The past decade has been one filled with big names in poker and many poker players who have dominated not only the great felt at various casinos across the world but have also found a way to bring their skill and understanding of the game to the online scene and chart new courses for professional poker players and novices alike.
Today, we take a look at some of the biggest names who have amassed the most significant amounts of winnings playing online poker. They have ground hard to make it into the world’s most competitive tournaments and that is well-deserved. Their winnings have been quite impressive as well, and you have a chance to see some of the best success stories there are.
#1 Simon Mattsson
Simon Mattsson is not known as much for his live performances. As of the time of writing, he has won some $1.6 million playing live tables. His true talent comes not from his ability to compete in-person poker, but the fact that he is the single-time biggest winner from an online poker event. In 2022, he walked away a winner from the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em – WSOP Online Main Event ONLINE (Online Bracelet Event #33) which led to him winning $2.79 million – the biggest in history off a single event.
Of course, Mattsson must not be underestimated either way He has been playing both in in-person events and online poker, but he seems to have a real knack for the online poker event.
He has won a number of international WSOP events in 2022 alone. His total earnings outside of the WSOP Main Event win that year amount to $70,000 – not at all bad provided that he played online using the GGPoker, which is an official partner to the World Series of Poker. Mattsson still needs to do some catching up when it comes to total winnings, but even then, he has been doing a very good job across the board and has a bright future if online poker – as long as he wants to keep going.
#2 Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey has migrated from online poker to the land-based segment and he has been killing it in-person as well as online. But how big is Ivey’s name in online poker tournaments – well, big as it turns out. Ivey admittedly hasn’t been as active online – or at least he hasn’t bragged much about it, but he is a true legend. He won $2 million in 2007 playing at Full Tilt Poker, a now shut-down website.
He also won another $7 million from online poker tournaments in 2008, and he then topped that with another $6 million just a year later. It was incredible how fast Ivey developed his bankroll and how fast he established himself as one of the most fearsome people to meet – sometimes anonymously on the best online real money poker sites, and especially during cash tournaments.
If the fish ought to be afraid of one specific poker player, that is Ivey’s HUD showing in your tournament or game. The man has been definitely one of the most successful players and he is hardly alone.
#3 Patrik Antonius
With total winnings of around $18 million from playing online poker, Patrik Antonius is definitely one of the most prominent figures in the scene. His tournament showings often result in a solid win and performance. And so, Antonius has been playing actively online for the past two decades as a matter of fact.
His total live earnings are no less impressive, with him dominating the scene and managing to win $16 million from his personal showings. His most recent big win was on June 2021, when he ended up cashing in $200,000 from the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – WPT Heads-Up Championship.
He is also one of the old guard players who amassed impressive winnings on Full Tilt Poker, adding some $12 million to his name from there alone – yes, far more than Ivey did. This is not to say that he is a more impressive player than Ivey, but he definitely made it big back in the day. Between 2008 and 2013, Antonius ended up winning another $6 million from online poker as well.
#4 Daniel Cates
Daniel Cates is another brilliant poker player who has been absolutely killing it when it comes to online poker – he won more than $11 million from Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars in the past two decades or so, and he has been a real inspiration for the thousands of other players worldwide trying to really bring their best attitude and play to the green felt.
So, who is this man who has been a fearsome opponent to meet online? Cates was born in 1989 and he has raised to prominence playing under his immortalized online handles, jungleman12 and w00ki3z. Perhaps not too good at picking his own monikers, Cates has demonstrated how successful players can be on the online poker scene.
He really wasn’t a boastful player at first (not to say he is today) but he didn’t shy much from a challenge either, as he got started with playing $0.25/$0.50 levels. He quickly transitioned into more serious stakes and started enjoying poker at levels of $25/$50, but never really gave up on the $0.25 bids either.
Cates has also been playing quite a bit in live games, and not surprisingly, he has amassed more than $11 million from live games as well.
