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2025 World Series of Poker

He is followed by professionals Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Colman, both also yet to win a Main Event in Las Vegas. In the 2008 World Series of Poker, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event counted toward the Player of the Year award, but the Main Event did not. Beginning with the 2006 World Series of Poker, the Main Event and the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. competition had no effect on the outcome of the winner of the Player of the Year award. He won his seat at a $225 satellite tournament at Pechanga Resort & Casino, in California. The winner of the Main Event has traditionally been given the unofficial title of World Champion.

In 2022, he bested a field of 1,580 entries to win the 16th Annual Arizona State Poker Championship for $221,200. Here’s a look at some winners from the Venetian Showdown Series. The Venetian Las Vegas, which recently debuted its new 50-table, 14,000 square foot poker room (the largest on the Las Vegas Strip), just wrapped up its latest Showdown Series, which ran from August 2 through September 15.

Just before heads-up began, however, Garrett doubled up Amadeus Janotta, leaving the two finalists with nearly even stacks. Before this victory, Garrett’s best live result was a $21,000 payout for an eighth-place finish in the 2025 MSPT Minnesota Main Event. David Peters captured his fifth WSOP bracelet and recorded the 13th seven-figure cash of his career. Young Israeli regular Ori Hasson won his country’s 26th WSOP bracelet. In the end, however, the American lost all of his chips in just two hands.

Getting to share some of the stories from a tournament day that weren’t the headlines but were memorable nonetheless was a very special opportunity. But it was also one of the first times that I was not just ‘allowed’ to bring my personality to the table but encouraged. Out of all the work that I did in poker, getting asked to be part of Poker Road Radio was always the work I remember most fondly. I’ve done a couple of one-off gigs with Mori’s (Eslkandni) production team when I still lived in Vegas, and I can imagine a world where I offer my services as a spotter for production for the Main. If they want only the fun and sanitized poker stories, that is what you write.

He was the shortest stack during four-handed play at the final table but staged a comeback to defeat Isaac Haxton heads-up. Pan already had a few WSOP final tables under his belt, including a 6th-place finish in this same event in 2019 and a 4th in Omaha 8 in 2023. With this bracelet win, he reminds everyone he’s still got game. Nick Schulman had a shot at winning his 8th bracelet in one of his best games, 2-7.

100 bracelet events with 251,899 total entries across the series. Others appreciate the production value and drama of a scheduled finale, noting that it brings more eyeballs to the sport and gives players a fairer shot at performing their best under the bright lights. Purists prefer the raw, real-time grind of playing straight through, arguing that fatigue and momentum are part of the game and that the break disrupts the natural flow of the tournament.

This indicates a multi-tabled tournament with a guaranteed prize pool. Events are hosted in iconic destinations like Macau, Sydney, and Manila, attracting a diverse and competitive player base. Established in 2007, it has been pivotal in meeting the growing demand for competitive poker in Asia and Australia, driven by the global poker boom.

Caleb Bruno Furth won the $5,000 PLO event with an incredible stroke of luck. In the final hand against Joe Ford, Shmuel was dealt A-A-K-K — a picture-perfect hand for the victory shot. Event #4 has concluded, with David Shmuel capturing his first-ever WSOP bracelet. It’s Galiana’s second bracelet in two years, just like Furth.

Per the terms of the new deal, CBS Sports was set to broadcast 15 hours of WSOP Main Event coverage plus 36 additional hours from select gold bracelet events. POKER PROductions has filmed WSOP bracelet final tables and the WSOP Main Event for PokerGO, a subscription video on demand service. The 2010 WSOP had the same number of bracelet events as in 2009, again with no rebuy events.

To qualify for a live poker tournament, players can participate in online tournaments or qualifiers that offer a chance to win a ticket to the main event. For players looking to compete, check our guides on tournament strategy, use our ICM calculator for final table decisions, and explore online poker sites that offer satellite qualifiers to live events. This was the first time poker players were able to win a WSOP bracelet online, with the final six playing down at the Rio to crown the winner. Live poker tournaments are the best face-to-face poker events, where thousands of players compete for the biggest prize pools. For players with limited bankrolls looking to play high-stakes poker satellite tournaments are a great way to skip the grind and head straight for the big prizes! Qualifiers are usually available several weeks prior to the start of a series, giving players plenty of time to satellite their way into the Championship event and a few other big-guarantee tournaments.

In the final hand, his pocket threes held against ace-jack suited in a classic flip. Cary Catz silences loud Brazilian rail with heads-up win over fan-favorite Breno Drumond. He missed almost the entire WSOP last year and didn’t play a lot this year. Later, Mike said that the break was one of the keys to his success, as he hadn’t been feeling well (he even wore a mask) and couldn’t fully focus on his game. Although originally from Italy, he has lived in France for over 30 years, so he received plenty of support from the French rail as well. The Italian poker enthusiast Giuseppe Zarbo has won the $800 Summer Celebration.

