joe Mckeehen started the final table with a big chip lead - more than twice as much as his next challenger - and he went smoothly to victory. Mckeehen is still demolishing tournament poker and has added two more bracelets to his record, one in 2017 and more recently in 2020.

Winning Hand: A♥10♦

2016 - Qui Nguyen

The 2016 WSOP Main Event drew 6,737 players and had a prize pool of $63,327,800. A player named John Cynn finished 11th in this tournament for $650,000. poker veteran Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy made it to the Novermber Nine as chip leader. Right behind him was Vietnamese-American poker player Qui Nguyen.

Nguyen played an aggressive and offensive game at the final table and it didn't take long for him to take the chip lead. Josephy finished third. Nguyen battled Gordo Vayo in a 181-handed heads-up. Nguyen prevailed and won the tournament for $8,005,310. Nguyen later released a biography titled, From Vietnam to Vegas! How I Won the World Series of Poker Main Event, published by D&B Publishing.

Winning Hand: K♣10♣

2017 - Scott Blumstein

After nearly a decade of November Nines, the WSOP returned to a tournament without a break. The tournament drew 7,221 players, the largest Main Event since 2010, and had a prize pool of $67,877,400. Antoine Saout and Ben Lamb, who finished third in the 2009 and 2011 Main Events, were back at the final table. Saout finished fifth for $2 million while Lamb finished 9th for $1 million. In between, Damian Salas finished 7th for $1,425,000, who would go on to win the Main Event in 2020.

The title fight would be between Scott Blumstein of New Jersey, chip leader at the start of the final table, and Dan Ott. The 65th hand of the heads-up, 246th of the final table, would be the last. Blumstein won for $8.15 million.

Winning Hand: A♥2♦

2018 - John Cynn

As recently as 2016, John Cynn finished in an embarrassing 11th place for $650,000, narrowly missing out on the WSOP Main Event final table. Two years later, he took revange by finishing atop a field of 7,874 (The second-largest Main Event ever, up to that point) and winning $8.8 million.

The final table lasted a staggering 442 hands, no less than 199 of which were heads up against Tony Miles.

2009 WSOP champ Joe Cada was at the final table, but fell short of a second title finishing in fifth place for $2.15 million. Champion of 2009, Joe Cada, was again at the final table, finishing in fifth place for $2.15 million.

Winning Hand: K♣J♣

2019 - Hossein Ensan

The WSOP Main Event became the second largest Main Event ever with 8,569 players (there were only more in 2006) and offered a prize pool of $80,548,600. Hossein Ensan started the final table as chip leader and won for $10 million. At 55 years old, Ensan thus became the oldest Main Event champion since Noel Furlong in 1999. He also became the second German player ever to win the Main Event, after Pius Heinz did so in 2011.

Winning Hand: K♥K♣

2020 - Damian Salas

The traditional WSOP Las Vegas was interrupted by the global pandemic, but organizers found a unique way to continue the Main Event tradition by coming up with an Online-live hybrid. Players from the United States could play on WSOP.com (705 players), playing to a final table of nine players. International players did the same on GGPoker (674 players).

The final tables then played out live to a winner (the final table for the U.S. was played at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, and for the international Main Event it was the King's Casino in the Czech Republic). Joseph Herbert won the WSOP.com tournament for $1,553,256 and Damian Salas won the GGPoker portion for $1,550,969. The duo then took on each other in a heads-up battle for an additional $1 million and the bracelet.

Salas, who had made the final table of the 2017 WSOP Main Event, won the heads-up and became the official winner of the 2020 WSOP Main Event.

Winning Hand: K♦J♠

 

2021 - Koray Aldemir

The WSOP Main Event was finally played in a full Live Format again in 2021. However, instead of the usual summer period, it was moved to 8 weeks later in the year so that international players could participate even after the entry ban was relaxed. Additional starting flights 1E and 1F were added for this reason. Spread across the six starting flights, 6,650 players entered resulting in an impressive $62,011,250 prize pool.

 German pro, Koray Aldemir, a lauded regular on the high roller circuit, won the tournament by beating heads up the recreant George "Home Game" Holmes and taking his first bracelet and $8 million.

Aldemir will go down in the history books as the last Main Event Champion in the Rio, as the WSOP will switch locations starting in 2022

Winning Hand: 10♦ 7♦