The 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was the 49th annual World Series of Poker event, and took place from May 30 to July 17 at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. There were a record 78 bracelet events. The $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event began on July 2 and concluded on July 15.
The main event, as well as the Big One for One Drop, were again streamed in their entirety on ESPN and Poker Central.
The event saw the retirement of ten-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Fame member Doyle Brunson from tournament poker. He announced his retirement after registering for the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship (Event 23). He made the final table of the event and finished in sixth place.
Schedule changes The World Series of Poker introduced the Big Blind Ante to eight events. This format made the big blind pay the ante for the entire table. It was utilized for events 13, 20, 45, 54, 74, 77 and 78.
Event schedule Source: Online event. # Event Entrants Winner Prize Runner-up Results1$565 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em566Jordan Hufty (1/1)$61,909Jodie SandersResults2$10,000 No Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty243Elio Fox (1/2)$393,693Adam AdlerResults3$3,000 No Limit Hold'em Shootout363Joe Cada (1/3)$226,218Sam PhillipsResults4$1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better911Julien Martini (1/1)$239,771Kate HoangResults5$100,000 No Limit Hold'em High Roller105Nick Petrangelo (1/2)$2,910,227Elio Fox (1/2)Results6$365 Giant No Limit Hold'em8,920Jeremy Perrin (1/1)$250,000Luis VazquezResults7$565 Colossus No Limit Hold'em13,070Roberly Felicio (1/1)$1,000,000Sang LiuResults8$2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball321Johannes Becker (1/1)$180,455Scott Seiver (0/1)Results9$10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship169Paul Volpe (1/3)$417,921Eli Elezra (0/3)Results10$365 WSOP.com Online No Limit Hold'em2,972William Reymond (1/1)$154,996Shawn StrokeResults11$365 Giant Pot Limit Omaha3,250Tim Andrew (1/1)$116,015Pete ArroyosResults12$1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed406Jeremy Harkin (1/1)$129,882Frankie O'Dell (0/2)Results13$1,500 Big Blind Antes No Limit Hold'em1,306Benjamin Moon (1/1)$315,346Romain LewisResults14$1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw260Daniel Ospina (1/1)$87,678Tim McDermottResults15$1,500 H.O.R.S.E.731Andrey Zhigalov (1/1)$202,787Timothy FrazinResults16$10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold'em Championship114Justin Bonomo (1/2)$185,965Jason McConnonResults17$1,500 No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed1,663Ognyan Dimov (1/1)$378,743Antonio BarbatoResults18$10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed111Adam Friedman (1/2)$293,275Stuart RutterResults19$565 Pot Limit Omaha2,419Craig Varnell (1/1)$181,790Seth ZimmermanResults20$5,000 Big Blind Antes No Limit Hold'em518Jeremy Wien (1/1)$537,710David LakaResults21$1,500 No Limit Hold'em Millionaire Maker7,361Arne Kern (1/1)$1,173,223Sam RazaviResults22$1,500 Eight Game Mix481Philip Long (1/1)$147,348Kevin MalisResults23$10,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship95Brian Rast (1/4)$259,670Mike Wattel (0/2)Results24$2,620 The Marathon No Limit Hold'em1,637Michael Addamo (1/1)$653,581Mark SleetResults25$1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better596Benjamin Dobson (1/1)$173,528Tim FinneResults26$1,000 Pot Limit Omaha986Filippos Stavrakis (1/1)$169,842Jordan SiegelResults27$10,000 H.O.R.S.E.166John Hennigan (1/5)$414,692David "Bakes" Baker (0/2)Results28$3,000 No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed868Gal Yifrach (1/1)$461,798James Mackey (0/1)Results29$1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw356Hanh Tran (1/1) $117,282Oscar JohanssonResults30$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha799Ryan Bambrick (1/1)$217,123Sampo RyynanenResults31$1,500 Seven Card Stud310Steven Albini (1/1)$105,629Jeff Lisandro (0/6)Results32$1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold'em5,919Matthew Davis(1/1) $662,983Bill StablerResults33$50,000 Poker Players Championship87Michael Mizrachi (1/4)$1,239,126John Hennigan (1/5)Results34$1,000 Double Stack No Limit Hold'em5,700Robert Peacock (1/1)$644,224Nicholas SalimbeneResults35$1,500 Mixed Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo/Big O773Yueqi Zhu (1/1)$211,781Gabe RamosResults36$1,000 Super Seniors No Limit Hold'em2,191Farhintaj Bonyadi (1/1)$311,451Robert BeachResults37$1,500 No Limit Hold'em1,330Eric Baldwin (1/2)$319,580Ian SteinmanResults38$10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship83Yaniv Birman (1/1)$236,238Jesse Martin (0/2)Results39$1,500 No Limit Hold'em Shootout908Preston Lee (1/1)$236,498Corey DoddResults40$2,500 Mixed Big Bet205Scott Bohlman (1/1)$122,138Ryan Hughes (0/2)Results41$1,500 Limit Hold'em596Robert Nehorayan (1/1)$173,568Kevin Song (0/1)Results42$25,000 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller230Shaun Deeb (1/3)$1,402,683Ben Yu (0/2)Results43$2,500 No Limit Hold'em1,248Timur Margolin (1/1)$507,274Ismael BojangResults44$10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship109Nicholas Seiken (1/1)$287,987Randy OhelResults45$1,000 Big Blind Antes No Limit Hold'em1,712Mario Prats (1/1)$258,255Matthew HuntResults46$2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better402David Brookshire (1/1)$214,291Brendan Taylor (0/1)Results47$565 WSOP.com Online Pot Limit Omaha 6-Handed1,223Matthew Mendez (1/1)$135,078Marton CzuczorResults48$1,500 No Limit Hold'em Monster Stack6,260Tommy Nguyen (1/1)$1,037,451James CarrollResults49$10,000 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship476Loren Klein (1/3)$1,018,336Rep Porter (0/3)Results50$1,500 Razz389Jay Kwon (1/1)$125,431Dzmitry UrbanovichResults51$1,500 No Limit Hold'em Bounty1,983Ryan Leng (1/1)$272,765Ranno SootlaResults52$10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship114Scott Seiver (1/2)$296,222Matt SzymaszekResults53$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better935Joey Couden (1/1)$244,370Bruno FitoussiResults54$3,000 Big Blind Antes No Limit Hold'em1,020Diogo Veiga (1/1)$522,715Barry Hutter (0/1)Results55$1,000 Tag Team No Limit Hold'em1,032Nikita Luther (1/1)Giuseppe Pantaleo (1/1)$175,805Kazuki IkeuchiHiroki IwataSho MoriResults56$10,000 Razz Championship119Calvin Anderson (1/2)$309,220Frank Kassela (0/3)Results57$1,000/$10,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship696Jessica Dawley (1/1)$130,230Jill PikeResults58$5,000 No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed621Jean-Robert Bellande (1/1)$616,302Dean Lyall Results59$1,000 No Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty2,065Mike Takayama (1/1)$198,568Lorenc PukaResults60$10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship237Phil Galfond (1/3)$567,790Michael McKenna Results61$1,000 WSOP.com Online No Limit Hold'em Championship1,635Ryan Tosoc (1/1)$238,778Anthony MaioResults62$888 Crazy Eights No Limit Hold'em 8-Handed8,598Galen Hall (1/1)$888,888Eduards KudrjavcevsResults63$3,200 WSOP.com Online No Limit Hold'em High Roller480Chance Kornuth (1/2)$341,598David GoodmanResults64$10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship141Dan Matsuzuki (1/1)$364,387Scott Bohlman (1/1)Results65$10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event7,874John Cynn (1/1)$8,800,000Tony MilesResults66$1,500 No Limit Hold'em1,351Longsheng Tan (1/1)$323,472Lanny LevineResults67$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Bounty833Anderson Ireland (1/1)$141,161Matt O'Donnell(0/1)Results68$1,111 The Little One for One Drop No Limit Hold'em4,732Guoliang Wei (1/1)$559,332Francois Tosques Results69$3,000 Pot Limit Omaha 6-Handed901Ronald Keijzer (1/1)$475,033Romain LewisResults70$3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed221Yaser Al-Keliddar (1/1)$154,338Juha HelppiResults71$5,000 No Limit Hold'em452Phil Hellmuth (1/15)$485,082Steven Wolansky (0/2)Results72$1,500 Mixed No Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed707Jordan Polk (1/1)$197,461Fernando BritoResults73$1,000 Double Stack No Limit Hold'em1,221Denis Timofeev (1/1)$199,586Leo MargetsResults74$10,000 Big Blind Antes No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship355Shaun Deeb (2/4)$814,179Paul Volpe (1/3)Results75$1,500 The Closer No Limit Hold'em3,120Joe Cada (2/4)$612,886Paawan BansalResults76$3,000 H.O.R.S.E.354Brian Hastings (1/4)$233,202Andrew Brown (0/1)Results77$50,000 Big Blind Antes No Limit Hold'em High Roller128Ben Yu (1/3)$1,650,773Sean WinterResults78$1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop No Limit Hold'em27Justin Bonomo (2/3)$10,000,000Fedor Holz (0/1)Results
Player of the Year Final standings as of November 2 (end of WSOPE): + Standings Rank Name Points Bracelets1 Shaun Deeb5,050.0122 Ben Yu3,746.0413 Joe Cada3,531.8624 John Hennigan3,440.1315 Scott Bohlman3,155.8816 Michael Addamo3,046.8827 Paul Volpe2,863.1018 Anthony Zinno2,593.3409 Eric Baldwin2,516.30110 Romain Lewis2,460.140
Main Event The $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event began on July 2 with the first of three starting flights. There were then 2 day 2 flights (AB and C) and then 5 more days of play before the final table. The final table began on July 12 and played out over three days, with the winner being determined on July 14.
