The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world, and one that’s created more poker history than any other.
Some of the most famous poker players in the world made their name in the Main Event, and Chris Moneymaker’s win in 2003 victory in the tournament sparked the biggest expansion of the game ever, known as “The Poker Boom.”
With the 2025 Main Event in full swing, we take a look into the past to find the names of the players who belong on the WSOP Main Event Mount Rushmore, for their record performances over the year.
Most Main Event Wins – Johnny Moss and Stu Ungar
Only two players in the history of poker have won the WSOP Main Event three times, the legendary Johnny Moss and the prolific Stu Ungar.
Johnny Moss, also known as “The Grand Old Man of Poker” won the event in 1970, 1971, and 1974, cementing his place in the poker history books early on.
Granted, Moss’ victories came against a field of 6, 6, and 16 players respectively, but they came at a time when the poker community was much smaller.
Johnny defeated the best players in the world repeatedly and pioneered events that would become global phenomena in the future.
Ten years after Moss won it all, the new kid on the block, Stu Ungar, was about to show a new poker style to the world. He won the 1980 and 1981 Main Events back-to-back, and demonstrated unprecedented skills at the time.
While Moss won his Main Events against very small fields, the Main Event had expanded significantly by the time Ungar won his bracelets, as he played against fields of 73 and 75 for his first two victories.
Ungar played on and off in the years to follow and experienced notable problems with drug addiction and other personal struggles.
In 1997, he came back to the big stage and won the Main Event for the third time, this time taking home a cool $1,000,000 after beating a respectable field of 312 players.
Moss and Ungar were both admitted into the Poker Hall of Fame, and are considered as some of the most influential players in the history of the game.
Most Main Event Cashes – Johnny Chan and Allen Cunningham
For most poker players, playing in the WSOP Main Event is a feat in itself, and making the money is a dream come true.
For the elite players, however, making the money in the Main Event is the norm, and two players have managed to do it 11 times over the years.
The legendary Johnny Chan, whose first two Main Event cashes were victories in 1987 and 88, followed by a runner-up finish in 1989, is one of the two players who have cashed the Main Event 11 times.
Chan has had one of the most impressive careers in poker history, and was able to make the money in the Main Event as recently as 2023, demonstrating his incredible longevity in poker.
The other name to make this elite club is Allen Cunningham, quite a legend of poker in his own right. A dominant presence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Cunningham was a big name in the Poker Boom years.
His most recent Main Event cash came just last year, allowing him to catch up with Chan, and giving him a chance to extend his record and overtake Johnny in the future.
The likes of Phil Hellmuth (8), Phil Ivey (7), and Daniel Negreanu (6), will all likely be in contention for this title before their careers are over, but they still have a long way to go to climb the Main Event Mount Rushmore in this category.
Most Money Won in a WSOP Main Event – Daniel Weinman
While the likes of Chan, Cunningham, Hellmuth, or Ivey may have cashed the Main Event many times, they are nowhere near the biggest winners in this particular tournament.
The 2023 Main Event champion Daniel Weinman hold that title, after winning the second biggest-ever Main Event for $12.1 million, one of the biggest prizes in tournament poker history.
The prize pool in 2023 was skewed to ensure the champion would overtake Jamie Gold, who won $12 million in a very top-heavy structure used in the 2006 Main Event. The very next year, Jonathan Tamayo won an even bigger Main Event, but took home only $10 million for his effort.
Considering the adjustments made to tournament prize pools at the WSOP in recent years, it may be some years before another player overtakes Daniel Weinman as the player with the biggest win in the Main Event.
Youngest Main Event Champions – Joe Cada and Anette Oberstad
Ever since the Poker Boom, we have seen younger and younger generations of poker players flock to the game and capture major titles, including that of the Main Event champion.
In 2007, a young lady from Norway took the poker world by storm, as she conquered the WSOP Europe Main Event at just 18 years old. It would take Anette more than two full years before she could even compete on US soil, and she was already a Main Event champion.
When it comes to the actual WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, the title of the youngest winner goes to Joe Cada, who won the Main Event in 2009 while still 21 years old.
Young Cada won a life-changing $8.5 million first-place prize, but unlike Oberstad, he stayed in the game and created a prolific career for himself.
The Biggest Main Event Presence – Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth burst onto the poker scene in 1989 when he defeated Johnny Chan in a heads up match to capture his first WSOP bracelet. Of all the WSOP events, that bracelet came in the Main Event, which made it even sweeter.
Phil would later go on to win the Main Event in Europe in 2012, while adding another 16 bracelets to his impressive resume over the years.
While Phil may not be the player with the most Main Event wins, or the one with the biggest score in the tournament, his brand has become so closely tied with the WSOP, that he is easily the most recognizable player in the Main Event.
For years now, Hellmuth has been making grand entrances into the Main Event, with the entire field going on a short break to witness the self-proclaimed poker GOAT make his appearance.
Unlike some of the other players on this list, Hellmuth still has plenty of Main Events ahead of him, and each one will give him a new opportunity to make further impact on his favorite poker tournament.
