Ranking The 17 Greatest World Series Of Poker Players Of All-Time

The 2025 World Series of Poker is off and running with 7 gold bracelets already being awarded out to players, 4 of 7 of whom have won multiple bracelets. There are a marathon 100 tournaments to be played in the 2025 World Series of Poker which will award life-changing money to many players, but the ones on this list have an established history of greatness. These are the 17 greatest World Series of Poker Players of All-Time.

With the 2025 WSOP off to a hot start, it is as good of a time as any to rank the greatest World Series of Poker players of all-time. Thankfully, this isn’t at all a subjective or difficult task and I don’t suspect that any single person out there will disagree with these rankings and everyone will wholeheartedly agree with my not-at-all subjective decisions…

If only it was that easy! One of the beautiful parts about poker is that every poker player believes that on any given day they can play with the best. They believe that within them lies the game of a future Hall of Famer if only the cards would land right or if they could catch a hot streak. Fortunately for all of the players on this list, luck was either in their favor or didn’t matter at all because they have won countless millions playing the game they love. These are the 17 greatest World Series of Poker players of all time… Also, apologies to the players whose photos are a dealer or chips. I searched high and low for images to license and they simply didn’t exist.

17. Allen Cunningham: 5 WSOP Bracelets, 49th All-Time In Earnings

Allen Cunningham is one of the best-known World Series of Poker players as he is a yearly fixture on the scene. He began playing poker at 18 years old and won his first major tournament at 21 years old.

In his World Series of Poker career, Cunningham has made 18 final tables, cashed 55 times, finished 4th in the Main Event, and has won 5 WSOP bracelets for a career WSOP earnings total of $8,026,087 which puts him 49th on the all-time list. His combination of bracelets and earnings puts him on this list of the all-time greats.

16. Jeremy Ausmus: 6 Bracelets, 1 Ring

Jeremy Ausmus ranks 20th on the WSOP all-time money list with $11,560,018 in career earnings just at the World Series of Poker. He has 6 bracelets (t12th), 1 ring, 34 final tables, and 170 cashes (84th all-time).

Ausmus would likely be a lot higher on this list if it wasn’t for (1) the heavy hitters in front of him and (2) his braclet to final table ratio.

15. Men Nguyen: 7 WSOP Bracelets, $4,299,725 Career Earings

Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen has amongst of the most hardware of any players in World Series of Poker history with 7 WSOP bracelets and 4 rings. He has made 53 final tables which ranks 18th all time and during the ‘Poker Boom’ he was a fixture on ESPN.

A certified WSOP legend, to be sure. But his last WSOP bracelet came in 2010 in a tournament with 150 players. Of Nguyen’s 7 bracelets, only once did he win a tournament with over 200 players and that was the $1,500 Limit Seven Card Stud event #6 at the 1992 World Series of Poker with 201 players in it. Men ‘The Master’ simply hasn’t been able to breakthrough in big fields during the modern poker era but he was indomitable during his heyday.

14. John Hennigan: 7 WSOP Braclets, $6,197,035 Career Earnings

Of all the players on this list, John Hennigan is among the top 5 players I’d least like to sit next to in an event. ‘Johnny World’ from Philly has won 7 World Series of Poker bracelets in his career, most recently winning the $1,500 Dealers Choice (6-Handed) Event #7 at the 2024 WSOP, besting 529 other players en route to winning his 7th bracelet to rank 7th all-time in hardware.

When he gets to a final table, John Hennigan converts at a high clip rate. He has made 21 final tables and won 7 bracelets for a 33# win rate. His $6,197,035 in career earnings puts him at 74th on the all-time money list and his biggest WSOP cash to date was winning the 2014 $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1,517,767.

13. Chance Kornuth: 4 Bracelets, $10,518,717 In WSOP Earnings

I might be a little biased saying this but when Chance Kornuth is playing his best game he is unbeatable and could finish his career as one of the top 5 tournament poker players of all time. Kornuth’s first WSOP bracelet was the 2010 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Event #50 where he took home $508,090.

Kornuth has already made a ‘final table’ at the 2025 World Series of Poker and made an appearance at 3 last year including a 2nd place finish for $1,351,000 in the $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em (8-Handed) event #39. He currently ranks 27th on the all-time WSOP money list with $10,518,717.

