Professional poker players who compete for the world’s highest stakes are often chasing the biggest of poker wins, with world-renowned stars regularly on show displaying their skills in pursuit of mega cash prizes.
In the world of poker, certain poker tournaments have some serious prize money on offer, with the world’s best poker players competing in these events.
But what is the biggest poker win ever? Below, we take you through the top 10 biggest poker wins in history, showcasing which poker players have been able to take home the most cash.
Hossein Ensan – $10,000,000
The first name on our list in joint-seventh place is the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Hossein Ensan, who scooped an eye-watering $10 million for coming out on top at the Las Vegas event, which saw 8,569 participants compete and a $10,000 buy-in.
The German entered the tournament as a previous European Poker Tour winner and having already amassed career earnings of over $2.6 million. But Ensan faced Dario Sammartino, who was considered one of the best poker players in the world at the time, and ended up trailing the Italian on the final day, which put Ensan’s prize in jeopardy.
However, Ensan continued to win the big poker hands on the way to overcoming his opponent and securing himself his biggest poker win of all time with a cool $10 million.
Espen Jorstad – $10,000,000
Also taking home $10 million was Espen Jorstad, who won the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas – a tournament boasting 8,663 participants and a $10,000 buy-in.
The Norwegian had come close to winning the competition in previous years, finishing sixth in 2019, but he didn’t let the opportunity pass him by again as he this time clinched the title, winning himself a $10 million prize and a place among poker’s biggest ever winners in the process.
Justin Bonomo – $10,000,000
Another winner of a World Series of Poker event, Justin Bonomo won a $10 million prize in 2018 at The Big One for One Drop in Las Vegas, his biggest ever poker win. The Big One for One Drop had a mega $1 million buy-in, with Bonomo competing against 26 other participants.
Bonomo enjoyed a hugely profitable year in 2018, with The Big One for One Drop prize money making him the highest earning poker player ever at the time.
The $10 million prize moved the American’s yearly earnings to over $25 million, which remains one of the best years ever had in poker financially by a poker player.
Martin Jacobson – $10,000,000
In winning the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas, Swedish poker player Martin Jacobson netted $10 million and his first career World Series of Poker bracelet. The event in Vegas included a $10,000 buy-in with 6,683 poker players in all participating.
Entering the final table as undoubtedly the most experienced live tournament player there, Jacobson started in a tough position of second bottom. However, he ended up winning in an impressive manner given he had to carefully negotiate his way through the final table with limited chips to take the victory and the $10 million prize.
Jamie Gold – $12,000,000
All sums of money on our list are certainly life-changing, but no other case of a poker win is as life-changing as the $12 million won by Jamie Gold in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas.
Entering as a recreational player, Gold took out the largest field ever in the event’s history at the time of 8,773 players, which included a $10,000 buy-in. He used his limited competitive experience to his advantage by employing tactics not seen at the table before, telling and flashing his hole cards to his opponents when bluffing.
The American ended up winning the Main Event and a cool $12 million when his Q9 beat Paul Wasicka’s pocket tens.
Elton Tsang – $12,248,912
Chinese entrepreneur Elton Tsang, a regular on the international poker scene, scooped his biggest ever poker win and the fifth largest on our list when winning the 2016 Monte Carlo Drop Extravaganza in Monaco and a prize of over $12 million.
Defeating opponent Anatoly Gurtovoy heads-up, he came out on top in the exclusive 28-man event to claim the eye-watering sum of $12,248,912. The event itself required a staggering €1 million buy-in.
Daniel Colman – $15,306,668
Just 24 years of age at the time, Daniel Colman was an online poker professional who landed the $15 million-plus jackpot for The Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker in 2014 in Las Vegas, the first time Colman had ever sat at a poker table with players of this magnitude.
The American faced off against Daniel Negreanu, one of poker’s all-time greats and the strong favourite, but it was Colman who upset the odds and took home the main prize of $15,306,668. Colman came out on top in the 42-player event which required a mammoth $1 million buy-in.
Aaron Zang – $16,775,820
The first of two players in our list to have played in the 2019 Triton Million for Charity 54-player event in London – which boasted a $1.05 million buy-in – Aaron Zang secured his biggest ever poker win by agreeing a heads-up deal with Bryn Kenney.
It was Kenney who held the upper hand with the number of chips, providing him with more bargaining power over Zang, who had to settle for $16,775,820.
After that, Zang, who hails from China, came from behind on multiple chip deficits to defeat Kenney and land himself the event title and his biggest ever poker win in the process.
Antonio Esfandiari – $18,346,673
Antonio Esfandiari is second on our list, after winning $18,346,673 in the inaugural The Big One for One Drop event in Las Vegas in 2012. This is the biggest ever single poker tournament prize in history and cemented Esfandiari as one of the greatest to ever play poker.
Competing in the 48-man The Big One for One Drop, with a buy-in of $1 million, Esfandiari carefully navigated the early stages of the competition, entering the final day with a narrow advantage before taking several scalps to win and net the mammoth prize to land himself second spot on our list.
Bryn Kenney – $20,563,324
Surprisingly, to round off our list of the biggest poker wins, the recipient of the prize technically didn’t even win the competition in which he scooped the biggest ever poker win! In the 2019 Triton Million for Charity event, Bryn Kenney won $20,563,324 despite finishing second in the competition!
The American was facing off against third on the list, Aaron Zang, over a $54 million prize pot. The event required a $1.05 million buy-in, the single highest buy-in for a poker tournament.
With 54 players battling it out for first place, the original prize was scheduled to be $19 million, but when it came down to the final two – Kenney and Zang – Kenney held the upper hand with four times as many chips as his opponent, causing the two to agree a deal where Kenney was to win the record-breaking sum.
Surprisingly, after agreeing the deal, Zang overcame the deficit in chips to secure the title, but it was Bryn Kenney who clinched the biggest poker win in history.
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