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WPT® Championship Winners
WPT® Championships are the cornerstone poker tournaments of the World Poker Tour, with buy-ins ranging from $3,500 to $10,000, huge prize pools, and prestigious titles throughout the year.
The WPT® Championship winners are some of poker’s most celebrated champions, as winning these events attracts international fields and ends with televised final tables watched worldwide.
Winning one, cements your place in poker history alongside legends of the game. Here’s a complete list of the WPT® Championship winners from the very first event, showing who has claimed poker’s most iconic titles.
Season 1 (I)
2002May
~
2003April
13 events
Date | Event | Winner | 1st Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 27-June 1 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Gus Hansen | $556,460 | $1,416,200 |
August 30–31 | Legends of Poker | Chris Karagulleyan | $258,000 | $670,000 |
October 9–11 | Aruba Poker Classic | Juha Helppi | $50,000 | $350,000 |
October 19 | Costa Rica Classic | Jose Rosenkrantz | $108,730 | $234,858 |
November 10–11 | Gold Rush | Paul Darden | $146,000 | $456,000 |
November 14–17 | World Poker Finals | Howard Lederer | $320,400 | $915,000 |
January 28–31 | World Poker Open | Dave Ulliott | $589,175 | $1,600,000 |
February 12–15 | Euro Finals of Poker | Christer Johansson | €500,000 | €831,000 |
February 21–24 | L.A. Poker Classic | Gus Hansen | $532,490 | $1,360,000 |
February 25–26 | Celebrity Invitational | Layne Flack | $125,300 | $208,300 |
March 6 | Party Poker Million II | Howard Lederer | $289,150 | $1,013,800 |
March 31-April 2 | World Poker Challenge | Ron Rose | $168,298 | $421,746 |
April 14–18 | WPT® World Championship | Alan Goehring | $1,011,886 | $2,691,750 |
Season 2 (II)
2003July
~
2004April
14 events
Date | Event | Winner | Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
July 10–13 | Grand Prix de Paris | David Benyamine | €357,000 | €894,400 |
September 1–3 | Legends of Poker | Mel Judah | $579,375 | $1,545,000 |
September 20–22 | Borgata Poker Ope | Noli Francisco | $470,000 | $1,175,000 |
October 18 | Ultimate Poker Classic | Erick Lindgren | $500,000 | $1,697,460 |
November 14–17 | World Poker Finals | Hoyt Corkins | $1,089,200 | $3,155,000 |
December 15–18 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Paul Phillips | $1,101,908 | $3,044,750 |
January 25 | PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure | Gus Hansen | $455,780 | $1,657,501 |
January 26–29 | World Poker Open | Barry Greenstein | $1,278,370 | $3,455,050 |
February 21–24 | L.A. Poker Classic | Antonio Esfandiari | $1,399,135 | $3,781,500 |
February 24 | Celebrity Invitational | Phil Laak | $100,000 | $200,000 |
March 3–5 | Bay 101 Shooting Star | Phil Gordon | $360,000 | $1,125,000 |
March 18 | PartyPoker Million III | Erick Lindgren | $1,000,000 | $3,682,337 |
March 30-April 1 | World Poker Challenge | Mike Kinney | $629,469 | $1,658,700 |
April 19–23 | WPT® World Championship | Martin de Knijff | $2,728,356 | $8,342,000 |
Season 3 (III)
2004July
~
2005April
16 events
Date | Event | Winner | Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
July 17–21 | Grand Prix de Paris | Surinder Sunar | €679,860 | €1,957,750 |
July 29-August 1 | Mirage Poker Showdown | Eli Elezra | $1,024,574 | $2,725,200 |
August 28–31 | Legends of Poker | Doyle Brunson | $1,198,260 | $3,335,000 |
September 19–22 | Borgata Poker Open | Daniel Negreanu | $1,117,400 | $3,020,000 |
September 26-October 1 | Aruba Poker Classic | Eric Brenes | $1,000,000 | $3,879,000 |
October 19–22 | Festa al Lago | Carlos Mortensen | $1,000,000 | $3,026,400 |
November 13–17 | World Poker Finals | Tuan Le | $1,549,588 | $6,765,000 |
December 14–18 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Daniel Negreanu | $1,770,218 | $5,470,800 |
January 8–11 | PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure | John Gale | $890,600 | $3,487,200 |
January 24–27 | World Poker Open | Johnny Stolzmann | $1,491,444 | $3,832,773 |
February 18–22 | L.A. Poker Classic | Michael Mizrachi | $1,859,909 | $5,166,414 |
