The Most Influential Players in Poker: The FunFarm Edition

In poker, as in any other field, the debate about its all-time greats is eternal. We decided to assemble our own top five most influential poker players ever, with the help of FunFarm founder Fedor Truntsev. We chose not to rank them, as everyone has their own opinion, and each of these legends has left an indelible mark on the game.

Doyle Brunson

With all the achievements and accomplishments of other players, we are simply duty-bound to start this list with Doyle Brunson, the man widely known as "The Godfather of Poker," who helped transform this game into a massive global industry. Brunson started playing back in the 1950s, cutting his teeth in illegal underground games across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

In 1970, Doyle Brunson participated in the inaugural World Series of Poker, and went on to win the Main Event in 1976 and 1977. Both victories went down in history, as the "Godfather of Poker" secured them with a ten-two holding, which would later be named after him. Over his illustrious career, Brunson captured ten WSOP bracelets and became the first player to cross the $1 million mark in live tournament earnings.

But Brunson is famous for more than just landmark victories. In 1978, he self-published "Super/System," which blew the lid off the industry by revealing the secrets of top pros across various poker disciplines. It popularised the game and remains a seminal text to this day. Brunson continued to compete at the tables until the final years of his life, passing away in May 2023 at the age of 89.

Stu Ungar

Stuart Ungar entered poker history more as a tragic figure than an epic legend like Brunson. He burst onto the elite scene, winning the WSOP Main Event on his very first attempt in 1980. To make the feat even sweeter, Stu did it by defeating Brunson himself heads-up. While a strong friendship developed between them, Brunson frequently admitted he often wanted to deck Ungar at the table due to his arrogant and abrasive behaviour.

In 1981, Stu Ungar successfully defended his WSOP Main Event title and swiped two more bracelets in side-events. However, a dark period followed: a crippling sports betting addiction, drug abuse, divorce from his wife, and the suicide of his adopted son. In 1990, he nearly died of a drug overdose during the WSOP Main Event while holding a massive chip lead. The champion was fortunately found unconscious in his hotel room in time and saved.

Source: Hendon Mob

And yet, Ungar found the strength for a triumphant, albeit short-lived, comeback. In 1997, Stu's entry into the WSOP Main Event was backed by his friend Billy Baxter, who staked the $10,000 buy-in. Ungar defeated John Strzemp heads-up to claim a $1 million cash.

However, just a year later, the consequences of severe addiction caught up with the three-time champion. Ungar was found dead in a room at an unassuming Las Vegas motel. Traces of drugs were found in the 45-year-old's system, but the official cause of death was heart failure brought on by years of abuse. By that point, he was practically broke, despite making millions over the course of his career. In 2001, Stu Ungar was posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Phil Ivey

At the turn of the century, a new star emerged in the poker sky: Phil Ivey. As a teenager, he would sneak into Atlantic City casinos, playing late into the night under a fake ID with the name Jerome Graham. When the young grinder missed the last bus home, he would sleep on the streets, earning him the nickname No-Home Jerome. No one could have predicted then that in the early 2000s, Ivey would be dubbed the "Tiger Woods of Poker" for his ruthless dominance and ice-cold composure under pressure.

In 2000, Phil Ivey made his first appearance at the World Series of Poker and immediately snagged a bracelet in a PLO event. That marked the beginning of an era of absolute dominance. Ivey racked up ten WSOP titles in just 14 years, a blistering record pace. However, his 11th bracelet would elude him until 2024, following a quiet period of several years.

Photo: Julio Rodriguez

During the boom-era of the 2000s, Ivey did not limit himself to crushing live tournaments, putting on masterclasses in high-stakes cash games both live and online. In 2006, he stepped up for "The Corporation"—a syndicate of elite poker pros—to take on billionaire Andy Beal. The businessman had initially taken his opponents for over $13 million, but in a three-day heads-up marathon against Ivey, Beal dropped $16.6 million and abruptly walked away from high-stakes poker. By 2010, Phil Ivey became the first player to surpass $20 million in online cash game profits and was named Player of the Decade by Bluff Magazine, cementing his status alongside Doyle Brunson (1970s), Johnny Chan (1980s), and Phil Hellmuth (1990s).

In 2017, Ivey was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. However, by that time, the champion had stepped back from the limelight following heavy legal battles with Crockfords and Borgata casinos, who accused him of edge-sorting to win millions at baccarat.

In the 2020s, Ivey returned to the elite circle. The 11-time WSOP champion actively competes in Triton and PokerGO high roller events, maintaining his status as one of the most feared cash game players in the world, with his overall career tournament earnings approaching $54.5 million.

Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth began his journey to absolute greatness during his university years, where he first discovered the game.

