The Largest Payouts in WSOP History

Antonio Esfandiari

The single largest payout in the history of the World Series of Poker belongs to Antonio Esfandiari. The legendary Iranian-American player scooped a massive $18,346,673 at the 2012 Big One for One Drop. That record has stood undefeated for 14 years. Ahead of WSOP 2026, kicking off on 26 May in Las Vegas, we have compiled the 12 biggest scores in the history of the series.

Antonio Esfandiari. Photo: Pokernews

Driven by the poker boom of the noughties, Main Event fields expanded exponentially, sending prize pools into the stratosphere. Consequently, all the biggest payouts in WSOP history have occurred over the last 25 years. For the past three years, prize pools have cracked the $90 million mark, peaking in 2024 with an unbelievable $94 million. 

How does the leaderboard of the absolute biggest scores in World Series history look?

Mizrachi, Binder, and Five More: Who Took Home $10 Million at the WSOP  

Seven positions in the all-time ranking of WSOP scores are locked in by players who claimed exactly $10 million. Last year, Bernhard Binder and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi joined this exclusive club—and cemented their names in poker history. Binder triumphed at the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event, the only and largest series tournament held outside of Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Mizrachi became the first player in history to win both the Poker Players Championship and the WSOP Main Event in a single series, earning immediate induction into the Poker Hall of Fame. Following this historic run, The Grinder was the first to receive the honour without undergoing the traditional voting process.

Michael Mizrachi. Photo: Rachel Kay Winter

The first to pocket $10 million at the WSOP Main Event was Sweden's Martin Jacobson in 2014. Since then, Hossein Ensan, Espen Jorstad, and Jonathan Tamayo have matched that top-tier prize. In 2018, three-time bracelet winner Justin Bonomo claimed an identical score, defeating Fedor Holz heads-up in the high-stakes WSOP Event 57 — The Big One for One Drop charity field.

Espen Jorstad. Photo: Spenser Sembrat

Two Main Event Records and Lococo's Triumph 

Three players sit neck-and-neck just above the ten-million mark. In 2006, Jamie Gold navigated a field that included stars like heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and actor Tobey Maguire to win the Main Event and secure a then-record $12 million. Argentina's Alejandro Lococo eclipsed that figure by just $70,000 with his victory in the WSOP Paradise Triton Million in December 2024. Then, in 2023, Daniel Weinman rewrote the record books for physical Main Event payouts, crushing a field of 10,043 opponents to bank $12,100,000. 

Daniel Weinman. Photo: Hayley Hochstetler

Colman's Sensation and the Biggest Cheque in WSOP History

The absolute pinnacle of World Series payouts has come from tournaments run in collaboration with One Drop, a foundation dedicated to providing clean drinking water to needy communities globally. In 2014, WSOP Event 57 — The Big One for One Drop generated over $5 million in charitable donations, while 23-year-old phenom Daniel Colman shocked the poker world by defeating Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu heads-up to claim a staggering $15,306,668.

Daniel Colman. Photo: Joe Giron

The absolute record—for now—is held by Antonio Esfandiari. At the 2012 WSOP Event 55 — The Big One for One Drop, the three-time bracelet winner defeated Great Britain's Sam Trickett heads-up to secure a legendary $18,346,673.

Those are the most massive victories in the history of the World Series. Will anyone shatter these records in 2026? We will find out this transfer window.