12. Michael Mizrachi: 6 WSOP Bracelets, $9,613,281 Career Earnings

With 6 bracelets and 1 ring, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi has been a mainstay on the poker scene for years. This 44-year-old South Florida grinder has $9,613,281 in career WSOP earnings which puts him at 33rd on the all-time list. He has made an astounding 26 final tables and converted that into a win 7 times (6 bracelets, 1 ring).

A 3-time winner of the coveted $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the event every poker pro wants to win in his/her career at some point, Michael Mizrachi is one of the most respected players in the game by his peers.

11. Shaun Deeb: 6 Bracelets, $9,435,308 Career Earnings

Shaun Deeb has 6 World Series of Poker bracelets and 1 ring with $9,435,308 in career earnings which puts him at 37th on the all-time money list. His 7 wins in 43 final tables is very impressive alongside his 207 career cashes in WSOP events.

As is pretty much every player on this list, but Shaun Deeb is a master of every poker discipline and has won bracelets in Mixed events, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, No-Limit Hold’em, and Pot-Limit Hold’em to prove that he is a master of all poker disciplines and not just to be feared in one game.

10. Josh Arieh: 6 WSOP Bracelets, $10,047,578 Career Earnings

Of all the players on this list, Josh Arieh is definitely the most interesting to follow on Twitter where he has no shortage of opinions. With 6 World Series of Poker bracelets (12th) and $10,047,578 in career WSOP earnings (30th), Josh Arieh deserves every bit of his spot in the top 10.

Arieh won 2 bracelets in 2023, the $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. and the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship and finished 4th in the Player of the Year standings. He won his first bracelet back in 1999 and the longevity of his career needs to be appreciated in a game where people fizzle out more of than not.

9. Johnny Moss: 9 WSOP Gold Bracelets, $834,422 Career Earnings

Poker pioneer Johnny Moss, a proper legend, could easily be in the top 3 on this list, but as the winner of the very first World Series of Poker Main Event in 1970 he played in a different era. With 9 WSOP gold bracelets, Moss still only has $834,422 in career World Series of Poker earnings and the largest tournament he won in his career was 194 players in 1988.

Not to take away anything at all from the 1979 Poker Hall of Fame inductee, but 5 of Johnny Moss’ 9 WSOP bracelets were in tournaments with less than 50 players. It was simply a different era. Though he likely would have ran through the modern competition just like he did during his time. Ultimately, the World Series of Poker wouldn’t exist as it does today without Moss so putting him at 9th on this list feel criminal but it had to be done.

8. Scott Seiver: 7 WSOP Bracelets, $7,747,750 Career Earnings

Scott (Brandon) Seiver appears to have an incredibly bright future of ahead of him if last year was any indication. With 7 total World Series of Poker bracelets and $7,747,750 in career earnings (53rd), Seiver won 3 WSOP bracelets in 2024 alone.

He won his first gold bracelet back in 2008 and then went 10 years without picking up any new hardware but has been making up for lost time in the past few years. With his 3 bracelets in 2024, Seiver ran away with the Player of the Year award. And when he makes it to a final table, which he has 25 times, his win rate is fantastic.

7. Johnny Chan: 10 World Series of Poker Bracelets, $4,628,620 Career Earnings

Johnny Chan is a living poker legend. His 10 World Series of Poker bracelets put him at #3 on the all-time list. Thanks to Rounders, most casual poker fans know that Johnny Chan famously won back-to-back World Series of Poker Main Event titles in 1987 and 1988, making him one of four players to ever do so.

Where the 2002 Poker Hall of Fame inductee fell out of the top 5 on this list is he has only made 29 final tables in his long and storied career and only has 53 WSOP tournament cashes. 10 bracelets in 29 final tables is an insane win rate but it is a bit surprising Chan hasn’t made more final tables.

6. Doyle Brunson: 10 WSOP Gold Bracelets, $3,050,958 Career Earnings

Doyle Brunson, Texas Dolly, was a man who paved the way for poker to be what it is today. His 10 gold bracelets put him at 3rd all-time along with Johnny Chan, and Doyle stayed sharp well into his later years and was a regular fixture on late night poker events.

Like his pal Johnny Moss though, 6 of Doyle’s 10 bracelets were won in events with less than 50 entrants. Brunson couldn’t control how many people entered, of course, but his game was played in a different era with a different level of popularity. He won back-to-back Main Events in 1977 and 1978 and will forever be remembered as the ‘Godfather of Poker’ by everyone.

