WSOP Champions Since 2011

Ever wonder about those “lucky guys” who win the World Series of Poker? Here’s a closer look at the winners from the past 10 years to inspire you during your next round of online poker.

Poker is a game that sits in a very rarified, hallowed place in the world of gambling. Just about everyone agrees that luck gives you the cards in your hand, but talent is what helps you win. To quote Matt Damon’s character the movie Rounders: “Why does this still seem like gambling to you? I mean, why do you think the same five guys make it to the final table at the World Series of Poker every single year? What are they, the luckiest guys in Las Vegas? It’s a skill game.”

The World Series of Poker is no joke. Millions of dollars are on the line every year throughout the series, which ESPN bills as the “most prestigious, and most media-hyped gaming competition in the world.”

So who are these “luckiest guys in Las Vegas”? Let’s look at the past 10 years’ winners — but first, a little history.

A Brief History of the WSOP

The official World Series of Poker began in 1970 as an invitation-only tournament. Benny Binion, owner of the Binion’s Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas, invited six of the best poker players in the world to see who was the greatest player of all. There was no public attention and no fanfare. And the first world champion, Johnny Moss, didn’t earn his title in some no-holds-barred tournament as the last man standing. Rather, after several days of high-stakes card playing, he was voted “best all-around player” by his peers.

But with the second contest in 1971, the champion came from a winner-take-all tournament, with seven players posting a $5,000 entry fee. Johnny Moss won the prize and retained his title as world champ.

By 1972, the event became a no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament with a $10,000 buy-in, and Amarillo Slim won in an upset. Slim was known as being a bombastic gambler who loved the limelight, and he went on a publicity tour that brought attention and status to the World Series of Poker.

As time went on, the WSOP’s status grew. CBS Sports televised the event as special broadcasts in the 1970s, and in the late 1980s ESPN started broadcasting the series. By then, the event was seeing thousands of entrants every year. Even after Binion’s was purchased by Harrah’s in 2004, the series has never slowed down in popularity.

Today, the WSOP has expanded to Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific, with an additional International Circuit encompassing most regions of the world. There’s the Main Event, of course, but also the smaller circuit tournaments that take place over about six weeks.

Winners of these events compete for not only cash and notoriety but also the coveted WSOP bracelet. The winner of every WSOP event earns one now. It used to be hammered gold, but now it includes platinum, diamonds, and the obvious envy of everyone else who hasn’t earned one yet.

Let’s run down the list of WSOP Main Event bracelet winners since 2011, plus a very notable player who keeps showing up again and again.

Damian Salas (2020)

Salas won the Main Event in 2020, beating Joseph Hebert as the champ of the American portion. On the 173rd hand, Salas had a full house and took home $1 million on top of his prior winnings as he had progressed through the series. Salas became the first-ever Argentinian to win the WSOP and only the second person from South America to take the title.

Hossein Ensan (2019)

Ensan had a late start to his poker career, starting at age 39 after managing a taxi business in Germany. He took his knowledge of playing five-card draw as a kid and started winning events in the European Poker Tour starting in 2014. At the 2019 WSOP Main Event, he defeated pro poker player Dario Sammartino with a skillful call after a check-raise. Ensan became the oldest Main Event champ since Noel Furlong, at age 55.

John Cynn (2018)

Before starting his poker career, Cynn worked as an IT consultant in California. He quickly started making waves in the poker world, and in 2012 he first cashed in a WSOP event. By 2016, he finished 11th in the Main Event. Two years later, he beat out more than 7,800 other players, the second-largest pool of players in WSOP history at the time. He beat pros like Joe Cada and Tony Miles to take home the bracelet.

Scott Blumstein (2017)

New Jersey native Blumstein had some experience with numbers before jumping into poker — he had graduated from Temple University with an accounting degree. Even before winning his Main Event, he had earned over $199,000 in a hefty win during a preliminary event at the Borgata Summer Poker Open in 2016.

At his 2017 Main Event, he beat out more than 7,200 other players. He went to the final table as the chip leader, and he got his win on the 246th hand.

Qui Nguyen (2016)

Nguyen started modestly in the world of poker, focusing on small limit hold ’em games before moving to Las Vegas. After settling into Vegas in 2007, he turned to no-limit games and even got over $9,000 in a 2009 WSOP $1,500 No Limit Hold ’em event.

During his 2016 Main Event, he lasted through 364 hands and took down champ Gordon Vayo in a huge upset. He claimed $8 million at the end of the event.

Joe McKeehen (2015)

McKeehen, a Pennsylvania resident, started playing world championships not for poker, but for the board game Risk. In fact, in 2010 he won the Risk Annual Classic when he was 18. He moved on to live poker tournaments and earned his first title in 2012 after winning a side event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

In his 2015 WSOP Main Event, he kept his chip lead throughout and won it all after just the 184th hand, taking home over $7.6 million.

Martin Jacobson (2014)

Jacobson got his start in the European Poker Tour and came in sixth place during the Big One for One Drop High Rollers event at the WSOP in 2013. For his 2014 Main Event win, he beat out Felix Stephensen on the 35th hand of heads-up. He took home $10 million, the fifth largest single payout in tournament history.

Ryan Riess (2013)

Riess was quick to rise through the ranks of WSOP champs. He earned second place at the WSOP Circuit main event in Indiana, which was his first career tournament cash. Then in 2013, he eliminated four players at the final table and, with a nearly 20 million chip deficit, entered heads-up against Jay Farber. After 90 hands, Riess took home the Main Event bracelet and over $8.3 million.

Greg Merson (2012)

Another winner from New Jersey, Merson got his first WSOP winnings in 2009 when he finished 639th out of nearly 6,500 entrants, earning more than $21,000.

Merson’s 2012 Main Event was a real nail-biter, as he was down to 50,000 chips when the blinds were 10,000/20,000. But he held his own throughout the event, becoming one of only three to go to the final day and finally beat Jesse Sylvia in a heads-up showdown for over $8.5 million.

Pius Heinz (2011)

Heinz found his love of poker through watching the WSOP and High Stakes Poker on German television, then trying a few games with friends. He devoted himself to learning about the skills of the game, and he went on to win hundreds of thousands of dollars playing online poker.

He found it challenging to adjust to live poker and the patience it requires, but he managed to cash during his first 15 WSOP events in 2011, winning over $83,000 in the $1,500 No Limit Hold ’em event. He went on to the Main Event and beat Martin Staszko for the title, taking home more than $8.7 million. Heinz was the first German player to win the WSOP Main Event.

Of Special Note: Phil Hellmuth

Hellmuth holds the record of earning the most WSOP bracelets — a whopping 15 of them over a career spanning since 1988. While he has won only two main events, he has been runner-up three times and has made career earnings of over $15 million.

Who Will Be the Next WSOP Champ?

Maybe the movie Rounders exaggerated slightly — it’s not always the same five guys at the final table for every WSOP Main Event. New talent crops up every year, leading to wild wins and some great upsets. Even players who usually stick to online poker have made it to the WSOP.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll get your spot at the table one of these days.