The following is the list of World Series of Poker Main Event champions. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is "the oldest, largest, most prestigious, and most media-hyped gaming competition in the world".[1] It is held annually since 1970 in Las Vegas. Since 1972, the Main Event of the WSOP has been the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament. The winner of the WSOP Main Event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet, millions of dollars (with the exact amount based on the number of entrants), and the right to be considered the year's World Champion of Poker.[2] Since 2008, the nine players who make it to the final table of the Main Event are called the November Nine, a reference to the fact that the final table competes in November, months after the Main Event's preliminary rounds are completed.
Until 2005, the WSOP was held at Binion's Horseshoe. In 2005, the event moved to the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino.[3]
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Johnny Moss was the first person to win the WSOP. Since then only Moss and Stu Ungar have won the Main Event three times; Ungar is the only one to have won three times in the freeze-out format. Moss, Ungar, Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan are the only people who have won the Main Event two years in a row. Johnny Chan's second victory in 1988 was featured on the 1998 film Rounders.[4] Peter Eastgate was the youngest person to win the Main Event when he won it in 2008, at 22 years of age.[5] He held that record for one year, when 21 year old Joe Cada became the youngest Main Event champion.
| * | Elected to the Poker Hall of Fame. |
| † | Denotes player who is deceased. |
| Year | The year of the tournament linked to the WSOP for the given year. |
| Winner | The person who won the Main Event. |
| Nickname | Nickname of the player. |
| Hand | The two hole cards the winner held on the final hand. |
| Prize (US$) | WSOP Main Event Prize prize money. |
| Entrants | This column indicates the number of players in that year's Main Event. |
| Winnings | Lifetime winnings in WSOP and WSOP Circuit events as of January 20, 2009. |
| Bracelets | WSOP victories are counted in terms of bracelets, as of January 20, 2009. |
| Ref. | References |
| Image | Year | Winner | Nickname | Hand | Prize (US$) | Entrants[6] | Winnings | WSOP bracelets | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Johnny Moss*† | The Grand Old Man of Poker[7] | N/A | N/A | 7 | $824,922 | 9 | [8] | |
| 1971 | Johnny Moss*† | The Grand Old Man of Poker | 6 6 | $30,000 | 6 | $824,922 | 9 | [8] | |
| 1972 | Thomas Preston* | Amarillo Slim[9] | K J | $80,000 | 8 | $436,055 | 4 | [10] | |
| 1973 | Walter Pearson*† | Puggy[11] | A♠ 7♠ | $130,000 | 13 | $245,740 | 4 | [12] | |
| 1974 | Johnny Moss*† | The Grand Old Man of Poker | 3♥ 3♠ | $160,000 | 16 | $824,922 | 9 | [8] | |
| 1975 | Brian Roberts† | Sailor[13] | J♠ J♥ [14] | $210,000 | 21 | $266,650 | 2 | [15] | |
| 1976 | Doyle Brunson* | Texas Dolly[16][h] | 10♠ 2♠ | $220,000 | 22 | $2,808,945 | 10 | [17] | |
| 1977 | Doyle Brunson* | Texas Dolly | 10♠ 2♥ | $340,000 | 34 | $2,808,945 | 10 | [17] | |
| 1978 | Bobby Baldwin* | The Owl[18] | Q♦ Q♣ | $210,000 | 42 | $604,900 | 4 | [19] | |
