The Best Poker Players Who Haven't Won a WSOP Bracelet

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May 24, 2024 6 min read

With the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) around the corner, it's time to look at the best poker players who have yet to win a WSOP bracelet.

While these players may not have bracelets, it may only be a matter of time before they do. Some players who have appeared on "best without a bracelet" lists only to go on to win them include Jason Koon, Dan Smith, Alex Foxen, Shannon Shorr, Isaac Haxton and Chris Brewer.

Bin Weng

Bin Weng had heater of a lifetime in 2023 that saw him winning the GPI Player of the Year award. The Pennsylvanian started off the year by taking down the Borgata Return for a career-bets $1 million before surpassing that a few months later with a victory in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship for $1.1 million.

Weng was close to making poker history by winning consecutive WPT events but ended up in 4th place for $143,000.

Weng is also the owner of two Circuit rings, including one that he picked up at the 2024 Harrah's Pompano Beach stop in a $400 NLH event for $15,272.

Bin Weng Reflects on Breakout Year

Bin Weng's Top Five WSOP Cashes

Seth Davies

Seth Davies is one of the biggest crushers on the high-roller circuit. Despite his various poker accolades, including a victory in the 2016 WPT Canadian Spring Championship for $203,992 and a WPT title, Davies has yet to pick up a bracelet.

Davies, who is occasionally confused for one-time bracelet winner Stephen Chidwick, came close to winning a maiden bracelet in November 2021 when he finished fourth in the $250,000 Super High Roller for $930,791.

Davies had several deep runs at the 2023 WSOP, including a fifth-place finish in the $50,000 High Roller for $385,617 and a fourth-place finish in $2,500 NLH for $230,772.

Seth Davies Top Five WSOP Cashes

Maria Ho

Iconic poker commentator, Women in Poker Hall of Famer and Game of Gold winner Maria Ho is still after a first bracelet despite racking up over $2.2 million in WSOP earnings.

Ho was denied a bracelet at the 2011 WSOP in Event #4: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em, where she finished second for $540,020. More recently, Ho finished sixth in the 2017 WSOPE Main Event to earn €174,365, another close call for the California pro and commentator.

Ho had a number of deep runs at the 2022 World Series, including a fifth-place finish in Event #67: $7,000 NLH Super Turbo Bounty for $131,655. She also came close to winning a bracelet at 2023 WSOP Paradise when she finished third in the $1,500 Mystery Millions for $200,000.

Maria Ho Top Five WSOP Cashes

Jeremy Becker

Known as the King of the Dailies, Jeremy Becker has been championed by top pros as one of poker's brightest young stars who Daniel Negreanu referred to as "the one."

Becker has amassed dozens of daily tournament victories both in Florida and Las Vegas and made headlines last summer when he won eight tournaments in a month.

Now, Becker finds himself in a heated proxy battle between Negreanu and Matt Berkey as he competes in a summer crossbook with fellow rising star Landon Tice, which may just give him the motivation to win a bracelet this year.

Jeremy Becker's Top Five WSOP Cashes

Raminder Singh

Raminder "The Raminator" Singh may have the biggest trophy collection in all of poker, but he has yet to add a bracelet.

The South Florida grinder has won nearly a hundred live events and has a trophy collection of oversized guitar picks and mounted guitars to prove it. He also has two WSOP Circuit rings, including from winning the WSOPC Palm Beach Main Event in 2017 for $168,995.

Singh provided his tournament tips ahead of the PokerNews DeepStack challenge and also appeared as a guest on the Life Outside Poker podcast.

Raminder Singh's Top Five Live Cashes

Roland Israelashvili

With a record 495 WSOP cashes to his name, Roland Israelashvili sits far in front on the all-time list, ahead of Arkadiy Tsinis and Ari Engel, the latter of whom was on this list until he won his first bracelet in 2019.

Despite having all of those cashes and an impressive 11 Circuit rings, Israelashvili has yet to get a golden bracelet under his belt. The New Yorker, who is originally from the Republic of Georgia, had his closest call in Event #58: The Little One for One Drop - $1,111 No-Limit Hold'em at the 2013 WSOP, where he finished third for $295,433. The previous year, Israelashvili had finished fifth in Event #45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship for his biggest WSOP score of $317,882.

Roland Israelashvili Top Five WSOP Cashes

Niklas Astedt

Niklas Astedt is one of the best online tournament grinders ever to touch a computer mouse, sitting atop the PocketFives all-time leaderboard with $25.5 million in earnings. "Lena900" has also had success in the live realm, accumulating just under $1.5 million in lifetime earnings.

The Swedish pro played a heavy schedule at the 2021 WSOP and had a number of deep runs, including a 7th-place finish in Event #64: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em; Pot-Limit Omaha for $70,367, and the next day finishing 19th in Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $20,097.

The online grinder was denied a bracelet the previous year in a GGPoker.com $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event, in which he finished second for $156,905. In 2023, he finished sixth in the WSOPE €25,000 NLH GGMillion$ for €106,600.

Niklas Astedt

Niklas Astedt Top Five WSOP Cashes

Josh Reichard

With a resume that includes 15 Circuit rings and a spot in the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Hall of Fame, Josh Reichard has secured his place as one of the greatest mid-stakes tournament grinders of all time.

In 2023, Reichard won a 14th ring and $253,073 in the WSOP Grand Victoria Main Event to tie Maurice Hawkins at the top of the all-time ring list. But it was short-lived as Hawkins won a 15th ring a month later and Ari Engel went on to pass them both with 17 rings.

In 2023, Reichard came just short of winning a maiden bracelet as he finished second in the $1,000 Mini Main Event for $339,646, his biggest WSOP score to date.

Josh Reichard's Top Five WSOP Cashes

_{Note: This list primarily looks at poker tournament players or who are regular names in the tournament circuit. This excludes the likes of Tom Dwan and popular high-stakes cash game players like Garrett Adelstein and Andy Stacks.}

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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• Tags Roland Israelashvili Raminder Singh Niklas Åstedt Josh Reichard Maria Ho Jeremy Becker Bin Weng
• Related Players Maria HoRoland IsraelashviliRaminder SinghJosh ReichardNiklas AstedtBin Weng