Creating a definitive list of the world’s best poker players is no simple task, and few would agree on one version.
The challenge begins with defining the criteria. Which game should we focus on? While Texas Hold’em dominates the poker landscape, other variants such as Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud, Razz, and Irish Poker remain popular.
There is also the distinction between cash game and tournament specialists, as well as live versus online play. Many of today’s top players cross multiple formats—cash game stars excel in tournaments, online phenoms adapt successfully to live tables, and mixed-game experts still perform well in Hold’em. Though few players are true all-rounders, the very best tend to transfer skills across formats and are dangerous opponents wherever they sit.
The players on this list have all delivered elite performances in recent years. Some are established legends who continue to prove themselves, while others are rising stars making their mark at the top. Notably absent are some of the old guard—icons like Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan—who, while historically important, are no longer at the very peak of today’s competitive field.
The sheer depth of talent in modern poker means that many deserving names miss out. In truth, it may never be possible to identify a single “best” poker player in the world. Comparing across disciplines is difficult, and many of the most successful cash game specialists prefer to keep their achievements private.
With those caveats in mind, here is Gambling.com’s selection of 12 of the top poker players in the world today, presented in no particular order:
Phil Ivey – The All-Rounder
Phil Ivey is one of the most iconic figures in poker history and is often regarded as the greatest player of all time. Dominant throughout the 2000s, he became the face of Full Tilt Poker and collected 10 WSOP bracelets—remarkably, none of them in No Limit Texas Hold’em.
After several years away from the spotlight, Ivey returned with a win in the 2021 PokerGO Heads-Up Championship, followed by a strong run of results in 2022 that saw him cash for nearly $6 million. His successes included a Triton Series victory and multiple final tables in super high roller events, cementing his status as a top competitor even against the modern elite.
Beyond tournaments, Ivey is feared in the highest-stakes cash games, where he has likely won more than his $38 million in reported tournament earnings. Away from the poker felt, he is also a well-known high-stakes gambler. His use of a controversial technique called “edge-sorting” in Baccarat led to legal disputes with several casinos, which ultimately ruled against him, though the case further cemented his reputation as a relentless and daring competitor.
Daniel “Jungleman” Cates – The Online Crusher
Daniel “Jungleman” Cates left college to pursue poker professionally and quickly became one of the game’s biggest online winners, accumulating $11 million in online earnings by 2011.
His career had early setbacks, including major losses to Isildur1 in 2009, which forced him to drop stakes. However, disciplined bankroll management allowed him to recover. In 2010, Cates accepted the famous “Durrrr Challenge” against Tom Dwan in high-stakes online cash games. After 20,000 of the planned 50,000 hands, Cates was $1.1 million ahead, with a $1.5 million side bet pending—though the challenge was never completed. Dwan has reportedly been repaying the debt in installments ever since.
More recently, Cates has proven himself in live play. He won both of his WSOP bracelets in the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship, achieving back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. With more than $11 million in live tournament earnings, he has cemented his reputation as one of the most formidable modern players.
Benny Glaser – The Mixed-Game Master
Englishman Benny Glaser may not be as widely recognized as some poker stars, largely because he specializes in mixed games rather than the more visible No Limit Hold’em tournaments.
Despite this, his record is outstanding. Glaser is the most decorated British player in WSOP history, with four bracelets to his name. His first came in 2015 in a triple-draw lowball event, followed by two Omaha Hi-Lo victories in quick succession in 2016. He added a fourth in 2021 by winning the $10,000 Razz Championship for $274,000.
Glaser’s dominance extends online, where he has built one of the most impressive mixed-game résumés in the world. He holds eight World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) titles and seven Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) titles. Notably, four of his WCOOP victories came within just a few weeks in 2022 on PokerStars, underlining his consistency and mastery across formats.
Stephen Chidwick – The High Roller Specialist
Ranked 4th on poker’s all-time money list, Englishman Stephen Chidwick built his reputation quietly, with consistent deep runs and world-class results that often kept him out of the limelight. At the WSOP, he has earned one bracelet, 22 top-ten finishes, and 64 cashes to date.
