2019 marks the 50th annual World Series of Poker. The most prestigious poker festival in history has played a pivotal role in creating many of the legends and superstars of the game. To commemorate the occasion, PocketFives editorial staff each ranked the top 50 players in WSOP history in an effort to define and rank the most important, influential, and greatest WSOP players of all time. 

Johnny Chan

Johnny Chan is hands down one of the most storied players in World Series of Poker history. He’s a true icon, with a career spanning several decades and including 10 gold bracelets.

Chan’s first bracelet came in 1985 when he won a $1,000 Limit Hold’em tournament for $171,000. Chan then went on an incredible run in 1987, 1988, and 1989 that is one of the best the WSOP has ever seen. In 1987 and 1988, he won the WSOP Main Event for $625,000 and $700,000, respectively. The back-to-back titles in poker’s greatest poker tournament almost turned into a three-peat when Chan got heads up in 1989. His opponent, Phil Hellmuth, walked away with the title, but it was still an absolutely incredible three-year run for Chan.

In 1992, Chan was back at the WSOP Main Event final table, taking seventh place, and in 1994 he won his fourth gold bracelet. His fifth piece of WSOP jewelry came in 1997 and his sixth came in 2000. Chan won four more gold bracelets from 2002 to 2005. In 2003, Chan won two. He won the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $224,400 and the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event for $158,100.

Originally from China, Chan found his way to the United States with his family in the 1960s. He dropped out of college and moved to Las Vegas in his early 20s and began to take the poker world by storm. At the WSOP, Chan has 50 cashes and more than $4.6 million won in his career. When he won his 10th gold bracelet, the $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em event in 2005 for $303,025, Chan became the first player to win 10 gold bracelets. Although he has not won WSOP gold since then, Chan’s place in World Series of Poker history is that of a legend.

When he hit the scene, Chan’s aggressive style and tremendous ability to play the player, not the cards, kept him two steps ahead of the competition. He dominated the WSOP Main Event in the late 1980s with a colossal force that few, if any, had seen before. There were certainly aggressive players around at the time, but by most accounts Chan took things to a whole new level. He became so big that the fact that he lost to Hellmuth heads up in 1989 only made what Hellmuth did that much greater. This wasn’t just another player that Hellmuth beat. Hellmuth had defeated Johnny freaking Chan.

It’s unlikely that Chan will find his way back to the WSOP winner’s circle. He simply doesn’t play that much anymore, although he has had a couple of flashes in recent years. In 2016 and 2018, Chan put together a pair of deep runs in the WOP Main Event. In 2016, he finished 180th out of 6,737 players. In 2018, he cashed in 612th place out of 7,874 players. Those are not the final table appearances he used to churn out, but the 10-time gold bracelet winner still has plenty of that aggressive, fighting spirit left in him.

Whether or not he goes on to make another WSOP final table or win another gold bracelet in his career, Chan’s career is legendary and he’s one of the greatest players the World Series of Poker has ever seen.