GGPOKER

With 129 bracelet events, 30 of which were exclusively online, the 2024 WSOP set numerous records, including the largest Main Event field ever. A total of 10,112 players bought into the event, including 5,014 on Day 1D, which created a total prize pool of $94,041,600.

The final table which included well known pros like Joe Serock and Niklas Astedt, played out in 235 hands over 2 days. When the last hand was dealt, it was Jonathan Tamayo capturing the ultimate prize as he was cheered on from the rails by his coaching team.

The 2023 saw records set across the World Series of Poker and the Main Event was no exception. The series itself offered a total of 115 bracelets to be won, 20 of which were online. The Main Event itself was expected to break records, and it did as a total of 10,043 players joined the event, smashing the previous record of 8,773. In total, the prize pool was built to an incredible $93,399,900 with a record setting $12,100,000 going to first place.

The final table was fast, taking only 164 hands over 2 days, including just 24 hands of 3-way play and another 24 heads up. When the final hand played out, it was the American Daniel Weinman who claimed the victory and joined the record books.

The 2022 Main Event, on the heels of the end of the pandemic, saw a massive increase in attendance with 8,663 players, building a total prize pool of $80,782,475, coming to Las Vegas to play poker. In addition to becoming the 2nd largest Main Event, behind only the 2006 event by 110 players, it also featured one the of the most international finals with 6 countries being represented.

Only 1 player of the final 9 had ever won a bracelet and that was Norway's Espen Jørstad who had won his first earlier in the series in the tag team event.

The final table took 215 hands over 2 days, including 19 heads up, to come to a conclusion. At the end it was Espen Jørstad standing tall to capture the championship.

The WSOP Main Event returned to its traditional all-live format in 2021, though instead of being in the usual summer slot in Las Vegas, it was moved to an 8-week span later in the year. In order to cater to international players allowed to visit the United States after travel ban restrictions were eased, officials added Day 1E and 1F flights. Over the course of six starting flights, the tournament attracted 6,650 players, who generated an impressive $62,011,250 prize pool.

German professional poker player Koray Aldemir, an accomplished regular on the high roller circuit, emerged victorious over Atlanta-based recreational player George “Home Game” Holmes to claim his first bracelet and the $8 million first-place prize. Aldemir will go down in history as the last Main Event champion at the Rio as the WSOP is slated to move locations in 2022.

The traditional summer World Series of Poker in Las Vegas was interrupted due to the global pandemic, but officials found a unique way to continue Main Event tradition by offering an online-live hybrid. Players in the United States competed on WSOP.com (705 players) and played down to a final table of nine, while international players did the same on GGPoker (674 players).

The final tables from each then played down to a winner live (the domestic final table at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and the international one at King’s Casino in the Czech Republic). Joseph Hebert took down the WSOP.com portion for $1,553,256 and Damian Salas the international GGPoker portion for $1,550,969, and then the duo squared off in a heads-up match for an additional $1 million and the bracelet.

Salas, who had final tabled the 2017 WSOP, ended up the victor to officially become the 2020 WSOP Main Event champ.

The 2019 WSOP Main Event became the second-largest in history with 8,569 players (only behind 2006) and offered up a $80,548,600 prize pool. Hossein Ensan began the final table as chip leader, and he took it down for a $10 million first-place prize. At the age of 55, Ensan was the oldest Main Event champ since Noel Furlong in 1999. He also became the second German player to win the Main Event after Pius Heinz did so in 2011.

In 2016, John Cynn experienced heartbreak when he busted the WSOP Main Event in 11th for $650,000, just missing out on the final table. Two years later, he found redemption by topping a 7,874-player field (the second-largest field in history up to that point), to win the bracelet and $8.8 million top prize. The final table lasted a lengthy 442 hands, which included 199 grueling heads-up hands against runner-up 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.

After nearly a decade of the November Nine, the WSOP returned to playing out the Main Event without a hiatus. The tournament drew 7,221 players, the largest since 2010, and offered up a $67,877,400 prize pool. Antoine Saout and Ben Lamb, who finished third in the 2009 and 2011 WSOP Main Event respectively, were both back at the final table. The former fell in fifth place for $2 million while the latter finished in ninth for $1 million. In between, Argentina’s Damian Salas, who would go on to win the 2020 WSOP, placed seventh for $1,425,000.

