Best World Poker Tour Event Ever?

The World Poker Tour is embarking on its eighth year of poker tournaments hosted at various locations, and while this is not a long history of tournament results when compared to the World Series of Poker, there are still a substantial amount of champions (more than a hundred). It is an interesting point in time to look back and see which events have had the best run of champions. Poker tournaments are defined by the players that win them, just look at the WSOP and its holy poker trinity of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Hellmuth. While there is no distinct face that defines the WPT (other than commentator Mike Sexton and an honorable mention for Gus Hansen), if you were to mention the LAPC most people will think of Phil Ivey, while the WPT Championship might conjure images of a young Tuan Le in your mind.

Let’s take a look at the WPT tournaments that have been around since the beginning and the quality of champions they have produced. The events are ranked from the best collection of champions for an event all the way down to the least noteworthy. If each WPT event had a baseball card, these are the stats that would fill up the back of that card.

NOTE: Only events with a minimum of five tour stops are ranked below.

Tier 1

1st — L.A. Poker Classic

Champions: Gus Hansen, Antonio Esfandiari, Michael Mizrachi, Alan Goehring, Eric Hershler, Phil Ivey, Cornel Andrew Cimpan

No two players have gained more from the World Poker Tour than Gus Hansen and Michael Mizrachi, and the stigma of L.A.P.C. champion was a big part of their success story. The prize pool at this event is second only to the WPT Championship each season and the L.A.P.C. continues to do well even in tough economic times. Ivey’s win has a lot to do with the number one ranking for this event as well. This is the event on the WPT that has a produced a real sense of history in just seven seasons. This isn’t a lock-down number one choice, but if you were to ask the casual poker fan which WPT event they think has produced the best champions, the majority of them would say the L.A.P.C.

2nd — WPT Championship

Champions: Alan Goehring, Martin De Knijff, Tuan Le, Joe Bartholdi, Carlos Mortensen, David Chiu, Yevgeniy Timoshenko

The most prestigious stop on the tour is a deserving number two on this list (arguably number one). It has the largest buy-in and the ability to create instant stars in the poker world. A landmark win by Carlos Mortenson in five, a comeback champion in David Chiu during season six, and a talent-confirming victory for Tuan Le in season three bolsters the resume for this event.

3rd — World Poker Finals

Champions: Howard Lederer, Hoyt Corkins, Tuan Le, Nick Schulman, Nenad Medic, Michael Vela, Jonathan Little

Six solid champions here and just one unknown make this a solid pick at number three. The World Poker Finals has been the domain for young gun champions. Tuan, Schulman, Nenad, and Jonathan Little all booked wins here, and just think about the career’s each one of these players could have when it is all said and done.

Tier 2

4th — Legends of Poker

Champions: Chris Karagulleyan, Mel Judah, Doyle Brunson, Alex Kahaner, Joe Pelton, Dan Harrington, John Phan, Prahlad Friedman

This was a close call at number four, but the absolute star power of wins by Harrington and Phan, along with one of the most memorable WPT champions ever in Doyle gives Legends the edge.

5th — Bay 101 Shooting Star

Champions: Phil Gordon, Danny Nguyen, Nam Le, Ted Forrest, Brandon Cantu, Steve Brecher

The Northern California stop on the tour has a very solid line of winners with only one unknown on the list. The dominating win of Cantu, Forrest’s win over J.J. Liu in a heads-up battle, and the breakout win of Nam Le supply a nice history for this tour stop.

6th — Five Diamond World Poker Classic

Champions: Daniel Negreanu, Rehne Pederson, Joe Hachem, Eugene Katchalov, Chino Rheem

Two big-time winners in Negreanu and Hachem along with the prestige that comes with a Bellagio tournament kept this winter event in the second tier. A well-timed victory by Chino Rheem also gives this event some extra strength.

Tier 3

7th — World Poker Open

Champions: David Ulliot, Barry Greenstein, John Stolzmann, Scotty Nguyen, Bryan Sumner, Brett Faustman

Three unknowns won this event during its WPT years, but three huge stars won as well. Ulliot won at the height of his popularity, and Greenstein is another one of those great players whose fame benefited largely thanks to a WPT win. Throw in a former world champion booking a WPT win in Scotty Nguyen and it’s enough to balance out the duds.

8th — Borgata Poker Open

Champions: Noli Francisco, Daniel Negreanu, Al Ardebili, Mark Newhouse, Roy Winston, Vivek Rajkumar

The Negreanu win was big, and supporting championship performances by Rajkumar (fastest win ever), Winston, and Newhouse keep this event out of the cellar on this list.

9th — World Poker Challenge

Champions: Ron Rose, Mike Kinney, Arnold Spee, Mike Simon, J.C. Tran, Lee Markholt

The $5,000 buy-in may have a lot to do with this lackluster list of champions. Thankfully, Tran and Markholt’s first WPT victories were a strong swan song for this event that is no longer on the tour.