Infographic: Where the World’s Poker Champions Came From in 2025
Poker may be a global game, but in 2025 only a handful of countries truly dominated the felt.
From Las Vegas to London, Jeju to Monte-Carlo, the year’s biggest headline events across the WPT®, WSOP, EPT, and Triton Super High Roller Series crowned champions from every corner of the world.
Key Takeaways
- Players from seven countries captured major live poker titles in 2025 across the WPT®, WSOP, EPT, and Triton tours, showing poker’s most global season yet.
- The United States remained dominant with six headline victories, led by Michael Mizrachi, Art Peacock, and Isaac Haxton.
- New champions from Argentina, Georgia, Belarus, and Hungary marked historic firsts for their nations, confirming the game’s expanding geography.
- Combined first-place prizes exceeded $40 million across the 12 tracked events, underscoring the scale of modern live circuits.
- With tour growth in Asia and Eastern Europe and more online qualifiers through WPT® Global, poker’s future now depends on accessibility and infrastructure, not geography.
The Global Scoreboard
According to verified tournament data from WPT®, WSOP, PokerNews, and The Hendon Mob, players from seven countries captured major titles in 2025.
Methodology:
This list tracks headline Main Event champions from the four premier live tours — WPT®, WSOP, EPT, and Triton Super High Roller Series. Regional, online, and side-event results are excluded to keep comparisons consistent across circuits.
| Country | Titles | Notable Champions |
USA | 6 | Shawn Daniels, Art Peacock, Mike Vanier, Michael Mizrachi, Stephen Song, Isaac Haxton |
Argentina | 1 | Nicolás “Nico” Betbese |
Russia | 1 | Artem Vezhenkov |
Georgia | 1 | Ilia Kitsbabashvili |
Belarus | 1 | Mikalai Vaskaboinikau |
Hungary | 1 | Andras Nemeth |
United Kingdom | 1 | Stephen Chidwick |
United States: Still the Benchmark
With six major victories, the United States reaffirmed its status as poker’s core territory. The U.S. tally of six major titles matched its 2023 total, suggesting that while global parity is growing, the American core remains hard to unseat.
Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s WSOP Main Event triumph was the centerpiece, while Art Peacock, Shawn Daniels, and Mike Vanier each lifted WPT® trophies.
Stephen Song’s EPT Barcelona win and Isaac Haxton’s Triton Montenegro title proved that American players continue to dominate on both U.S. and international soil.
The U.S. share of global major titles in 2025 (≈46%) mirrors pre-pandemic levels, showing the country’s depth of live-event talent and structural advantage in player volume.
Rising Nations in the Spotlight
Argentina, Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Hungary, and the United Kingdom each produced one headline champion — small numbers, but high impact.
| Country | Player |
Argentina | Nico Betbese’s victory on WPT® Voyage marked South America’s growing presence on tour. |
Russia | Artem Vezhenkov’s WPT® Cambodia win added another chapter to the region’s consistent deep runs. |
Georgia | Ilia Kitsbabashvili became the first Georgian to claim a WPT® title. |
Belarus | Mikalai Vaskaboinikau captured EPT Monte-Carlo, solidifying Eastern Europe’s footprint. |
Hungary | Andras Nemeth’s Triton London win confirmed his reputation as one of Europe’s elite online-to-live converts. |
United Kingdom | Stephen Chidwick’s Triton Jeju II success reminded the poker world that the UK remains a perennial force at the high-roller level. |
Observation:
Each of these wins represents broader regional growth.
Eastern Europe and South America, in particular, now contribute a steady flow of finalists and title holders across all major tours. One can safely assume that this is driven by tour expansion and stronger online qualification routes.
Collectively, these players accounted for nearly $40 million in combined first-place prize money, underscoring the scale of modern live-poker circuits.
What the Data Shows
Across 2025’s major circuits:
- 12 headline titles were awarded across the four premier poker tours.
- Players from seven countries claimed them, up from five in 2024.
- Two champions, Vaskaboinikau (Belarus) and Kitsbabashvili (Georgia), captured their nation’s first main-tour WPT® or EPT title.
This points to a continued globalisation of elite poker, with top players emerging from regions that were once considered peripheral to the live circuit.
The Shift in Poker’s Balance of Power
While the U.S. still holds numerical dominance, the international community is making up solid ground.
Tour expansion into Asia and Eastern Europe - Jeju, Phnom Penh, Tbilisi, and Monte-Carlo — has reshaped poker’s geography. The WPT®’s record turnout in Jeju (515 entries) and steady 1,400+ fields in Phnom Penh show how Asia’s poker ecosystem now rivals Europe’s in volume.
Live-streamed coverage and online qualifiers through platforms like WPT® Global are accelerating that change by giving new regions direct entry to world-class finals.
Takeaway
2025 confirmed what the past few seasons have hinted. Poker’s future will be decided by accessibility and global infrastructure, not just legacy markets.
The 2025 season proved that poker’s future hinges on access, who can qualify, travel, and stream their story.
Global infrastructure, not geography, now decides where champions come from.
Sources: worldpokertour.com, thehendonmob.com, PokerNews, Triton Poker, WSOP.com. Data verified via official tour sites, The Hendon Mob, and PokerNews.
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