| 1979 | Hal Fowler† | — | 7♠ 6♦ | $270,000 | 54 | $270,000 | 1 | [20] | |
| 1980 | Stu Ungar*† | Stuey or The Kid[21] |
5♠ 4♠ | $385,000 | 73 | $2,078,838 | 5 | [22] | |
| 1981 | Stu Ungar*† | Stuey or The Kid |
A♥ Q♥ | $375,000 | 75 | $2,078,838 | 5 | [22] | |
| 1982 | Jack Straus[b]*† | Treetop[23] | A♥ 10♠ | $520,000 | 104 | $555,000 | 2 | [24] | |
| 1983 | Tom McEvoy | Pokerchump[25] | Q♦ Q♠ | $540,000 | 108 | $1,291,031 | 4 | [25] | |
| N/A | 1984 | Jack Keller*† | Gentleman[26] | 10♥ 10♠ | $660,000 | 132 | $2,048,763 | 3 | [26] |
| N/A | 1985 | Bill Smith† | — | 3♠ 3♥ | $700,000 | 140 | $788,000 | 1 | [27] |
| 1986 | Berry Johnston* | — | A♠ 10♥ | $570,000 | 141 | $2,265,523 | 5 | [28] | |
| 1987 | Johnny Chan* | Orient Express[29] | A♠ 9♣ | $625,000 | 152 | $4,148,868 | 10 | [30] | |
| 1988 | Johnny Chan* | Orient Express | J♣ 9♣ | $700,000 | 167 | $4,148,868 | 10 | [30] | |
| 1989 | Phil Hellmuth[g]* | The Poker Brat[31] | 9♠ 9♣ | $755,000 | 178 | $8,678,596 | 11 | [32] | |
| N/A | 1990 | Mansour Matloubi | — | 6♥ 6♠ | $895,000 | 194 | $6,019,630 | 1 | [33] |
| 1991 | Brad Daugherty | — | K♠ J♠ | $1,000,000 | 215 | $1,165,170 | 1 | [34] | |
| 1992 | Hamid Dastmalchi | — | 8♥ 4♣ | $1,000,000 | 201 | $1,642,463 | 3 | [35] | |
| 1993 | Jim Bechtel | — | J♣ 6♥ | $1,000,000 | 220 | $1,944,623 | 1 | [36] | |
| 1994 | Russ Hamilton | — | K♠ 8♥ | $1,000,000 | 268 | $1,261,940 | 1 | [37] | |
| 1995 | Dan Harrington* | Action Dan[38] | 9♦ 8♦ | $1,000,000 | 273 | $3,491,513 | 2 | [39] | |
| 1996 | Huck Seed | — | 9♦ 8♦ | $1,000,000 | 295 | $2,426,842 | 4 | [40] | |
| 1997 | Stu Ungar*† | Stuey or The Kid |
A♥ 4♣ | $1,000,000 | 312 | $2,078,838 | 5 | [41] | |
| 1998 | Scotty Nguyen | The Train or The Prince of Poker[42] |
J♦ 9♣ | $1,000,000 | 350 | $4,794,817 | 5 | [43] | |
| 1999 | Noel Furlong | — | 5♣ 5♦ | $1,000,000 | 393 | $1,070,785 | 1 | [44] | |
| 2000 | Chris Ferguson | Jesus [45] | A♠ 9♣ | $1,500,000 | 512 | $7,075,300 | 5 | [45] | |
| 2001 | Carlos Mortensen | El Matador[46] | K♣ Q♣ | $1,500,000 | 613 | $8,457,033 | 2 | [47] | |
| 2002 | Robert Varkonyi | — | Q♦ 10♠ | $2,000,000 | 631 | $2,110,212 | 1 | [48] | |
| 2003 | Chris Moneymaker[c] | — | 5♦ 4♠ | $2,500,000 | 839 | $2,532,041 | 1 | [49] | |
| 2004 | Greg Raymer | Fossil-Man | 8♠ 8♦ | $5,000,000 | 2,576 | $5,712,585 | 1 | [50] | |
| 2005 | Joe Hachem | — | 7♣ 3♠ | $7,500,000 | 5,619 | $8,029,995 | 1 | [51] | |
| 2006 | Jamie Gold | — | Q♠ 9♣ | $12,000,000 | 8,773 | $12,067,292[i] | 1 | [52] | |
| 2007 | Jerry Yang | The Shadow[53] | 8♦ 8♣ | $8,250,000 | 6,358 | $8,250,000 | 1 | [54] | |
| 2008 | Peter Eastgate | Isser[5] | A♦ 5♠ | $9,152,416 | 6,844 | $9,152,416 | 1 | [55] | |
| 2009 | Joe Cada[d] | — | 9♦ 9♣ | $8,574,649 | 6,494 | $8,574,649 | 1 | [56] | |
| 2010 | Jonathan Duhamel | — | A♠ J♥ | $8,944,138 | 7,319 | $8,944,310 | 1 | [57] | |
| 2011 | Pius Heinz | Heinz 57 | A♠ K♣ | $8,715,638 | 6,865 | $8,798,924 | 1 | [58] |
