There is a lot of money to be made playing poker. Many of the game’s best players have climbed the ladder and made millions on the live and virtual felt in the world of poker tournaments. Let’s take a look at the top ten best poker players of all time, based on tournament earnings. Honorable mentions. First, a shout-out to numbers 11–20! Ron McMillen had quite a first-time experience playing poker online. In the 2020 World Series of Poker online event No. 9 — a $1,000 no-limit hold ’em 6-max tournament — he finished first, winning.

Many people out there dream about winning a million dollar prize in a poker game, but a look at the record of poker tournaments over the years reveals that many players have actually won much bigger prize money from the game.

Has the thought of winning $5 million… $10 million… or even $18 million in one poker tournament ever crossed your mind? The simple truth is that such huge poker wins are actually possible.

The $10,000 Main Event in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has been the largest poker tournament for the past 10 years and within these years, some of the biggest poker tournament winners have emerged from this tournament.

Most poker tournaments are held online these days. NewCasinosUK.com has hundreds of brand new casino sites which hold regular tournaments where players can enter and win some serious cash in the process.

When you get online, you’ll realize that the biggest web based poker win ever was in the main event of the 2010 _Online Poker World Championship _(WCOOP). The tournament was hosted by PokerStars and had a buy-in of $5,200. Up to 2,443 players took part in it, and it garnered a prize pool of $12.22 million. At the end of the day, Tyson “POTTERPOKER” Marks won the first prize of $2.3 million.

It’s good to note that 12 of the 15 biggest poker wins are from the Main Event of the World Series Poker. Below, we’re going to take you through the 5 biggest poker wins of all time, in regards to the prize money for first place.

5. 2014 WSOP Main Event

The 2014 tournament kicked off on the 5th of July and ran till the 14th. However, in November, the final 9 players came back to slug it out for the grand prize. The event involved a field of 6,683 at the beginning, with a pool of $62.8 million. But at the end, the grand prize was won by the Swedish poker player named Martin Jacobson. He went home with a cool $10 million and a bracelet. The second place was taken by Felix Stephensen, and he went home with $5.15 million.

4. 2006 WSOP Main Event

Of course, the main event of the 2006 World Series Poker is reputed as the largest tournament the world of poker has ever witnessed. This is because it had a total number of 8,773 entrants and an amazingly huge pool of up to $82,512,162. The number of players involved necessitated four different starting days. From the four groups, it was stripped down to two, and later to one, before getting to the final table with nine players on august 8.

The championship was won by Jamie Gold on the 10th of August, landing $12 million as the prize money. The second place was taken by Paul Wasicka and he won $6.1 million. From day four, Gold had a good chip lead, taking out 7 opponents out of the 8 at the final table. Before the final game, he was the clear chip leader and to knock out Paul and head home with his tens, he applied the Q-9 and table talk.

The Big 3

The 3 largest events in poker were never part of the WSOP main event – In fact, they are all events by the non-profit organisation known as One Drop Foundation.

The foundation was founded by Guy Laliberté – who’s also the founder of Cirque du Soleil -and their mission is to provide crisis ridden parts of the world with safe drinking water. For every buy-in form in each of the events, $111,111 is donated to the foundation.

The biggest buy-in for the foundation was the $1 million buy-in for the Big One for One Drop yearly NLHE event which is also part of the WSOP. This event offers the world of poker not only the biggest buy-in, but the biggest pay out too. The Big One for One Drop event kicked off in 2012 and the largest of all single poker payouts happened on the debut edition.

3. 2014 Big One for One Drop

Dan Colman has the second largest win ever witnessed in the history of poker. The event garnered a total prize money pool of $37.3 million, and to go home with the $15.3 million first place prize money, Colman had to defeat up to 42 other contestants. Second place was taken by Daniel Negreanu who went home with about $8.29 million and that placed him at the top of the All Time Money List. This tournament made his total live winnings to exceed $36.5 million. This event also turned dramatic in the last hand because of the huge pot that Colman won from Negreanu in the past few hands with A-4.

2. 2018 Big One for One Drop

Number 2 of the highest poker wins of all time is the most recent in the list has a history that excites most enthusiasts.

The final event had Fedor Holz defeated by Justin Bonomo to win the $10 million first place prize money and add one more bracelet to the one that he has already won in the tournament. With this win, Bonomo was sent to the top of the All Time Money List, knocking Daniel Negreanu from the top spot that had been there since 2014. It placed Bonomo’s all-time live winnings at a whopping $43 million.

