Who is the Best Tournament Poker Player in the World Right Now?

When Adrian Mateos won 2026’s WSOP $250k Super High Roller, he became the youngest player in history to reach six WSOP bracelets at just 31 years old.

His $4.33 million score was the second-largest cash of the Spaniard’s career. The first? It came less than a month ago at Triton Montenegro, where he banked $6.37 million in the $200k Invitational, meaning Mateos has won a scarcely believable $10.7 million in just 28 days.

With Mateos climbing from 9th to 5th on poker’s all-time money list in the last six months alone, and after defeating one of the most stacked final tables in WSOP history (featuring Phil Ivey, Bryn Kenney, Jason Koon et al), it sparked a debate around the PokerNews water cooler: Are we watching the best player in tournament poker right now?

Here’s our leading contenders in the debate (and yes, inevitably, we’ve missed a few). Agree? Disagree? You can decide for yourself.

Adrian Mateos: The Hottest Player on the Planet

“With respect to my colleagues, if you don’t have Mateos as the best tournament player in the world right now, you’re just wrong.

A first WSOP bracelet at 19 (in the WSOPE Main Event, no less), the fastest player to three bracelets and then six, the youngest player ever to reach that milestone at 31, the youngest in poker’s top 20 all-time money list, and the fastest player in history from first cash to $50 million in live earnings on the Hendon Mob — and yet somehow this is still a debate.

Yes, it’s all no-limit hold’em, but what better indicator of being the best tournament player in the world is there than consistently winning the biggest tournaments with the biggest prize pools at the biggest buy-ins?

Being a hold’em specialist didn’t stop Mateos posting the highest live tournament earnings of any player on the planet in 2024 (over $13 million), and after winning over $10 million in less time than I need a haircut, he’ll certainly be topping that again in 2026.

He’s 6-0 in WSOP heads-up matches for the bracelet, beating elite players including Kenney, Ben Heath, and Alex Kulev. He’s proven himself online and live, and he’s crushed every major tour he’s ever bought into, from six bracelets at the WSOP to winning an EPT Main Event & High Roller, and three Triton victories.

Frankly, the only thing standing between him and the all-time money lead is time — and at 31, he has plenty of it.”

Bryn Kenney: Cash, Cash, and More Cash

“Another choice for the best tournament player right now is the runner-up finisher in the event Mateos just won $4.3 million in, and that is all-time money leader Bryn Kenney.

Kenney was once in a neck-in-neck race fight for the top with Justin Bonomo, but he has run away with the lead in more recent years, while Stephen Chidwick has replaced Bonomo in the number two spot.

Even the great Stephen Chidwick sits about $10 million away from Kenney, meaning several seven-figure scores would be needed to catch the New Yorker.

Kenney holds the record for the biggest tournament cash ever in poker after he finished runner-up for $20.5 million in the 2019 Triton Million for Charity. In 2023, he had the second-biggest cash of his career, $6.8 million, with a victory in the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series $250,000 Luxon Invitational.

Kenney is a controversial player who in 2022 was accused of cheating in online poker by some of his peers. But there’s no denying his talent on the high-stakes felt, and I think he undoubtedly should be in the conversation about the best poker players in the game right now.”

Isaac Haxton: The Poker Brain

“Is Isaac Haxton the greatest poker mind of all time? Don’t take my word for it, those are the words of Justin Bonomo.

“He is literally the greatest poker mind of all time,” Bonomo wrote on X in a recent push to get Haxton into the Poker Hall of Fame. “It’s not Doyle. It’s not Stuey. It’s not Chip. It’s not Ivey. It’s Ike.”

With $65 million in career earnings and a bracelet despite not being a heavy WSOP grinder, I think Haxton could very well be the best tournament grinder right now.

Bonomo has long felt this way. In 2023, Bonomo told PokerNews that he thinks Haxton is “one of the best players in the world, possibly the greatest poker mind in the world.”

