World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event History
The World Series of Poker began as an idea hatched in Texas gambler Benny Binion’s mind to promote his casino.
In 1970, a small group of Texas rounders gathered at Binion’s for ten days playing for high stakes in games like five-card draw, 2-7 lowball, seven-card stud, razz, and no-limit hold’em. Players voted on the winner at the end of the gathering; Texan and future Poker Hall of Fame member Johnny Moss was honored as the best.
By 1972, no-limit hold’em became the premier game and the $10,000 buy-in tournament that players now know as the WSOP Main Event was introduced.
The World Series of Poker has grown to enormous proportions with numerous preliminary events. The championship bracelet, introduced by Binion in 1976, has become the ultimate trophy in poker. Owning one or more has become the litmus test for poker greatness. The series has even expanded beyond Las Vegas with numerous circuit and bracelet events around the country and the world.
Binion surely couldn’t have imagined the reach that the game would get since his showcase began in 1970. The World Series of Poker is the largest, richest, and most prestigious gaming event in the world.
Here's a look at all the winners since the tournament's inception: Clicking the year will lead you to PokerNews Live Reporting of the event, clicking the winner's name takes you to the PokerNews final table recap of the event.
| Year | Entries | Champion | Country | Winning Hand | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 7 | Johnny Moss | United States | - | - | |
| 1971 | 6 | Johnny Moss | United States | - | $30,000 | |
| 1972 | 8 | Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston | United States |   | $80,000 | |
| 1973 | 13 | Walter "Puggy" Pearson | United States |   | $130,000 | |
| 1974 | 16 | Johnny Moss | United States |   | $160,000 | |
| 1975 | 21 | Brian "Sailor" Roberts | United States |   | $210,000 | |
| 1976 | 22 | Doyle Brunson | United States |   | $220,000 | |
| 1977 | 34 | Doyle Brunson | United States |  | $340,000 | |
| 1978 | 42 | Bobby Baldwin | United States |   | $210,000 | |
| 1979 | 54 | Hal Fowler | United States |  | $270,000 | |
| 1980 | 73 | Stu Ungar | United States |   | $385,000 | |
| 1981 | 75 | Stu Ungar | United States |   | $375,000 | |
| 1982 | 104 | Jack Straus | United States | | $520,000 | |
| 1983 | 108 | Tom McEvoy | United States |  | $540,000 | |
| 1984 | 132 | Jack Keller | United States |  | $660,000 | |
| 1985 | 140 | Bill Smith | United States | | $700,000 | |
| 1986 | 141 | Berry Johnston | United States | | $570,000 | |
| 1987 | 152 | Johnny Chan | United States | (born in China) |  | $625,000 |
| 1988 | 167 | Johnny Chan | United States | (born in China) |  | $700,000 |
| 1989 | 178 | Phil Hellmuth | United States |  | $755,000 | |
| 1990 | 194 | Mansour Matloubi | Iran |   | $895,000 | |
| 1991 | 215 | Brad Daugherty | United States |  | $1,000,000 | |
| 1992 | 201 | Hamid Dastmalchi | Iran |   | $1,000,000 | |
| 1993 | 220 | Jim Bechtel | United States | | $1,000,000 | |
| 1994 | 268 | Russ Hamilton | United States | | $1,000,000 | |
| 1995 | 273 | Dan Harrington | United States |   | $1,000,000 | |
| 1996 | 295 | Huck Seed | United States | | $1,000,000 | |
| 1997 | 312 | Stu Ungar | United States | | $1,000,000 | |
| 1998 | 350 | Scotty Nguyen | United States | (born in Vietnam) | | $1,000,000 |
| 1999 | 393 | Noel Furlong | Ireland |   | $1,000,000 | |
| 2000 | 512 | Chris Ferguson | United States | | $1,500,000 | |
| 2001 | 613 | Carlos Mortensen | Spain | (born in Ecuador) |  | $1,500,000 |
| 2002 | 631 | Robert Varkonyi | United States | | $2,000,000 | |
| 2003 | 839 | Chris Moneymaker | United States | | $2,500,000 | |
| 2004 | 2,576 | Greg Raymer | United States |  | $5,000,000 | |
| 2005 | 5,619 | Joe Hachem | Australia |  | $7,500,000 | |
| 2006 | 8,773 | Jamie Gold | United States | | $12,000,000 | |
| 2007 | 6,358 | Jerry Yang | United States | (born in Laos) |  | $8,250,000 |
| 2008 | 6,844 | Peter Eastgate | Denmark |  | $9,152,416 | |
| 2009 | 6,494 | Joe Cada | United States | | $8,547,042 | |
| 2010 | 7,319 | Jonathan Duhamel | Canada | | $8,944,310 | |
| 2011 | 6,865 | Pius Heinz | Germany | | $8,715,638 | |
| 2012 | 6,598 | Greg Merson | United States |  | $8,531,853 | |
| 2013 | 6,352 | Ryan Riess | United States | | $8,361,570 | |
| 2014 | 6,683 | Martin Jacobson | Sweden |  | $10,000,000 | |
| 2015 | 6,420 | Joe McKeehen | United States | | $7,683,346 | |
| 2016 | 6,737 | Qui Nguyen | United States | (born in Vietnam) |  | $8,005,310 |
| 2017 | 7,221 | Scott Blumstein | United States |  | $8,150,000 | |
| 2018 | 7,874 | John Cynn | United States | | $8,800,000 | |
| 2019 | 8,569 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | (born in Iran) | | $10,000,000 |
| 2020 | 1,379 | Damian Salas | Argentina | | $1,000,000 |
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