1. 2012 Big One for One Drop

This respected event of the WSOP garnered 48 entries in 2012 with a prize pool of up to $42.67 million. The biggest win went to Antonio Esfandiari, and he went home with the $18.35 million prize money. This stands as the highest single pocket payout in the history of poker tournaments.. One significant thing here is that during the final hand, Esfandiari hit a 7-5 offsuit to defeat Sam Trickett and his Q-6. Antonio was a very excited man after that, as anyone would be taking home almost $20 million!.

Other Poker Tournament Wins To Note

It’s good to note that there are some non-NLHE tournaments that have garnered huge wins in the past too. The 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event had a win of $2 million grand prize after a long list of controversies.

Are you an avid online poker player or a poker aficionado looking to potentially join the online poker circuit? If so, you are in luck, as online poker provides a great place for up and coming players to hone their skills and practice playing poker without risking thousands of dollars all at once.

This article explores all the biggest online poker tournaments available in today’s industry and gives you a sneak peak at the events that could end up changing your life. Learn more about Sunday Warm Up, Sunday Millions, SCOOP, WCOOP and other online poker tournaments that have become a part of the poker history and legend. We also take a look at the new and upcoming WSOP bracelet events which players can enjoy at WSOP.com via their computers or mobile devices.

Young or old, online poker is waiting for you to join the ranks of thousands of players trying to win the big bucks week in and week out. Keep reading, get pumped for those massive online tournaments and prepare yourself to spend 12 hours glued to your screen as you take down the next Sunday Million or even better an online poker WSOP bracelet.

• Online poker tournaments have been around since early 2000s
• Online series like WCOOP and SCOOP match the popularity of WSOP
• Online poker events give everyone a chance at life changing money
• Win a WSOP bracelet online and kick start your professional poker career

1. The PokerStars Sunday Million

Organized: Every Sunday

Poker Site: PokerStars

Guaranteed Prize Pool: $1.000.000

Without any doubt, the PokerStars Sunday Million is the best online poker tournament around. The tournament gained in popularity in recent years after becoming the most rewarding online poker tournament with a staggering prize pool that exceeded $1.3 million. Soon later, the PokerStars Sunday Million online tournament has gained an impressive player base which attracts thousands of players every single week.

As suggested by its name, the PokerStars Sunday Million tournament is usually held on Sundays. Back on the 14th of April 2019, the tournament celebrated its 13th anniversary and there was not a better way to celebrate than with a massive $10 million special prize pool with a staggering $1 million reserved for the tournament’s champion. The tournament has gone a long way since its very first event held back in March 2006.

The very first event attracted almost 6,000 players who invested $215 for their shot at becoming the very first PokerStars Sunday Million crowned champion. Throughout the years, more than five million people from all over the globe have taken their shot at the tournament whose collective prize pools exceeded $750 million since the very first tournament held in 2006.

When it comes to the special PokerStars Sunday Million tournaments, they have always stayed popular and even broke numerous records. The biggest-ever Sunday Million tournament took place on the 18th of December 2011. This event, in particular, broke the record for the biggest online poker tournament ever. This event gathered a massive field of more than 62,000 players who together built a staggering $12 million prize pool.

When it comes to qualifying for the Sunday Million, players usually use the cheapest way which is through the website’s satellites that run constantly on every day of the week. This way, players qualify for as little as fifty-two cents. Those who want to skip the qualification step and immediately buy in have to invest at least $109. As with other big online poker tournaments, the Sunday Million features bounties which are placed on tables that up the stakes.

• The Sunday Million held by PokerStars is the biggest online poker tournament
• The Sunday Million was the very first tournament of this kind with a prize pool over $1 million
• Players can buy in directly for $109 buy-ins or through tournament’s qualifiers

2. World Championship of Online Poker

Organized: Every Automn

Poker Site: PokerStars

Guaranteed Prize Pool: $70.000.000 (The 2019 Festival)

This article exploring the best online poker tournaments would be incomplete without mentioning the World Championship of Online Poker or WCOOP for short. Just like the Sunday Million, WCOOP tournaments are operated by PokerStars. The very first World Championship of Online Poker tournament was held in 2002 in September and this tradition continued. Since its development, the tournament has stayed the online equivalent of the WSOP.

Hence, the World Championship of Online Poker is the biggest poker tournament of this kind played on the Internet. Back in 2005, fifteen different WCOOP events generated more than $12 million in prize pool which made the WCOOP not only the biggest online poker tournament ever held, but also the third biggest poker tournament live or online ever held.