The title came down to New Jersey’s Scott Blumstein, who began the final table as chip leader, and Dan Ott.On the 65th hand of heads-up play, and 246th of the final table, Blumstein emerged victorious to win the $8.15 million first-place prize.

The 2016 WSOP Main Event drew 6,737 players and offered up a $63,327,800 prize pool. A player by the name of John Cynn finished 11th in that tournament for $650,000., while well-known poker veteran Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy made the November nine as chip leader. Hot on his heels was Vietnamese-American poker player Qui Nguyen.

Nguyen played an aggressive and offensive game at the final table, and before long he held a big chip lead. After Josephy bowed out in third place, Nguyen battled Gordan Vayo in a lengthy 181-hand heads-up match. Nguyen eventually sealed the deal to win the tournament for $8,005,310. Nguyen would go on to release a biography, From Vietnam to Vegas! How I Won the World Series of Poker Main Event.

The 2015 WSOP Main Event attracted 6,420 players which created a $60,348,000 prize pool. GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu nearly made the November Nine final table but fell in 11th place for $526,778.

Joe McKeehen began the final table with a big chip lead – more than double that of his next closest competitor – and he had a relatively smooth road to victory going wire to wire. McKeehen continues to crush tournament poker and even added two more bracelets to his poker resumé, one in 2017 and more recently in 2020.

For the 2014 WSOP Main Event, tournament officials guaranteed a first-place prize of $10 million, which made the tournament somewhat top heavy. With 6,683 players creating a $62,820,200 prize pool, the runner-up was slated to take home $5,147,911. Mark Newhouse became the first player to make the November Nine twice, and after finishing ninth in 2013, he finished in the same spot in 2014.

Sweden’s Martin Jacobson began the November Nine final table as the second-shortest stack, but he put on a clinic on his way to claiming the bracelet and seven-figure first-place prize. At the time, it was the fifth-largest single payout in tournament poker history. Jacobson’s win is largely considered one of the most impressive in the history of the Main Event.

The 2013 WSOP Main Event had 6,352 players who generated a $59,708,800 prize pool. Carlos Mortensen, the 2001 champ, nearly made the final table but busted in 10th place.Mark Newhouse was eliminated from the final table in ninth place, the same spot he’d finish a year later.

In the end, it was Michigan’s Ryan Riess, who had cut his chops on the WSOP Circuit, beating Jay Farber heads-up to win the tournament for $8,361,570.

The 2012 WSOP Main Event, which attracted 6,598 players and awarded $62,021,200 in prize money, moved up from the “November Nine” to October due to that year’s presidential election. The tournament also switched from offering four starting flights to just three (which would remain until the 2021 WSOP Main Event reverted to four).

That year, two women nearly made the final table, but Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann wound up busting in 11th and 10th place respectively. Jesse Sylvia began the final table as the chip leader, but he eventually fell to Greg Merson in heads-up play. The win helped Merson, who earned $8,531,853 in prize money, to finish as the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year thanks to also winning the $10,000 NLHE Six-Handed for $1,136,187.

The 2011 WSOP Main Event drew 6,865 players and offered up a $64,531,000 prize pool. The November Nine final table lasted 301 hands, including 119 hands of heads-up play between Germany’s Pius Heinz and Czech Republic’s Martin Staszko. Heinz, who had experience playing online, wound up the winner for $8,715,638 and to become the first German player to ever win the title.

The 2010 WSOP Main Event experienced a nice attendance bump as 7,319 players created a $68,798,600 prize pool. Canada’s Jonathan Duhamel began the November Nine final table as the chip leader, and he rode it all the way to victory to claim a $8,944,310 first-place prize after beating John Racener in heads-up play. Duhamel became the first Canadian player to win the WSOP Main Event title.

