Winners of the World Series of Poker Titles and Bracelets
Some of the other major accomplishments during the WSOP were as follows:
Back to Back Wins: Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, and Johnny Chan
Winning a back to back title in WSOP has never been easy due to the sheer competition that each of the players have to face each year. With the unpredictability of poker, the challenge becomes even more difficult.
The players who have been able to repeat their wins back to back are Doyle Brunson, who did it in 1976-77, Stu Ungar who did it in 1980-81, Johnny Chan who did it in 1987-88, and Johnny Moss in the inaugural events in 1970-71.
Big bucks : Jamie Gold ($12,000,000) and Joseph Hachem ($9,119,517)
Jamie Gold has been the player who has managed to win the highest amount in the main event. While he had been often criticized for his rash demeanor and legal woes, he did beat over 8,800 opponents in 2006 to win the bracelet and $12,000,000.
The second most prize won in the main event was by Peter Eastgate who won $9,119,517 in the 2008 World Series of Poker. The event saw 6844 players take their shot at the bracelet. Peter Eastgate became the youngest World Series of Poker Champion at just 22 years of age.
Impressive WSOP Feats
2003 was the breakout year for World Series of Poker. It saw a record field of over 800 players and Chris Moneymaker eventually defeat everyone to take home the $2.5 million prize. Dan Harrington, a seasoned veteran who won the 1995 Main Event had a tough time working his way to the final table of this huge tournament. However, Harrington beat out an even larger field of over 2,000 poker players in a 2004 return to the final table. This was considered by many to be one of the most impressive feats in WSOP history.
Youngest Player to Win a WSOP Bracelet
Phil Hellmuth was the youngest player to win the World Series of Poker Main Event when he won the event in 1989. He was 24 at the time. His record stood until 2008 when Peter Eastgate won the event at 22 years of age. The title of youngest bracelet holder outside of the Main Event changed several times with Steve Billirakis being the youngest bracelet holder until the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe. Unlike Vegas, Europe allows poker players to enter casinos starting at 18. Annette Oberstad took advantage of this rule and was able navigate her way through the WSOP Europe Main Event and win the event at the age of 18. Of course, she will have to wait two more years until she can play in Vegas, but unless another 18 year old wins a WSOP-E bracelet, her record as youngest bracelet winner will probably not be challenged for quite a while.
These are some of the past achievements in WSOP’s. However, with poker you never know what to expect in future. It is yet to be seen if the records set by these players will be broken or not. Will the prize money increase? Can any player win the main event multiple times? Will there be a repeat champion? Can players go beyond 11 bracelets? These are some of the questions which will be answered in the future. It’s definitely not impossible!