The Main Event drew 7,874 players, the second-largest field in the tournament's history, generating a prize pool of $74,015,600. The top 1,182 players finished in the money. Each player at the final table earned $1,000,000, with the winner getting $8,800,000.
Performance of past champions Name ChampionshipYear(s) Day ofEliminationTom McEvoy19834 (430th)*Johnny Chan1987, 19884 (612th)* Phil Hellmuth19893Dan Harrington19952BScotty Nguyen19983Chris Ferguson20003Robert Varkonyi20023Chris Moneymaker20031CGreg Raymer20041BJoe Hachem20052AJamie Gold20061BJerry Yang20071AJoe Cada20099 (5th)*Jonathan Duhamel20104 (409th)*Greg Merson20123Ryan Riess20132BMartin Jacobson20142CJoe McKeehen20152AQui Nguyen20161AScott Blumstein20171A
* Indicates the place of a player who finished in the money
Other notable high finishes NB: This list is restricted to top 100 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.
Place Name Prize23rdEric Froehlich$282,63041stBrian Yoon$189,16546thJames Obst$156,265
Final Table 2009 World Champion Joe Cada made the final table, finishing 5th, making him the first former champion to do so since Dan Harrington finished 4th in 2004. The final table bubble which saw Yueqi Zhu eliminated saw both him and then second place Antoine Labat turn over pocket Kings (Zhu , Labat ) while Nicolas Manion turned over . The board ran out , and Zhu was eliminated in 10th, while Labat was left crippled and Manion was propelled to the chip lead.
Heads up play between Tony Miles and John Cynn lasted for over 10 hours and 199 hands. This set the record for the largest number of hands played heads up during a WSOP Main Event final table. The final table lasted a total of 442 hands.
NameNumber of chips(percentage of total)WSOPBraceletsWSOPCashes*WSOPEarnings* Nicolas Manion112,775,000 (28.6%)000 Michael Dyer109,175,000 (27.7%)03$71,515 Tony Miles42,750,000 (10.9%)02$6,396 John Cynn37,075,000 (9.4%)012$713,071 Alex Lynskey25,925,000 (6.6%)013$553,429 Joe Cada23,675,000 (6.0%)333$10,340,058 Aram Zobian18,875,000 (4.8%)03$9,735 Artem Metalidi15,475,000 (3.9%)025$728,254 Antoine Labat8,050,000 (2.0%)02$6,857*Career statistics prior to the beginning of the 2018 Main Event.
Final Table results + Place Name Prize 1st John Cynn $8,800,000 2nd Tony Miles $5,000,000 3rd Michael Dyer $3,750,000 4th Nicolas Manion $2,825,000 5th Joe Cada $2,150,000 6th Aram Zobian $1,800,000 7th Alex Lynskey $1,500,000 8th Artem Metalidi $1,250,000 9th Antoine Labat $1,000,000
Big One for One Drop The $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop began on July 15. It was the third time the event had been held. Antonio Esfandiari won $18.3 million in the first event in 2012, while Dan Colman was the $15.3 million champion in 2014. Elton Tsang won €11,111,111 in 2016 at Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza in 2016, although since this event was not held at the WSOP, he did not receive a bracelet for it. The One Drop Foundation, founded by Guy Laliberte, received $80,000 from every buy-in. The 2018 event saw 27 players enter, generating a prize pool of $24,840,000. The top five players finished in the money, with the winner getting $10 million. Justin Bonomo won the tournament, and took over from Daniel Negreanu at the top of the all time money list with the victory.
Performance of past champions