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Elected to the Poker Hall of Fame (#/#) This denotes a bracelet winner. The first number is the number of bracelets won in the 2017 WSOP. The second number is the total number of bracelets won. Both numbers represent totals as of that point during the tournament. Place What place each player at the final table finished Name. He cashed for $2,935,899 in 2015, for $7,955,398 in 2016, for $3,541,517 in 2017, for $10,785,013 in 2018 and already has $3,145,109 in 2019. Peters has a great shot to become the biggest winner of all time, but the following three will have a thing or two to say about that for sure. Erik Seidel - $34,799,930.

The rise in popularity of High Roller and Super High Roller poker tournaments in recent years has had a dramatic affect on the all-time winnings rankings, as has the fact poker tournament players now have more opportunities than ever to grind away in major events around the world.

These days, you need almost $8.5 million in cashes just to break into the top 100 biggest poker winners of all-time, and a staggering $12.6 million to find yourself ranked in the top 50. The prize money some of the world’s best poker players have earned is astronomical, but who are the five biggest poker tournament winners of all time?

Justin Bonomo – $44,779,048

Justin Bonomo tops the charts with an almost unbelievable total of $44,779,048 in live poker tournament winnings. Bonomo already had more than $18 million in earning before he went on a massive heater during 2018 that saw the Fairfax, Virginia native get his hands on more than $25.4 million!

Part of that huge total stemmed from his victory in the Big One for One Drop event at the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a $1 million buy-in event. Bonomo was the last man standing and locked up the largest cash of his career, namely $10 million.

Daniel Negreanu – $40,045,583

Daniel Negreanu

Former PokerStars Team ProDaniel Negreanu was the former number one in the biggest poker tournament winners of all time until Bonomo went on his epic run. Negreanu is currently sat in second-place with $40,045,583 in winnings.

The Canadian, who resides in Las Vegas is regarded as one of the best all-round poker players of all time, one who has amassed six WSOP bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles. Negreanu’s largest cash weighs in at $8,288,001, his reward for a second-place finish in the 2014 edition of the Big One for One Drop.

Erik Seidel – $35,373,831

Erik Seidel may not look like your stereotypical poker player, but do not let looks fool you because Seidel is an absolute beast, a beast who has earned $35,373,831 from poker tournaments. Among Seidel’s many achievements are eight WSOP bracelets, a WPT Main Event win and a victory in a Super High Roller event on the European Poker Tour (EPT) circuit.

Seidel was the runner-up in the 1988 WSOP Main Event, losing to Johnny Chan. This final hand made it into the famous 1998 movie Rounders.

Bryn Kenney – $34,908,320

Bryn Kenney

Born in Long Beach, New York, Bryn Kenney cut his teeth playing online poker where he gained a reputation for being a fearless opponent. It is a deserved reputation because Kenney fears nobody at the table, especially in No Limit Hold’em tournaments for any stakes.

There are still six months of 2019 remaining, yet Kenney is already guaranteed to have enjoyed his best year at the poker tables in terms of money won. Through June 20, 2019, Kenney has banked almost $9.3 million in winnings, an impressive figure helped by him winning back-to-back titles at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro that saw him return home with the equivalent of $3,605,235.

David Peters – $33,066,566

Ohio’s David Peters is probably the best poker player you have never heard of and it is not because of a lack of winnings as Peters currently sits in fifth-place in the biggest poker tournament winners of all-time listings with $33,066,566.

Peters tends to shun the limelight, not interested in the publicity that comes with winning poker tournament. Instead, Peters acts like a consummate professional, heads to casinos around the world and has an almost unnatural ability to build his stack.

Ten cashes of more than $1 million have helped Peters soar up the rankings, with his largest prize being worth $2,699,752 which he won for finishing second in a Super High Roller event in the Philippines that cost $200,000 to enter.

10 Biggest Poker Tournament Winners of All-Time

Place	Player	Country	Winnings
1	Justin Bonomo	United States	$44,779,050
2	Daniel Negreanu	Canada	$40,045,583
3	Erik Seidel	United States	$35,373,831
4	Bryn Kenney	United States	$34,908,320
5	David Peters	United States	$33,066,566
6	Fedor Holz	Germany	$32,556,379
7	Daniel Colman	United States	$28,925,059
8	Jason Koon	United States	$28,890,061
9	Antonio Esfandiari	United States	$27,728,436
10	Dan Smith	United States	$27,707,079

This year's Top Stories are brought to you by the VerStandig Law Firm, LLC. Combining a keen understanding of the gaming world and an equally keen understanding of the law, Mac VerStandig and his colleagues are devoted to fighting on behalf of the poker community and its members.

'Chris Ferguson Wins WSOP Player of the Year.'

After 74 events in Las Vegas, 11 tournaments in Europe, and the complete Full Tilt Poker debacle, this is not a headline many in poker world expected – or hoped for. Whatever the case, a year after jumping back into tournament poker on the world's biggest stage, Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson amassed a big run to take the title.

