The best professional poker players are known worldwide as celebrities and by competing in some of the largest tournaments they can take home prizes worth millions. Poker events are hosted at some of the world’s most glamorous and exotic casino venues and are often streamed on sports channels for the world to see.
Online poker tournaments have grown in popularity, with players having access to a wide range of top casinos as seen on casinos.com, all who offer a range of poker games and tournaments. For those who are more experienced at poker tournaments, you may be interested in taking part in a land-based poker tournament event. Below are some of the biggest events across the world in the poker calendar reserved for only the most experienced pros:
1. The World Series of Poker
The WSOP is perhaps one of the longest running poker events, having originated during the 1970s. Since 2004 WSOP has been sponsored by Caesars Entertainment and this summer will be hosted in Las Vegas at Horseshoe Las Vegas and the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
In 2022, more than 197,000 entries were made from 100 different countries. The winners shared in a massive $347.9 million total prize pool. The Main Event in July will be the $10,000 No-Limit Hold ‘em World Championship.
One of the biggest winners of WSOP is Phil Hellmuth, who has collected 16 bracelets in total. In 1989, Hellmuth became the youngest champion at 24 years old after defeating poker legend Johnny Chan.
2. The PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC)
PokerStars host numerous high-profile poker events around the world, the biggest of which is the Caribbean Adventure in Nassau, the Bahamas. Over 400 Platinum Pass winners compete in the PSPC at a buy-in of $25,000.
In 2023, the champion was Aliaksandr Shylko from Belarus with a total prize of $3,121,838. Other noteworthy winners included Max Menzel from Germany with a prize of $2,859,990 and Philipe Pizzari from Brazil in third place with $2,524,871.
3. European Poker Tour (EPT)
Another large PokerStars event is the European Poker Tour, which began in 2004 and stops off at a number of European cities such as Barcelona, London, Dublin, Paris, Monte Carlo and Prague. Steve O’Dwyer from Ireland is one of the top earners EPT competitors with a grand prize total of $14,117,421, followed by Ole Schemion from Germany with $8,316,754.
4. World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship
World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship is an internationally televised event founded in 2002 and in 2022 took place at Wynn Las Vegas with almost 3,000 entrants. The prize pool last year totalled more than $29 million.
The winner was poker pro Eliot Hudon from Canada with a prize of $4.1 million dollars.
5. Super High Roller Bowl
The Super High Roller Bowl takes place in casino venues across the globe. It was first held in 2015 at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
2018 was when the first international tournament took place in host country China at the Babylon Casino, Macau. The winner at the October 2022 Super High Roller Bowl, with 24 entrants, was Canadian player Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu’s prize was a healthy $3,312,000 dollars.
6. GuangDong Asia Millions
The GuangDong Asia Millions was a collaboration between US brand PokerStars and Asian poker brands. Held in Macau in 2013, the event had a $16 million dollar prize pool.
The main event cost HK$1 million to play and attracted 71 entrants. In first place was German Nicholas Heinecker with a prize equivalent to $4,456,885 US dollars.
7. Macau High Stakes Challenge
Another well-known tournament in Macau is the Macau High Stakes Challenge. This was a legendary one day event that took place in 2012. Despite its short run, the prize pot totalled $23.5 million US dollars.
73 players entered and of those 21 progressed to re-buy. Poker pro Stanley Choi was the winner of the event and took home $6,465,746 million – not bad for one day’s work!
8. Heartland Poker Tour
Heartland isn’t one of the biggest or most glamorous of poker tours, but it is relatable for the poker fans that watch it broadcast on television. Kevin Garosshen was the most recent champion from Las Vegas in 2020, his prize was $131,184.
9. Triton Super High Roller
Triton Super High Roller is a collection of poker events that take place across the year. The tournaments take place at some of the world’s most exotic casinos in locations such as Montenegro and the Czech Republic and prizes often exceed one million dollars.
10. The Big One for One Drop
Also worth mentioning is The Big One for One Drop that takes place every couple of years. Buy ins can cost entrants one million dollars, meaning it is reserved for only the biggest high rollers on the pro poker circuit.