Who Are The Biggest Poker Tournament Winners Of All-Time?

The rise in popularity of High Roller and Super High Roller poker tournaments in recent years has had a dramatic effect on the all-time winnings rankings, as has the fact poker tournament players now have more opportunities than ever to grind away in major events around the world.

These days, you need almost $8.5 million in cashes just to break into the top 100 biggest poker winners of all-time, and a staggering $12.6 million to find yourself ranked in the top 50. The prize money some of the world’s best poker players have earned is astronomical, but who are the five biggest poker tournament winners of all time?

Justin Bonomo – $44,779,048

Justin Bonomo tops the charts with an almost unbelievable total of $44,779,048 in live poker tournament winnings. Bonomo already had more than $18 million in earning before he went on a massive heater during 2018 that saw the Fairfax, Virginia native get his hands on more than $25.4 million!

Part of that huge total stemmed from his victory in the Big One for One Drop event at the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a $1 million buy-in event. Bonomo was the last man standing and locked up the largest cash of his career, namely $10 million.

Daniel Negreanu – $40,045,583

Former PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu was the former number one in the biggest poker tournament winners of all time until Bonomo went on his epic run. Negreanu is currently sat in second-place with $40,045,583 in winnings.

The Canadian, who resides in Las Vegas is regarded as one of the best all-round poker players of all time, one who has amassed six WSOP bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles. Negreanu’s largest cash weighs in at $8,288,001, his reward for a second-place finish in the 2014 edition of the Big One for One Drop.

Erik Seidel – $35,373,831

Erik Seidel may not look like your stereotypical poker player, but do not let looks fool you because Seidel is an absolute beast, a beast who has earned $35,373,831 from poker tournaments. Among Seidel’s many achievements are eight WSOP bracelets, a WPT Main Event win and a victory in a Super High Roller event on the European Poker Tour (EPT) circuit.

Seidel was the runner-up in the 1988 WSOP Main Event, losing to Johnny Chan. This final hand made it into the famous 1998 movie Rounders.

Bryn Kenney – $34,908,320

Born in Long Beach, New York, Bryn Kenney cut his teeth playing online poker where he gained a reputation for being a fearless opponent. It is a deserved reputation because Kenney fears nobody at the table, especially in No Limit Hold’em tournaments for any stakes.

There are still six months of 2019 remaining, yet Kenney is already guaranteed to have enjoyed his best year at the poker tables in terms of money won. Through June 20, 2019, Kenney has banked almost $9.3 million in winnings, an impressive figure helped by him winning back-to-back titles at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro that saw him return home with the equivalent of $3,605,235.

David Peters – $33,066,566

Ohio’s David Peters is probably the best poker player you have never heard of and it is not because of a lack of winnings as Peters currently sits in fifth-place in the biggest poker tournament winners of all-time listings with $33,066,566.

Peters tends to shun the limelight, not interested in the publicity that comes with winning poker tournament. Instead, Peters acts like a consummate professional, heads to casinos around the world and has an almost unnatural ability to build his stack.

Ten cashes of more than $1 million have helped Peters soar up the rankings, with his largest prize being worth $2,699,752 which he won for finishing second in a Super High Roller event in the Philippines that cost $200,000 to enter.

10 Biggest Poker Tournament Winners of All-Time

Place	Player	Country	Winnings
1	Justin Bonomo	United States	$44,779,050
2	Daniel Negreanu	Canada	$40,045,583
3	Erik Seidel	United States	$35,373,831
4	Bryn Kenney	United States	$34,908,320
5	David Peters	United States	$33,066,566
6	Fedor Holz	Germany	$32,556,379
7	Daniel Colman	United States	$28,925,059
8	Jason Koon	United States	$28,890,061
9	Antonio Esfandiari	United States	$27,728,436
10	Dan Smith	United States	$27,707,079

Matthew Pitt

If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.

View Articles