Top WSOP Main Event Winners of the Last Decade

Poker has always had its legends, but the past decade has delivered a fresh lineup of WSOP main event winners whose incredible stories fans still talk about at the tables.

From first-timers shaking the poker world to seasoned veterans adding to their stacks of bracelets, the last ten years have been a rollercoaster of personalities, pressure, and paydays.

If you’ve ever wanted a user-friendly cheat sheet to the most memorable players of the era, this guide to the biggest World Series of Poker champions will get you caught up. The players we’ll look at aren’t just card sharks; they’re poker storytellers.

Memorable WSOP Main Event Winners (2015-2025)

Joe McKeehen – The Steamroller (2015)

Joe McKeehen didn’t win the Main Event by accident; he bulldozed through the field in a way that felt unfair at times. Once he built his massive stack, it was like watching someone play poker with cheat codes. Few WSOP main event winners have ever had a stranglehold on a final table the way McKeehen did in 2015.

Qui Nguyen – The Wildcard (2016)

Every decade needs a chaos agent, and Nguyen wore that crown with pride. His 2016 final table was part poker clinic, part Las Vegas magic show. One minute, he was pushing all-in with air, the next, he was turning over monsters. Commentators lost their voices, opponents lost their minds, and Nguyen walked away with the WSOP bracelet and the crowd’s hearts.

Scott Blumstein – The River Deuce (2017)

In 2017, New Jersey grinder Scott Blumstein proved that the online generation could conquer the live arena. He navigated a massive field to take home $8.15 million, but his victory is best remembered for its dramatic conclusion. Heads-up against Dan Ott, Blumstein’s Ace-Deuce was dominated by Ott’s Ace-Eight suited, until a miraculous deuce spiked on the river. The deafening roar of his rail remains one of the most iconic moments among modern WSOP main event winners.

John Cynn – The Marathon Man (2018)

That 2018 final table was a pure grind. John Cynn and Tony Miles went toe-to-toe for ten straight hours, a record-breaking heads-up duel that had even the ESPN crew begging for mercy. But Cynn never cracked. He sat there, hand after hand, waiting for the moment to strike. His win was less about fireworks and more about grit, and in poker, sometimes that’s the tougher mountain to climb.

Hossein Ensan – The Veteran’s Glory (2019)

Then came Hossein Ensan. Fifty-five years old, underestimated, and staring down a table full of younger sharks who probably had solver charts burned into their brains. None of it mattered as Ensan played like a man who’s seen every trick in the book and written a few chapters himself. When he bagged $10 million and the bracelet, his victory proved that old-school players still belong on the elite list of WSOP main event winners.

Damian Salas – The Hybrid Champion (2020)

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic shutting down live casinos, the quest to crown a new poker world champion had to adapt. The WSOP pivoted to an unprecedented hybrid format, starting online and culminating in live play. Argentina’s Damian Salas, who had previously experienced the heartbreak of busting at a live WSOP final table back in 2017, finally found his redemption.

He navigated through a unique, multi-continent structure that stood as one of the biggest poker tournaments of that disrupted year. After winning the international leg on GGPoker, he traveled to Las Vegas to defeat Joseph Hebert in the grand finale. Salas proved his resilience, claiming the ultimate prize, the WSOP gold bracelet, and cementing his place among the most adaptable World Series of Poker champions in history.

Koray Aldemir – Poker’s Cold Executioner (2021)

If McKeehen was a steamroller, Koray Aldemir was a scalpel. The German pro’s 2021 run was a masterclass in modern poker – every bet sized perfectly, every bluff delivered with nerves of steel. By the time he stacked his $8 million in winnings, it was clear that this was the solver era, and he was its poster boy.

Espen Jørstad – Norway’s Breakthrough (2022)

Norway had been waiting forever for a big WSOP moment, and Espen Jørstad delivered. Refusing to crack under the pressure, the Norwegian pro stayed perfectly calm even when the pots ballooned. He just sat there, cool as ice, and picked his spots with sniper-like precision. By securing his title among modern WSOP main event winners, his victory felt like the whole country had won.

Daniel Weinman – America’s Redemption (2023)

By 2023, American fans were restless. Four long years without a hometown champ had them wondering if the Main Event was slipping away for good. Daniel Weinman fixed that in style. His win brought $12.1 million, the biggest payout in Main Event history, and a sense of “we’re back” for U.S. poker. He wasn’t the loudest guy in the room, but his play spoke volumes, especially with that insane two-outer on Day 8 that swung everything.

Jonathan Tamayo – From Grinder to Glory (2024)

Jonathan Tamayo walked into the 2024 final table as an underdog, sitting seventh in chips, and walked out with $10 million and the title. The Cornell grad didn’t just win – he clawed his way back in a record field of more than 10,000 players. It was one of those Cinderella stories that makes you believe maybe you could do it too if the cards break your way.

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi – A Hall of Fame Finish (2025)

And then there’s Michael Mizrachi, who was already a legend, a multi-bracelet winner, and yet in 2025, he finally bagged the one that had eluded him: the Main Event. His run was the stuff of movies – down to just over 3 big blinds with 24 players remaining, he mounted one of the sickest comebacks in poker history to win the $10,000,000 top prize. It was his eighth bracelet, enough to solidify his status as one of the greatest WSOP main event winners of all time and fast-track his induction into the Poker Hall of Fame.

The Bracelet Kings Still Reign

You can’t wrap this up without talking about Phil Hellmuth’s seventeen bracelets. Seventeen is absurd. Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan have ten each, which is an accomplishment in itself, but Hellmuth keeps adding to his pile and screaming at opponents while doing it. Love him or hate him, he’s the living reminder of what it means to be one of the all-time famous WSOP winners.

Why These WSOP Main Event Winners Stick With Us

The last decade of the World Series of Poker was about the personalities, the mental wars, and the moments that make poker more than just a game of cards. That’s what keeps us coming back: not just the chips or the prize pools, but the people.

These are the champions who turn late nights into folklore and prove that anyone, whether a fresh-faced kid or a silver-haired vet, can step up, stare down the table, and become immortal.

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FAQ About WSOP Main Event Winners

Article by

Bence Mitykó

My relationship with cards started thanks to my father. I was still in elementary school when he first taught me how to play Rummy, and I still remember the long evenings spent playing cards with my family. During the poker boom I was still underage, but the televised tournaments immediately captured my attention. I became fascinated with the game and started learning different poker formats whenever I had the chance. Later in life, as an adult, I was fortunate enough to spend four years playing poker professionally. During that time I mainly focused on Heads-Up Sit & Go games, where I found the format that suited me best. Even though my professional career was relatively short, poker remains something I’m grateful to have experienced as a major part of my life. Today I play mostly as a hobby, while writing has become my main focus. That said, my enthusiasm for writing about poker is just as strong as my passion for playing the game once was.