The debate about what makes a poker player great has been going on for a long time. Most industry experts have different views on who they consider the top poker player to be. Is it based on talent, luck, strategy, or all or none of the above? We've therefore put together a list of top poker players of 2016 based on earnings at the poker table. These individuals are not necessarily the best in the world, but surely the best of 2016 in terms of wins.
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1. Daniel Negreanu - $30 469 551
Negreanu has already been named Global Poker Index Player of the Decade, so we think he is a perfectly good fit for our number one spot. He has won six separate prizes of $1 million, and took home $8.28 million for winning the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop at the WSOP. He is also the only player ever to win the WSOP bracelets in Las Vegas, Australia, and Europe.
2. Antonio Esfandiari - $26 206 704
Antonio is a popular poker player, especially at live tournaments, where he has been a household name for more than ten years. The poker star has earned six-figure wins every year since 2004, as well as two World Poker Tour titles and three WSOP bracelets. But his biggest achievement remains the Big One for One Drop in 2012, where he beat some of the best in the industry and walked away with $18.3 million.
3. Erik Seidel - $25 391 761
Seidel first made a name for himself at a poker star way back in 1988 at the WSOP Main Event, where his knockout hand was even featured in the movie 'Rounders'. His career really took off in 2011 when he won million dollar prizes, taking home a massive $6.5 million in one year.
4. Phil Ivey - $22 809 848
Ever since Phil was a young boy, he was interested in poker. He even played under the alias 'Jerome' while he was underage, but has since become one of the most prominent names in poker and is often considered one of the most talented poker players today. Known as the Tiger Woods of Poker, he won his first WSOP bracelet in 2000 and had since won a whopping eight more. In 2012, Ivey won first place in the Aussie Millions $250 000 Challenge, where he left with $2 million in wins. He won this challenge once again in 2016, walking away with $3.5 million and becoming the only player to win this title twice.
5. Sam Trickett - $20 533 080
Trickett is the only European poker player to make it in the Top 10 for the years biggest earners. More than half of his earnings has come from his second-place win in the Big One for One Drop, where he left with $10.1 million.
6. Phil Hellmuth Jr. - $18 803 620
While being one of the most controversial figures in professional poker, Hellmuth is also one of the most successful. He is the highest place WSOP Main Event winner on the lost with a record 13 bracelets. In fact, Hellmuth has won more WSOP Chases than any other poker player in history. His biggest single win? $2.65 million for a fourth-place win in The Big One for One Drop.
7. Jonathan Duhamel - $16 755 475
Reigning from Canada, Johnathan Duhamel is the third WSOP Main Event winner featured on this list with a career-high win of $8.9 million in 2010. This is incredibly impressive since his highest win before that was $54 904. Since then, Duhamel has gained a reputation in the industry, with a highlight being the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where you walked away with $1.2 million.
8. John Juanda - $15 567 974
John Juanda is an Indonesian player who has earned a spectacular $100 000 or more at 35 cashes over the last 20 years. His highest ever cash was in Macau in 2012 where he bagged $1.6 million.
9. Jason Mercier - $15 062 017
Mercier burst onto the scene in 2008 when he landed the top spot in the European Poker Tour Sanremo Main Event, earning a massive $1.4 million. At the tender age of just 28-year-old, Mercier has gained a reputation in the industry that rivals opponents twice his age. He has won multiple World Championship of Online Poker titles and ranks well on the Global Poker Index. He won his most recent WSOP bracelet in 2015, where he took home a cool $633 357.
10. Michael Mizrachi - $14 432 072
At just 33 years old, Mizrachi is one of Florida's most successful poker players. Nicknamed 'The Grinder,' he boasts six-figure scores on three continents and has won four tournaments with prizes over $1 million each. His highest ever win remains his incredible $2.3 million payout for taking fifth place at the 2010 WSOP Main Event.
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