February 23–24 | Celebrity Invitational | Alex Brenes | $125,500 | $225,500 |
March 7–11 | Bay 101 Shooting Star | Danny Nguyen | $1,025,000 | $4,070,000 |
March 19–25 | PartyPoker Million IV | Michael Gracz | $1,500,000 | $7,430,000 |
March 29-April 1 | World Poker Challenge | Arnold Spee | $633,880 | $1,725,350 |
April 18–24 | WPT® World Championship | Tuan Le | $2,856,150 | $10,961,000 |
Season 4 (IV)
2005May
~
2006April
17 events
Date | Event | Winner | Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 23–26 | Mirage Poker Showdown | Gavin Smith | $1,153,778 | $3,074,900 |
July 25–29 | Grand Prix de Paris | Roland de Wolfe | €479,680 | €1,520,000 |
August 27–31 | Legends of Poker | Alex Kahaner | $1,150,900 | $4,195,000 |
September 19–22 | Borgata Poker Open | Al Ardebili | $1,498,650 | $4,995,500 |
September 26-October 1 | Aruba Poker Classic | Freddy Deeb | $1,000,000 | $3,235,000 |
October 18–21 | Festa al Lago | Minh Ly | $1,060,050 | $4,074,000 |
November 13–18 | World Poker Finals | Nick Schulman | $2,167,500 | $7,855,000 |
December 12–16 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Rehne Pedersen | $2,078,185 | $8,075,250 |
January 5–10 | PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure | Steve Paul-Ambrose | $1,388,600 | $5,647,200 |
January 19–23 | World Poker Open | Scotty Nguyen | $969,421 | $3,171,900 |
January 29-February 1 | Borgata Winter Poker Open | Michael Mizrachi | $1,173,373 | $3,695,700 |
February 16–21 | L.A. Poker Classic | Alan Goehring | $2,391,550 | $6,643,200 |
February 22–23 | Invitational | Barry Greenstein | $100,000 | $200,000 |
February 27-March 3 | Bay 101 Shooting Star | Nam Le | $1,198,300 | $4,702,800 |
March 27–30 | World Poker Challenge | Mike Simon | $1,052,890 | $2,845,700 |
April 6–9 | Foxwoods Poker Classic | Victor Ramdin | $1,331,889 | $4,175,200 |
April 18–24 | WPT® World Championship | Joe Bartholdi | $3,760,165 | $14,671,250 |
Season 5 (V)
2006May
~
2007April
19 events
Date | Event | Winner | Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 14–17 | Mirage Poker Showdown | Stanley Weiss | $1,320,255 | $3,724,800 |
June 4–8 | Mandalay Bay Poker Championship | Joe Tehan | $1,033,440 | $1,033,440 |
June 12–16 | Grand Prix de Paris | Christian Grundtvig | €712,500 | €2,320,000 |
August 26–30 | Legends of Poker | Joe Pelton | $1,602,670 | $4,520,200 |
September 15–19 | Borgata Poker Open | Mark Newhouse | $1,519,020 | $5,238,000 |
October 16–20 | Festa al Lago | Andreas Walnum | $1,090,025 | $4,200,100 |
October 22–24 | Canadian Open Championship | Scott Clements | C$250,027 | C$720,533 |
October 25–29 | North American Poker Championship | Soren Turkewitsch | C$1,380,378 | C$4,829,332 |
November 12–16 | World Poker Finals | Nenad Medic | $1,717,194 | $5,749,481 |
December 14–19 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Joe Hachem | $2,207,575 | $8,482,650 |
January 5–10 | PokerStars Caribbean Adventure | Ryan Daut | $1,535,255 | $7,063,842 |
January 21–25 | World Poker Open | Bryan Sumner | $913,986 | $2,812,000 |
January 26–30 | Borgata Winter Poker Open | John Hennigan | $1,606,223 | $5,529,000 |
February 24-March 1 | L.A. Poker Classic | Eric Hershler | $2,429,970 | $7,593,600 |
March 3–5 | Celebrity Invitational | Adam Weinraub | $125,000 | $200,000 |
March 12–16 | Bay 101 Shooting Star | Ted Forrest | $1,100,000 | $4,490,000 |
March 25–28 | World Poker Challenge | J.C. Tran | $683,473 | $2,278,250 |
March 30-April 4 | Foxwoods Poker Classic | Raj Patel | $1,298,405 | $3,898,635 |
April 21–27 | WPT® World Championship | Carlos Mortensen | $3,970,415 | $15,495,750 |
Season 6 (VI)
2007April
~
2008April
19 events
Date | Event | Winner | Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 19–23 | Mirage Poker Showdown | Jonathan Little | $1,091,295 | $2,907,381 |
May 29-June 2 | Mandalay Bay Poker Championship | Shawn Buchanan | $768,775 | $2,211,600 |
July 10–15 | Bellagio Cup III | Kevin Saul | $1,342,320 | $5,189,500 |
August 25–30 | Legends of Poker | Dan Harrington | $1,599,865 | $4,607,500 |
September 6–9 | Gulf Coast Poker Championship | Bill Edler | $747,615 | $2,463,200 |