2009年WSOP主赛事吸引了6,494名选手，并再次采用了“十一月九人”概念。Darvin Moon在比赛暂停时领先筹码，并最终与21岁的在线玩家Joe Cada展开了决赛。那一年的决赛桌持续了364手，其中包括88手的单挑对局，最终Moon被Cada淘汰，后者赢得了冠军并获得$8,547,042的冠军奖金。九年后，Cada几乎再次赢得主赛事，2018年他在7,874人中获得了第五名，并赢得了$215万奖金。Cada成为自Dan Harrington之后，首位再次进入决赛桌的前冠军。

2008年WSOP主赛事首次采用了“十一月九人”概念。比赛不会一直进行到决出冠军，而是当决赛桌的九名选手确定后暂停，随后进入三个月的休赛期，再回到比赛现场进行决战。这一举措的目的是通过三个月的休赛期来宣传赛事、激发观众期待并给选手争取赞助机会。

这一年的比赛吸引了6,844名选手，最终22岁的丹麦选手Peter Eastgate获得冠军，奖金为$9,152,416。他超越了Phil Hellmuth（24岁）成为历史上最年轻的WSOP主赛事冠军。然而，他的纪录在次年便被打破。

2007年WSOP主赛事的参赛人数降至6,358人，这是自1992年以来首次出现参赛人数减少的情况。Jerry Yang作为第二少的筹码开始决赛桌，但他最终淘汰了他八个对手，赢得了比赛。Yang通过在Pechanga度假村和赌场赢得了一场$225的现场卫星赛，将这小小的投资转化为$8.25百万奖金。Yang将自己奖金的10%捐赠给了各种慈善组织。

随着“扑克热潮”的全面爆发，2006年WSOP主赛事吸引了创纪录的8,773名选手，成为WSOP历史上最大的主赛事，奖金池达到了$82,512,162。遗憾的是，《2006年非法互联网赌博执行法案》很快就限制了在线扑克的发展，在线运营商被迫退出美国市场，从而切断了在线预选赛选手的来源。

这一年的主赛事首次允许通过付费观看进行现场直播，比赛也首次引入了100K的筹码。好莱坞经纪人Jamie Gold凭借巨大的筹码优势开始决赛，并一路领先最终获得了$1,200万的冠军奖金，至今仍是WSOP主赛事历史上最大的一次首奖。

Binion’s Horseshoe和WSOP品牌已被出售给了Caesars，因此不难理解为何WSOP将比赛移至Rio All-Suite酒店和赌场，以解决空间问题。2005年的主赛事参赛人数超过了5,619人，比上一年翻了一倍多，而卫冕冠军Greg Raymer也深度晋级，最终排名第25位。Mike “The Mouth” Matusow是那一年的首位决赛桌淘汰选手，而幽默风趣的Steve Dannenmann和澳大利亚选手Joe Hachem成功进入了决赛。Hachem最终成为最后一名站立的选手，赢得了$750万的奖金。“Aussie. Aussie. Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi！”

2005年WSOP主赛事的最后两天比赛在Binion’s Horseshoe举行，这是最后一次在该地点举办WSOP赛事。

由于前一年的Chris Moneymaker夺冠，2004年WSOP主赛事的参赛人数激增，达到了2,576人，这比上一年增加了三倍多！其中一个主要原因是大量的在线预选赛选手，其中包括最终的冠军Greg “Fossilman” Raymer，他获得了$500万的冠军奖金。

Harrington连续第二年进入决赛桌，这一次他以第四名获得了$150万奖金。Harrington的连续两次决赛桌表现让他成为扑克迷的早期最爱。

当时没人知道2003年WSOP将永远改变扑克历史。这是因为之前不为人知的田纳西会计师Chris Moneymaker，他通过$86的在线卫星赛获得资格，击败839名选手赢得了$250万的冠军奖金。在决赛桌上，Moneymaker战胜了职业扑克选手Sammy Farha，向大众证明了即使是普通人也能在扑克中获胜。

他的胜利是引发“扑克热潮”的重要导火索，这一热潮在接下来的几年中得到了前所未有的扩展。1995年主赛事冠军Dan Harrington最终获得了第三名，奖金为$65万。

2002年WSOP主赛事吸引了631名选手参赛，这也是第一次使用口袋牌摄像头（即Hole Card Cam）。

业余选手Robert Varkonyi击败Julian Gardner获得了冠军，并赢得了$200万的奖金。在决赛桌上，Phil Hellmuth在做解说时表示，如果Varkonyi赢了，他会剃光头。Hellmuth履行了诺言，在ESPN的镜头前将头发剃光。