5. Erik Seidel: 10 WSOP Gold Bracelets, $9,790,657 Career Earnings

With the same number of WSOP gold Bracelets, 10, as Johnny Chan above, Seidel also made an appearance in Rounders because he finished runner-up to Chan at the 1988 Main Event. For most people, that would be the poker achievement of a lifetime but it was just a footnote in the incredible Poker Hall of Fame (2010 inductee) career of Erik Seidel.

Seidel has made 52 final tables and won 10 bracelets for career earnings of $9,790,657 (31st all-time) and he has cashed in an astounding 152 WSOP tournaments. Longevity really is what sets Erik Seidel apart from the pack. He won his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet in 1992, a $2,500 Limit Hold’em event, and he won his most recent bracelet at the 2023 World Series of Poker Paradise in event #7 for $1,704,400. In 2005, Seidel out dueled a field of 1,403 players to win the Event #9: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em bracelet for $611K, proving he can win no matter the size of the field.

4. Stu Ungar: 5 WSOP Gold Bracelets, $2,081,478 Career Earnings

In terms of raw poker talent, Stu Ungar is arguably the greatest to ever play the game but sadly, his life ended too soon when he passed away at just 45-years-old in 1998. Ungar is one of four players World Series of Poker history to win the Main Event in back-to-back years and one of only two players in history to win Amarillo Slim’s (non-WSOP) Super Bowl of Poker three times.

Born in Manhattan, Stu Ungar won 5 WSOP bracelets in his short career and tallied up $2,081,478 in career earnings. His 5 bracelets in 12 final tables is a sickening win rate. He was someone you would never want to see at final table and if you did you needed to pray to the heavens for great cards because out-playing Stu Ungar wasn’t an option. The poker would can only dream of how great the 2001 Hall of Fame inductee’s career would have been had he not passed away so young.

3. Phil Ivey: 11 WSOP Gold Bracelets, $11,047,501 Career Earnings

The Poker Hall of Fame typically only inducts 1 player each year making it an extremely prestigious honor. And one of the cool things about poker is how players can be inducted when they are still playing some of the best poker of their lives, and not decades after their decline. In Phil Ivey’s case (2017 inductee), it seems likely that his game and piercing stare will never fade.

Phil Ivey was in a multi-way tie for 2nd on the all-time bracelet list for years until he broke through at the 2024 World Series of Poker, winning the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (6-Handed) event for $347K, and moving into solo 2nd place ahead of Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, and Johnny Chan with 10 each. Ivey has $11,047,501 in career WSOP earnings putting him at 25th all-time and his 11 bracelets have been won through 46 final table appearances.

2. Daniel Negreanu: 7 WSOP Gold Bracelets, $23,466,723 Career Earnings

Daniel Negreanu aka ‘Kid Poker’ is arguably the most famous poker player in the game. He gets swarmed in the halls of the World Series of Poker during breaks and his daily WSOP vlogs rack up millions of views during the Summer. And his fame is well deserved.

Negreanu has 7 WSOP gold bracelets and $23,466,723 in career earnings which puts him at #1 on the WSOP All-Time Earnings List. Daniel’s 268 cashes are 11th best all time and his 72 final tables (including one this past Tuesday) rank 7th all-time. It is hard to imagine a world where Daniel Negreanu, who can read you like a book within seconds of meeting you, will not win at least few more gold bracelets during his poker career.

1. Phil Hellmuth: 17 WSOP Gold Bracelets, $17,941,604 Career Earnings

Phil Hellmuth aka ‘The Poker Brat’ OWNS the World Series of Poker record for the most gold bracelets with 17, 6 more than anyone else in history. Winning the 1989 World Series of Poker Main Event at just 24 years old, Hellmuth set the record for the younger player to ever do it.

Phil’s $17,941,604 in career WSOP earnings ranks 4th all time and his 80 final tables ranks 3rd. The 1989 Main Event win was the first gold bracelet of Hellmuth’s career and he has mastered longevity, most recently winning a gold bracelet in 2023 after besting 642 players in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em field.

Hold’em is by far Hellmuth’s best game but of his 17 bracelets he was won gold hardware in No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw, Razz, Pot-Limit Hold’em, and Limit Hold’em.

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