2024 Poker Player Rankings – Christopher Brewer and the Top 10 Stars from This Year
- Christopher Brewer holds the top spot in my poker player rankings after winning nearly $12 million.
- Daniel Weinman made a name for himself after winning $12.1 million at the World Series of Poker.
- Jason Koon was in my rankings for last year, but he’s bumped up a few spots for 2023.
It’s a good time to revisit my poker player rankings for 2023. There are obviously tons of great players throughout the world, so it’s hard to limit this to just 10.
However, some of them deserve a little more recognition due to their success this past year.
We will be looking at the best poker players in 2023 who have been active in tournaments and have earned a substantial amount of money. Some of them even offer advice for how to get good at poker, so we can learn from them as well.
Without further ado, here are my top poker player rankings for this year, starting with Talal Shakerchi.
- 10. Talal Shakerchi
- 9. William Alex Foxen
- 8. Timothy Adams
- 7. Jose “Nacho” Ignacio Barbero
- 6. Daniel Weinman
- 5. Stephen Chidwick
- 4. Jason Koon
- 3. Isaac Haxton
- 2. Bryn Kenney
- 1. Christopher Brewer
10. Talal Shakerchi
Talal Shakerchi has been one of the best poker players from England for a long time, and even more so in 2023.
He ranks fourth on the England All Time Money List ($18,174,570), and he could continue to move up the list at the rate he’s been playing at.
The 59-year-old has taken home a considerable amount of cash in multiple tournaments. In March, he won the No Limit Hold’em – Main Event (Event #9), which awarded him $3.25 million.
Interestingly enough, he made more money, coming in second place in the No Limit Hold’em – Luxon Invitational (Event #9). Shakerchi took home a whopping $4.65 million in that tournament after coming up short to Bryn Kenney.
He’s won over $1 million in other tournaments this year, but those two are by far his biggest wins.
If you want to find your name inside my top 10 poker player rankings at some point, like Shakerchi, all you need to do is get started at an online casino. If you’re unsure where to start, refer to this helpful guide.
9. William Alex Foxen
My pro poker player rankings continue with William Alex Foxen. This might be a bit of a surprise, considering he is not one of the top 10 players in terms of 2023 winnings. However, he still deserves a spot on my list.
For starters, he’s still playing very well. He has won $3,381,303 in 2023, which ranks within the top 50. The 32-year-old ranks fourth in New York’s All Time Money List and 13th in the United States.
I’d also consider Foxen one of the best online poker players. He’s taken home over $64,000 from his last four online tournaments.
You also don’t have to have wins in the millions to be one of the best poker players. Foxen is a great example of this. He’s taken the “quantity over quality” route, as he participated in an incredible amount of tournaments in 2023.
Another reason why he’s in my poker player rankings for this year is because he was a top player in 2022.
His consistency and experience from the last two years keep him in my top 10, even though his 2023 earnings aren’t as impressive as others.
8. Timothy Adams
Speaking of the best poker players with more impressive totals from 2023, allow me to introduce Timothy Adams. The Canadian ranks as the 8th biggest earner this year, taking home $7,940,722.
He started the year strong, taking home around $250,000 from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January. This would be a sign of things to come for Adams, who took home nearly $170,000 in his very next tournament.
Both of those wins were in the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in August. After finishing fourth, the 37-year-old took home $1.55 million in Event #7. He won Event #11, which awarded him with an incredible $4.185 million.
That win by itself is enough to earn him a spot in the top 2023 poker player world rankings. Since then, he’s remained a top player, which could mean he adds to his already impressive total on the year.
7. Jose “Nacho” Ignacio Barbero
Who are the best poker players in the world, you ask? Well, most of them are from the United States, but not all. One of the top players that’s not from the US is Jose Ignacio Barbero, also known as “Nacho.”
Barbero is having a terrific year and also ranks atop the Argentina All Time Money List. He’s made over $14 million in his career, which is more than double the next Argentinian (Ivan Luca).
The 41-year-old ranks sixth in 2023 earnings, taking home an incredible $8,875,022. He’s been participating in a lot of tournaments, which is a big reason why he’s been able to win a considerable amount.
One of his biggest wins was his first tournament of the year. He took home a little over $1.55 million after placing fourth in Event #48 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Nacho’s most impressive win was at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in London, which saw him take home $3,445,807 after finishing in second place.
If you’re thinking of becoming one of the best online poker players, this guide to Texas Hold’em Poker may help improve your chances of winning.
6. Daniel Weinman
Daniel Weinman certainly made a name for himself this year, and he’s also earned a spot in my 2023 rankings.
He hasn’t been considered one of the best poker players throughout his career, but anyone can become a star at any point in time.
You can do that in one of two ways. The first is to go on a serious winning streak. It’s difficult to win any poker tournament, so chaining together multiplier-high finishes is certainly one way to earn some respect.
