Updated on 22 Feb 26 by
Barry carter
Poker Expert

WSOP to honour the 50 Greatest Poker Players

Because poker awards are never controversial, this year's WSOP will name the greatest players, hands, moments and even bad boys of poker.





moneymaker ivey

Next week is the start of the 50th Anniversary World Series of Poker and to celebrate there will be a special evening devoted to the 50 Greatest Players in WSOP history, as well as seven categories to be voted on by poker fans. 

On Saturday June 29 the top 50 players from the last 50 years will be announced by a special panel. They can be cash game players, online players, mixed games or MTT specialists, so being specifically associated with the WSOP is not a prerequisite (other than they have had to have played at least one WSOP). 

In addition poker fans can now vote on the following seven categories (and potentially win a Mini Main Event package and an invite to the event): 

  • Most Memorable WSOP TV Hand
  • Best Overall WSOP Performance (Single Year)
  • Most Likely to Succeed (Player currently 35 or Under to Win the Most Gold Bracelets between 2020-2070)
  • Fan Favourite Player
  • WSOP’s Favourite Bad Boy
  • Most Impressive Main Event Win
  • Four Most Important Players in WSOP History

In all of the above categories you can nominate any players or moments you want, but some of the more well known examples are already there, like Chris Moneymaker's bluff against Sam Farha for the TV Hand award and George Danzer's three bracelets in one series for the performance award, 

Who would you like to see win these awards? Let us know in the comments:


Poker Expert

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2, Poker Satellite Strategy, PKO Poker Strategy, Endgame Poker Strategy, GTO Poker Simplified, Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy and Beyond GTO. In 2025, he won the Global Poker Awards for Best Book and Twitter Personality of the Year.