WSOP Champion Biography

Kid Poker, a.k.a. David Negreanu, is one of the most accomplished poker players with his origins in Toronto. Negreanu was born on July 26th, 1974 and was barely out of his childhood when he realized that he had a natural flair for betting, poker and pool. By 21 he was ready for professional poker on a full-time basis and relocated to Las Vegas for the purpose. He hit the jackpot in 1998 with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) being crowned the youngest WSOP champion, a distinction not bettered until 2004. In 2005, he had amassed a total of $4.4 million from his winnings.

Winning the first main event of World Series of Poker made Joseph Hachem, an overnight sensation. The $7.5 million grand prize was pocketed by him in 2005. Hachem was born in Lebanon on March 11, 1966 and in 1972 his family relocated to Melbourne, Australia. He eventually settled there post marriage, bringing up a family of his own. He married Jeanie his high school sweetheart whom he’d known through family friends since he was 15 and she was 12.

 Starting as a part time player initially, Mike ‘The Mouth Matusow’ didn’t take long to discover a natural skill at poker for a full time profession. In 1999 he triumphed at the WSOP No-Limit Hold’em event. He is acknowledged as the world’s best Omaha poker player. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mike has two WSOP championship bracelets to his name. His second WSOP in 2005 netted him $1,000,000.

Todd Brunson was able to prove that he wasn’t just Doyle Brunson’s son with an excellent win in the $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better event.

Johnny Chan’s 10th bracelet earned him a place in history. He was held to a tie by Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson with nine each. His final table featured the likes of Humber to Brenes and Phil Laak. The latter was the only hurdle in Johnny Chan’s bid for history as the first holder on ten bracelets. Once they got into the heads-on battle, only 16 hands were played before Laak was chipped out. His Pot Limit Hold’em win in 2005 garnered $303,025.

The Limit Hold’em shootout brought former attorney Mark Seif his first bracelet. After barely a few games, he bagged the $1,500 No Limit event, the third largest tournament in WSOP history. Within a week he had two bracelets and prize money of $799,950.