As another year ends, poker fans can take a look back at all the unforgettable moments that made the game so exciting. 2025 had multi-million-dollar prize pools, veterans chasing legacy-defining wins, and rising stars elbowing their way into the spotlight. Live tables around the world and online tables across the Web were action-packed all year long.
Big Tournament Wins
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is still the premier tournament of the year, where elite competitors battle it out in a Main Event that captures the attention of the entire poker world. The overall winner is generally thought of as that year’s champion poker player (although an argument can definitely be made for whoever made the most in profits).
The 2025 WSOP Main Event winner was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. He’s been to 20 WSOP final tables, and he finally crossed the finish line in 2025 to win the biggest game there is. There were 9,375 competitors in the field, and Mizrachi took down $10 million for his legendary victory. He now has eight WSOP bracelets to display in his jewelry case.
The 2025 WSOP offered a number of other special events, like the heads-up championship, dealers choice event, and the $25,000 High Roller PLO event. Dennis Weiss of Germany won it for the biggest public score of his poker tournament life, cashing in for over $2.3 million. Longtime grinder Scott Bohlman also nabbed his first bracelet with a well-earned 1st place finish in the $2,000 NLHE event.
Leo Margets became the second woman to reach the Main Event final table ever, winning $1.5 million for her impressive deep run.
WSOP Player of the Year
2025’s WSOP Player of the Year was Shaun Deeb, the second player in history to win the award twice (the other is Daniel Negreanu). Deeb had an amazing year, with 18 live cashes. His big score was winning the $100,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller event at the WSOP for $3 million.
Wins from Around the World
In Spain, Thomas Eychenne beat 2,045 players and won the EPT Barcelona Main Event for €1.2 million.
In Malta, Tomasz Brzezinski won the EPT Malta Main, beating over 900 other players and surviving a rollercoaster heads-up final.
In Brazil, backgammon player Zdenek Zizka earned the BSOP Super High Roller crown and scooped $1.2M in winnings.
In Taiwan, the massive APT Championship event saw 28,000 entrants across 20 events. Players took home over $34 million in prize money. It was one of the largest poker “festivals” ever held in the region.
New Players on the Rise
- The 2025 poker scene will have to make room for Harvey Castro, age 23, who won his first WPT title at the Prime Lodge Championship in Austin against over a thousand opponents.
- Martins Adeniya won a major open event – the Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship in Hollywood, Florida. He beat a field of 1,162 competitors and scored a $512,600 payday.
- Breakout newcomers Samuel Rosborough (winner of the $1,500 freezeout event) and Ian O’Hara (who took first in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes game) won their first WSOP golds as well.
Top Winners
Kayhan Mokri Roshanfekr of Norway has the honor of leading the top 2025 Money List according to Hendon Mob. He had more than $13 million in public winnings in 2025.
- Seth Davies won over $12 million playing super high rollers and running deep in tournies.
- Michael Mizrachi leapt up the top winners list with his WSOP Main Event win.
- Alex Foxen recorded over $11M in annual winnings.
- João Vieira had more than $9M in public winnings, including a big win in the $100,000 buy-in NLHE High Roller event at the WSOP.
Evolution of Analysis
Even though Hold’em stays the same year to year, the way players approach the game always changes at least a little bit. Players always angle for an edge, and that requires evolution. This means that, while the solvers are still in use, competitors are exploring new concepts. These include deeper range construction, exploitative adjustments, and situational river play.
Of course, it’s not all about NLHE. The World Championship of Online Poker offers big mixed game and 7-card variants that are popular with players. Omaha high-stakes action continues to draw some of the biggest names. HORSE and 8-Game also have loyal followings for players who want to shake things up and move away from the monotony of playing the same type of poker game too much.
Other Events
The 2025 National Heads‑Up Poker Championship represents the return of a very interesting poker event. It’s a single elimination format where 64 players are pitted head-to-head and battle until there’s only one player left. The $25,000 buy‑in game has attracted famous poker players like Michael Mizrachi, Shaun Deeb, Doug Polk, and Sam Soverel.
The Triton ONE Festival in Jeju, South Korea, brought in 3,541 entries and paid out nearly $20 million in total prize money. The variety of games gave mid-stakes competitors a chance to mix it up with high-rollers and chase huge paydays.
What’s in store for 2026?
WSOP Europe will be in Prague this spring with 15 gold bracelet events, while the WSOP Circuit
Will offer a calendar‑year schedule and make stops around the world all the way from January through December. The WSOP Circuit international will include stops in places like Calgary, Montreal, Marrakesh, Liechtenstein, Quebec, and Aix‑en‑Provence. The WSOP Main Event is still planned for summer in Vegas, as always.
2026 will keep the chips flying for one of the most thrilling casino games on earth.
And of course, Ignition offers every type of poker imaginable, from the comfort of your device. Head on over to play today.
