Winners
A total of four players have won the World Series of Poker main event more than once. They include Johnny Moss (1971 and 1974), Doyle Brunson (1976 and 1977), Stu Ungar (1980, 1981 and 1997) and Johnny Chan (1987 and 1988).
Phil Hellmuth Jr. holds the record for the highest number of World Series of Poker bracelets, at eleven. He won the main event once, in 1989.
World Series of Poker Winners in the 2000s
Year |
Winner / Winning Hand |
Prize(US$) (US$) |
Entrants |
Runner-Up / Losing Hand |
2000 |
Chris Ferguson A♠ 9♣ |
1,500,000 |
512 |
T. J. Cloutier A♦ Q♣ |
2001 |
Juan Carlos Mortensen K♣ Q♣ |
1,500,000 |
613 |
Dewey Tomko A♠ A♥ |
2002 |
Robert Varkonyi Q♦ 10♠ |
2,000,000 |
631 |
Julian Gardner J♣ 8♣ |
2003 |
Chris Moneymaker 5♦ 4♠ |
2,500,000 |
839 |
Sam Farha J♥ 10♦ |
2004 |
Greg Raymer 8♠ 8♦ |
5,000,000 |
2,576 |
David Williams A♥ 4♠ |
2005 |
Joe Hachem 7♣ 3♠ |
7,500,000 |
5,619 |
Steve Dannenmann A♦ 3♣ |
2006 |
Jamie Gold Q♠ 9♣ |
12,000,000 |
8,773 |
Paul Wasicka 10♥ 10♠ |
2007 |
Jerry Yang 8♦ 8♣ |
8,250,000 |
6,358 |
Tuan Lam A♦ Q♦ |
In 2003, an amateur player, Chris Moneymaker, won the main event after qualifying via a satellite tournament with a buy-in of just $39. His win further boosted the popularity of the World Series Poker (and of poker generally). After 2003, the poker industry experienced a surge in revenue – to the extent that it refers to the "Moneymaker effect".
Early World Series of Poker Winners: 1970 – 1990
Year |
Winner / Winning Hand |
Prize(US$) (US$) |
Entrants |
Runner-Up / Losing Hand |
1970 |
n/a |
7 |
n/a |
|
1971 |
Johnny Moss |
30,000 |
6 |
Walter "Puggy" Pearson |
1972 |
80,000 |
8 |
Walter "Puggy" Pearson 6 6 |
|
1973 |
Walter "Puggy" Pearson A♠ 7♠ |
130,000 |
13 |
Johnny Moss K♥ J♠ |
1974 |
Johnny Moss |
160,000 |
16 |
Crandall Addington |
1975 |
Brian "Sailor" Roberts 9♠ 9♥ |
210,000 |
21 |
Bob Hooks A♣ K♦ |
1976 |
Doyle Brunson 10♠ 2♠ |
220,000 |
22 |
Jesse Alto A♠ J♦ |
1977 |
Doyle Brunson 10♠ 2♥ |
340,000 |
34 |
Gary Berland 8♥ 5♣ |
1978 |
Bobby Baldwin Q♦ Q♣ |
210,000 |
42 |
Crandall Addington 9♦ 9♣ |
1979 |
Hal Fowler 7♠ 6♦ |
270,000 |
54 |
Bobby Hoff A♣ A♥ |
1980 |
Stu Ungar 5♠ 4♠ |
385,000 |
73 |
Doyle Brunson A♥ 7♠ |
1981 |
Stu Ungar A♥ Q♥ |
375,000 |
75 |
Perry Green 10♣ 9♦ |
1982 |
Jack Straus A♥ 10♠ |
520,000 |
104 |
Dewey Tomko A♦ 4♦ |
1983 |
Tom McEvoy Q♦ Q♠ |
540,000 |
108 |
Rod Peate K♦ J♦ |
1984 |
Jack Keller 10♥ 10♠ |
660,000 |
132 |
Byron Wolford 6♥ 4♥ |
1985 |
Bill Smith 3♠ 3♥ |
700,000 |
140 |
T. J. Cloutier A♦ 3♣ |
1986 |
Berry Johnston A♠ 10♥ |
570,000 |
141 |
Mike Harthcock A♦ 8♦ |
1987 |
Johnny Chan A♠ 9♣ |
625,000 |
152 |
Frank Henderson 4♦ 4♣ |
1988 |
Johnny Chan J♣ 9♣ |
700,000 |
167 |
Erik Seidel Q♣ 7♥ |
1989 |
Phil Hellmuth Jr 9♠ 9♣ |
755,000 |
178 |
Johnny Chan A♠ 7♠ |
1990 |
Mansour Matloubi 6♥ 6♠ |
895,000 |
194 |
Hans Lund4♦ 4♣ |
1991 |
Brad Daugherty K♠ J♠ |
1,000,000 |
215 |
Don Holt 7♥ 3♥ |
1992 |
Hamid Dastmalchi 8♥ 4♣ |
1,000,000 |
201 |
Tom Jacobs J♦ 7♠ |
1993 |
Jim Bechtel J♣ 6♥ |
1,000,000 |
220 |
Glenn Cozen 7♠ 4♦ |
1994 |
Russ Hamilton K♠ 8♥ |
1,000,000 |
268 |
Hugh Vincent 8♣ 5♥ |
1995 |
Dan Harrington 9♦ 8♦ |
1,000,000 |
273 |
Howard Goldfarb A♥ 7♣ |
1996 |
Huck Seed 9♦ 8♦ |
1,000,000 |
295 |
Bruce Van Horn K♣ 8♣ |
1997 |
Stu Ungar A♥ 4♣ |
1,000,000 |
312 |
John Strzemp A♠ 8♣ |
1998 |
Scotty Nguyen J♦ 9♣ |
1,000,000 |
350 |
Kevin McBride Q♥ 10♥ |
1999 |
Noel Furlong 5♣ 5♦ |
1,000,000 |
393 |
Alan Goehring 6♥ 6♣ |
In the augural tournament, Johnny Moss was voted World Series of Poker winner by his peers. As the winner, he was awarded a silver cup.