2001年WSOP主赛事吸引了613名选手参赛，成为当时最大规模的现场扑克比赛。这也是第一次有两名选手获得七位数的奖金，并且被认为是WSOP主赛事历史上最强的决赛桌之一，决赛桌上有Mike Matusow（第六名 - $239,765）、Phil Hellmuth（第五名 - $303,705）和Phil Gordon（第四名 - $399,610）等顶级选手。西班牙选手Carlos Mortensen最终击败Dewey Tomko，赢得了$150万的冠军奖金。他在决赛桌上通过击中同花顺（King-Queen同花）打败了Tomko的口袋A。

Tomko获得了接近$110万的亚军奖金。

进入新千年后，WSOP主赛事的参赛人数从1999年的393人激增至512人。因此，冠军奖金也提升至$150万，由Chris “Jesus” Ferguson夺得。他在与TJ Cloutier的决赛中逆袭获胜，Cloutier在翻牌前全押时拿到的是ace-queen，而Ferguson则是ace-nine，最终Ferguson在转牌后抓住了9，逆转取胜。

Ferguson赢得了六条金手链，并在2017年成为WSOP年度最佳选手，但由于他在Full Tilt Poker的角色，他在“黑色星期五”事件后遭遇了巨大的负面影响。

在1999年WSOP主赛事中，来自1996年冠军Huck Seed希望赢得第二个冠军。他最终以第六名结束，获得$167,700奖金，而1988年的亚军Erik Seidel则稍好一点，获得第四名，奖金为$279,500。经过Padraig Parkinson在第三名出局后，冠军争夺战最终在Alan Goehring和来自爱尔兰的Noel Furlong之间展开。

这位来自爱尔兰的选手，已经从他的地毯制造生意中赚得了数百万，最终赢得了冠军，获得了$1百万的奖金。

1998年WSOP主赛事（350名选手）是WSOP历史上唯一一届决赛桌仅有五名选手的比赛。越南出生的Scotty Nguyen以筹码领先开始比赛，Kevin McBride排名第二。正如预期，最终冠军之争落到了两人之间。在一手显示三张8和两张9组成的葫芦牌面上，Nguyen全押并说出了经典的台词：“你跟，我就赢了，宝贝！”

McBride确实跟注了，Nguyen最终赢得了$1百万奖金和第二条金手链。从那时起，他总共获得了五条金手链，并成为扑克名人堂的成员。

在1980年和1981年连续两年赢得WSOP主赛事后，Stu Ungar因毒品成瘾而遭遇了下坡路。1997年，Ungar似乎重新找回了状态，成为了1997年WSOP主赛事中312名选手之一。当他进入决赛桌时，这也是第一次在Fremont街举行室外比赛，且他拥有超过三分之一的筹码，似乎命运已注定。最终，他以$1百万奖金赢得了第三个WSOP主赛事冠军，并佩戴上了圆形太阳镜，专门将胜利献给他的女儿Stefanie。

遗憾的是，Ungar最终未能战胜自己的恶习，在1998年11月22日因吸毒过量去世。

1996年WSOP主赛事是少数几场没有被电视转播的赛事之一，共有295名选手参赛。最终，年轻的Huck Seed击败了Bruce Van Horn，赢得了冠军和$1百万奖金，收获了他的第二条金手链。Seed总共获得了四条WSOP金手链，并在2020年入选扑克名人堂。

1995年WSOP对Dan Harrington来说是个丰收的一年。首先，他赢得了$2,500无上限德州扑克赛事，奖金为$249,000，并获得了金手链。随后，他在主赛事中战胜了273名选手，赢得了$1百万奖金，并再次获得金手链。Barbara Enright成为首位（至今唯一一位）进入WSOP主赛事决赛桌的女性，最终以第五名获得$114,180奖金。而1992年冠军Hamid Dastmalchi则获得了第四名，奖金为$173,000。

“行动丹”后来撰写了具有划时代意义的《Harrington on Hold’em》一书，并在2003年和2004年WSOP主赛事中进入决赛桌。

1994年是WSOP主赛事的第25周年纪念（银禧年），比赛非常特别。冠军不仅将获得$1百万的第一名奖金，还将获得与自己体重相等的银条。赛事吸引了268名选手参赛，包括重达330磅的Russ Hamilton。他在赢得比赛后，获得了43根总值$28,000的银条。