Hellmuth made his World Series debut in 1988, immediately reaching the Seven Card Stud final table and finishing fifth. The very next year, the 24-year-old pulled off a stunning upset by winning the WSOP Main Event, defeating two-time defending champion Johnny Chan heads-up. Hellmuth became the youngest Main Event winner in history, a record that stood until 2008 when it was broken by 22-year-old Peter Eastgate. But for Hellmuth, this was only the beginning. In the years that followed, he captured an astonishing 17 WSOP bracelets, becoming the first—and currently only—player to win a bracelet in five different decades.

You could say Hellmuth is the polar opposite of his namesake, Ivey. He won the vast majority of his trophies in Hold'em, but more importantly, he was anything but stoic at the tables. It was his eccentric behaviour and explosive outbursts that made "The Poker Brat" one of the most recognizable players on the planet. He routinely berated his opponents and boasted of his own genius, famously claiming: "I'm the Jack Nicklaus of poker, the Tiger Woods of poker, the Mozart of poker." The peak of his showmanship came in the late 2000s. In 2007, Hellmuth crashed a sponsor-provided NASCAR race car in the Rio hotel car park, later registering for the WSOP dressed in a full racing suit and helmet. In 2009, he made a grand entrance dressed as a Roman emperor, complete with trumpeters, drummers, 11 female gladiators, and 50 muses.

Photo: Ryan Lucchesi

Yet despite his records for titles, cashes, and final tables at the WSOP, Hellmuth is rarely ranked among the absolute best overall minds by modern math-heavy pros. It all comes down to his style, which defies modern game theory optimal (GTO) play. The champion himself claims to possess "white magic"—the ability to read opponents' souls—dismissing the mathematical approach as "black magic." Perhaps these stylistic quirks and explosive behavior cost Hellmuth the elusive WSOP Player of the Year title, finishing as runner-up four times. However, his place in the Poker Hall of Fame was secured back in 2007.

Daniel Negreanu

A seven-time WSOP champion, two-time WPT champion, the only two-time WSOP Player of the Year, and the most recognisable poker player in the world—these are just some of Daniel Negreanu's accolades. Like others on our list, "Kid Poker" fell in love with the game in his youth, even dropping out of school one credit short of graduation to pursue his passion. Negreanu’s initial shot at Las Vegas went bust, but his second attempt was a runaway success—winning two World Poker Finals events and being named the tournament’s best all-around player.

In 1998, Negreanu won his first WSOP bracelet, taking down the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event. However, he stepped away from the tables for a few years shortly after, losing his drive: "After '99, I won a serious amount of money and burned out. The passion for poker left me. I also faced a crisis of worldview. When you have no foundation or faith to keep you grounded, and you play poker only for the money, and then you get it, the question arises: what now?"

Negreanu’s return in the 2000s was nothing short of legendary. The Canadian locked up his second WSOP bracelet in 2003, and in 2004, captured both a third WSOP title and two WPT titles, securing him the 2004 WSOP Player of the Year award. In 2013, Negreanu captured two more bracelets to claim his second WSOP Player of the Year crown, and a year later secured his biggest-ever live cash, earning $8.2 million for finishing runner-up in The Big One for One Drop. That same year, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the Global Poker Index named him the Player of the Decade. However, a grueling 10-year WSOP title drought followed, which finally ended in 2024 when he shipped the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

Photo: @WSOP on X

Negreanu earned his massive fame not just through results, but by starring in legendary televised poker shows that drew millions of viewers, and later through his daily vlogs. His charismatic and chatty table table talk brought mainstream audiences to the game. He also contributed to Doyle Brunson's revised "Super/System II" and wrote "Power Hold'em Strategy," which served as a conceptual successor to the Godfather's work.

His high-profile heads-up grudge match against Doug Polk also captured the poker world's attention. Beginning in late 2020 and ending in early 2021, the two played 25,000 hands of No-Limit Hold'em, with Polk booking a $1,200,000 win. Negreanu’s play was heavily criticised by Phil Hellmuth, which prompted Daniel to challenge him to a duel. All three rounds of their heads-up match on High Stakes Duel went to Hellmuth, who walked away with $350,000.

Over a career spanning nearly 30 years, Daniel Negreanu has amassed over $57.5 million in live tournament earnings, becoming the primary ambassador of modern poker with nearly 2 million followers across social media. The Canadian continues to crush high-stakes events, remaining an inspiration for new generations of players.

Honourable Mentions

Photo: Erik Fast

Naturally, our elite top five leaving out many legendary names is a testament to the game's depth. We are therefore obliged to make some honorable mentions. Chris Moneymaker—the amateur champion who ignited the online poker boom with his historic 2003 WSOP Main Event win. Viktor "Isildur1" Blom—the hyper-aggressive online phenom capable of putting millions on the line daily, swings that could see him go from five figures to $1.75 million in a week. Linus Lu00f6liger—the Swiss sensation who dominated the high-stakes online cash games on PokerStars under the moniker LLinusLLove. And finally, Jamie Gold—the man who claimed one of the largest payouts in WSOP history by pocketing $12 million in 2006, famous for his relentless table talk and psychological warfare in speech-play.