Live tournaments may not be the fastest or most profitable form of poker available to professionals, but they do create headlines, help forge reputations and in many respects, are the most exciting form of poker to bring to spectators.
Over the course if this year, there have been many big winners, from those elevated by one-off mammoth scores to the ones have steadily ground out their riches. In this article, we take a closer look at the five biggest live tournament winners of this calendar year.
5th – Fedor Holz – $6,380,187
Fedor has had a quiet year by his own lofty standards, with only one seven-figure score in his fifteen cashes this year. October saw him pick up his biggest cash of the year, a $2,100,086 score in the Triton Macau Main Event. He did manage to pick up several six-figure scores through the summer, including three tournament wins, and picked up his second largest cash of $868,518 back in April, at the PokerStars Championship Super High Roller in Macau. His total cashes for the year stand at $6,380,187 bringing his total lifetime cashes up to $26,701,371.
More: When will Fedor Holz stop?
4th – Steffen Sontheimer – $7,052,322
Steffen Sontheimer began the year in relative obscurity, given his placing among the top 5 winners by the end of it. His total live career cashes stand at $7,548,922 and over $7 million of that was won in 2017 alone. His year began fairly quietly, but picked up quickly after his $415,348 win, collected for 6th place at the PokerStars Championship Super High Roller 8-max event in April. He followed that up with a $1,223,264 score for a 2nd place finish at the Aria Super High Roller event in May. Taking down the Poker Masters in September for $1,512,000 boosted his yearly earnings substantially, before a $940,135 win for 5th place at the WSOPE High Roller for One Drop event marked his last major score of the year.
More: Steffen Sontheimer dons the purple jacket; Isildur1 wins 1st WCOOP
3rd – Christoph Vogelsang – $8,090,382
Christoph Vogelsang is another player who started the year slowly, before picking up a big win to kick start his winnings tally. May saw Vogelsang win the Aria Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas for a huge score of $6,000,000 before following up with a few six-figure scores, including $706,995 for 6th place at the High Roller for One Drop event, pushing him past $8,000,000 for the year. His total live career cashes now stand at $15,446,599.
2nd – Scott Blumstein – $8,174,347
Blumstein’s year can be summed up in two words – Main Event. The WSOP Main Event champion of 2017 not only lifted the most coveted bracelet on earth, but also picked up $8,150,000 for his victory, which makes up almost the entirety of his winnings for this year. His total career cashes now stand at $8,474,488.
More: Scott Blumstein crowned 2017 WSOP Main Event Champion
1st – Bryn Kenney – $8,505,898
Bryn Kenney has been consistently strong throughout 2017, picking up his first big scores at the PCA in January. By the 9th of January he had already picked up two six-figure scores, including $969,075 for winning the $50,000 buy in event at the PCA. More six-figure scores trickled in over the following months, before his yearly winnings received a $1,946,911 boost when he won the PokerStars Championship Super High Roller event in Monte Carlo in April. More six-figure scores rolled in as summer turned to autumn, with a 1st place in the Poker Masters adding $960,000 to his winnings. A couple more wins in the six-figure category toward the end of the year helped him to rise above Main Event winner Scott Blumstein to top the rankings for the most live tournament cashes in 2017.
Article by Craig Bradshaw
