Sizing Up the PokerStars Players Championship, One of the World's Biggest Poker Tournaments
Table Of Contents
With 320 entries into the PokerStars NL Holdem Players Championship courtesy of the PokerStars Platinum promotion, this tournament was always going to be the biggest $25,000 buy-in tournament in the history of the game. Among the 320, of course, were some lesser experienced poker players. That, combined with the facts there's no rake, it's the Bahamas, and there's a guaranteed $1,000,000 added to first, attracted a battalion of other players, 719 to be exact, to get to a total field of 1,039 entries.
For the longest time, the record in terms of entries into a $25,000 buy-in event stood at 639, courtesy of the 2007 WPT Championship event in the Bellagio. That record was crushed, with the PSPC now standing firmly atop the Top 10 biggest $25,000 buy-in events.
The Biggest $25,000 Poker Events in History
| # | Year | Tour | Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | First Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 | PokerStars Live | PSPC | $25,000 | 1,039 | $26,455,500 | $5,100,000 | |
| 2 | 2007 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 639 | $15,495,750 | Carlos Mortensen | $3,970,415 |
| 3 | 2006 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 605 | $14,671,250 | Joe Bartholdi | $3,760,165 |
| 4 | 2008 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 545 | $13,216,250 | David Chiu | $3,389,140 |
| 5 | 2005 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 452 | $10,961,000 | Tuan Le | $2,856,150 |
| 6 | 2018 | partypoker LIVE | MILLIONS World Bahamas | $25,500 | 394 | $10,000,000 | Roger Teska | $2,000,000 |
| 7 | 2004 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 343 | $8,342,000 | Martin de Knijff | $2,728,356 |
| 8 | 2009 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 338 | $8,196,500 | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | $2,149,960 |
| 9 | 2015 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 269 | $6,456,000 | Ilkin Garibli | $1,105,040 |
| 10 | 2016 | PokerStars Live | EPT Monte Carlo | �25,500 | 231 | $6,531,825 | Alexandru Papazian | $1,381,499 |
Since 2010, PokerStars has organized a $25,000 event every year at the PCA. Here are the numbers for the main $25,000 event at the PCA since its inception:
| # | Year | Tour | Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | First Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 | PokerStars Live | PSPC | $25,000 | 1,039 | $26,455,500 | $5,100,000 | |
| 2 | 2015 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 269 | $6,456,000 | Ilkin Garibli | $1,105,040 |
| 3 | 2014 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 247 | $6,051,500 | Jake Schindler | $1,192,624 |
| 4 | 2016 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 225 | $5,400,000 | Nick Maimone | $996,480 |
| 5 | 2013 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 204 | $4,998,000 | Vanessa Selbst | $1,424,420 |
| 6 | 2011 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 151 | $3,775,500 | Will Molson | $1,072,850 |
| 7 | 2012 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 148 | $3,626,000 | Leonid Bilokur | $1,134,930 |
| 8 | 2018 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 144 | $3,484,800 | Christopher Kruk | $836,350 |
| 9 | 2010 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 84 | $2,057,998 | William Reynolds | $576,240 |
| 10 | 2009 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 48 | $1,200,000 | Bertrand Grospellier | $433,500 |
One of the Biggest Prize Pools Outside of the WSOP
The list with the biggest events in the world, looking at the total prize pool, is dominated by the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. 2006's Main Event, won by Jamie Gold for $12,000,000, stands out as the biggest of them all with a total prize pool of $82,512,162 resulting from a field of 8,773 players.
After a long list of WSOP events, the �1,000,000 buy-in The Big One for One Drop in 2016 comes next in terms of prize pool. Next up comes the PSPC. Here's a look at the Top 25:
The Biggest Events in the History of the Game Looking at the Total Prize Pool
| # | Year | Buy-in | Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | 1st |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006 | $10,000 | 2006 WSOP Main Event | 8,773 | $82,512,162 | Jamie Gold | $12,000,000 |
| 2 | 2018 | $10,000 | 2018 WSOP Main Event | 7,874 | $74,015,600 | John Cynn | $8,800,000 |
| 3 | 2010 | $10,000 | 2010 WSOP Main Event | 7,319 | $68,798,600 | Jonathan Duhamel | $8,944,138 |
| 4 | 2017 | $10,000 | 2017 WSOP Main Event | 7,221 | $67,877,400 | Scott Blumstein | $8,150,000 |
| 5 | 2011 | $10,000 | 2011 WSOP Main Event | 6,865 | $64,531,000 | Pius Heinz | $8,715,638 |
| 6 | 2008 | $10,000 | 2008 WSOP Main Event | 6,844 | $64,333,600 | Peter Eastgate | $9,152,416 |
| 7 | 2016 | $10,000 | 2016 WSOP Main Event | 6,737 | $63,327,800 | Qui Nguyen | $8,005,310 |
| 8 | 2014 | $10,000 | 2014 WSOP Main Event | 6,683 | $62,820,200 | Martin Jacobson | $10,000,000 |
| 9 | 2012 | $10,000 | 2012 WSOP Main Event | 6,598 | $62,021,200 | Greg Merson | $8,531m853 |
| 10 | 2009 | $10,000 | 2009 WSOP Main Event | 6,494 | $61,043,600 | Joe Cada | $8,574,649 |
| 11 | 2015 | $10,000 | 2015 WSOP Main Event | 6,420 | $60,348,000 | Joe McKeehen | $7,683,346 |
| 12 | 2007 | $10,000 | 2007 WSOP Main Event | 6,358 | $59,784,954 | Jerry Yang | $8,250,000 |
| 13 | 2013 | $10,000 | 2013 WSOP Main Event | 6,352 | $59,708,800 | Ryan Riess | $8,359,531 |
| 14 | 2005 | $10,000 | 2005 WSOP Main Event | 5,619 | $52,818,610 | Joe Hachem | $7,500,000 |
| 15 | 2012 | $1,000,000 | 2012 WSOP The Big One for One Drop | 48 | $42,666,672 | Antonio Esfandiari | $18,346,673 |
| 16 | 2014 | $1,000,000 | 2014 WSOP The Big One for One Drop | 42 | $37,333,338 | Dan Colman | $15,306,668 |
| 17 | 2016 | �1,000,000 | The Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza | 26 | $27,437,564 | Elton Tsang | $12,248,912 |
| 18 | 2019 | $25,000 | PokerStars NL Hold'em Players Championship | 1,039 | $26,455,500 | $5,100,000 | |
| 19 | 2018 | $1,000,000 | 2018 WSOP The Big One for One Drop | 27 | $24,840,000 | Justin Bonomo | $10,000,000 |
| 20 | 2004 | $10,000 | 2004 WSOP Main Event | 2,576 | $24,224,400 | Greg Raymer | $5,000,000 |
| 21 | 2012 | HK$2,000,000 | Macau High Stakes Challenge Super High Roller | 73 | $23,511,077 | Stanley Choi | $6,465,574 |
| 22 | 2015 | $500,000 | Super High Roller Bowl | 43 | $21,500,000 | Bryan Rast | $7,525,000 |
| 23 | 2016 | $111,111 | 2016 WSOP One Drop High Roller | 183 | $19,316,565 | Fedor Holz | $4,981,775 |
| 24 | 2018 | HK$2000,000 | Super High Roller Bowl China | 75 | $18,550,297 | Justin Bonomo | $4,823,077 |
| 25 | 2013 | $111,111 | 2013 WSOP One Drop High Roller | 166 | $17,891,148 | Tony Gregg | $4830,619 |
Data courtesy of TheHendonmob.com
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