Whatever one thinks of him personally, Ferguson certainly has skills at the table. The winner of the 2000 Main Event, Ferguson was one of the mainstays in poker during the 2000s before Black Friday exposed his company's improprieties and led to a self-imposed five-year exile from poker.

An enemy to the game to many, Ferguson returned to the tables in 2016 and capped a big WSOP run by winning his sixth bracelet in Europe in Event #7: €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Ferguson took home €39,289 after topping a field of 92, bringing his lifetime winnings to almost $9 million.

In a year that saw him cash in 17 events in Las Vegas and six in Europe, Ferguson made three final tables including a runner-up result in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship for $151,700 and fourth in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $150,929.

The POY Controversy

The POY race brought plenty of scrutiny in 2017 with players like Daniel Negreanu arguing that the system rewards min-cashes in the smaller buy-in events with larger fields than in the $10,000 buy-in championship events.

'It is much tougher to cash in a 100-player field in a $10,000 event than it is to cash in a large field event that pays hundreds of spots,' Negreanu wrote in a blog post at FullContactPoker.com, in which he recommended improvements to the system. 'It takes roughly three times more play, the structures are slower on day two, and you are also fighting against top notch competition in the championship events when you near the bubble.'

Whatever the case, Ferguson played well within the system and his consistency and his bracelet earned him the title. Certainly many in the poker were steamed with the results.

The Community's Response

Montreal's Pablo Mariz had an impressive WSOP this summer – notching six cashes including his first bracelet in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker for $1.2 million and a runner-up finish in the $ 1,000 No Limit Hold'em Tag Team event for $46,537. Mariz believes paying a large percentage of the field and POY rules that favor just cashing made it easier for Ferguson to earn the title.

'I think it's a disgrace and a slap in the face of the online poker community,' he says. 'From what I've seen, he had a lot of points from having multiple small cashes, which I think is not the best. A final table should be valued way more.

'I'm pretty sure he plays the same way as 10 years ago, which shouldn't be too optimal. But In live poker where 95 percent of the fields are recreational/bad regs, I guess it's not too hard to sneak in the money a lot – especially when you have a large bankroll which is not even your money from the Full Tilt Poker scam. So overall, I'm not impressed by his performances, nor I hope he gets any congratulations from people that dont know the full story.'

'I think it's a disgrace and a slap in the face of the online poker community.'

John Monnette made a big run at the WSOP and was in the mix for POY, finishing fifth. He believes the formula for determining the top spot at the WSOP should be revamped.

'I don't have a strong feeling about Chris or his place in the poker world,' he said. 'I do believe that the POY formula is obviously flawed when playing all the small gimmicky tournaments is rewarded. Chris skipped the 50k to play an $888 tournament with unlimited re-entries where you are essentially buying POY points. That isn't a formula that rewards the best overall players, it's a formula that rewards the person who knows who to manipulate the system the best.'

Many players expressed shock that Ferguson is back playing tournament poker and some even favor rules to ban Ferguson.

'I guess it's just frustrating that he has the nerve to even play the WSOP after what he was a part of at Full Tilt,' said longtime tournament pro Blair Hinkle. 'Chris was an owner of a company that screwed over millions of poker players, yet I don't even think he ever apologized. You would think he might have enough self awareness to at least do that. I guess he just doesn't care and that's why he decided to return and in some ways disrespect the poker community.'

Hinkle is one of those who favor a ban on players like Ferguson who have run afoul of the poker world in something as big as the Full Tilt scandal.

'As far as the WSOP goes, I wish that there was some sort of way to police the small percentage of players that have scammed the poker community,' he says. 'I, for one, think he should be banned from poker tournaments. If people want to sit with him in a cash game that is their decision.'

A few in the poker world have been more forgiving including poker legend Doyle Brunson. In July, with Ferguson battling for the title he noted on Twitter: 'I think Chris is a good guy and has done nice things for people that nobody talks about. I wish him well.'

Fourteen-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth posed for a selfie with Ferguson after he won the bracelet in Europe. The Tweet became the scorn or many and Hellmuth received plenty of negative feedback.

Welcome back to the @WSOP winners circle Chris Ferguson!! #ChrisFergusonsSixthWSOPWin #WSOPBraceletHunting… https://t.co/erSts4SOoB

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth)

Hellmuth responded: 'I believe one of the worst things we can do as human beings is persecute innocent people. Also, I believe in forgiveness.'

Biggest Online Poker Winners 2017 Winner

Some poker players note that Ferguson never asked players for forgiveness after the entire Full Tilt Poker fiasco.

Biggest Online Poker Winners 2017 Results

Love him or hate him, Ferguson made waves throughout the summer and into November when he locked up one of poker's most prestigious honors. It was enough to earn him the biggest story of 2017 from the PokerNews staff.

The VerStandig Law Firm, LLC represents poker professionals, sports bettors and advantage players across the United States. The firm assists clients in connection with legal issues including personal LLC formation and operation, tax planning that focuses on gaming deductions and exemptions, casino disputes, and personal matters spanning from divorce to criminal dust-ups.

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