Every year, a handful of live poker tournaments produce a win big enough to make headlines outside the poker world entirely. Some are famous for the size of the prize, others for the story behind the winner or the quality of the players they had to beat to get there. Here’s a look at some of the wins that stand out, starting with one closer to home.
Matthew Salsberg’s WPT Grand Prix de Paris win
Matthew Salsberg, better known outside poker as the Executive Producer of the hit TV show Weeds, took down the World Poker Tour (WPT) Grand Prix de Paris at the Aviation Club de France (ACF). Bruno Fitoussi’s ACF sits on the Champs Elysee, within walking distance of the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre, and it’s one of the more distinctive settings on the live tournament circuit.
The field was a compact 228 players, small by the standards of the biggest tournaments, but stacked with quality. According to the Global Poker Index, six of the best players in the world were in the field alongside a strong supporting cast. The final table of six was genuinely stacked with talent: European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final champion Mohsin Charania, WPT Champions Club member Theo Jorgensen, Big One for One Drop participant Philipp Gruissem, World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder Timothy Adams, former European Poker Open (EPO) champion Fabian Quoss, and Salsberg himself.
The heads-up battle came down to Jorgensen and Salsberg, and it lasted over 200 hands before Salsberg came out on top. Jorgensen, who was in line to become the first player to win two WPT events at the same venue, had Salsberg all-in and dominated on two separate occasions, only for Salsberg to come back from behind both times and eventually close it out.
The biggest live tournament wins in poker history
Salsberg’s win is a great story, but it’s a small one next to the largest payouts the game has ever produced. These are the biggest single prizes ever won at a live poker tournament:
| Player | Tournament | Year | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Esfandiari | WSOP Big One for One Drop | 2012 | $18,346,673 |
| Daniel Colman | WSOP Big One for One Drop | 2014 | $15,306,668 |
| Daniel Weinman | WSOP Main Event | 2023 | $12,100,000 |
| Alejandro Lococo | WSOP Paradise, Triton Million | 2024 | $12,070,000 |
| Jamie Gold | WSOP Main Event | 2006 | $12,000,000 |
Source: PokerNews, biggest wins in WSOP history.
Why the Big One for One Drop keeps setting records
Three of the biggest payouts in poker history have come from the same event. Namely the WSOP’s Big One for One Drop. It’s a $1 million buy-in tournament, which alone explains part of why the prizes are so large. But the concept behind it is what makes it stand out. A portion of every buy-in goes to the One Drop Foundation, which funds clean water access in communities that need it, so every record-setting win at that table has also meant a substantial charitable contribution. That combination of a huge buy-in, a small stacked field, and a genuine cause behind it is part of why it keeps producing headline-grabbing results.
What these wins have in common
Beyond the size of the prize, most of the biggest live tournament wins share a few things. A strong final table of genuinely elite players, a heads-up battle that swings back and forth rather than being a formality, and a field where the buy-in and structure attracted serious talent rather than just a large number of casual entrants. Salsberg’s win at the ACF fits that pattern on a smaller scale. A compact but genuinely stacked field, a back-and-forth heads-up battle, and a result that could easily have gone the other way.
A couple of poker facts worth knowing
- In San Francisco, it’s illegal to play poker in public or to gamble in a barricaded room.
- In a standard deck of cards, the King of Hearts is the only king without a moustache.
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