Chidwick has become a fixture in the high-stakes tournament scene, particularly in Triton and PokerGO events. His standout performance came at the 2022 Triton Poker Series in Cyprus, where, within just five days, he recorded finishes of 2nd, 3rd, and 1st in events with €75,000, €50,000, and €100,000 buy-ins, netting over €3.3 million. He also topped the PokerGO Tour Leaderboard with more than $6 million in winnings, reinforcing his status as one of the most consistent and feared high-roller specialists in the game today.
Jason Koon – The Triton Champion
Jason Koon is one of America’s most successful modern poker professionals, ranking 6th on the all-time money list with more than $41 million in live tournament earnings.
A former PartyPoker ambassador and now representing GGPoker, Koon owns a single WSOP bracelet but has built his reputation on consistent results in the toughest super high roller events worldwide.
In 2022 alone, Koon recorded 18 high-roller cashes worth nearly $8 million, placing him 3rd on the year’s money list. His standout victory came in December 2022, when he ended Phil Hellmuth’s long winning streak by defeating him for $1.6 million in PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel III. This win, alongside his Triton Poker triumphs, further cemented Koon’s reputation as one of the most formidable players in the modern game.
Adrián Mateos – The Young Phenomenon
Rewritten:
Adrián Mateos burst onto the global stage in 2013 at just 19 years old, winning the €10,000 WSOP Europe Main Event for €1 million. Even before that breakthrough, he had already made a name for himself in Spain with victories on the CNP and Estrellas Poker Tours, along with several strong final-table finishes.
He quickly established himself as a prodigy, becoming the youngest player in history to win three WSOP bracelets by the age of 23, capped by a victory in the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship. In 2021, he added a fourth bracelet by taking down the WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller for $3.2 million—his biggest career score to date.
With nearly $30 million in live tournament earnings, Mateos currently sits 16th on poker’s all-time money list and is widely regarded as one of the most talented young players the game has ever seen.
Michael Addamo – The High-Stakes Assassin
Australian Michael Addamo has emerged as one of the most feared high-stakes tournament players of his generation. With four WSOP bracelets and over $20 million in live earnings, his résumé speaks for itself. His most recent WSOP triumphs came in 2021, when he won both the $50,000 and $100,000 High Roller events for a combined $3 million.
Addamo is renowned for winning multiple titles in the same series, a feat he has achieved on five separate occasions. He first did so at the Aria Summer Series in 2019, capturing two $10,000 events. The following year, at the 2020 Aussie Millions, he claimed both the A$50,000 and A$100,000 tournaments. In 2021, he repeated the double at the PokerGO Masters, and in 2022 he secured two more titles at the Triton Series Madrid, winning the €20,000 and €75,000 events. Even his first two bracelets in 2018 came as a pair—one in Las Vegas and one at the WSOPE in Rozvadov.
With a relentless style and a remarkable ability to dominate multiple events in succession, Addamo has rightfully earned a reputation as the two-time king of high-stakes poker series.
Dan Smith – The Consistent Contender
American pro Dan Smith ranks 8th on the all-time money list with more than $39 million in live tournament earnings.
For much of his career, Smith carried the label of “best player without a bracelet,” but he shed that tag in 2022 by winning the $25,000 No Limit Heads-Up Championship at the WSOP.
Smith has been a force in tournaments for over a decade, with his breakout year coming in 2012, when he captured multiple EPT titles along with victory in a A$100,000 event at the Aussie Millions. His biggest payday came in 2019 at the Triton Super High Roller Series in London, where he collected £7.2 million for a 3rd-place finish—one of the largest non-winning payouts in poker history.
Robert Cowen – Britain’s Pot-Limit Omaha Powerhouse
Robert Cowen earns his spot on this list as a true wild card pick. The Welshman spent years grinding both online and live events, with only modest results to show for his efforts. A regular on the UK poker circuit in the mid-2000s, he made a handful of small cashes before shifting focus to Omaha. Even then, success came slowly, with scattered WSOP cashes but little major recognition.