• At the Dealers Choice final table, Jeff was the most accomplished player in the field, but he entered six-handed play with only the fourth-largest stack.
• Along with Zachary Fischer’s Main Event triumph, there were still two more WSOP Circuit rings to be awarded on the final day of the Cherokee series.
• Calvin Anderson became the fourth player at WSOP 2026 to win a sixth career bracelet.
• Please play responsibly and only bet what you can afford to lose.
• Online poker tournaments are a good way to build a poker bankroll.
• The WSOP Circuit was founded in 2005 to provide players with more opportunities to participate in WSOP tournaments outside of Las Vegas.

Adrian Mateos cemented his place among poker’s elite by winning the $250,000 Super High Roller (Event #41) for $4,334, the largest non-Main Event first prize of the entire series. From record-setting paydays to multi-bracelet runs and a married couple both winning gold, the 2026 summer will be remembered as one of the most eventful in the series’ history. This reflects the increasingly global nature of the game’s highest stakes, where European and Latin American players now compete on equal footing with the traditionally dominant American contingent. Not a single high roller bracelet went to an American player — winners came from Spain, Brazil, Canada, Finland, India, UK, Bulgaria, and Russia. The high roller events ($25,000+ buy-in) produced the summer’s largest prizes and attracted poker’s global elite.

Last year he recorded a career-best cash of $520,000 in the Onyx Super High Roller Series latest online poker news $100K buy-in event, and now in Las Vegas he finished first in an $800 buy-in event. British professional Matthew Moss has played very little over the past seven years. Kupin managed to cut into the lead several times, but Aharoni quickly reestablished his advantage. However, his extensive experience in high-stakes games helped him take first place in the Big O Championship. “This is my favorite tournament because of the structure and the buy-in. Interestingly, Mateos showed resilience and made a re-entry at the end of the first day of play.

If you’re playing at a higher level, or if you just want to stop by and watch those who are, the PokerGO Tour will be back on the beat with its fall schedule. Both rooms will also offer regular mixed games. No matter where you might toss the dart on the calendar, you’ll find something to play, so we did a deep dive on the schedule to map out the rest of 2026.

The break gives players time to review hand histories from Days 1-7, work with coaches on specific opponents at the final table, and mentally prepare for the pressure of playing for millions on live television. Both wins came in high roller events with buy-ins that attract only the strongest competition, underscoring Paerssinen’s place among the game’s elite Omaha and mixed-game players. Beginning in 2007, Harrah’s announced the creation of the World Series of Poker Academy, a poker school aimed at providing poker players with the skills needed to win a WSOP bracelet. However, Moss’s first victory came in a different format, as he was elected winner by vote of his fellow players at the conclusion of what was then a timed event.

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Palma had to defeat a Polish pro, Krysztof Zapolski, heads up to claim this prize. These cashes include a third-place finish in a $600 NLH Turbo early on in the series. Seventeen places were paid and Caitlin Comesky scraped into 17th, earning the min-cash of $2,448. With $142,350 in the prize pool, his heads-up opponent, Andrew Lavender, earned $30,151.

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In the final nine, Michael Koenig ended up giving all of his chips to Deeb. In heads-up play against Xiaoyao Ma, Markus began with a very solid chip lead. Ogita won his first major pot against Richard Harris, who joked that the Japanese player kept trying to steal his blinds. In heads-up play against Matt Vengrin, Smith entered with a significant chip lead and defeated his opponent in about half an hour. Mizrachi stayed under the radar early on, but in the final eight he won two massive pots against Jesse Lonis and surged into the chip lead with a huge advantage.

The Slovenian talent claimed his second bracelet of the year after already triumphing in the $25,000 6-Handed High Roller. Earlier this year, he scored $103K in South Korea and now he’s crushed that personal best by nearly eight times! Although he had flown under the radar until now, he shared that he’s been grinding hard for the past six or seven years, and this win marks his breakthrough. The deck was on his side during heads-up play, as he picked up pocket aces twice and ace-king also twice in less than an hour. The Brazilian and French crowds turned the heads-up of the Tag Team Event into a World Cup final.

Poker players during that era had television identities, online personas, forum reputations, and private selves that could be very different from one another. There were a few players like Kathy Liebert, JJ Liu, and Jennifer Harman that weren’t sexualized all the time, but the default for players and media personalities alike was to frame them in a sexy way. While the other students in her graduate program spent the summer teaching or taking classes, Welman headed to Las Vegas under the extremely convenient premise that the trip would further her research into poker players. We are the number one source for poker news, gambling industry updates, reviews and free educational content for players of all levels.