The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, the bracelet events have occurred every year in Las Vegas. The inaugural WSOPE, held in 2007, marked the first time that a WSOP bracelet was awarded outside Las Vegas.[59] The 2007 Main Event, a GBP 10,000 buy-in no-limit hold 'em tournament, was won by Norwegian online prodigy Annette Obrestad on the day before her 19th birthday. This made her the youngest person to win a WSOP bracelet, a record that cannot be broken in the Las Vegas WSOP under current laws because the minimum legal age for casino gaming in Nevada is 21. Obrestad could play in the WSOPE because the minimum age for casino gaming in the United Kingdom is 18. The World Series of Poker Europe has a unique identity from the Las Vegas WSOP, but according to Harrah's will remain true to the traditions and heritage.[59] The 2011 WSOP Europe main event was an 8-handed event.[60]
| Image | Year | Winner | Nickname | Hand | Prize | Entrants[6] | Winnings | WSOP bracelets | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Annette Obrestad [e] | Annette_15[61] | 7♥ 7♠ | £1,000,000 | 362 | $1,960,000 | 1 | [62] | |
| 2008 | John Juanda[f] | — | K♠ 6♣ | £868,800 | 362 | $3,432,342 | 4 | [63] | |
| 2009 | Barry Shulman | — | 10♠ 10♣ | £801,603 | 334 | — | 2 | ||
| 2010 | James Bord | — | 10♦ 10♥ | £830,401 | 346 | — | 1 | ||
| 2011 | Elio Fox | — | A♦ 10♠ | €1,400,000 | 593 | — | 1 |
a The first World Series of Poker was not a freeze out tournament, but rather a game with a set start and stop time. Benny Binion took a secret ballot that asked the players who the best player was. According to poker lore, everybody said that they were the best player. Binion then asked who the second-best player was, and Johnny Moss won.[64]
b Jack Strauss' 1982 WSOP tournament victory is considered to be one of the greatest comebacks in poker history. At one point, Strauss was down to one chip, and he came back to win. This victory is considered the origin of the poker saying, "A chip and a chair." A saying that means that as long as you have a chip and a chair you have a chance. Modern lore indicates that this happened at the final table, but the 1983 book The Biggest Game in Town implies this occurred on the first day of the tournament.[65]
c Chris Moneymaker won the entry into the WSOP Main Event via a $39 online satellite.[66]
d Joe Cada is the youngest person to have won the WSOP Main Event.[5]
e Annette Obrestad won the WSOPE at the age of 18 years, 364 days, making her the youngest person to have won a WSOP bracelet. She is also the first woman to have won a Main Event tournament and in 2007 was considered to be one of the best online multi-table tournament players in the world.[61]
f The final table at the 2008 WSOPE Main Event, was the longest final table in the WSOP history. The tournament lasted 22 hours (a WSOP record) and 434 hands (a WSOP record).[67]
g At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth won his record-breaking 11th bracelet in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event.[68] Hellmuth also holds the records for most WSOP cashes (68) and most WSOP final tables (41).[69]
h Doyle Brunson obtained the nickname of Texas Dolly when Jimmy The Greek mispronounced his name.[16]
i In recent years, the prize pool for the WSOP Main Event has become so large that the winner instantly becomes one of the top money winners in tournament poker. Jamie Gold (2006) is number two on that list. Joe Hachem (2005) is number three. Peter Eastgate (2008) is number five.[70]
j The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 curtailed online gambling in the United States.[71]
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