The

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

(WPT) has operated a series of international

poker tournament A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table (called a "heads up poker, heads-up" tournament), and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on th ...

s since 2002 with winners of WPT Main Tour stops awarded a membership to the WPT Champions Club. The WPT Champions Cup is the trophy awarded to all winners of WPT Main Tour stops, and champions have their names engraved on the WPT Champions Cup. On July 21, 2020, the WPT Champions Cup was renamed to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup in honor of WPT commentator and WPT Champions Club member

Mike Sexton Michael Richard Sexton (September 22, 1947September 6, 2020) was an American professional poker player and commentator. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009. Early years Sexton was a gymnast and attended Ohio State University, wh ...

. Sexton would unfortunately pass away on September 6, 2020, after battling prostate cancer.

World Poker Tour champions

Season 1 (I)

The inaugural season of the WPT featured 13 events running from May 2002 to April 2003. * Costa Rica Classic was a $500 buy-in with $500 rebuys. *

Party Poker A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...

Million II was held a Limit Hold'em tournament. *

Million II was held on

Holland America Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...

's ''

MS Zaandam MS ''Zaandam'' is a cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line, named for the city of Zaandam, Netherlands near Amsterdam. She was built by Fincantieri in Marghera, Italy and delivered in 2000. ''Zaandam'' is part of the ''Rotterda ...

'' cruise ship sailing from

Port Canaveral Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo, and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 4.5 million cruise passengers passing through during 2016. Over 5.4 million tonnes of bulk car ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, to the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

. *

Gus Hansen Gustav Hansen (born 13 February 1974) is a Danish professional poker player from Copenhagen, Denmark who has lived in Monaco since 2003. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, one WSOP bracelet and the 2007 Auss ...

became the first player to win two WPT titles. *

Howard Lederer Howard Henry Lederer (born October 30, 1964) is an American professional poker player. He has won two World Series of Poker bracelets and holds two World Poker Tour titles. Lederer has also contributed to several books on poker strategy and has ...

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 1 (I).

Season 2 (II)

The second season of the WPT featured 14 events running from July 2003 to April 2004. *

PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was an annual televised poker tournament. The event was first held in 2004 and was originally co-sponsored by PokerStars and the World Poker Tour. In 2008, the event moved from the WPT to the European Poker Tour. ...

was held on Royal Caribbean ''

Voyager of the Seas Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle da ...

'' cruise ship. * PartyPoker Million III was held as a Limit Hold'em tournamen

* PartyPoker Million III was held on a Card Player Cruise on the Sea of Cortez. *

became the first player to win three WPT titles. *

Erick Lindgren Erick A. Lindgren (born August 11, 1976, in Burney, California) is an American professional poker player. He has won two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles, two World Series of Poker bracelets, and more than $10,500,000 in tournament earnings during ...

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 2 (II).

Season 3 (III)

The third season of the WPT featured 16 events running from July 2004 to April 2005. * PartyPoker Million IV was held as a Limit Hold'em tournament. * PartyPoker Million IV was held on

's '' MS Oosterdam'' cruise ship on the Sea of Cortez. *

Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu (; born July 26, 1974) is a Canadian professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. In 2014, independent poker ranking service Global Poker Ind ...

and

Tuan Le Tuan Le (born February 15, 1978 in Paris, France) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player. Of Vietnamese ancestry, Le was raised in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States, but by middle school age he was living in Los Angeles, Ca ...

became the third and fourth players respectively to win two WPT titles in the same season after

and

each won two in Season 1 (I). *

Doyle Brunson Doyle F. Brunson (born August 10, 1933) is a retired American poker player who played professionally for over 50 years. He is a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several ...

became the first player to win both the

WSOP Main Event The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker playe ...

and a WPT title. *

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 3 (III).

Season 4 (IV)

The fourth season of the WPT featured 16 events running from May 2005 to April 2006. * Gavin Smith won WPT Player of the Year for Season 4 (IV).

Season 5 (V)

The fifth season of the WPT featured 18 events running from May 2006 to April 2007. *

J.C. Tran J. C. Tran (born Justin Cuong Van Tran January 20, 1977 in Vietnam) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player, based in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, California. Tran is a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, a World C ...

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 5 (V).

Season 6 (VI)

The sixth season of the WPT featured 19 events running from April 2007 to April 2008. *

became the first player to reach heads-up play four times. *

Jonathan Little Jonathan Little (born December 22, 1984 in Pensacola, Florida) is an American professional poker player who won both the World Poker Tour's Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown and Season VII Foxwoods World Poker Finals and won the WPT Season VI ...