然而，Hamilton最终成为扑克历史上最臭名昭著的玩家之一，因为他涉及了Ultimate Bet丑闻，并在其中操控作弊，导致他欺骗玩家超过$600万。

1993年WSOP主赛事共有231名选手参赛，其中包括三年前曾夺冠的Mansour Matloubi。Matloubi再次获得深度晋级，但最终以第四名收场，获得$120,000奖金。最终，来自亚利桑那州的棉花农Jim Bechtel击败Glenn Cozen，赢得了$1百万奖金和冠军。对Bechtel来说，这是一次赎回，因为他曾在1988年WSOP主赛事中以第六名收场。

Bechtel作为业余选手赢得了WSOP主赛事，他成为自1979年Hal Fowler以来，第二位赢得主赛事的业余选手。2019年，Bechtel赢得了第二条金手链，这使得他26年的间隔成为WSOP历史上最长的手链间隔。

1992年WSOP主赛事参赛人数有所减少，共有201名选手参加，较前一年减少了14人。尽管如此，赛事依然为第二年提供了$1百万的冠军奖金。来自伊朗的Hamid Dastmalchi赢得了七位数的奖金，并将亚军Tom Jacobs抛在身后，获得了$353,500的安慰奖。

Dastmalchi在他的职业生涯中共获得四条WSOP金手链，直到2004年后突然从扑克圈消失。

在194名选手参赛的1991年赛事中，Stu Ungar在第二天结束时已经积累了巨大的筹码领先，尽管因毒品过量缺席了比赛，他依然因每一轮盲注被淘汰而名列第九，获得$25,050奖金。最终，伊朗裔英国选手Mansour Matloubi在决赛桌上击败Hans “Tuna” Lund，赢得了$835,000奖金。

在1990年赛事中，共有194名选手参赛，Stu Ungar在第二天积累了庞大的筹码量，但因毒品过量缺席比赛，依然凭借其筹码在比赛中位列第九。最终，Mansour Matloubi战胜Hans “Tuna” Lund，赢得$835,000奖金。

Mansour成为第一位赢得WSOP主赛事的非美国选手。

1989年WSOP主赛事吸引了178名选手，所有人的目光都集中在Johnny Chan身上，他连续两年赢得了该赛事。令人惊讶的是，他再次进入了深场，看起来似乎能够实现三连冠。然而，24岁的新人Phil Hellmuth Jr.打破了这个梦想。Hellmuth最终击败了Chan，获得了$302,000奖金。Hellmuth成为史上最年轻的主赛事冠军，并赢得了$755,000奖金和他的第一条金手链。

Chan在1988年重返WSOP并成功卫冕，战胜了167名选手。在决赛中，他击败了年轻的Erik Seidel，赢得了$700,000奖金。这一连胜让Chan成为继Doyle Brunson之后的第四位连续两年夺冠的选手，这一成就也在电影《Rounders》中得到了铭记。

Johnny Chan，又被称为“东方快车”，在1987年赢得了他的第一条WSOP主赛事金手链，他在152名选手中脱颖而出，赢得了$625,000奖金。此后，他继续在扑克桌上大杀四方，职业生涯中获得了10条金手链。

在1985年WSOP中获得第三名后，Berry Johnston在1986年回归并成功夺冠，战胜了141名选手，赢得了$570,000奖金。上届冠军Bill Smith虽然进入了深场，但最终仅获得第五名，奖金$51,300。Jesse Alto也连续第三年进入了决赛桌，最终名列第四，奖金$62,700。Wendeen Eolis以第25名的成绩获得$10,000奖金，成为首位在WSOP主赛事中进入奖金区的女性。

1985年WSOP主赛事吸引了141名选手，最终Bill Smith击败TJ Cloutier获得冠军，奖金$700,000。这一年的赛事也标志着Berry Johnston和Hamid Dastmalchi这两位选手未来将成为主赛事的冠军。

在1984年WSOP预选赛中，“绅士”Jack Keller赢得了$5,000七张牌Stud锦标赛，奖金$137,500。他随后在主赛事中战胜132名选手，最终获得冠军，奖金$660,000。他还在1993年获得了第三条金手链，并在1994年入选扑克名人堂。