September 16–20 | Borgata Poker Open | Roy Winston | $1,575,280 | $5,432,000 |
September 26–30 | Turks & Caicos Poker Classic | Rhynie Campbell | $436,675 | $996,675 |
October 11–16 | Spanish Championship | Markus Lehmann | €537,000 | €1,665,500 |
October 26-November 2 | North American Poker Championship | Scott Clements | C$1,456,585 | C$5,133,335 |
November 7–13 | World Poker Finals | Mike Vela | $1,704,986 | $5,404,075 |
December 12–18 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Eugene Katchalov | $2,482,605 | $9,390,000 |
January 20–24 | World Poker Open | Brett Faustman | $892,413 | $2,512,300 |
January 27–31 | Borgata Winter Open | Gavin Griffin | $1,401,109 | $4,917,900 |
February 23–28 | L.A. Poker Classic | Phil Ivey | $1,596,100 | $6,288,000 |
March 1–3 | Celebrity Invitational | Van Nguyen | $125,500 | $225,500 |
March 10–14 | Bay 101 Shooting Star | Brandon Cantu | $1,000,000 | $3,336,000 |
March 25–28 | World Poker Challenge | Lee Markholt | $493,815 | $1,873,275 |
April 4–9 | Foxwoods Poker Classic | Erik Seidel | $992,890 | $3,230,014 |
April 19–26 | WPT® World Championship | David Chiu | $3,389,140 | $13,216,250 |
Season 7 (VII)
2008May
~
2009April
14 events
Date | Event | Winner | Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 23–27 | Spanish Championship | Casper Hansen | €425,000 | €1,278,396 |
July 11–17 | Bellagio Cup IV | Mike Watson | $1,673,770 | $6,489,300 |
August 23–28 | Legends of Poker | John Phan | $1,116,428 | $3,520,738 |
September 14–18 | Borgata Poker Open | Vivek Rajkumar | $1,424,500 | $5,000,000 |
October 10–16 | North American Poker Championship | Glen Witmer | C$1,250,352 | C$3,374,475 |
October 20–26 | Festa al Lago | Bertrand Grospellier | $1,411,015 | $5,354,000 |
November 5–11 | World Poker Finals | Jonathan Little | $1,120,310 | $3,876,508 |
December 13–19 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | David Rheem | $1,538,730 | $7,231,350 |
January 14–17 | Southern Poker Championship | Allen Carter | $1,025,500 | $2,662,747 |
February 21–26 | L.A. Poker Classic | Cornel Cimpan | $1,686,760 | $6,681,600 |
February 28 - March 2 | Celebrity Invitational | Freddy Deeb | $100,000 | $200,000 |
March 16–20 | Bay 101 Shooting Star | Steve Brecher | $1,025,500 | $3,714,500 |
April 3–8 | Foxwoods Poker Classic | Vadim Trincher | $731,079 | $2,436,930 |
April 18–25 | WPT® World Championship | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | $2,143,655 | $8,172,250 |
Season 8 (VIII)
2009May
~
2010April
18 events
Date | Event | Winner | Prize | Prizepool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 6–10 | Venice | Ragnar Astrom | €397,960 | €1,521,340 |
June 26–30 | Spanish Championship | Randal Flowers | €277,000 | €860,000 |
July 13–19 | Bellagio Cup V | Alexandre Gomes | $1,187,670 | $3,899,400 |
August 22–26 | Legends of Poker | Prahlad Friedman | $1,009,000 | $2,625,000 |
August 31-September 4 | Slovakia | Richard Toth | €104,000 | €542,572 |
September 6–12 | Merit Cyprus Classic | Thomas Bichon | $579,165 | $1,810,000 |
September 19–24 | Borgata Poker Open | Olivier Busquet | $925,514 | $3,359,400 |
October 12–19 | Marrakech | Christophe Savary | €377,262 | €1,812,000 |
October 20–26 | Festa al Lago | Tommy Vedes | $1,218,225 | $4,001,250 |
November 5–10 | World Poker Finals | Cornel Cimpan | $910,058 | $3,424,100 |
December 13–19 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Daniel Alaei | $1,428,430 | $4,761,450 |
January 24–27 | Southern Poker Championship | Hoyt Corkins | $739,486 | $1,930,000 |
February 20–21 | Celebrity Invitational | Leron Washington | $100,000 | $200,000 |
February 26-March 4 | L.A. Poker Classic | Andras Koroknai | $1,788,001 | $7,152,000 |
March 8–12 | Bay 101 Shooting Star | McLean Karr | $878,500 | $3,163,500 |
March 20–24 | Hollywood Poker Open | Carlos Mortensen | $391,212 | $1,331,616 |
March 27-April 2 | Bucharest | Guillaume Darcourt | €144,530 | €449,450 |
April 17–24 | WPT® World Championship | David Williams | $1,530,537 | $4,728,750 |
Show More
These results highlight how the WPT® Championships have consistently produced champions from around the world.
