Paul Volpe, Cliff Josephy, Ari Engel, Chris Moorman, Patrick Leonard and Shaun Deeb are among the group of elite players to have been ranked #1 on PocketFives at some time in their careers.

In 2016, we chronicled the adventures of all of the former #1-ranked players in PocketFives history as they chased down World Series of Poker glory. We followed Fedor Holz winning his first bracelet and the November Nine runs of Griffin Benger and Cliff Josephy. We’re back this year, to follow 39 former #1 players throughout the 2017 WSOP.

The Big Winners

No other former #1-ranked player has more WSOP earnings than Holz. Thanks almost entirely to the $4,981,775 he took home for winning the $111,111 One Drop event last summer. In 2015, he won a combined $531,037 for deep runs in the $10,000 Six Max NLHE Championship and the Main Event. All told, the German has $5,675,543 in lifetime WSOP earnings.

Josephy, who has two WSOP bracelets, is second with $4,263,393.

The lifetime WSOP earnings for all 39 former #1-ranked players whose real name is confirmed is $32,388,502.

All-Time Earnings for Former #1-ranked Players

1 Fedor Holz $5,675,543
2 Cliff Josephy $4,263,393
3 Daniel Kelly $2,638,393
4 Chris Moorman $2,426,563
5 Annette Obrestad $2,166,575

The Most Decorated

Josephy is one of four players in this group that have won two WSOP bracelets. The other three are Paul Volpe, Shaun Deeb and Dan Kelly. Another six players have one bracelet each, bringing the total number of bracelets won by this group to 14.

The Kings of Cashes

With over $33 million in cashes, it’s no surprise to learn that former #1-ranked players have made their way to the cashier’s cage at the Rio a grand total of 608 times. Nobody has done it more than Dan Kelly though. The two-time bracelet winner has cashed 47 times, including 12 times last year. Eleven cashes behind Kelly, Deeb and Sorel Mizzi are tied with 36 cashes each.

All-Time Cashes for Former #1-ranked Players

1 Daniel Kelly 47
2 Shaun Deeb 36
2 Sorel Mizzi 36
4 Steve Gross 35
5 Paul Volpe 34
5 Taylor Paur 34

Can They Top Their 2016 Performance?

It’s hard not to look at what the group did in 2016 and think it just won’t ever be topped. A total of 110 cashes, three players (Holz, Volpe and Deeb) each took home a bracelet, and the group walked away with $11,729,142 in cash – 34% of their all-time earnings. Two players, Josephy and Benger, made the Main Event final table, earning $3,453,035 and $1,250,190 respectively. Topping that is going to require a very special summer from at least two former #1-ranked players and we’ll be tracking this group here on PocketFives throughout the summer.