That all changed in 2021. Cowen cashed six times at the WSOP, highlighted by a deep 39th-place run in the Main Event for $160,000 and a breakthrough victory in the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event for his first bracelet and $280,000.
If 2021 signaled his arrival, 2022 confirmed his ascent. He kicked off the year with a win in the €10,000 No-Limit High Roller at EPT Prague for €475,000. Just months later, he claimed his second bracelet in dramatic fashion, topping the $50,000 PLO High Roller for nearly $1.4 million. Narrowly missing out on more titles that same series, Cowen established himself as one of the most dangerous new forces in high-stakes Omaha.
Late bloomer or rising star, Robert Cowen has proven he belongs among the world’s elite and is a player to watch in the years ahead.
Sam Grafton – The Charismatic Grinder Turned High Roller
PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton has steadily built a reputation as both one of the UK’s top players and one of poker’s most colorful personalities. His breakthrough came in 2012 when he won the GUKPT Grand Final in London, but it wasn’t until 2019 that he hit his first seven-figure payday, finishing runner-up in the €100k Super High Roller at EPT Barcelona.
Grafton’s career reached new heights in 2022. At the Triton Poker Series in Cyprus, he secured back-to-back career-defining results—runner-up in a $50k high roller for nearly $1m, followed just days later by a $5.5m victory in the $200k Coin Rivet Invitational, his biggest score to date. These results firmly cemented him among the elite ranks of high-stakes tournament poker.
Away from the felt, Grafton is known for his political activism and unfiltered character. In his younger years, he was prepared to chain himself to trees and block bulldozers in protest against motorway expansion—an unconventional background for a poker professional. At the table, he’s talkative, approachable, and generous with advice for newer players, making him both a feared competitor and a much-loved figure in the game.
Koray Aldemir – The German Main Event Champion
Unlike many past WSOP Main Event champions who were relatively unknown before their big win, Koray Aldemir was already a respected force in the high-stakes tournament world when he claimed the 2021 Main Event title and its $8m first prize.
Starting out with online freerolls on PokerStars, the Berliner quickly rose through the ranks. By 2015 he had recorded his first WSOP Main Event cash, repeating the feat the following year. His consistency and composure soon brought him to some of the biggest stages, including the 2018 WSOPE Main Event final table where he finished 7th. That same year he notched up nine six-figure scores, cementing his place among the game’s elite.
Aldemir’s 2021 triumph was the culmination of years of steady high-stakes success, but his momentum didn’t stop there. In 2022 he cashed an impressive 14 times at the WSOP, including another deep run in the Main Event, finishing 75th. While he hasn’t yet added another bracelet, his ability to consistently perform across poker’s toughest tournaments marks him as one of the most reliable and dangerous players on the circuit.
Alex Foxen – The Consistent Crusher of the High Roller Circuit
High-stakes wizard Alex Foxen has been active on the live circuit since 2012, with his very first recorded result being a victory in a $355 WSOP Circuit event for $22k. After several modest cashes in the following years, his breakthrough came in 2017 when he cashed 14 times at the WSOP in Las Vegas, marking the start of his rise to the top.
The real turning point arrived in 2018 when Foxen enjoyed a $6m year, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the $300k Super High Roller Bowl for $2.16m. From then on, he established himself as one of the most dangerous and consistent high-stakes players in the world.
His crowning moment came in 2022 when he finally secured his first WSOP bracelet, taking down the $250k Super High Roller for over $4.5m. That year he cashed an incredible 49 times, including 10 in the WSOP and 11 in the online edition on GG Poker, underlining both his versatility and endurance across formats.
Today, with career earnings exceeding $27m, Foxen is recognized as one of the most relentless competitors in poker, combining discipline, athletic focus, and a proven track record at the very highest level.
