The World Series of Poker Paradise hosted a special event this week at the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas. The unique invitational affair was dubbed the Main Event Champions Invitational. It pitted 16 main event winners against each other to determine a champion of champions.
Among the participants were reigning world champion Michael Mizrachi, Phil Hellmuth (1989), Huck Seed (1996), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Jamie Gold (2006), and Joe Cada (2009). Other main event winners in the mix included Greg Merson (2012), Martin Jacobson (2014), Hossein Ensan (2019), Koray Aldemir (2021), Espen Jorstad (2022), and Daniel Weinman (2023).
World Champions of Poker only!!
Big invite tourney here in Bahamas at @wsop Paradise, another video coming
I was the youngest guy in poker for a decade, and, now, the oldest?!? At least I’m here and healthy!#PHNiceLife #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/oBxL8ypoda
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) December 9, 2025
WSOP Paradise Super Main Event Seats On The Line
However, the event was not just a competition for glory. The top four finishers all earned a seat into the $60 million guaranteed $25,000 super main event that kicked off on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Scotty Nguyen (1998), Greg Raymer (2004), Ryan Riess (2013), and Scott Blumstein (2017) ultimately earned the seats. The final player to head to the rail empty-handed was Ensan.
🎉 And with that we have our 4 winners of the Super Main Event seat from the Main Event Champions Invitational! Congrats to @RyanRiess1 @TheScottyNguyen @SBlum2711 and @FossilMan will see you in the 60M GTD Super Main Event 🌴 pic.twitter.com/lcm6TS6EiX
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 10, 2025
In the end, Raymer defeated Nguyen heads-up to claim the title.
“It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of chatter, telling stories and jokes and all that,” Raymer told Jeff Platt after closing out the victory. “It’s always fun to win something, big or small. And it’s fun to do it against a tough field like this.”
The Champion of Champions…
After a grueling heads-up battle with Scotty Nguyen, Greg Raymer bested 16 WSOP ME Champions to claim the title and all the glory! pic.twitter.com/lxiTsuEv2H
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 10, 2025