Another way, which is much quicker, I might add, is to win one of the biggest tournaments of the year. That’s the route Weinman took. The 35-year-old was able to win the World Series of Poker in July.
This made him the top earner of 2023, taking home a record-breaking $12.1 million in just one tournament. Weinman’s poker career was pretty modest before this win, but now he finds himself in the top 10.
5. Stephen Chidwick
Weinman may be the highest earner of the year, but it’s hard to say if he’s the best poker player of 2023.
You might consider him to be the top player for that reason, but I value a little more consistency. That’s why a player like Stephen Chidwick ranks higher.
Chidwick made $8,158,989 in 2023, which ranks as the seventh best. So, why is he at the fifth spot in my rankings and not the seventh?
Well, Chidwick isn’t only just having one good year. In fact, he’s one of the best players in the world.
He sits at the top of the list for England’s All Time Money List with over $52.8 million in earnings. That’s more than double the next player (Sam Trickett) and almost triple Talal Shakerchi’s career total.
Not only that, but Chidwick has been very active in 2023. When you’re a good poker player like he is, you’ll find yourself winning more often than not.
That’s why it’s a good idea to play in as many poker tournaments as possible, so you win more.
4. Jason Koon
Jason Koon was in my top 10 rankings last year and is back again. I have him a few spots higher this time because he won even more money.
Last year, Koon took home an impressive $6.2 million. In 2023, the 38-year-old’s total is up to an impressive $8,881,282.
He laughs in the face of other players from West Virginia when talking about career earnings. Koon has made over $51.2 million, while the next-highest player hasn’t even touched $1.6 million.
His US ranking is third best, while his world ranking is fifth. There’s no doubt he’s one of the top poker players in 2023 and in history. You might even consider him one of the best online poker player rankings, considering he won $14,000 from a tournament in June.
Koon has been a top player in my rankings for the last two years. Do you think he will jump up a few spots again next year?
3. Isaac Haxton
We have reached the top three in my rankings, with the third spot belonging to Isaac Haxton.
Haxton is a 38-year-old from New York City. He currently ranks as the third-highest earner in New York’s All Time Money List, with over $40 million in winnings.
A large portion of those winnings has come from the last year, which is why he’s one of the top players right now. He’s won an astonishing $10,138,537 this year, which is a quarter of his career earnings.
This is especially impressive, considering he hasn’t had a single win of more than $1.7 million. Other players, like Daniel Weinman, for example, won more than him in just one tournament.
He has won over $1 million in a tournament on four separate occasions in 2023. I’d much rather face someone who has gotten lucky once rather than someone who has proven to be one of the top players time and again.
If you want to be on the list of the best online poker players, be sure to check out some of the best poker books written by professionals. This will help you learn from their victories and defeats.
2. Bryn Kenney
Bryn Kenney has won a similar amount to Timothy Adams in 2023. He has made a little bit less than him, $125,000 to be exact, but I have him significantly higher in the rankings. You could argue against this, but there’s a point to be made here.
For starters, Bryn Kenney is one of the best poker players ever. That’s not the main reason why he’s one of the top players for this year, but it’s certainly noteworthy. He ranks first in the All Time Money List with $65,036,892 in career winnings.
Kenney hasn’t been as active as someone like Foxen, but you can afford to do that when you’ve already won as much as he has.
He proved that he still deserves a spot in the yearly rankings when he won Event #9 at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in London. This win was worth a whopping $6.86 million.
Kenney has some other nice wins from this year, but that remains his most impressive. You certainly don’t want to be playing at a table with him, especially since he’s one of the top players now and ever.
If you want to prepare yourself for that potential scenario, I recommend our ultimate guide to poker tournaments so you’re aware of everything that goes down.
1. Christopher Brewer
As you can see, there are a ton of great poker players from around the world. I certainly wouldn’t want to find myself playing in a game when one of them is at the same table.
The person I probably want to see the least is Christopher Brewer, who sits atop my poker player rankings for this year.
Brewer is having an incredible year, and his hard work is paying off. As I mentioned earlier, you’ll probably win a lot of money if you are a good poker player and participate in a lot of tournaments. That’s exactly what Brewer has been doing.
Not only does he have an impressive number of wins, but he also has some big singular wins as well. His best was when he finished first in the No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller – Shot Clock tournament, earning him over $5.29 million.
Interestingly enough, he only has one other win worth more than $1 million, which was when he played in the European Poker Tour in February. Brewer has made $11,902,938 so far in 2023, which is only less than Weinman.
Now that we have reached the end of the top 10 poker players from 2023, maybe you’ll want to check out some of the most overrated poker players in the game.
Footnotes:
- ESPN provided information about Daniel Weinman winning the WSOP.
- 2023 Money List and figures are from The Hendon Mob.