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 6 (VI).

Season 7 (VII)

The seventh season of the WPT featured 14 events running from May 2008 to April 2009. *

Bertrand Grospellier Bertrand Grospellier (; born 8 February 1981 in Melun), also known as ElkY , is a French poker player and former '' StarCraft: Brood War'' and ''Warcraft III'' esports player. He has won a World Poker Tour (WPT), a World Series of Poker (WSOP) ...

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 7 (VII).

Season 8 (VIII)

The eighth season of the WPT featured 17 events running from May 2009 to April 2010. * Season 8 featured six events held outside North America. *

Carlos Mortensen Juan Carlos Mortensen (born April 13, 1972, in Ambato, Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian professional poker player of Danish descent and the first South American Main Event winner of the World Series of Poker. Mortensen is known for his loose play, blu ...

joined

as the only three-time WPT title winners. *

Faraz Jaka Faraz Jaka (born September 9, 1985, in San Jose, California) is an American professional poker player and businessman who was World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year for Season VIII (2009–2010). He has reached two WPT final tables, six WSOP ...

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 8 (VIII). *

was the first WPT Player of the Year to not win a WPT title during the season.

Season 9 (IX)

The ninth season of the WPT featured 21 events running from May 2010 to May 2011. * Season 9 featured eight events held outside North America. *

Andy Frankenberger Andy Frankenberger is a professional poker player and former equity derivatives trader from New York City. In his first year as a professional poker player, Frankenberger was named World Poker Tour (WPT) Season IX Player of the Year. Card Pla ...

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 9 (IX).

Season 10 (X)

The 10th season of the WPT featured 22 events running May 2011 to May 2012. * Season 10 featured 11 events held outside North America. *Joe Serock won WPT Player of the Year for Season 10 (X). *Joe Serock was the second WPT Player of the Year to not win a WPT title during the season.

Season 11 (XI)

The 11th season of the WPT featured 24 events running from August 2012 to May 2013. *

Marvin Rettenmaier Marvin Rettenmaier (born 1986), is a professional poker player, originally from Leonberg, Germany. Poker career Rettenmaier first appeared on the poker radar in December 2009, when he finished runner-up to Payman Mahourvand in the Main Event ...

was the first player to win back-to-back WPT titles. *Matt Salsberg won WPT Player of the Year for Season 11 (XI).

Season 12 (XII)

The 12th season of the WPT featured 21 events running from August 2013 to April 2014. * Season 12 saw the WPT World Championship relocate to the Borgata Hotel & Casino after the

Bellagio Bellagio may refer to: * Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town * Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas * Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building * Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution * 79271 Bellag ...

hosted the event for the first 11 seasons of the WPT. *Mukul Pahuja won WPT Player of the Year for Season 12 (XII). *Mukul Pahuja was the third WPT Player of the Year to not win a WPT title during the season.

Season 13 (XIII)

The 13th season of the WPT featured 18 events running from August 2014 to April 2015. * Legends of Poker featured a $10,000 buy-in on Day 2. *

Darren Elias Darren Elias (born November 18, 1986) is an American professional poker player who holds the record for most World Poker Tour titles, with four. Early life and online poker Elias was born in Boston and now lives in Medford, New Jersey.Jackson, ...

became the first player to win back-to-back WPT titles in the same season. *

Anthony Zinno Anthony Zinno (born 1981) is a professional poker player from Cranston, Rhode Island. He has won three World Poker Tour (WPT) titles and four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. Zinno earned a degree in chemical engineering from Worcester P ...

won back-to-back WPT titles later in the season. *

joined

and

as the only three-time WPT title winners. *

won WPT Player of the Year for Season 13 (XIII).

Season 14 (XIV)

The 14th season of the WPT featured 21 events running from May 2015 to April 2016. * The WPT World Championship became the WPT Tournament of Champions where only past WPT champions were allowed to enter. *Season XIV winners received free entry into the WPT Tournament of Champions for that year. * David "Chino" Rheem joined

, and

as the only three-time WPT title winners *Mike Shariati won WPT Player of the Year for Season 14 (XIV).

