Biggest Poker Wins of the Year: The Players, The Prizes, The Hands 

Poker is a story about people, rather than only about trophies and rewards. This year’s biggest cashes weren’t just about massive prize pools. They were about specific players sitting down, putting real money on the line, and winning life changing amounts with gutsy plays at the right time.

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s $10,000,000 in Las Vegas

The World Series of Poker is still the main event in the world of gambling, and Vegas is still the epicenter of happening. This summer in Las Vegas, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi won the 2025 WSOP Main Event and took home a clean $10,000,000 after buying in for $10,000. He beat a huge field of 9,735 entries, the third largest Main Event ever, and closed it out heads up against John Wasnock. Mizrachi came into the final session with a ton of chips and finished the job in only 79 hands, twenty of them on the last day. Wasnock flopped two pairs with ace nine, but Mizrachi turned a flush with ten three suited and the title was his. It was ruthless, controlled poker, exactly what you expect from a player nicknamed “The Grinder”.

There were fireworks even before heads up. With four left, Mizrachi busted two players in the first two hands of the day, including knocking out Braxton Dunaway when ace ten of diamonds made a flush against ten six of hearts. The table barely had time to settle before it was down to two. That early storm set the tone and made Wasnock’s comeback.

Wasnock still earned $6,000,000 for second place, and Dunaway banked $4,000,000 for third, but the bracelet and the spotlight went to Mizrachi.

Christoph Vogelsang’s $4.1 Million Triton Title in Jeju

In super high roller poker, the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series is the top of the mountain. In Jeju, South Korea, Christoph Vogelsang captured the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event. He and Samuel Mullur did a heads up ICM deal and then played it out for the trophy, with Vogelsang’s official payout just under $4.1 million. The table was stacked and the pressure wouldn’t be so heavy if it were played in an online casino, but Vogelsang played his usual calm, clinical style to close. Benjamin Heath finished third, while Xu Liang took fourth. Vogelsang’s win stood out because Triton final tables are full of crushers, and every pot is expensive. Staying patient is a skill in itself. The heads up deal is common at this level because the pay jumps are huge and the edge between elite players is thin. Vogelsang and Mullur secured their money, then battled for the title and the prestige that comes with a Triton Main Event win. It was a professional, measured finish to a week where one mistake can cost millions.

Isaac Haxton’s First Triton Trophy: $2,789,000 in the PLO Main Event

Isaac “Ike” Haxton has been one of the best all around players for years, but he hadn’t won a Triton title until Jeju II. He fixed that in the $100,000 Pot Limit Omaha Main Event, beating Nacho Barbero heads up and banking $2,789,000. The field was a Triton record for Pot Limit Omaha at this buy in: 116 entries for an $11.6 million prize pool. Haxton navigated the minefield with patience and precise pressure, two things PLO demands even more than no limit hold ’em. When the dust settled, he finally had the Triton win to match his resume.

Haxton’s heads up against Barbero was a clash of styles. Barbero likes pace and pressure. Haxton is cool and balanced. In PLO, where equities run closer together and draws pile up, discipline on the turn and river makes the difference. Haxton controlled the pot sizes and took clean spots. In the end, that approach won him the title and a seven figure payout.

Thomas Eychenne’s Breakthrough in Barcelona

The European Poker Tour is the most prestigious regular tour in Europe, and Barcelona is its biggest stop. This year, French pro Thomas Eychenne won the EPT Barcelona Main Event for €1,217,175 after buying in for €5,300. He beat Sebastian Ionita heads up, and his winning hand was ace king of clubs. What made the victory sweeter is that it was Eychenne’s first live trophy, and he earned it in the pressure cooker of a 2,045 player field. He didn’t just run hot for a day; he put together a full week of solid tournament poker against a lineup and finished it off head to head. Barcelona final tables tend to play fast because stacks are shallow by the end, and the pay jumps push action. Eychenne kept his foot on the gas when it mattered, and when he saw a chance to close, he took it. The size of the check tells part of the story, but beating that many opponents for your first title is the part that sticks.

Aleksandr Shevliakov’s Million Euro Win in Monte Carlo

In May, EPT Monte Carlo produced another strong player story. Aleksandr Shevliakov won the €5,300 Main Event for €1,000,000 after a heads up duel with Khossein Kokhestani. He took the chip lead early at the final table, survived swings during heads up, and closed the show when his king deuce caught a pair and held against ace six. His winning hand listed on the event page shows king two; it’s the kind of scrappy holding that wins late when stack sizes force hard, high pressure decisions. The room was classic Monte Carlo, but the play was modern: thin value bets, tough river calls, and momentum flipping several times before Shevliakov found the last call and the last shove. This wasn’t a soft field. It had 1,195 entries and a €5,795,750 prize pool. Shevliakov kept his cool as the table changed gears. He ran a big bluff with queen high at one point, then later folded a king high flush. When you look back at big wins, those two hands show both sides of winning tournament poker: aggression and restraint.

Chad Eveslage’s Seven Figure Score in the Mixed Game Bowl

Early in the year, Chad Eveslage won the first ever $100,000 Super High Roller Bowl: Mixed Games for $1,200,000. The buy in was six figures, the field was small but brutal, and he beat “Texas” Mike Moncek heads up after Moncek had led for long stretches. Mixed game titles at this level are about range and stamina. You need to switch gears across formats and still make sharp reads. Eveslage handled the pressure and closed the last match when it mattered most. The heads up wasn’t one clean cooler. It was a slow turn of the tide as Eveslage kept finding value in thin spots and dodging the biggest traps. When a six figure buy in spins into seven figures at the end, it’s a reminder that poker’s biggest prizes aren’t only in hold ’em. The all around game still pays.

What Makes These Wins Special?

It’s easy to rattle off prize totals, but these results carry weight beyond the checks. Mizrachi’s win adds a Main Event crown to one of the most decorated tournament careers and came after he was down to only a few blinds earlier in the endgame. Vogelsang’s Triton Main Event title reinforces that the quiet, controlled style still wins the biggest events. Haxton breaking through for a first Triton trophy feels like a box finally ticked for a player who has done almost everything. Eychenne’s first live trophy, at Barcelona of all places, puts a new French name on Europe’s biggest stage. Shevliakov’s million euro win shows how fast a late heads up surge can rewrite a final, while Eveslage’s success underlines that the biggest scores aren’t all no limit hold ’em anymore.