Nick Schulman: The Mixed-Game King

“Right now, it’s hard to make a convincing case against Nick Schulman as the best tournament player in the world. Eight bracelets is one thing, but five of them have come since 2023, with the 2025 Hall of Famer winning at least one bracelet every year over that span.

What’s remarkable is the range. He’s won in Seven Card Stud, No-Limit Hold’em, 2-7 Single Draw and H.O.R.S.E., with buy-ins ranging from $1,500 all the way up to $25,000.

Schulman seems to have no weak spots, and even said himself that he’s just entering his prime. He has already made four final tables this summer, sits at the top of the Player of the Year race, and has piled up more than $1.45 million in cashes.

This summer, Schulman has cashed in the $5,000 PLO, finished runner-up in Badugi, placed 18th in the $25,000 High Roller, made the final table of the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship, won the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., and finished fifth in the Big O Championship.

Nobody combines versatility, consistency and high-end results quite like Schulman right now.”

Stephen Chidwick: The Ultimate All-Rounder

“Any conversation about the world’s best poker player must end with Stephen Chidwick being awarded that title. Although the players mentioned in this article are phenomenal, Chidwick is the best all-rounder, and I believe by some distance.

While I believe that Mateos is the best No-Limit Hold’em player on the planet – I don’t think I’ve ever seen him make a mistake at the tables – Chidwick more than holds his own in almost every poker variant and does so at the highest stakes.

The fact those who regularly lock horns with him have the utmost respect for his game, is ringing endorsement of just how feared and respected Chidwick is.

Chidwick may “only” have two bracelets, they came in $25,000 and $50,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha events. He can also boast about 35 WSOP final table appearances in No-Limit Hold’em, Short Deck, Seven Card Stud, No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven, 8-Game, Omaha Hi-Lo, H.O.R.S.E, and even the long-forgotten Pot-Limit Hold’em.

If you still need convincing that Chidwick is the man, his peers regular vote him as the ‘Players’ Choice for Toughest Opponent’ in the Global Poker Awards. Enough said.”

Honorable Mentions

If you’ve made it this far, there’s a good chance you’re already halfway to the comments section writing “how did they miss him?!” or “you can’t leave her out…” So before this turns into a full-scale argument in the replies, here are a few honorable mentions to smooth things over…

Shaun Deeb

Shaun Deeb remains one of the most dangerous WSOP grinders of his generation, especially over long summer schedules and across the full spread of events. He’s not a pure high roller regular like some on this list, but his blend of stamina, appetite for the game, and all-around ability means he’s rarely far away when bracelets are being decided deep into a tournament.

Alex Foxen

Alex Foxen is a model of consistency at the highest end of tournaments. Whether it’s massive-field events or elite high roller lineups, he’s a regular feature at final tables and has built a reputation as one of the most dependable performers in modern tournament poker. The results over the last few years speak for themselves.

Jesse Lonis

Jesse Lonis has gone from high-volume crusher to fully established high-stakes regular in a remarkably short space of time. The affable New Yorker’s rise has been marked by an insane number of deep runs across major festivals, and he now feels like a permanent fixture whenever big tournament fields start to thin out.

Jason Koon

Jason Koon remains one of the most respected high roller players in the world, with a drive for improvement that few can match. In the toughest Triton lineups especially, he has consistently shown his class, with a record 12 Triton titles (5 more than anyone else) on poker’s elite proving ground.

Kristen Foxen

Since her deep run in the 2024 WSOP Main Event, Kristen Foxen has put together one of the most consistent high-stakes stretches in the game. Four seven-figure scores, a steady stream of deep runs on the Triton circuit, and more than 20 final tables in under two years have pushed her firmly into the bracket of poker’s elite. With six WSOP bracelets already, she’s currently producing results on par with anyone in the game.

Eliot Thomas is an Editor at PokerNews, specializing in casino and poker coverage. He has reported on major events around the world, including the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and Triton Super High Roller Series.