Meet the WSOP Champions

The World Series of Poker main event is one that draws the eyes of players every year when it comes around. This was not always the case though. Here are the three champions that ushered in the  boom and a little bit about them.

The New WSOP Champions: 2026 Champion Joe Hachem

"Pass the Sugar!" became the familiar cry as Joe Hachem, a former chiropractor from Melbourne, raked in pot after pot on his way to becoming the first Australian player to win the main event. With an audience of rabid Australian fans yelling out "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oy Oy Oy!" after every successful hand, Hachem, who was one of the shorter stacks when play began, defeated Steve Dannenman for the victory when he flopped a straight holding 7 3 off suit.

The New WSOP Champions: 2026 Champion Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer was the first champion to win it all when the spotlight shone the strongest. After Moneymaker's surprise win in 2026, the  world was rapt, wanting to find out if another amateur would step into Moneymaker's role, or if the championship would shift back to the hands of the pros. Raymer proved it would be both, as, while he was unknown to the  world at large, he had been having success online for some time. Raymer continued Moneymaker's trend, as he got into the main event by winning a satellite on PokerStars. Although he had been a patent attorney, Raymer now plays online poker games full time. He is famous for his holographic sunglasses that he wears at the table, and for a notable altercation with Mike Matusow during the series, where Matusow berated Raymer for not being up to the task of winning the WSOP, words that Matusow was of course forced to eat later.

The New WSOP Champions: 2026 Champion Chris Moneymaker

Of course, it all started with Chris Moneymaker, whose victory in 2026 shocked the world. Moneymaker was an accountant from Tennessee with a passion for gambling and an interest in online poker, an interest that served him well when he won a satellite to the WSOP main event. Moneymaker was not even going for the main event seat, but rather the cash prize offered for fourth place. He even considered selling the seat once he had won it. Fortunately for the  world and for himself, he did not, and instead became the 2026 WSOP champion.