A single Championship victory is historic, but the WPT® Player of the Year award honors consistency and dominance across an entire season.
WPT® Player of the Year
The WPT® Player of the Year (POY) award goes to the poker player who is constantly amongst the best across players an entire season, with deep runs and final tables.
Although they may not necessarily be a single event winner, these players earn points across multiple tournaments, proving both skill and consistency.
Champions such as Mukul Pahuja, Chad Eveslage, and Yunkyu Song have all claimed this prize, proving just how good you have to be to receive this prestigious award.
The following table lists every WPT® Player of the Year since its inception, highlighting the champions who have shown consistency across an entire season.
Season | Player | WPT® Wins |
|---|---|---|
1 (2002-2003) | Howard Lederer | 2 WPT® wins |
2 (2003-2004) | Erick Lindgren | 2 WPT® wins |
3 (2004-2005) | Daniel Negreanu | 2 WPT® wins |
4 (2005-2006) | Gavin Smith | 1 WPT® win |
5 (2006-2007) | J. C. Tran | 1 WPT® win |
6 (2007-2008) | Jonathan Little | 1 WPT® win |
7 (2008-2009) | Bertrand Grospellier | 1 WPT® win |
8 (2009-2010) | Faraz Jaka | 0 WPT® wins (but consistent high finishes) |
9 (2010-2011) | Andy Frankenberger | 1 WPT® win |
10 (2011-2012) | Joe Serock | 0 WPT® wins (but consistent high finishes) |
11 (2012-2013) | Matthew Salsberg | 1 WPT® win |
12 (2013-2014) | Mukul Pahuja | 0 WPT® wins (but consistent high finishes) |
13 (2014-2015) | Anthony Zinno | 2 WPT® wins |
14 (2015-2016) | Mike Shariati | 1 WPT® win |
15 (2016-2017) | Benjamin Zamani | 0 WPT® wins (but consistent high finishes) |
16 (2017-2018) | Art Papazyan | 2 WPT® wins |
17 (2018-2019) | Erkut Yilmaz | 2 WPT® wins |
18 (2019-2021) | Brian Altman | 1 WPT® win |
19 (2021) | Jake Ferro | 1 WPT® win |
20 (2022) | Chad Eveslage | 1 WPT® win |
21 (2023) | Bin Weng | 2 WPT® wins |
22 (2024) | Yunkyu Song | 0 WPT® wins (but consistent high finishes) |
Although an excellent season-long performance is highly acclaimed, nothing carries more prestige than the year-ending WPT® World Championship.
WPT® World Championship Winners
The WPT® World Championship winners represent the very best of poker players.
Each December in Las Vegas, this $10,400 buy-in event attracts the elite professionals and most ambitious newcomers from across the globe.
In recent years, it has set records with prize pools reaching $40 million, making it one of, if not the, most prestigious poker tournament in the world.
Below is a complete list of all of the WPT® World Championship winners and the prize money they received.
Year | Champion | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
2003 | Alan Goehring | $1,011,866 |
2004 | Martin de Knijff | $2,728,356 |
2005 | Tuan Le | $2,856,150 |
2006 | Joseph Bartholdi Jr. | $3,760,165 |
2007 | Carlos Mortensen | $3,970,415 |
2008 | David Chiu | $3,389,140 |
2009 | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | $2,149,960 |
2010 | David Williams | $1,530,537 |
2011 | Scott Seiver | $1,618,344 |
2012 | Marvin Rettenmaier | $1,196,858 |
2013 | David Rheem | $1,150,297 |
2014 | Keven Stammen | $1,350,000 |
2015 | Asher Conniff | $973,683 |
2016 | Farid Yachou | $381,600 |
2017 | Daniel Weinman | $381,500 |
2018 | Matthew Waxman | $463,375 |
2019 | Ole Schemion | $440,395 |
2020 | *no events | *no events |
2021 | *no events | *no events |
2022 | Eliot Hudon | $4,136,000 |
2023 | Daniel Sepiol | $5,282,954 |
2024 | Scott Stewart | $3,138,900 |
From early legends like Carlos Mortensen to modern stars like Eliot Hudon, WPT® World Champions have earned their place in the game’s history books.
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