When it comes to champions, the WPT has seen some of the biggest names in poker grab a title. Form that first season in 2002-03, the tour has seen some amazon poker stars rise to the top. Here’s a look at a few of the tour’s biggest names.
Gus Hansen
The first season saw Hansen become one of the major phases of the tour. “The Great Dane” kicked the tour off by winning the Bellagio Five Diamond Poker Classic for $556,460. He followed that up in the same season by winning the L.A. Poker Classic for $507,190.
He grabbed a third win in the Caribbean Poker Adventure in the second season as well for $455,780. Hansen remains a well-regarded pro who regularly mixes it up in high-stakes Vegas cash games. Despite not playing many WPT events since 2008, Hansen remains among the top 15 players on the WPT all-time money list with $4.1 million.
Daniel Negreanu
Now seen as one of the biggest names in poker, Negreanu’s affable personality and table talk also came with some major poker skills.
After already winning three World Series of Poker bracelets in 1998 and 2003, the Toronto native really burst on the WPT scene in 2003 with two wins in Season III after already chalking up a runner-up and third-place finish. The first win came in Borgata Poker Open in September 2004, scoring $1.1 million.
In December of the same year, Negreanu added another title at theFive Diamond World Poker Classic for $1.8 million. The wins helped him secure player of the year honors. Negreanu now also has seven WSOP bracelets and remains a force in the industry.
Carlos Mortensen
This Ecuadorian poker star has scored some massive wins in his WPT career and sits at the top of the tour’s all-time money list with $6.7 million. Mortensen’s first win came in 2001 when he took down the WSOP $10,000 Main Event for $1.5 million.
The WPT also proved to be a great environment for Mortensen as well and he won the North American Poker Championship in 2004 for $1 million. He followed that up in 2007 by taking the title at the WPT World CHampionship for almost a $4 million win.
Another win came in 2010 with Mortensen again victorious at the Hollywood Poker Open for $393,820. He has numerous other big finished on the tour and remains
Michael Mizrachi
“The Grinder” is a two-time WPT champion with $5.2 million in tour winnings. Mizrachi is one of the most respected players in poker and his first WPT win came in 2005, scoring a victory in the L.A. Poker Classic for $1.9 million.
A year later he also won the Borgata Poker Open for $1.2 million. THat came right after a runner-up finish at the World Poker Open for $566,352.
Mizrachi is still very much an active player and also has five WSOP bracelets including winning the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship a record three times (2010, 2012, 2018).
Phil Ivey
As one of the biggest names in poker, Ivey has won on numerous major poker stages including the WPT. After seven final table appearances in the tour’s early days, the New Jersey native finally broke through with a win in 2008 with a win at the L.A. Poker Classic for $1.6 million.
In 2021, Ivey added his second WPT title in a 32-player invitational event, the WPT Heads-up Championship. The event featured a $25,000 buy-in and was played online at Poker King. He took home $400,000 for the title.
Ivey has some huge finishes and was named a WPT ambassador in 2022. Beyond the WPT, Ivey also has 11 WSOP bracelets and remains a major force at the poker table.
Scotty Nguyen
This former dealer originally from Vietnam lived the dream of many poker players when he won the WSOP Main EVent in 1998 for $1 million. Beyond that, he also has four other WSOP bracelets, including winning the $50,000 HORSE World Championship in 2008 for almost $2 million.
On the WPT, Nguyen also has a stellar record and won the $10,200 Aruba Classic in 2006 for $969,421. He has numerous other deep runs on the tour as well including four final table appearances.
Doyle Brunson
The late 10-time WSOP bracelet winner and poker legend still holds the record as the oldest person to ever win a WPT title. In August 2004, the Texan had been on a rough streak and was on the verge of his first losing year after 50 years of playing poker full time.
At age 71, Brunson was concerned that his skills might not be enough anymore. That certainly changed with a win at the L.A. Poker Classic for $1.2 million. He had a total of three final table appearances on the tour and was announced as a WPT ambassador in 2022.
Darren Elias
Phil Hellmuth may have the record for most WSOP bracelets, but it’s this New Jersey-based poker pro who has the record for most WPT titles. That started in 2014 when he won back-to-back titles. The first came in September at the Borgata Poker Open, scoring $843,744.
About a month later, Elias won the WPT Caribbean in Sint Maarten for $127,680. In 2017 he won the Fallsview Poker Classic for $335,436. Elias grabbed the title in the Bobby Baldwin Classic a year later in Las Vegas at the Aria for $387,580.
A force on the tour, Elias now holds the tour record for most final table appearances (13) and most cashes (47), and is also fifth on the all-time WPT money list.
Anthony Zinno
This three-time WPT winner originally from Rhode Island has $3.2 million in tour winnings. His first title came in 2013 at the Borgata Poker Open, winning $825,099. That was followed in 2015 with consecutive wins at the Fallsview Poker Classic for $302,235and L.A. Poker Classic for $1 million. T
That earned Zinno player of the year honors. He also has a total of seven final table appearances and four WSOP bracelets on his poker record.
Biran Altman
After winning the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in 2015 for $723,008, Altman then grabbed two more titles in 2020. That included winning the Lucky Hearts again for $482,636 and then coming out on top at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa for $613,225.
The poker pro originally from Massachusetts also scored two third-place finishes during the drawn-out pandemic season and earned player of the year honors. In total, Altman has eight final table appearances and 34 tour cashes.
Chino Rheem
This player from Los Angeles has quite a poker record. In 2008, Rheem finished seventh place in the WSOP Main Event for $1.8 million. He’s also shined on the WPT and is a member of the three-time winner club. That began in 2008 by winning the Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1.5 million.
He grabbed another seven-figure title in 2013 by winning the WPT World Championship for almost $1.2 million. In 2016, Rheen also won the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale for $705,885. He also has two other final table appearances.
Eri Afriat
This is the final member of the WPT three-time winner club and isn’t a full-time player like the others listed here. The Canadian businessman brings plenty of poker skills, however, and won his first WPT title in 2014 at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $1.1 million.
He struck again at the Borgata Winter Poker Open in 2018 for $651,928. Two years later he won the Fallsview Poker Classic for $394,120. Afriat now has seven final table appearances and 23 final table appearances.