Just like its close cousin, the World Championship of Online Poker is a series of poker tournaments in that online players compete in a number of diverse poker games. Each game featured has its own prize levels as well as its own buy-ins. The most popular poker games featured in the World Championship of Online Poker include No Limit Texas Hold’em, Seven Card Studs, Pot Limit Texas Hold’em, Limit Omaha, Five Card Draw, Razz and Badugi which was included in 2009.

In addition to generous cash prizes, the WCOOP winners also received engraved golden bracelets until 2015 when PokerStars has decided to discontinue this tradition due to overwhelming costs. As the tournament’s name implies, the series sees players from all parts of the globe. In fact, in the past, winners of the tournament have hailed from many different countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Russia, Denmark, and the United States.

• The WCOOP tournament is one of the most poker skill-testing events
• Back in 2005, the WCOOP tournaments generated a massive prize pool of $12 million
• The WCOOP is among the biggest poker festivals both live and online

3. WSOP $400 Online Bracelet Event

Organized: During the WSOP

Poker Site: WSOP.com

Guaranteed Prize Pool: No Cash Guarantee (WSOP Gold Bracelet Awarded)

The World Series of Poker or for short WSOP is one if not the most prominent live poker tournament series which is held every year in Las Vegas since 2004. These tournaments date back to 2970 when the founder Benny Binion decided to invite the best poker players at the time to a single poker tournament held at the Horseshoe Casino.

The tournaments feature all sorts of poker variants while as of recently, half of the events are Texas Hold’em variants. While the series is known for its live poker tournaments, it featured one online poker tournament as well known as $400 No Limit Hold’em Online Bracelet. What makes this event so special is that it is the very first WSOP online poker event. The organizer decided to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary and there is no better way than to include all poker players, including online poker players.

For this occasion, the WSOP.com offers nine online gold bracelet events. The events take place from the 2nd of June and last until the 14th of June and players can join from the coziness of their homes. The very first event to take place is the WSOP $400 Online Bracelet Event which is scheduled to start on the 2nd of June. In order to participate, players have to reside within any eligible state.

• The very first WSOP online poker tournament
• Offering nine different gold bracelets
• Featuring two Wednesday gold bracelet and several high-roller event

4. Spring Championship of Online Poker

Organized: Every Spring

Poker Site: PokerStars

Guaranteed Prize Pool: $75.000.000 (The 2019 Festival)

The Spring Championship of Online Poker is another PokerStars annually held event which doubtlessly deserves its place on this list of the best online poker tournaments. This is a massive tournament which every year gathers thousands of players from different parts of the globe. In fact, there is only one poker event which is bigger than the Spring Championship of Online Poker and that is the World Championship held at PokerStars.

The scale of the event is massive as it features staggering guaranteed prize pools of $115 million. What is special about this tournament is that all events included have three buy-in levels which begin at $11 buy-ins in the first level, rise at $200 and more in the middle level and go over $10,300 buy-ins for some high-roller events which usually include the best of the best. The SCOOP events boast loads of qualifiers while the most popular is the tournament’s special Spin and Go that award loads of tickets for the best SCOOP events.

The SCOOP was established back in 2009, so the event takes place annually for ten years now. This year, the tournament featured a record of $75 million guaranteed prize pool with at least $1 million guaranteed every single day of the tournament. Speaking of the guaranteed prize pool, the last year’s event featured the largest prize pool at the time in its ten-year history set at $65 million guaranteed to players across more than one hundred and fifty events.

• The 2019 SCOOP featured a $75 million total guaranteed prize pool
• THE SCOOP events always feature three different stake levels
• Players enjoy all sorts of poker games and formats including Pot-Limit Omaha, No Limit Hold’em, Five Card PLO, 2-7 Single draw and Progressive KO

5. Turbo Series of Online Poker

Organized: Every Winter

Poker Site: PokerStars

Guaranteed Prize Pool: $25.000.000 (The 2018 Festival)

The Turbo Series tournament is another major PokerStars event held annually. The tournament emerged to the online poker scene back in 2012 and since the very beginning, it has attracted thousands of online poker players. The events take place in January through February and they last for twelve days. The tournaments usually include around sixty-five events with staggering prize pools which generally exceed $15 million.

Over the course of twelve days, players can usually play five events daily and on some das event more. What is extremely important is that the events suit all players’ preferences and more importantly, all bankrolls. The Turbo Series tournament was known as the Turbo Championship of Online Poker as of recently. Its name may be changed, but its events and prize pool remained the same.

What participating players can expect is loads of turbo-charged events including more than one hundred events held with loads of great thrills and lucrative prize pools. The Turbo Series events feature $25 million in the prize pool. When it comes to the Main Events, with different buy-in levels including $1,050 and $55, players can expect a massive $3 million-worth combined prize pool of guaranteed money. Apart from this, Turbo Series also features daily satellites and a number of special challenges.