Most operators and tournaments offer live streams on YouTube and other streaming services. There are also many live poker games in social clubs and society’s around the world. The $10,400 buy-in tournament boasted the largest-ever live poker tournament guarantee of $15,000,000 in a WPT Series. The WPT Champions Cup is the trophy awarded to all winners of WPT Main Tour events, and champions have their names engraved on the Cup.

Because he holds the record for most titles (4), cashes (43), and final table appearances (12). Mike Sexton co-hosted the tournaments with Van Patten for the first 15 seasons. Many WPT events are filmed, edited and then rebroadcast on Bally Sports (previously Fox Sports), a regional sports cable network.

You can set multiple filters in one go to narrow down the results and find the exact tournaments that are best suited to your play and strategy. To use our Live Tournament Calendar to find poker tournaments, go to the widget above and set the filters to only see tournaments within your pre-set requirements. At PokerNews we have made it easy for you to find a live poker tournament.

I told my wife that I was going to keep fighting because I came here to win a bracelet.” Prior to this victory, his best result at the series was a 19th-place finish in the $25K PLO event in 2018. In the final hand of the tournament, his 8♥7♥ made trips on the river and proved stronger than Lee’s pocket kings. The Indian player described these hands as key on his path to victory. At the final table of Event #29, Suvarna first doubled up through Chang Lee and then won two major pots against Zlotnikov, sharply shifting the momentum of the final table. However, Brent took down three major pots in a row, and in the decisive hand, trips on the flop secured him the tournament win.

Most of his live earnings and both of his bracelets have come from events in this poker variant. Yes, you can qualify online for Borgata Poker Open Championship events as well as other flagship tournaments. Players can qualify for Borgata Poker Open events and/or buy in for select tournaments online via BetMGM Poker and Borgata Poker Online. The Borgata Poker Open is one of the largest and most popular live poker events in the United States, traditionally taking place at least three times a year at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

And so we come to the final chapter of this year’s Wynn Summer Classic. Damelian ultimately prevailed, collecting the first-place prize and a Wynn Summer Classic trophy. This meant that when Roberto Damelian and Idianlei Zhang were battling heads up, there was a first-place prize of $26,661 at stake.

With a $50k entry the mixed game event consists of 9 games and changed from being just a Horse event in 2009. The first World Series took place in 1970 and featured no tournaments at all. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is on of the biggest live poker festivals and is held every year in Las Vegas. The biggest fields came from low buy-in events like the Colossus ($500), Monster Stack ($1,500), and Millionaire Maker ($1,500), each of which drew thousands of entries across multiple starting flights. The $300 Gladiators of Poker NLH (Event #88) was the lowest buy-in bracelet event, won by Johnny Oshana for $250,000. The international diversity reflects the global reach of modern tournament poker.

The winner of the final table WSOP not only takes away an impressive prize, but also receives a WSOP bracelet. Yes, many tournament series, including the WSOP and PokerStars online events, have buy-in levels suitable for beginners. For live events like the WSOP or EPT, choose tournaments that match your skill level and budget. To succeed in poker tournaments, whether live or online, you need to tailor your strategy to the format while staying disciplined and prepared. Below, we take a look at the best poker tournaments in both live and online formats.

Sterling won his first major pot at the final table against Jesse Lonis and eliminated David Bach shortly afterward. This time, the American secured his first bracelet and the first six-figure cash of his career. Sterling Lopez had already reached a WSOP T.O.R.S.E. final table last year, but he was unable to finish higher than sixth place. This time, Benso entered the final eight with just 19 big blinds, while Justin Liberto held a commanding 121-big-blind stack. Prior to this World Series, the Italian had reached only one WSOP final table, back in 2024.

The WSOP’s inclusive structure accommodates players of all levels, combining high-stakes events with accessible side tournaments. If you enjoy playing poker and want to try and win big, there are many popular and prestigious tournaments where you can enter and battle it out against the top players in the world. Unlike online games, live events offer face-to-face interaction, real-time excitement, and the ambiance of a casino or poker room. Live poker tournaments combine strategy with a unique, immersive atmosphere, bringing players from around the world together to compete for prizes and titles. After many hours the final table of six players eventually gave way to start of day chip leader Jonathan Jaffe who took down a career-high score of $1,537,600. The good news is that many of the formats you see in the results above — freezeouts, bounty events, deepstacks, PLO tournaments, and mixed-game events — are available every day at online poker rooms.

He earned four of his biggest tournament cashes over the past 12 months. Patrick Stacey has only in recent years, after stepping away from business, started to take poker seriously and even worked with a coach. The momentum then shifted toward Artur Martirosian, who eliminated two opponents and overtook the Canadian at the top of the chip counts. A key hand against Maxx Coleman significantly improved his position in the chip counts. Deeb began heads-up play against Dean Joe with only half of his opponent’s stack.