WSOP Winners: Full List of Main Event Winners (1970 - 2018)
by Giovanni Angioni 2019-06-17
From Johnny Moss to John Cynn -- full list of all the WSOP winners in history with the official payouts! Check out the official list of all WSOP winners!
The largest winner in the WSOP Main Event history is Jamie Gold with $12,000
The WSOP first World Champion was nominated in a hotel room
This article lists all the WSOP Main Event winners in history
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has not always been the glam and popular event they are today.
When everything started back in 1970, the city of Las Vegas counted less than 50 Poker tables and the event attracted only a handful of players.
There were no media or public to follow the event and there were no overnight millionaires to be made at the felt.
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If you know the WSOP only for what they have been for the past 15 years or so, you'd be surprised to discover how different everything used to be and how today's inflated number has little to do with 'the good old days.'
Think about this:
In July 2018, America's John Cynn went on to win an $8,800,000 cash prize at the end of a 10-day battle that saw him survive a field of 7,874 WSOP Main Event contestants.
Strategy, bravery, and luck earned Cynn a monster check and the title of Poker World Champion.
In 1970, when the title was first created, Johnny Moss won it...because someone nominated him for it right from the lounge of a Las Vegas hotel room!
The table below shows the winners of the World Series of Poker Main Event tournaments in history.
WSOP Main Event Won by
1970 Johnny Moss N/A
1971 Johnny Moss $30,000
1972 Thomas Preston (aka. Amarillo Slim) $80,000
1973 Walter Pearson (aka. Puggy) $130,000
1974 Johnny Moss $160,000
1975 Brian Roberts $210,000
1976 Doyle Brunson (aka. Texas Dolly $220,000
1978 Bobby Baldwin (aka. The Owl $210,000
1979 Hal Fowler $270,000
1980 Stu Ungar (aka. The Kid) $385,000
1982 Jack Straus $520,000
1983 Tom McEvoy $540,000
1984 Jack Keller $660,000
1985 Bill Smith $700,000
1986 Berry Johnston $570,000
1987 Johnny Chan (aka. Orient Express) $625,000
1989 Phil Hellmuth (aka. The Poker Brat $755,000
1990 Mansour Matloubi $895,000
1991 Brad Daugherty $1,000,000
1992 Hamid Dastmalchi $1,000,000
1993 Jim Bechtel $1,000,000
1994 Russ Hamilton $1,000,0000
1995 Dan Harrington (aka. Action Dan) $1,000,000
1996 Huck Seed $1,000,000
1997 Stu Ungar (aka. The Kid) $1,000,000
1998 Scotty Nguyen (aka. The Prince of Poker) $1,000,000
1999 Noel Furlong $1,000,000
2000 Chris Ferguson (aka. Jesus) $1,500,000
2001 Carlos Mortensen (aka. El Matador) $1,500,000
2002 Robert Varkonyi $2,000,000
2003 Chris Moneymaker $2,500,000
2004 Greg Raymer (aka. Fossilman) $5,000,000
2005 Joe Hachem $7,500,000
2006 Jamie Gold $12,000,0000
2007 Jerry Yang (aka. The Shadow $8,250,000
2008 Peter Eastgate (aka. Isser $9,152,416
2009 Joe Cada $8,574,649
2010 Jonathan Duhamel $8,944,138
2011 Pius Heinz $8,715,638
2012 Greg Merson $8,531,853
2013 Ryan Riess $8,359,531
2014 Martin Jacobson $10,000,000
2015 Joe McKeehen $7,683,346
2016 Qui Nguyen $8,005,310
2017 Scott Blumstein $8,150,000
2018 John Cynn $8,800,000
The 2019 winner of the WSOP Main Event will be nominated in July, at the end of a long and difficult battle that is set to begin on July 3.
The players will have three starting flights to join the event, provided they first pay the $10,000 entry fee.
25 Key Moments in WSOP History
From the first WSOP winner in history to the player with most WSOP bracelets.
Join us for a journey through the key moments in the World Series of Poker history!
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