WSOP Crowns A Champ: Texan Wins WSOP Main Event Title
A new champion winner emerged in July in the record-setting $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. After 10 days of action, Jonathan Tamayo, of Humble, Texas, came out on top – besting a field of 10,112 players to score the $10 million first-place prize and gold bracelet.
That field topped last year’s record of 10,043 participants and may be an indicator of the boom that the game is currently experiencing. The event saw the largest live poker tournament prize pool in history at $94 million. Tamayo came into the final table seventh in chips, but worked his way back into contention before ultimately taking the title.
“We always take our shot here, but it’s just a numbers game,” he told PokerGO after the win. “We never, ever, ever think this is reality and I’m just soaking it in right now. This perspective is kind of nice actually. Everybody plays this tournament. Everybody who’s great at poker plays this tournament, and I somehow won it and I still can’t believe it.”
This marked the second year in a row an American grabbed the title after Daniel Weinman won in 2023. Texans have a particularly deep history in the Main Event, with legendary players like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, and Amarillo Slim Preston. Tamayo, a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in hotel management, now has career tournament winnings of more than $12.3 million as well as his first WSOP bracelet.
In 2009, he also finished 21st in the Main Event for $352,000. Fellow American Jordan Griff finished runner-up and won $6 million with Swedish online poker pro Niklas Astedt taking third for $4 million. Here’s a look at the final table payouts.
- Jonathan Tamayo (Texas) – $10,000,000
- Jordan Griff (Illinois) – $6,000,000
- Niklas Astedt (Sweden) – $4,000,000
- Jason Sagle (Canada) – $3,000,000
- Boris Angelov (Bulgaria) – $2,500,000
- Andres Gonzalez (Spain) – $2,000,000
- Brian Kim (California) – $1,500,000
- Joe Serock (Nevada) – $1,250,000
- Malo Latinois (France) – $1,000,000
Sevier Completes Trifecta on Way to Player of the Year
Grabbing one WSOP bracelet is no easy feat, but winning three is quite an accomplishment. Scott Seiver did just that in winning this year’s WSOP player of the year title, which has also been won in the past by poker luminaries such as Daniela Negreanu, Allen Cunningham, Jason Mercier, and Shaun Deeb.
Fitting for a poker player, the high-stakes poker pro originally from New York also bet on himself, making several large bets on his own performance throughout the series. That certainly proved to be a good idea.
“I wanted to win bracelets and then as a way to keep myself motivated, I thought trying to bet on it would help in a way and why I wanted to get drafted in a $25K Fantasy team,” he told PokerGO, referring to a regular $2,500 fantasy draft held each year before the series.
Seiver’s first win came in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship for $426,744. He followed that up by winning a $1,500 Razz event for $141,374 and then grabbed the title in the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for another $411,041. He also found third- and sixth-place finishes to wrap up the series.
As the player of the year winner, Seiver won a Main Event seat at next year’s series,a trophy, and his banner displayed each year during the WSOP in the Horseshoe. He now has almost $29 million in lifetime poker winnings and seven WSOP bracelets, tied with Negreanu (more on him below), John Hennigan, Men Nguyen, and Billy Baxter.
Daniel NegreanuFinds Winner’s Circle
NOt many players are as passionate about poker as Daniel Negreanu. His popular WSOP vlog draws millions of viewers each summer and he seems to live for the annual poker spectacle. And while he’s had some huge runs over the last few years, he’s just come up short of being the last player standing.
That changed this year in one of the series most important events. The 49-year-old struck gold in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, a highly-sought-after title among pros that features several poker variants. He cashed in for $1.2 million, delivering Negreanu his seventh bracelet and first since 2013. He felt a sense of relief in capturing the win.
“It’s been so long,” he said afterward. “When you start to see everybody else winning five, winning six, and you’ve become a has-been in the conversation. Where it’s like everyone has six now. So to have seven, that puts you in a new tier, with John Hennigan, and on my way back to where I feel like I’m supposed to be in the 10-11 range.
“Obviously this one is special, but I wouldn’t want to relive all the second-place finishes that I had. It felt like it was like 10 in a row. And the anxiety and stress, just to be over it – and to get all the chips in the end, win the all-ins, it’s just a massive relief.”
A Look at Some Other Winners
Several other notable names also recorded some wins in this year’s WSOP. Like Negreanu, John Hennigan secured his seventh bracelet by winning the $1,500 Dealers Choice event for $138,296. Hennigan is one of the toughest players in the game and his decorated record includes two wins in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Popular poker coach Chance Kornuth showed why he is a good guy to take lessons from after winning his fourth bracelet in the $1,000 Flip & Go for $155,446. World Poker Tour commentator Tony Dunst also won his third bracelet after taking down a $500 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack for $134,888. He also made a deep run in the Main Event as well, finishing 144th for $70,000.
In the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, 2010 Main Event runner-up John Racener showed some staying power by taking the title for $308,930.
High-Stakes Legend Added to Hall of Fame
Along with a summer of card playing, the WSOP also announces the newest member of the Poker Hall of Fame each summer. That honor this year went to poker pro Patrik Antonius. The longtime poker pro has $23 million in live tournament winnings and considerable online poker earnings as well.
Antonius has been a regular on popular televised cash games, such as High Stakes Poker. He was honored during a ceremony surrounded by friends, family, and fans during the series.
“Obviously it’s a very big honor to become a new Hall of Famer,” he said. “It was a little bit unexpected for me at this young age. Obviously, a big thanks to family and all my closest friends, also a very big thanks to all the poker fans, all the colleagues, all the players. Everywhere I’ve played around the world, I’ve been getting really nice support. This has been one of the nicest things.
“I’ve always been a big fan of the game. I’ve been a student of the game. I think I’m going to stick around for a long time. That’s my plan, to keep playing the highest tournaments and cash games. I really think that’s the key to my results … that I’ve always had so much passion and love for the game.”
Originally from Helsinki, Finland, Antonius is one of poker’s most successful European players. In 2023, he made history by winning a $2 million cash game pot, the largest ever on a U.S. livestream broadcast. His photo will be displayed at the Hall of Fame Poker Room inside the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. The room opened in July 2023 and features an exhibit acknowledging poker’s most legendary players with a gallery of champions and WSOP bracelets and championship rings.
