WSOP
WSOP Main Event: complete list of historical winners
At the World Series of Poker, the chief attraction is the Main Event No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, which has been running since 1970.
Described as the “richest, most prestigious and longest-running poker series”, the World Series of Poker comes to a climax next week when the Main Event No-Limit Hold’em World Championship reaches its conclusion.
“Greatest poker tournament in the world”
A record-breaking 10,112 players entered this year’s Main Event, which kicked off at Horseshoe Las Vegas on July 3.
The defending champion is Georgia native Daniel Weinman, who in 2023 came the first American to win the contest in five years. Weinman pocketed $12.1 million, the largest ever Main Event first-prize payout.
“This is the greatest poker tournament in the world,” Weinman said as the Main Event kicked off earlier this month, per Forbes. “I plan on playing in this tournament for the rest of my life and am excited to see who gets their name up on the wall next.”
Who has won the most WSOP Main Events?
Weinman has since been eliminated from the 2024 Main Event, ending his bid to join a select group of players who have succeeded in retaining their crown.
Since the WSOP was first held just over half a century ago, only four men - Johnny Moss Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar and Johnny Chan - have won the Main Event in consecutive years. With three titles each, Moss and Ungar are the tournament’s most decorated individuals.
WSOP Main Event: every winner
1970: Johnny Moss (USA)
1971: Johnny Moss (USA)
1972: Thomas Preston (USA)
1973: Walter Pearson (USA)
1974: Johnny Moss (USA)
1975: Brian Roberts (USA)
1976: Doyle Brunson (USA)
1977: Doyle Brunson (USA)
1978: Bobby Baldwin (USA)
1979: Hal Fowler (USA)
1980: Stu Ungar (USA)
1981: Stu Ungar (USA)
1982: Jack Straus (USA)
1983: Tom McEvoy (USA)
1984: Jack Keller (USA)
1985: Bill Smith (USA)
1986: Berry Johnston (USA)
1987: Johnny Chan (USA)
1988: Johnny Chan (USA)
1989: Phil Hellmuth (USA)
1990: Mansour Matloubi (UK)
1991: Brad Daugherty (USA)
1992: Hamid Dastmalchi (USA)
1993: Jim Bechtel (USA)
1994: Russ Hamilton (USA)
1995: Dan Harrington (USA)
1996: Huck Seed (USA)
1997: Stu Ungar (USA)
1998: Scotty Nguyen (USA)
1999: Noel Furlong (Rep. of Ireland)
2000: Chris Ferguson (USA)
2001: Carlos Mortensen (Ecuador)
2002: Robert Varkonyi (USA)
2003: Chris Moneymaker (USA)
2004: Greg Raymer (USA)
2005: Joe Hachem (Australia)
2006: Jamie Gold (USA)
2007: Jerry Yang (USA)
2008: Peter Eastgate (Denmark)
2009: Joe Cada (USA)
2010: Jonathan Duhamel (Canada)
2011: Pius Heinz (Germany)
2012: Greg Merson (USA)
2013: Ryan Reiss (USA)
2014: Martin Jacobson (Sweden)
2015: Joe McKeehen (USA)
2016: Qui Nguyen (USA)
2017: Scott Blumstein (USA)
2018: John Cynn (USA)
2019: Hossein Ensan (Germany)
2020: Damian Salas (Argentina)
2021: Koray Aldemir (Germany)
2022: Espen Jorstad (Norway)
2023: Daniel Weinman (USA)
When is the 2024 Main Event champion be decided?
This year’s Main Event winner will be crowned when the tournament’s final table is held on Tuesday July 16 and Wednesday July 17, 2024.