1984年WSOP主赛事也是Jesse Alto连续三年进入决赛桌的开端，他最终获得第三名，奖金$132,000。

1983年WSOP主赛事的参赛人数增加到108人，Doyle Brunson再次进入深场，最终获得第三名，奖金$108,000，留下了两位卫星选手Tom McEvoy和Rod Peate进行决赛。比赛成为当时历史上最长的决赛（持续超过七小时，直到2006年）。McEvoy最终获胜，赢得了$540,000和冠军金手链，成为首位通过卫星赛晋级并夺得主赛事冠军的选手。

Jack Straus身高6英尺6寸，绰号“Treetop”，他也是“只要有筹码就有机会”的名句的来源。在1982年WSOP主赛事中，他在一度仅剩500筹码的情况下逆转夺冠，赢得了$520,000奖金和第二条金手链。

Stu Ungar在1981年回归并成功卫冕，他在75名选手中再次夺冠，获得$375,000奖金。

Stu Ungar被认为是史上最伟大的德州扑克选手之一，他在1980年WSOP主赛事中战胜了73名选手，最终以$365,000的奖金夺得了冠军。

1979年，WSOP主赛事的参赛人数首次突破50人，达到54人，总奖金池为540,000美元，前五名选手获得奖金。Hal Fowler创造了扑克历史，成为首位赢得WSOP主赛事冠军的业余选手。他战胜经验丰富的职业选手Bobby Hoff，赢得了270,000美元的奖金。Fowler在胜利后淡出了扑克圈，直到几年后去世，这段经历在Des Wilson的书《Ghosts at the Table》中有详细记载。

1978年，WSOP主赛事首次不再采用赢家独占的形式。42名选手参赛，奖金池总额为420,000美元，前五名选手都能获得奖金。Crandell Addington再次屈居第二，奖金为84,000美元，而Bobby “The Owl” Baldwin赢得了比赛，获得了210,000美元。

1977年，Doyle Brunson回归卫冕，参赛人数增至34人，最终他再次战胜Gary “Bones” Berland，赢得了340,000美元的奖金。他连赢两届赛事，不仅成绩卓著，而且两次都使用同一手牌获胜，这手牌如今被称为“Doyle Brunson”，成为传奇。

1976年，Doyle Brunson赢得了他的首个WSOP主赛事冠军，战胜了22名选手，最终以220,000美元的奖金获得第一名，他击败了Jesse Alto。

1975年，主赛事的参赛人数增至21人，但依然采用赢家独占的格式。Brian “Sailor” Roberts，这位德州公路赌徒，击败Bob Hooks，获得了210,000美元的奖金。然而，在他2016年去世前，Hooks曾透露，他们在比赛后悄悄达成协议，共同分了奖池。

1974年，扑克界的“老祖宗”Johnny Moss赢得了他的第三个WSOP冠军，战胜了16名选手，获得了160,000美元的奖金。他击败了未来的扑克名人堂成员Crandell Addington。

1973年，Walter “Puggy” Pearson报仇雪恨，战胜了去年排名第二的Johnny Moss，赢得了130,000美元。他在本年度系列赛中还赢得了$1,000无限注德州扑克和$4,000七张牌Stud的冠军。

1972年，虽然有12名选手计划参赛，但由于现金游戏的诱惑，四名选手缺席。最终，剩下的选手包括Jimmy Casella、Roger Van Ausdall、Johnny Moss、Jack Straus、Crandall Addington、Doyle Brunson、Puggy Pearson和Amarillo Slim Preston，他们以10,000美元的高额报名费参加比赛。最终，Amarillo Slim在决赛中击败Puggy，赢得了80,000美元的冠军奖金。

1971年，WSOP转为“逐出赛”格式，六名选手每人缴纳5,000美元报名费。Johnny Moss再次展现出他的扑克技巧，赢得了30,000美元的奖金，并获得了第二个冠军。

1970年，WSOP是一次独特的赛事，冠军不是通过比赛决出，而是通过选手投票决定的。七名选手受邀参加比赛，Johnny Moss，作为扑克界的权威人物，被他的同行选为最佳玩家。这场胜利标志着WSOP首次举行，并且Moss赢得了银杯作为奖励。