Season 15 (XV)

The 15th season of the WPT featured 21 events running from April 2016 to April 2017. * Only past WPT champions were allowed to enter the WPT Tournament of Champions. *Season XV winners received free entry into the WPT Tournament of Champions for that year. *Ema Zajmovic was the first female to win an open WPT event. *Benjamin Zamani won WPT Player of the Year for Season 15 (XV). *Benjamin Zamani was the fourth WPT Player of the Year to not win a WPT title during the season

Season 16 (XVI)

The 16th season of the WPT featured 20 events running from April 2017 to May 2018. * The WPT Tournament of Champions relocated from

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, also known as The Guitar Hotel, due to its tower constructed to resemble a Gibson Les Paul guitar, is a hotel and casino resort near Hollywood, Florida, United States, located on of the Hollywood Rese ...

ARIA Resort & Casino Aria Resort and Casino is a luxury resort and casino, part of the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Aria consists of two curved glass and steel highrise towers adjoined at the center. It opened on December 16, 2009 a ...

. *Only past WPT champions were allowed to enter the WPT Tournament of Champions. *Season XVI winners received free entry into the WPT Tournament of Champions for that year. *

became the first player to win four WPT titles. *Art Papazyan won WPT Player of the Year for Season 16 (XVI).

Season 17 (XVII)

The 17th season of the WPT featured 20 events running from July 2018 to June 2019. * Five final tables played out at the HyperX Esports Arena at

Luxor Las Vegas Luxor Las Vegas is a 30-story casino hotel situated on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The hotel is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International and has a casino with over 2,000 slot machines an ...

. They included the L.A. Poker Classic (March 11), Gardens Poker Championship (March 12), Borgata Winter Poker Open (March 13), Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (May 30), and WPT Choctaw (May 31). *Only past WPT champions were allowed to enter the WPT Tournament of Champions. *Season XVII winners received free entry into the WPT Tournament of Champions for that year. *Erkut Yilmaz won WPT Player of the Year for Season 17 (XVII)

Season 18 (XVIII)

The 18th season of the WPT would begin in July 2019 and be extended through 2021 as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. * Brian Altman became the first player to win the same event twice winning WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open in Season 13 (XIII) and Season 18 (XVIII). * The Gardens Poker Championship, Borgata Winter Poker Open, and L.A. Poker Classic each reached a final table that was to be played out at HyperX Esports Arena at

, but due to the

, they were indefinitely delayed. *In March 2020, the WPT announced their first-ever online series to be held on partypoker. *The Gardens Poker Championship concluded from the

PokerGO PokerGO is an over-the-top content platform based in Las Vegas, Nevada. PokerGO was launched in 2017 as a subscription-based streaming service offering poker centric online streaming. The content offered on PokerGO includes poker tournaments, ...

Studio on March 10, 2021. * Brian Altman won WPT Player of the Year for Season 18 (XVIII).

Season 19 (XIX)

The 19th season of the WPT would begin in May 2021. * Brian Altman became the seventh player to win three WPT titles when he won the inaugural WPT Seminole Hard Rock Tampa. * WPT bestbet Scramble and WPT Maryland at Live! Casino were cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

concerns. * Season 19 (XIX) would end following the conclusion of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic and reset to a calendar basis for Season 20 (XX). * Jacob Ferro won WPT Player of the Year for Season 19 (XIX).

Season 20 (XX)

The 20th season of the WPT began in January 2022. * Season 20 (XX) would introduce a new points system that would include all WPT-sponsored events. * The WPT World Championship returned for the first time since Season 13 (XIII) at the new location of

Wynn Las Vegas Wynn Las Vegas, often simply referred to as Wynn, is a luxury resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by Wynn Resorts, and was built on the former site of the Desert Inn resort ...

. * The WPT World Championship would also feature the biggest prize pool guarantee in WPT history at $15,000,000. * For the first time since Season 1 (I), the

WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic is an annual tournament as part of the World Poker Tour that is played out at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been part of every season of the World Poker Tour after being the inaugura ...

wasn't held in December as it was moved to October. * Chad Eveslage won WPT Player of the Year for Season 20 (XX).

Multiple World Poker Tour champions

holds the record for most WPT titles with four after he broke a five-way tie with

, David "Chino" Rheem,

, and

after winning the Season 16 (XVI) WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic for $387,580. * WPT Alpha 8. WPT Special Events, WPT500, and WPTDeepStacks titles are not included in table for WPT Main Tour titles. *WPT World Championship titles count, but WPT Tournament of Champions titles don't count as they are not open events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World_Poker_Tour_Champions_Club World Poker Tour winners