• More than one hundred fast-packed poker events
• Featuring the most popular poker formats with eye-watering prize pools
• More than $25 million-worth guaranteed prize pool

6. The ‘Whale’ Tournament

Organized: Every Month

Poker Site: 888 Poker

Guaranteed Prize Pool: $250.000

Monthly Whale Tournament held by 888 Poker is another rewarding online poker tournament. The tournament is held every 4th Sunday and it features a great prize pool of $250k guaranteed. Interested players can join through plenty of different qualifiers or through direct buy-ins which cost $530. In addition to this online poker tournament, 888 Poker also hosts the Baby Whale tournament which costs usually around $320 and features a $100-worth prize pool guarantee.

When it comes to the structure of the tournament, participating players start with 10,000 chips and each level lasts for twenty-five minutes. Both the Whale and the Baby Whale tournaments do not allow rebuys. Aside from this, the Whale tournament features the standard multi-table strategy. It is worth noting that on some occasions, 888 Poker features special Whale tournaments with higher guaranteed prize pools up to $500 which doubles the Whale tournament’s $200k usual offering.

These special Whale tournaments also feature blind levels twenty-five minutes long and participating players also receive 10,000 chips. When it comes to qualifying for the regular Whale tournaments, interested players usually qualify through satellites as with other big online poker tournaments. The other option is to qualify directly via buy-ins.

• The Whale Tournament typically features $250k guaranteed prize pools
• Players start with 10,000 chips
• 888 Poker also hosts special Whale Tournaments with bigger guaranteed prize pools

Biggest Online Poker Tournament Winners 2020

7. $115,000 Guaranteed Sunday Special

Organized: Every Sunday

Biggest Online Poker Tournament Winners 2019

Poker Site: America’s Cardroom (ACR)

Guaranteed Prize Pool: $115.000

One of the gambling facilities which has carved out a great niche among the United States-friendly websites is America’s Cardroom Poker. In fact, America’s Cardroom hosts some of the best online poker tournaments eligible for American players. The most popular is the Sunday Special which features awesome $115k guaranteed prize pools offered every single week with a great $20k prize reserved for the first-placed participant.

The tournament cost usually around $215 and players begin with 10,000 chips which give everyone participating more than enough room to play. When it comes to the tournament qualifiers, players can qualify through regular satellite qualifiers which begin with smaller buy-ins. This means that players with smaller bankrolls can also take their shot at winning Sunday Special tournaments.

The poker variant played is Pot Limit Omaha. Fans of Texas Hold’em can also take part in America’s Cardroom Texas Hold’em Sunday Special which also features lucrative guaranteed prize pools and affordable buy-ins which suit every bankroll. For this tournament, players can also qualify through numerous satellite qualifiers for the smallest cost. It should be noted that these two weekly online poker tournaments are the online events of this kind hosted by the US-friendly website.

• America’s Cardroom Poker is the most prominent US-friendly poker website
• Both the Pot Limit Omaha and Texas Hold’em Sunday Special feature generous prize pools
• Players can qualify through numerous satellites for the smallest cost

8. PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up

Organized: Every Sunday

Poker Site: PokerStars

Guaranteed Prize Pool: $135.000

Biggest Online Poker Tournament Winners Payout

Another great online event which deserves its spot on this list of the best online poker tournaments is the Sunday Warm-Up tournament held every Sunday at PokerStars.com. The tournament usually features guaranteed prize pools of $135k and interested players have to invest a $215 buy-in or qualify through satellite qualifiers. When it comes to satellite qualifiers, they run throughout the entire week.

The tournament follows the standard tournament structure with blind levels lasting for fifteen minutes and each participating player receives 10,000 chips. The Sunday Warm-Up tournament is one of the longest-running PokerStars tournaments as it has been held every Sunday since 2006. The tournament was introduced as an additional high-roller tournament for punters who enjoy spending their Sundays on the website in anticipation of the biggest PokerStars online tournament, the Sunday Million.

The very first Sunday Warm-Up tournament featured the same $215-worth entry as today, but only six hundred and forty-five players appeared on the board which generated a prize pool of around $128k. However, over the years, the tournament has grown rapidly in popularity, so its today’s guaranteed prize pools often surpass the $500k-mark going up to $750k on some occasions.

• Blind levels last for fifteen minutes and players start with 10,000 chips
• Features numerous money satellites such as Sit and Go satellites and frequent player point satellites
• Prize pools were known to exceed half a million dollars